Thanksgiving 2016

We had lots of fun visiting and making a great meal with lots of friends and family.  We got some snow, made mini snowmen and the kids made some custom tattoos. This was a tough Thanksgiving since it was obvious that Dad wasn't here and he was terribly missed.   Having said that, we were so blessed and felt so loved by those who were present and made an extra effort to be there and help us through! Thank you all!

Turkey Trot 2016 & The First Winter Weather

The kids have been working hard all fall to prepare for the annual Turkey Trot 5K at the UMF fitness center.  Ben and Audrey both ran the kids 1-mile fun run and did a great job.  Audrey ran the entire way!  Noah and James also finished strong on a chilly morning. Noah's goal for the upcoming year is to run a 10K when he is 10 years old.  We will see how that goes:)

This Sunday after church we stayed to help decorate for the holiday season. The kids were proud of their work on the tree in the Vestry.  The cold weather has arrived and we got right out to play in the first "snowfall" of the season.  James was so excited that he made a basket and it stuck in the ice for everyone to see.

The pigs are growing! They have completely turned over the ground in their pen in just a short amount of time.  They love to play with the kids and are very entertaining to watch.

Veterans Day 2016

We are entering what is going to be a tough time of mourning as we move through this upcoming holiday season without Dad.  It was no secret that Dad loved Christmas, but what kicked off this season for him was Veterans Day.  He was a proud veteran and seeing him on this day was a truly special blessing that I will always remember.  His pride at the parade as he thanked fellow veterans and they thanked him always made me cry (and him).  This year we ventured out in his honor and made it through together feeling his presence the entire way. He would have been proud:)

After the parade we had lunch and took a field trip to the Cole's Transportation Museum.  We had not been before and, per usual, we were surprised at how long the kids stayed to learn about the exhibits and the extra special memorials for the Veterans who served alongside Mr. Cole in World War II.  It was a wonderful day, but we missed you Dad!

Fall Family Concert 2016

We did get to spend some time playing in the leaves this fall!  Today we got to take in one of our favorite Portland activities, the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Family Discovery Concert.  This theme was "sports" and it certainly didn't disappoint. The kids got to meet Slugger, Crusher, the USM softball team and the USM men's hockey team.

New this year They added a "meet/be the conductor".  Ben surprised us all by raising his hand and answering some questions from the conductor correctly that we had no idea he knew. Both he and Noah were chosen to be the conductor and practice with some real musicians. Per usual, the instrument petting zoo was a big hit:)