Photo Explosion

Today we were blessed with a mild day and decided to try and capture some pictures of the family, specifically to keep up to date. Prepare for a photo explosion.

We'll start with those who are the cutest.

Followed by a few family shots:

And ending with a few entertaining outtakes:

Now that we finally got to the fall pictures, the snow is allowed to commence :)

Grape-a-licious

It's October, did you notice?  

We've tried to pack a lot in the last week. Pumpkin patches....

....pumpkin carving....

...and trick-or-treating...

This was after....a few balloons were lost along the way.

Like the grape costumes? We had fun with them.  Happy Halloween!

Slumbering Birthdays

We've passed another milestone.  We celebrated a birthday (Linnea), but the true milestone was the first ever slumber party. We. Are. Tired. :o) Actually, it was a lot of fun, and I think the participants would tend to agree.

Linnea got many presents from us, friends and family.  The one which resulted in slightly more amusing photos were new roller blades!

A lot of fun.  We finished up the weekend with final games in recreational soccer. *Note, most of these pictures are from previous games (this weekend was COLD for these games).

This is a picture from Saturday, doesn't it just look dreary and cold?

And we determined that the position of the goalie is not Natalie's passion.

The game was actually going on when this was taken.

Another busy weekend - but so nice to spend some of it outside. Happy Birthday Linnea!

Futbol

This year both girls are participating in fall soccer, a.k.a. futbol.  

We're discovering that Natalie is competitive with an aggressive streak. We affectionately refer to her as the firecracker.  I think we've found her outlet.

It's equally amazing to watch Linnea play and see how far she's come since her first year. Unfortunately, not a lot of pictures taken today - hard to be in the two places at the same time - you'll have to wait for a different post with anticipation to see her mad-skills :o)

Great teams, great coaches, lots of fun!

The First Day

Our lives are now forever changed.  Both girls are in formal school, and frankly, I don't know how I'm  we're supposed to feel about this alteration in our existence.  Of course, there is the excitement of what is to come next, feeling the true joy of a kid so excited she can hardly stand it she doesn't even wait for us to walk her to her classroom (note the blond in the picture below).

Then there is the nervousness of going to a new school - will they make new friends? Be accepted and loved? (Echoing those thoughts of the one in red).

Followed by the feeling of happiness that they have each other and seem to so enjoy each other's company for the most part.

But I think the real, most pure and true feeling, is that sense of overwhelming chaos quietly enveloping us all. First it takes over us individually (I believe this affects the mama the most). It follows by spreading throughout the household and then seeps out into the street, where you find, every other house probably is experiencing the same feeling.  And eventually, this chaos of kids+school+work+life begins to feel familiar and you realize, it's all worth it, and you might actually be enjoying yourself :o)

Happy First Day of School!!!