Belt Tests

After a semester of martial arts training the kids tested for their next belts.  They tested with the "tigers" group of young students.  Pics below of a studio full of tigers ready to test.

 

Jack getting his new belt (white belt with panther patch):

Kara getting her new belt (white belt with panther patch):

 Ainsley getting her new belt (orange belt):

 

Three proud kiddos!

 

Deck the Halls

Ready for Christmas!

We decorated the tree with lots of help from our helpers...

And giant Santa is back again.  After a long summer nap he stretched his legs, 

the kids got the stakes into the ground, 

and Santa stood tall to wish everyone within a 1/2 mile radius, "Merry Christmas!  ho ho ho!"

Wedding

This weekend the kids were invited to participate in the wedding of our dear friends, Scott and Natalie.  The cutest flower girls and ring bearer that you ever saw!

Happy Halloween

If you ask the kids to stack-rank holidays it would be a tie with Halloween, Christmas and Easter.  So much fun watching them enjoy special days!

This picture is funny because of Jack's expression and this was before we braided Kara's Rapunzel wig.  She was freaking out at how much it itched her, so if this picture had sound with it you could hear her displeasure in octaves only Kara can reach.

And here we are after Matt costumed and we hit the streets trolling for candy.  We are not coordinated as a family with a theme...maybe next year.

Pumpkin Carving

We created three very spooky pumpkins that are sure to scare trick-or-treaters!

 

Family Vacation - Boston & New Hampshire

For the kid's fall break from school we traveled to the Northeast. We flew into Boston and were greeted with nice fall weather.  Brisk air with lots of colorful leaves. 

The first night we drove to a suburb (Ashland) to visit our good friends Jared and Mandy and their three super cute kids.  Somehow I managed to not take a single picture.  Maybe because we sat in traffic for 2 1/2 hours to get there, or maybe I was distracted by Jack pitching a wooden ball into the Lehne's flat-screen tv.  Despite the lack of photos, we thoroughly enjoyed our time and realized it had been way too long since we saw the Lehne's.

Saturday morning we drove back to Boston and met up with friends from Vancouver.  We toured the city and enjoyed some lessons in US history along the way.

Boston Tea Party!

Downtown Boston is a beautiful mix of old and new.  This is the Old State House, where the declaration was first read to the public in 1776 (from the balcony). 

 

Granary Burying Ground (burying place for Boston's biggest names, like Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, etc.)

Pub where we ate lunch and had our first chowder of the weekend:

When we asked Kara what she liked most about Boston she said, "The merry-go-round!" 

Saturday night we drove to Hollis, NH and stayed with friends.  All of the kids were in heaven with a huge yard, giant basement filled with toys, and lots of other kids to play with.

Sunday we took a day trip to Portsmouth, NH. 

Back in Hollis, NH:

Corn maze!

For our last day we spent time in Boston.  We took the subway to Cambridge to see the Harvard campus, ate lunch at Legal Seafood, and then took the kids to the aquarium. 

Harvard campus, the oldest American university:

 

We enjoyed Boston, New Hampshire, the great fall weather, seeing great friends and quality time as a family!!