Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!

The thing I love most about volunteering in Kate's classroom is getting to see her in a completely different environment, apart from Gabe, and amongst her peers. Kate has always thrived in school and I just love getting a tiny glimpse into "her world." Do you think she and her teachers will still let me come in and help once she is in middle school?!? :)

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This week is special because Mrs. Cobb's class is celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday!

And what better way to do that than to make delicious homemade applesauce!!!

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The kids were all fascinated by the awesome peeler/slicer/corer.....I was too!

Once all the apples were ready, they were put into an electric skillet with some cinnamon and brown sugar.

The classroom smelled amazing!!!!

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Once it was ready, each of the kids were called up for a special snack....they all loved it!!!





Later this afternoon I also got to experience "show-n-tell."
Every Friday the kids bring in an item from home that corresponds with the letter of the week...this week's letter is "Nn."
Kate showed her classmates her Notebook and her Neverland Nightlight!

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And last but not least.... While I was in the hall working on a new bulletin board background, the school's gifted teacher came to meet with Kate's class. I couldn't really hear or see everything, but she talked with them a while about abstract thinking and doing work that's original. Afterwards each child was given a piece of paper and two or three dots. They were told to use the dots and draw a picture around them. I was hoping Kate would draw an incredible masterpiece, but instead she drew a sumo wrestler looking Mickey Mouse! LOL! Gifted worthy...hmmm. But, she was proud of it and I am too! :)

Farewell Treva! :(

Tonight we must go to a sad dinner...a dinner to say goodbye to our friend Treva. We all love Treva, but the kids especially see her as one of their best friends! Treva is fun, always loves to play, and loves these kids!!! But, Treva is in the Navy and is being transferred to Italy. We are going to miss you so much and hope that someday you will be able to come back for a visit!

Treva picked a Japanese steakhouse for her final dinner with us...which we loved! Kate had fun learning to use the chopsticks with her noodle soup and Gabe enjoyed the four eggs the chef cooked especially for him!

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Farewell Treva...We sure are going to miss you!!!

I can feel her!!!

I don't have a picture for this post, but I didn't want that to stop me from remembering this moment! Sitting on the couch watching tv with Jon, I can feel our baby girl move!!!! Four years from the last time I was pregnant, I forgot how amazing this feels! :) Only 23 more weeks and I'll get to hold my sweet new baby girl!

It's a.....??????????????

Today is the big day, the day we find out if we are having a baby boy or a baby girl!!! It has been so hard having to wait these past few days since the ultrasound, but the anticipation has made this gender reveal all the more exciting! But, before we get to the cake, the kids had to play a bit. :)

It's almost time!!! If I had to make a guess, my guess would be GIRL! For starters, the Chinese Lunar Calendar predicts girl. But aside from that, the baby's heartbeat is consistently over 160 and this pregnancy is so far almost identical to my pregnancy with Kate. I am tired and all I really want are carbs...which is probably why I gained over 50 pounds with her! But, hopefully I can do a better job watching my weight this time around. Anyway, the table is set, our family is here, now all we need to do is CUT THAT CAKE!!!

Kate & Gabe are both so excited about the baby! They are both hoping for a little sister, but will be happy with whatever God gives us! Kate wants a girl to play dress up with and have tea parties together. But, she has also said if it's a boy she kind of likes the idea of being the only princess in the family. Gabe wants a a little sister because then he thinks he won't have to share his "boy" toys! :)

The beautiful cake made by Jill Lange of Simply 2 Sweet!

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Boy or Girl?!?!?!?!?

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Pink & Blue punch.

The kids each got a plastic knife and together the sliced into the cake!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

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We are all soooo excited to be welcoming baby #3 into our family in March!

It's PINK!

Once all the gender reveal festivities were over,

Kate, Gabe, and their friend Griffin headed outside to look for the alligator. :)

Happy Birthday Aiden!!!

Kate & Gabe were excited to spend the afternoon celebrating with their friend Aiden at his Pirate Pool Party!

Happy 6th Birthday Aiden!!!!

The awesome Pirate Ship cake!

My two little pirates....grabbing some grub before heading back out to the pool!

Are these tough looking pirates or what?!?!

Gabe & Grayson

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Pirate Pals Hannah & Kamryn!

