Sept. 23nd - Nov. 19th, 2016

Hi Everyone!

It's hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. We are really excited to be traveling to Kansas to spend Christmas with the Shoemaker side at Kate and Noah's place this year. It will be a long drive, but well worth it!

This post is going to be lots of pictures and less writing for sake of time. :)

Here's what we've been up to... 

We had a great good-bye visit from Scott in September. It was pretty tough to say goodbye for the next to years, but it helps to know that he's excited about being stationed where he is and at least we have Google Hangouts so we can still see and talk to him (just about) as often as we want. 

Visiting the Greensboro Science Center with Scott.

One last picture together...Owen is having a hard time. I wish I could say it's because he's thinking about having to say goodbye to Scott, but I'm afraid it was much more 3-year-old-ish than that. ;) 

There's a half-smile! 

 Goodbye!  :(

Happy Birthday Daddy! 

Got a special visit from Pappy in October!

Blake and Seth were able to join Pappy in an overnight camping trip with the boys at Iron Academy where Pappy occasionally teaches. Quite the adventure!

 So nice to get some time with Dad. We really miss having him in NC!

Pumpkin Carving Party!

Blake's strange reading habits... hey, whatever helps you concentrate, right? Ah, the freedom that comes with homeschooling... :)

We added some new members of the family. Tink and Tigger joined us from the local Animal Shelter. The boys carry them all over the house and play with them often. They are learning how to be gentle and how take care of small animals in the process. 

I love this picture!

We had the pleasure of meeting Grandma Ensmenger and Grandma Betty in Gaitlynburg, TN. What a cool place to visit! Grandma treated us to the famous Dixie Stampede Dinner and then Grandma Betty treated us to a very full day at Dollywood! We were pretty much spoiled rotten the whole weekend. Thank you again, Grandma and Grams!

 The boys thought they'd died and gone to heaven when they experienced cotton candy for the first time!

Liza was so funny, she pretty much stayed in the stroller most of the day and then about an hour before it was time to leave we discovered that there was a whole section of the park with rides for her age and size. SHE WENT NUTS! She wanted to ride them again and again and started screaming when each ride ended. LOL, she finally found something she could do! 

Back at home...

 I finally figured out a better way to go on walks! :)

I celebrated a birthday in September, my very first sugar-free birthday ever! No Splenda or anything like that, just natural sweetening. I had my doubts, but yes, my birthday was still a happy one. Even without sugar. :)

Owen surprised me when we were doing school the other day...he said he was doing his chores and started cleaning the glass with a nice, dripping wet rag for me. :) So sweet. Tidy-up time is usually his most dreaded and tear-filled time of the day, so this was a nice surprise. :)

Got to go skating on Homeschool Day a few weeks ago. Blake and Seth are still working on keeping from falling and often spend a good portion of the time just watching the big boys speed around the rink. Some day...

Baby, Blanket and BaBa, all you could ever want to get through breakfast!

This post's edition of... Blake's Strange Reading Habits...  :) He would probably hate it if he knew I added these, but it's just too cute!

Part of our morning routine (after the much dreaded daily "toof bwushing") is reading time with Owen and Liza. In preparation for her and I flying to Kansas for Christmas, Liza and I are working on our sitting still skills so I usually have her sit on my lap for at least the duration of one book. It's going just okay so far. :-/ 

Liza laid her head against me the other day while I was holding her (while I was also getting ready for the day) it's so rare that this wiggle bug is still long enough to snuggle with me that I had to get a picture. 

Movie night while Dad's gone on a business trip. 

Blake loves to help me in the kitchen! 

Blake got a very special package from Pops in California last week. Pops passed along to Blake a model cement mixing truck with all the bells and whistles you can imagine. Blake is thrilled! Thanks again, Pops!

Blake and Seth finished their semester of Archway classes so we went out to celebrate. Blake loved learning about ocean life this fall and his aspirations of being a "marine bee-ologist"  are stronger than ever. :)

Silly billy!

Took this one today after a nice long play date with friends. Liza was so tired most of the time we were there that she passed out once we got in the van!

This is going to be a short post this time....the boys are running around playing with Micah and it's rather loud at the moment. :)

Quick Funnies...

In discussing our upcoming trip to Kansas, we talked about the possibility of flying. Owen asked Micah, "Do you opposed to have a cape when you fly to Kansas?"

No idea where this one came from, but here's a goldie by Owen- "Can I have some water wiff no cup?"  :) 

Hope you all are doing well!

Love, 

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth, Owen and Liza

July 3rd - Sept. 22nd, 2016

Hello Everyone, 

Our last post was July 2nd, so I have some catching up to do. Here's what we've been up to...

