November

Our November was quite busy and exciting, but we don't have many pictures to go along with it.

Arya still comes home from school like this most days.  

They both got report cards and we had their parent teacher conferences.  Casen's teacher said she's never seen a kid love reading as much as he does.  He's currently on book 3 of the Harry Potter series.  After he finishes a book, we have a family movie night.  Arya's teacher said she's the best helper and is really excelling in reading as well.

We celebrated Veteran's Day and the Marine birthday, but I didn't grab any pictures.  We're so thankful for Caleb!  He also just got his letter of congratulations for 5 years of employment with Henrico Police.

The end of the month we made the trek up to my brother's neck of the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We saw almost everyone briefly and at different times and most of the time my phone was not with me, so the pictures barely scratch the surface of all the fun we had.

The drive to his house is so so pretty. 

This group of cousins are finally all old enough to play together on their own.  They had a blast.

Casen helped Uncle Ty make some cutting boards

And we had a massive Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a fried and a roasted turkey.  Everything was delicious!

We loved having family time!  Thanks for being gracious hosts in the chaos of being new parents Tyler and Katie!

I never quite know what to say on veterans day except

Thank you.

October

When Caleb and I have days off together we take full advantage of them!  We usually head to the gym in the morning and on our way find some sort of day date.  We've really been enjoying finding new Japanese restaurants to frequent, however my entrees come a little more cooked.

We got a little Halloween cookie decorating kit and the kids had a fun night of it.

Both the kids teachers keep a weekly blog of all they've been up to.  Jo's teacher doesn't put up quite as many pictures as Aryas.  She posted this one of Arya enjoying the playground :)

And Caleb came home from work one morning with these super pretty flowers

It's sort of become a tradition around here i've realized, even though i'm not even sure on purpose, that Caleb brings home donuts from our favorite favorite donut shop the morning of Halloween.  It was too early for pictures, but they loved having donuts with bats and candy corn on them!

And lastly, Caleb had to work the day before and of Halloween this year so trick or treating wasn't really an option.  So we decided to make the best of it, because if you know us at all, you know our families love for Halloween!  So we got the kids some pj "costumes" and set up a big scavenger hunt around the house for them to find a bunch of candy and prizes.  They said they loved it just as much as going out.

September

I have really limited pictures this month.  We're juggling work schedules and the kids being in school, I just haven't had my phone.

Second day of school smiles.

School completely wears Arya out.  She comes home at 230, voluntarily takes a nap until we wake her up at dinner time and then is back in bed at 830.  She's also decided at 5 years old she needs to be sleeping with a face mask.

The days we do have off together, Caleb and I have so been enjoying dates together.  We've gone to the movies, shopping, sushi dates (who knew when I married this guy he'd be eating raw fish,) and, of course, the gym.

Arya learned the letter O one day in school and came home with the cutest hat.

 Caleb started his sleeve process in May.  Besides the touch ups in a few months, he finally finished! I lovee it!!! (and I'm pretty sure the longer we're married, the hotter he gets :))

And Casen had his first official school project.  He had to create a project around a food chain.  We were super impressed with the subjects he chose for his lineup.  He is so smart!

Hopefully October goes a little bit better for me as far as documenting.  See ya then!

First Day of School

The day before school we tried to make a fun day for the kids. 

We set up a fun taste test for them.  They tried all the super sour foods we set out and ranked them from most to least sour.

Then they ate miracle berry pills that dissolve on your tongue and change everything that's sour to sweet.

Lemons and limes tasted like candy!

They finished the night with brownie sundaes and a new pair of pajamas

And Arya got some ready confetti for under her pillow from her new kindergarten teacher

Arya cried on the bus on the way to school, but when she came home she was already saying she couldn't wait to go back.  Casen is a seasoned pro now that he's in third grade.  It's a new phase for Caleb and me.  Since Casen was born before Caleb came home from Japan, we actually haven't been childless since we got married!

First day success!

August

August was our last month before both kiddos head off to school.

The start of the month was pretty exciting.  Caleb finished and passed the course to become a fire arms instructor for Henrico county.  He makes it pretty darn easy to be proud of him.  I'll use any excuse for some cheesy decor, so we threw him a little Harry Potter party.

We celebrated our anniversary at home this year.  We had so much fun!  We made a replica of the Melting Pot's cheese fondue that we love and Caleb cooked us some steaks.  Cards and yummy drinks together for a night in is kind of our perfect night.

We brought the kids to a glow in the dark mini golf.  They really enjoyed it.

 

The kids put on a puppet show for us with lots of little paper puppets they made themselves.  It was super cute.

We did a few more taste tests this month.  We ordered some chips from England.  Their Walker's brand is the same as our Lay's, but they have much more interesting flavors.  We liked them all!  And I got a bunch of Oreos and the kids blindfolded had to try and guess what flavors they were.  Arya was a pro guesser!

 

Arya had her kindergarten orientation this past week.  She got the same teacher Casen had for kindergarten.  She's not quite as excited as Jo was for school, but we know she's going to love it.

And Casen is in 3rd grade this year! 

And lastly, I most of the time get to finish my monthly blogs with pretty flowers from my husband :)  I had a horrible month of the dentist and have been a grump.  He spoils me anyways.