Kansas City vs Portland

After Gabe's game, we walked over to to the U6 fields for Kate's game! She had on her game face and was ready to score some goals!!! The team she played this morning had a couple more friends, Harper Mae and Wyatt, but that never stops Kate from being ready for battle! :)

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Unfortunately, Kate & Gabe's games overlapped a little so I was having to go back and forth. I'm not completely sure about the final score, but I know Kate's team won and I think the final score was around 9-4. The kids all played great, the weather was perfect, and as always Kate did great!

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Kate was very proud of her 4 goals!!!

New York vs. San Jose

Coming out to Gabe's soccer game I was a little nervous. Last week he cried and refused to play because it was "almost snowing," but what if this morning he decided it was too hot. :/ We are so used to Kate, who is extremely competitive and would get out and play no matter the conditions. Gabe, on the other hand, is sensitive and VERY stubborn.....not the best combo when it comes to sports! If he doesn't want to do something, he won't, and then he'll cry and fall apart and still won't do it if you try to make him (that being to play soccer or clean his toys or eat veggies)......SO NOT Kate! :) We have two very different children! Kate is certainly not always easy, but stubborn and sensitive, she is not!

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We arrived at the field and Gabe said he was ready to play! I still wasn't convinced though because he had said the same thing last week, until the game started! But, this time he ran out onto the field and wanted to be part of the first three to play!!!! He played hard, had a great time, and including one goal he got before the game, got three goals this morning!

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Great job Gabe!!!!

Meeting the Wovchkos

After church today we drove down to the beach to meet up with one of Jon's friends from college, Brendan, along with his wife and their son Max. I never knew Brendan in college, but we all had a great time eating lunch together and watching the intense waves. I didn't expect the waves to be so rough today, but it sure was beautiful! Brendan, Stacy, and Max, we had a great afternoon getting to know you guys! I hope it works out to get together again next Summer/Fall!

Just outside the restaurant we saw a turtle come out of a hole...then a second turtle.

A few seconds later, we realized it must be mating season.....thankfully the kids had no clue what was going on...... :/

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Happy (early) Birthday Grandma!

After Kate's soccer game we all headed to IHOP for a birthday brunch to celebrate Grandma!!!! PawPaw, Grandma, Grammy, & Granny Annie are leaving after this to spend a week in the North Carolina mountains and will be there for Grandma's actual birthday...so we are celebrating early!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

We Love You!

Kansas City vs New York

Let the battle begin!!!! Kate is playing against some of her friends this morning...Griffin, Amelia, & Hannah! Kate and I have been talking about this game all week. You see, she and I are VERY competitive, and it just so happens that Griffin's team has "a secret weapen," a kid named Yami! Their whole team is made up of great returning players (versus our team of half new little kids) and then they have Yami. Not only is he bigger than all the kids, he is also AMAZING! This kid could seriously be on the team and play alone versus our team, and then we might be equally matched. Anyway, all that to say, after watching this team crush their opponents last week with a score of around 30-0, I was preparing for a beating! :)

With Yami still on the bleachers,

Kate easily scored the first goal of the game and got us off to an early lead!

Uh Oh....Yami is on the field and ready to battle! He is #7 is red & white. He played great, but I was soooo proud of our team! Our kids played hard and made this team work for their win! In the end, their team won 9-7, but I call that a win for us! I was amazed at how well our kids worked together and managed to keep the score so close! Great job Team Riptide!!!!!! We play this team again on our very last game of the season....and we will be ready for a re-match!!!!

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A job well done, Kate & Josh needed to do some off the field stretching.

Then notice the look Kate gave me when she realized I was taking pictures of her! :)
Oh, and after the game she told me that she might be marrying Josh now when she grows up.

I guess her love for Griffin might be slowly fading away into friendship again.....

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Great job little soccer star!

As always, we are so proud of you!!!

Gabe: Gabe should have had a game to post about today too. But, it is quite chilly out this morning and he refused to play...crying from the sidelines when we tried to make him join his team. Later I asked him about it and he said, "It was just so cold. It was almost snowing!" LOL! I don't think that at 60ish degrees it was almost snowing, but it was colder than I expected. Next time we will come prepared with a long sleeve shirt for under his jersey!