September happenings

Happy Fall. Michigan Fall is amazing. I've been admiring the colors for the past few weeks. We've heard that, according to the Farmer's Almanac, we are going to get a pretty brutal winter. After last winter's record breaking temps and snow fall, it's hard to imagine one worse than that! So right now, we'll continue to enjoy this beautiful autumn!

 

Sadie enjoyed(well, maybe that's too strong of a word) her trip to the groomer. I typically wouldn't take a dog to the groomer but she had all these mats we just couldn't get out. They had to shave her to get most of them out. She looked like a rat dog for a little while. Gladly, her hair has started to come back!

 

And speaking of Sadie, Mike really loves her now!

 

My mom and I took a trip to the hair dresser for a hair cut, and color for me! That was fun!

 

At the beginning of September, Mike and I went on a leaders' retreat to Saugatuck. We had a blast with some really cool people!

Hannah had quite a few dentist appointments. Looks like she takes after her daddy when it comes to teeth. 

 

I had a fun lunch date with these three cuties.

 

The girls had their Fun Run. It's the school's biggest fund raiser.

Here is Ava's 3rd grade class. Ava took second in her class for the girls, for most laps run.

 

Here is Allie's 1st grade class. I don't think Allie even cared what place she got. I'm not even sure first grade keeps track!

 

Allie also had the opportunity to go to another birthday party at Build-a-Bear. Her good friend Lilah celebrated her 6th birthday there.

 

Hannah's pre-school had their first field trip to Spicer's Apple Orchard. Mike surprised Hannah by showing up and taking the morning off. Hannah was so excited. Grandma Ross came too!

 

Coby, Hannah's cousin, just signed up for Mustard Seeds as well, so Aunt Miranda and Coby came too! It was a lot of fun. We took a hay ride out to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Each person was able to pick 4 apples and 1 pumpkin. When the hay ride was over, everyone got a cup of cider and a cinnamon donut. Then the kids played on the playground. It was a great morning.

 

I'm babysitting my sweet niece Emilia every Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. It's so fun to see how quickly she's growing. It's also a great way to get my baby fix!

 

Our house is coming along so beautifully! I'm so excited to see our designs come together. And it's so fun to decorate for Fall (thanks Jodi!!).

 

I met Jodi at Long's Orchard!

 

A few weeks after the leaders' retreat, we headed back out to Saugatuck for the 20th annual Impact Fall Retreat. I didn't take too many pictures but here's a few. This first one is of John, Diego, and Christian. They were put in "jail" for capture the flag. The leaders were able to decided little tasks the students would have to do to get out of jail. These three had to sing the national anthem all at the same time, but in a different language. John had English, Diego - Spanish, and Christian - German!

 

We went out to the dunes at Lake Michigan on Saturday. It was a beautiful day!

Those students are amazing!

 

 

We celebrated Mike's 34th birthday on the 15th. We took him out to dinner with my parents and his parents. Had an ice-cream cake at our house after. Then I took him out to see a movie in the evening. We watched The Maze Runner. It was pretty good. Not as good as the book of course!

 

And this little lady has loved pre-school so far. She has no problem getting dropped off in the mornings. She's learned a lot and enjoys meeting new people in her class. She was able to take George home today and we will get to write about her adventures with him! It's been a great start to the year!