First Day of School - See the difference in excitement between a kindergartner and fifth grader :) Max's last year of elementary school - yikes! He was so glad though to have his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Paradis, loop her students with her up to fifth grade. She is WONDERFUL and Max adores her!

Breakfast - since Shane started his new job and is able to work from home when he's not traveling, we decided to go out to breakfast once a month. Here's our first one with little Cohen who luckily slept for most of it so thank you to our taxes for babysitting our kids for this date! And thank you Georgia for giving us good down home cookin' southern restaurants...how's that for adjectives!

Happy Halloween...bwah ha ha.

Ward Campout - we were put in charge of the ward campout a few weeks after having baby #3. A little bit of craziness later, here we were. It turned out well and was a close enough location that Mom and Cohen went home to sleep and drove back in the morning. The campgrounds were next to the lake and the girls treated it like a European mud spa...they were CAKED and loved every second of it. Never got a picture of Max - he was running wild and free with the boys! Luckily nobody came home with poison ivy either. Overall, a success.

We rewarded ourselves with a weekend at the beach courtesy of Shane's Hilton points from work travel. One payback for all those lonely nights without him. We picked up the kids early from school on a Friday in Sept. They were on top of the world! It was so nice going after peak season....it was so quiet and the water was like glass. There were no waves for boogie boarding, but we could go out and float and the kids could see and catch fish and crab. So fun! Cohen was an angel just sleeping and hanging out under the awning. Max and Ellie played in the sand and water together all day. It was so peaceful. The beach is definitely our favorite vacation spot.

BUBBLE BATH...she's a fun girl with her Daddy's great humor and love of silly fun

Hangin' out with my brother and sister

Kisses with my siblings

Cohen's blessing

Big brother and a great babysitter. He can get Cohen to calm down really well!

Better entertainment than tv!

Father's Day Paper by Max and Ellie

My favorite thing to do with my Dad is:
Max - Play Wii with him
Ellie - Cuddle with him

My dad is really good at:
Max - Finance
Ellie - Working

I am glad he is my Dad because:
Max - He helps me with my problems
Ellie - He hugs and kisses me

One funny thing he does with me that I love is:
Max - Fake boxing
Ellie - Tackling

My best memory with him is:
Max - Playing Star Wars Battlefront
Ellie - Buying gum

What he loves about me:
Max - How cute I am
Ellie - When I share

Max's Mother's Day Paper

What is your mom's favorite food?
Swedish Pancakes
How old is your mom?
30
What is your Mom's favorite thing to do when she relaxes?
Watch tv - American Idol
What does your mom cook better than anyone else?
She cooks what I like most to eat
What does your mom do while you are at school?
Takes care of Ellie and teach piano
If you had an afternoon to spend with your mom what would you do?
Watch Wipeout
Where was your mom born?
Virginia
If your mom could have lunch with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Me
Fill in the blank...I love my mom because:
she cooks well and we have fun with each other