Autumn

I'm not sure how another season has nearly passed us by, but winter seems to be on the way.  It is certainly time for me to catch you up on what has been happening around here.  I am going to attempt to post all of my pictures in two different posts.  Blogger has not been my friend lately.  This is my fourth attempt at uploading pictures for the blog, and I have decided to put up as many as I can and hopefully add the rest later. 



BROWN COUNTY

Over the Labor Day holiday we camped with the Keefer family and despite all the rain we had a great time.  I think that Brown County is one of my favorite state parks.  The scenery is just so beautiful there.

YMCA SOCCER

Ben played his very first season of soccer this fall.  He learned a great deal and improved throughout the season.  He spent a lot of his time watching and chasing after a cute little girl named Emma on his team.  Hopefully next season he will be able to focus less on the girls and more on the ball but at least he had fun.  :)

SCHOOL

Not only did Ben play soccer for the first time, he also started school this fall.  He attends preschool at a local church three days a week for a few hours each time and LOVES it!  He told me recently that it is like a fun playdate where he also gets to learn new things.  I hope he always has a passion for learning!  Although I miss him while he is gone, I love that he is getting used to being on a school schedule and learning to follow directions from someone other than me.  I also love that he is making new buddies and having fun!

FIRST FIELD TRIP

This fall Ben got to attend his first field trip.  I was able to go along, and it was a blast.  We went to a local pumpkin farm.  The kids learned about farming and pumpkins, took a hayride, watched a cider press, visited a petting zoo, and picked their own pumpkin and gourd to take home. 

 

FAMILY PICTURES

We recently set up the tripod in our back yard and made an attempt at getting some family pictures.  Here are my favorites.  I think this is our second year of taking family pictures in the fall, which might mean that it is now a tradition.  :)  I am the only person in our little family who wants this to be a tradition, but I just love looking back to see how much the kids have grown and changed.





August

Maybe it was because I knew that this was our last summer before Ben starts school or maybe it was because I am married to a Keefer, but for some reason we packed this summer super full of FUN!  We took another vacation at the beginning of August.  This trip was a little different though.  We decided to go on this trip to see Uncle Tedd graduate from his basic training.  About halfway through planning this trip we decided that we would also spend some time in Georgia visiting Bob's Aunt and Uncle.  We had an absolutely fabulous time in both places and the kids survived more driving than any child should have to endure in a weeks time (7 states!!!). 

Uncle Tedd's Graduation

We started our trip with a long drive to Columbia, SC.  Mom and Dad and Jess drove down together, and we drove down at a slightly slower pace behind them.  Let me just say that I have never stopped at so many rest areas in my life.  I suppose that is all part of trying to potty train a toddler.  :)  Almost the entire first day was spent driving and then we got to partake in Family Day at the base on the second day.  It was an awesome experience.  First of all my sister had not seen her hubby in months, so it was really sweet to see them reunite!  Second, it was interesting to see all the military stuff and the show they put on was really cool.  It was nice to see Tedd and hear all of his stories.  Needless to say, Ben is now obsessed with anything Army.  He talks about Uncle Tedd and the Army constantly. 

The third day was the actual graduation.  If you look at the last picture in this group you can see Tedd in the back right corner of his group on Graduation day.

Georgia
After Uncle Tedd's graduation we left and headed to Georgia to visit Uncle Joe, Aunt Cindy, and Molly.  It was nice to spend some time relaxing with them and catching up.  They were wonderful hosts!  Aunt Cindy fed us super yummy food, and we swam in their big pool.  They took us on a tour of their town, and we had some barbecue and fried okra too.  The kids also got to ride on Aunt Cindy's John Deere tractor, and she sent them home with bags of goodies.  Thank you so much Aunt Cindy, Uncle Joe, and Molly for letting us stay with you and for all of your southern hospitality. 

Heading Home

On our way back home we stopped in Chattanooga, TN to go to church.  After church we took a drive around to see if there was anything interesting to do and found another cool spot.  There is an old train depot that is now a hotel and tourism area.  We had dinner in a train car and toured the area for a few hours before we were back on the road again heading for our next hotel.  The next day we woke up and headed for Cousin Will's fifth birthday party.  After a bit more fun family time we headed home for good.  It was a great trip but like always we were glad to be home.  I have to say that I am vacationed out for a while.  We will see how long that lasts.  :)

My Baby is Two!

If I could freeze time, now would be the time I would do it.  Many people will tell you that two is terrible, that it is the time when sweet little babies start throwing fits and getting an attitude.  I couldn't disagree more!  I think that (in my opinion and yes I am biased)  I have the sweetest, most adorable little girl in the whole world.  She might occasionally throw a fit, but usually only if she is tired or hungry.  I don't know if it is her big blue eyes or those chubby little cheeks, but she is absolutely everything I could have dreamed of when I thought of what it would be like to have a little girl.  I remember when I was pregnant with our little Miss Maggie and we had our ultrasound to find out if we were having a boy or girl.  When the doctor finally got a clear view and could tell that she was a girl, I got all excited and Bob got a little nervous.  He started saying things like, "What will she play with?  We only have trucks and tractors!  How am I going to change a girl!!!"  Let's just say that she is now the apple of his eye.  I love watching him watch her and tell her how adorable she is.  

She has really blossomed into a sweet and lovable girl.  She loves giving hugs and playing dress up and babies.  She also enjoys playing cars with her big brother and likes doing anything if he will pay attention to her.  She also loves to sit and color and draw.  She is a big talker and always has a lot to say.  It seems that every time we are out and about, people will stop us and ask how old she is.  When we tell them that she just turned two, they can't believe that her vocabulary is so large.

We asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted and she decided that she wanted a butterfly party.  We decided to go with a garden party theme that had butterflies and lady bugs.  

 Here is the birthday girl with her lady bug cake before the party.

 Thank you Grandpa Gaerte for bringing your super

fun barrel train to Maggie's party!

 Tearing into some gifts!!!

 Daddy and Maggie getting ready to blow out the candles.

 Maggie got her very own pink tricycle for her birthday.

Here she is trying to push Cousin Will up the hill in our

back yard.

All the kiddos also enjoyed a dip in our mini pool.

Maggie loved her second birthday party and wants to thank

all of her family that came to help her celebrate!