Micah was installed as President of our local Rotary Club for the year. So proud of him!

The boys decided on the 4th of July that they wanted to get a buzz cut like one of their friends. So...

 The after picture... Owen wasn't too sure if he liked it. 

Our yearly trip to Holden Beach is always much anticipated by the kids and this year was no different. We get to join in with the Fox family and luckily we all still fit in one large beach house so we're able to split the cost. 

Ready to go!

 Blake and Seth got some snorkel gear on the way to the beach. Blake was especially excited since he's decided he's going to be a "marine bee-ologist" when he grows up. 

A typical picture attempt with Liza. She's such a wiggle worm! He he

Owen is our "full blast" guy

 Our garden attempt had only one successful produce item this year, sunflower seeds! Apparently deer do not like eating sunflower plants, so they actually survived. Maybe next year we will find something to keep the deer out. Time for a puppy? :)

Blake turned 7 this year and Seth turned 6 this July. Can you believe it?

Liza was helping me clean out the fridge the other day and started digging right into a stalk of kale! That's my girl!

Every morning Liza joins me and Owen in our daily routine of getting ready for the day. It's so cute to see her attempt to brush her teeth. Owen does not understand why we have brush EVERY day. Such a trial!

Somebody got up too early and got to snuggle with Daddy before work.

I was super fortunate to be able to travel to California this summer with my sisters to visit my precious grandparents. It's been waaay too long since I've seen them, so I was thrilled to have this chance. A big shout out goes to Micah for taking time off work to stay home with the kids while I was gone. :)

This is a sight I love. You can barely see it, but in the middle of this photo is the silhouette of my grandparent's farm in Tulare, CA. When we lived in California and would make the 2 hr drive to "Moms and Pop's" house, we kids would crane out necks to see who could be the first to spot the farm on the horizon. It's pretty crazy to think that the farm has been in family for over a hundred years now! 

This is our next-door neighbor from when we lived in Morro Bay. She used to have the three of us girls over when we were ages 2-6 and we would spend hours sitting on her lap while she read to us from her Little Golden Book collection. Sweet memories. She still considers us "her girls".  

Morro Bay Rock

Getting ready to devour some outrageously good Marie Calendar pie with our favorite Auntie.

One thing I failed to do while there was get some good pictures with the grandparents. Can you believe it?! Guess that means I need to go back sometime soon for a visit.  =D Micah?

 Here is Liza trying to take a nap on one our short-ish road trips this summer to the beach. She did NOT like her carseat or any other person in the vehicle for that matter on our trip. 

The boys helped Micah build a rabbit run for our little, er, big pet BlueBelle. 

Isn't he cute?

Typical evening this summer. Outside after dinner for some sports. 

Blake's strange reading habits... this boy is always moving. Always.

Look how big this girl is getting?!? She's running now and yesterday even started walking around on her tip toes. She's already 16 months old.

We enjoyed a special visit last week from Jonathan. He is doing great and glad to be back from his final assignment in Iraq. He gets out of the Navy in January and is looking forward to working a civilian job in Maryland after that.  

 Uncle Jonathan helped me take the whole crew down to the river to hunt for ...well, whatever we could find really. I caught a fish! So proud of myself. 

Ready to go!

Scott is visiting this week. He is finished with training and getting ready to ship out to Okinawa, Japan mid-October for the next two years. He has been going in to his recruiter's office each morning dressed in uniform and you should see the boys' eye light up when he comes out of his room. They love it!

 Scott brought gifts to the boys of their very first Coca Colas! They were big stuff!

Such a good looking crew!

Funnies...

Owen- "That man has a beard and mustard on his face!"

Blake, holds up an old carrot stick he found under the fridge and said, "Mom, do you want to see something that will make your heart throb?" I look at it, laugh, and say, "You mean, make my stomach turn?" 

Seth- "Can we go to Frozen Rock?", Me- "You mean, Cold Stone?"

Owen tried to ask for a vitamin C and said, "Can I have a vitamin seed?"

Other news...

This Sunday will be a special day for us. Micah will be installed as one of three new elders at our church. He has been training for the past year with the other elders-to-be and we feel a peace about moving forward. We feel humbled and honored to step into this position as a family and we look forward to being able to serve the church body in this way. 

September 6th was the first day of school for us and this year is special because Blake is seven which means we got to officially register with the state of North Carolina to be a home school. We chose the name Industria Academy for our school which we thought sounded rather scholarly. :) Actually, we chose the word Industria because it is the Latin form of the word diligence and hope it will inspire our children to be hard workers as they complete their academic year.

Hope you all are doing well!

Lots of love to you!

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth, Owen and Liza