Lots to be thankful for!

We spent our Thanksgiving in Orange City this year. We were able to visit tons of family and eat a bunch, of course! We had a family gathering on both Thursday and Friday evening, so we were partied out by Saturday. Luke & Reagan had just enough left in them to go to Disney on Ice in Des Moines on Saturday with Grandpa & Grandma. We are so thankful for the family and friends we have been blessed with.

Luke and soon-to-be Uncle Adam contemplating which plane is the coolest.

Michael, Owen & Reagan

I probably shouldn't have eaten all that turkey!

Drew & I at our Friday night gathering at Doug & Cinda's house.

Luke played a lot of ping-pong this weekend. He's actually not too bad!

Madison (the dog) is not really a fan of children, but she likes Luke a lot.

The Seven Dwarfs at Disney on Ice

Grandpa & Luke enjoying some popcorn.

Reagan and Grandma watching the show. They said they tried to keep Reagan from twirling her new toy during the performance (especially after it got caught in the hair of the girl in front of her!).

Random things

Not much new seems to be going on around here. We are in the groove of our school schedule and are very much looking forward to having some time off for the holidays. Next week we are heading to Orange City for Thanksgiving. The kids are counting down the school days until then! We've been keeping busy and having fun. Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

We bought these rocking chairs from money that Opa & Oma Noteboom gave them last December. We finally got them put together last Saturday!:)

Drew was pretty good with the screwdriver.

As soon as Ryan has a project to work on, he has four eager helpers.

Lauren kept trying to give Drew a kiss and he kept hitting her on the head when she came close. Typical boy!

I'm not sure what it is about this bucket that's so fun...or why they walk around with it on their head.

Our two little men

Our two guys are growing up.:) Drew had his first haircut today. He did awesome! He sat and smiled the entire time. I didn't even have to break out the M&M's that I brought as bribery. I did give them some at the end for being such troopers though! It always amazes me how much older they look just by cutting all their baby curls off. It makes me a little sad, but it was needed. The other day kids in Luke's class were commenting on how Drew & Lauren were twins but the only thing alike about them was their hair. I didn't want Drew to get a complex.:)
Luke had his first day of wrestling camp today. He was excited to show Reagan and Ryan some of the moves he learned. It was pretty amusing watching a bunch of Kindergarten and 1st graders wrestle around. He seemed to enjoy it, so maybe it will be a good outlet for some of that energy!

Lots of candy!

The kids all went trick or treating around our neighborhood last night. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy, but that didn't stop them from getting loads of candy! Drew & Lauren dressed up in their costumes, but I left them home to hand out candy with Ryan. They loved being a pumpkin & a dragon. Reagan was Cinderella and Luke was a clone trooper. Jaren, Bethany, & Erica also came up to trick or treat with us. The kids rounded out the night with a slumber party.

Frolicking Fall Fun

We had a couple of beautiful days last week that we could get outside. I spent two days raking a lot of leaves and the kids spent two days jumping in them! It was slightly discouraging to look out the window the next day and see a yard filled with even more leaves than I started with, but I knew that would happen. Ryan can do the next batch!:) We also got our pumpkins and started carving them. Ryan was afraid they might rot before halloween, so after carving the top off and gutting them, we wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. The kids weren't real happy with us, but they did get to draw their faces on them for the time being. We're looking forward to a fall gathering with my family tomorrow and many more Thanksgiving plans in the works! Unbelievable. We're going to go watch some football with friends tonight. Go Hawks! Drew's all dressed in his yellow and gold, although I notice he's now missing his pants, so I better sign off.

Luke looks like such a big kid in this picture.

The twins love playing in the playhouse outside.

You can't really tell in this picture, but Drew was soaked from climbing in the swimming pool filled with rain water. Oops!

Drew helped me make pumpkin bars by emptying out my utensil drawer.

Luke would hardly touch the inside of the pumpkin because he didn't want to get his hands dirty. He dove in after he realized his spoon wasn't getting him anywhere.

Like pumpkin, like boy

The things kids say...

Reagan has been cracking me up lately with some of the things she says. Last week after preschool she was talking about our next baby being called Isaac. I told her that we probably weren't going to have any more babies. She said that God was going to bless her and then we are going to have a baby named Isaac. I'm pretty sure I know what her Bible story was for the day! I think 4 blessings around here is enough though.:)
In the car she told me that it's probably hard for God to stay still, because he lives inside of us and we're always walking & jiggling. I had never thought of that!
And finally, today her teacher said that when they went to carve the pumpkin in class and get the goop out, Reagan proclaimed, "This is a messy situation!".

photos

It's been awhile since I've posted. Nothing too exciting seems to be going on here, but the days are flying by. Luke told me this morning that yesterday was the 40th day of school. Hard to believe! We're already making Thanksgiving and Christmas plans (quite honestly, I've already bought a few Christmas gifts!), which doesn't seem possible. The snow on Saturday made it seem a little more acceptable though. We were taking a few random photos the other day, so I thought I'd share. We're hoping to go to the pumpkin patch this weekend, or at least pick up some pumpkins to carve, so watch for our creations soon!