Glasses?!?!?

This guy has a super cute new look!
We recently learned that Ethan is slightly far sighted and that it makes a difference in reading and transferring from the board to paper. We are working on vision therapy to help his eyes learn how to work together but in the meantime, these will help.
I'm a little biased, but I think he looks adorable!

Dining with Dad

This guy got to have some one-on-one time with Daddy last week! Every fall, Shadowbrook does Dining with Dad, an indoor tailgate style "cookout." Caden and his classmates sing a special song for their Dad's and make sweet little gifts for them. 

As Ben took the picture and was hanging out with him at school, he told me he realized that this would be his last time to attend that event. He realizes that this is the end of a era in our life as well. Bittersweet!

Tiger Fun Day

So, the very first day of October began no different than the rest of September with Cub Scouts. This time, Caden got to go with us and participate in Tiger Fun Day. We were able to meet up with a little friend from another Pack and we had a blast!

First activity, Floats and Boats...making and sailing a boat

Then, flying discs...

Followed by a visit to the Army truck

Even Caden got to take a picture too! 

After that, Buddy Skis

Next was a visit to the shark ;-)

Love that face!

Followed by a scavenger hunt inside the building

And the greatest of all events...the reason we came at all...shooting a BB gun! Ethan was very responsible with the gun and I was extremely proud of his behavior!

First, he had to learn the proper technique from the range chief, then...

with a little coaching Mommy, he got to shoot 5 rounds

We had a terrific time at Tiger Fun Day!

September = Cub Scouts

Well, we did it. We are scouts. Ethan is a Tiger and I am Co-den leader. NOT my desire, but that was the way it worked out. We are part of a VERY active Pack and I am still adjusting to the busy-ness of it. School started the second week in August, by the end of August we had already had our first Den meeting and the following week, our first Pack meeting. They were easing us into things because by mid- September we had already had several community events and were beginning our first fundraising campaign. WHEW! And we haven't stopped yet.

Our first event was Patriot Night. Our Pack was responsible for the opening flag ceremony. The boys did a fantastic job representing our Pack and honoring our heroes.

Reviewing procedures before the ceremony

Walking in 2 by 2 to present the colors

After the flag ceremony, Ethan changed clothes and he and Caden got to take pictures with some of our local heroes

 

Our next event was the Gwinnett Braves game with our Den. The boys had a blast! There were dirt bikes and other off road vehicles set up outside the stadium and...

a hay ride around the parking lot. Look at this silly face!

Then the boys all went inside the stadium and each got their own GBraves cap before settling in to watch the game!

A couple of weeks later, our Den met the local Daisy group on a Sunday afternoon to go on a nature hike through the Mill Creek Nature Center

What a busy start to scouts!
And you should see what the rest of my calendar looks like!

Labor Day & Caden's First Day of Private Kinder!

We celebrated Labor Day with our sweet friends, the Cloer's, and Caden enjoyed his very last day of summer break! 

The next day started bright and early for this big 5 year old as he began his FINAL year at Shadowbrook in KINDERGARTEN! I'm certain at some point this year I will realize that this is our last year here and I will completely fall apart at the realization that 6 years of our life is about to end. This school has been a huge blessing to us and our boys have been loved on and prayed over for years because of the sweet ladies that take the time to care about our children. 

Caden gets to be in class upstairs this year with Jana and Marsha, whom I absolutely adore! He is learning so much already and I can't wait to see what the years holds for us!

August Wrap-Up

With school back in full swing for Ethan and Caden enjoying his last days of freedom, we wrapped up August with a few more adventures.

First, we headed to Tuscaloosa for Chad & Ashley's gender reveal

Yay for another sweet niece!!!

Then we celebrated our precious friend Rylie's 8th birthday!

Ethan tested out his cool factor ;-) ....I love the tape and towel around the basement door as we were sealing the floors downstairs and trying to mitigate the strong odor any possible way that we could!

And although you can't tell from this picture, a caterpillar infestation! The boys were fascinated with them for about 2 weeks until we had a huge downpour with some wind and they all washed away.

Fifteen Years!

I'm playing catch up but Ben and I celebrated 15 years of marriage in August. That is a LONG time! Most days I am surprised we have lasted this long. We are BOTH strong willed, always right, opinionated, stubborn, and have to have the last word...so we don't exactly make it easy on each other. I feel like 15 years is a huge milestone. At this point, we have friends whose marriages have not survived and we are grateful that we have stuck it out. Hopefully, we won't do too much damage to Ethan and Caden ;-)

Our plan was for the two of us to take an all inclusive resort vacation on some island somewhere but in the end we decided to do something that the whole family could enjoy so we went to Disney, had the pool redone, and finished the basement...which definitely cost more than our vacation would have but we can all enjoy it for years to come. Ultimately, we went downtown for a night away. In one of our early years of marriage, we stayed at Peachtree Plaza on one of the upper floors that had a panoramic view of the city. We celebrated our anniversary there and had dinner at the Sundial, which is a rotating restaurant on the 72nd floor at the top of the cylindrical hotel.

The view from our room was amazing. We could see the CNN building, the huge downtown Ferris wheel, Centennial Olympic Park, Phillips Arena, the Georgia Dome, and everything in between.

The night view was just as spectacular.

From the Sundial, you could see the whole city since it continually rotated 360 degrees every hour.

Loved watching the sunset

It made it difficult to come back home the next day but I am so glad we were able to get a night away to celebrate us :-)

Here's to the next fifteen