November brought lots of bowling! We discovered a new favorite family activity for Dad's birthday (Novemeber 1st) and Nevin's 9th birthday (November 14th). For Dad's birthday Mom thought she'd surprise us all, and went out on a limb hoping we'd all enjoy it... can you believe we've never been bowling!? It was a smashing success, and Nevin begged to do it again in two weeks, for his birthday.

The birthday boy who won't show his teeth. :)

Twinkling Brown Eyes.

Noah- first one to get a strike!

We love our brown eyed girls.

Aliza was so proud to get to wear bowling shoes the second time around. She had a blast rolling the balls down, despite all the gutter balls. :)

These two made us smile with their stark different personalities. Best friends since Day 1, Nolan is easy-going and Nevin has a fiery-competitive spirit. Nev would bend down low and wish the ball to go straight. Nolly would just lEAN.

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The Cake is now a new family favorite. We are so excited to try it in different flavors. Compliments to Angela who came up with the whole idea herself!

Chocolate ice cream. Chocolate Fudge. Oreo cookies. Repeat x 2

...Autumn Begins...

September brought the beginning of Autumn, and the last of the Queen Anne's Lace, and changing leaves made for a pretty photo shoot.

...September 2009...

Our blog is in dire need of updating, so, since pictures are worth a thousand words, here is the last 3 months in pictures... Starting with September.

Mom's birthday was September 6, so we spent a family day at the zoo, which turned out to be loads of fun!

What the Boys Do During School Hours...

.... this is how it started. Innocent enough. We got a lot of laughs, and 3 pairs of grass-stained jeans.


...Then Nevin had to try....

... the next day, with the spoiled tomatoes from the garden, the got another idea...





... they got Noah pretty good. :) (Notice his tomato-stained pants near the end of the clip)

Our Fairy Princess

Summer is coming to a close, and our little fairy princess has one more wish to make before the leaves start to change...

Joining the Mowing Force

Nevin recently joined our mowing team. :) He got into his mind that if he saved all of his money until he is 10 he'll be able to buy a $250 iPod touch, but in order to save his money he needs to be making some, so he asked Dad to teach him to run the John Deere. Dad happily obliged. The hardest part was getting the clutch down to start the tractor.

All on his own at last! :)

Another Annoucement...

We are happy to announce the engagement of Ashlee Rene Willeke to Daniel Franklin Wells. July 27th, 2009

Ooo My!

We never thought Anna would like this swing, but it was worth a try. Her excitement was priceless. Listen closely. :)

Independence Day Snap Shot Highlights

Aliza and her friend Olivia

Playing with the rocks by the water fountain was the highlight of entertainment for the girls.

Super Man Nevin

Nate and Annie

Nolan- happy as always.

Bootcamp and Basketball Bloopers

For nearly two weeks Nathan has been at U.S Naval Sea Cadet boot camp. He learned to make his bed every morning with military precision, to answer each question with "Yes, ma'am," or "No, ma'am," and to respond to each command with, "Ay, Ay, Sir."

The entire family drove to Camp Perry for the graduation Thursday afternoon, and were pleasantly surprised to see Nate as the guardsman for the American flag.

The reunion was sweet. Mom got a little teary-eyed, and we all laughed at Nathan's raspy, coarse voice, that seemed two tones deeper after shouting for days on end.

The Navy whites suited him well, and he looked super-handsome all dressed up.

We went out for dinner after the ceremony, and had a great time laughing and catching up- hearing crazy stories about fellow cadets trying to run away from camp despite being caught by commanding officers before they even exited the building; or listening to Nathan tell all about the rigorous physical training they went through twice a day.

We had a lot to fill Nate in on too: Michael Jackson died. Shaq joined the Cavs for a year. Obama's still president. He missed a lot.

While discussing the basketball situation in Cleveland, Angela looked surprised and said, "Wait, so we have Shaq and Michael Jordan?"
We laughed at her- even Dad, and corrected Jordan for James. "I'm sorry!" Angela laughed, "I just don't know baseball that well."

(Nate's the solider with the gun standing to the left of
the flagsman with the American flag)

DQ Delight

We had an adventure to Dairy Queen this evening. Nevin and Nolan used their own money to pay for their treats, and as generous older brothers they paid for Aliza and Anna as well.

Chocolate Extreme Blizzard- possibly our family's most frequently purchased blizzard

"Lick for lick" a family tradition. No free licks around here, you want a taste, you've gotta give one. Even Anna has caught on. Aliza wanted a taste of Anna's vanilla cone, and asked for a lick, leaning in to take it. Anna pulled away and said, "NO! Lick for lick." :-D

Last one standing...

It's Raining it's pouring

We've had a lot of rain recently... this picture was captured Sunday morning after church. She looked so picture perfect waiting for Daddy to pull up the Suburban.

Announcing the Engagement

Peter McCallum Hopkins and Angela Kathleen Willeke
(we're all thrilled ;-))

Springtime Serenity

Fresh air and flowers go hand-in-hand. One of the best things about living in the country, or really living with any type of yard is the dandy lions. :) (please note: "yard," not "lawn." There is a difference. The former welcomes dandy lions, the latter, which we have had our days of caring for, is like a high maintenance poodle) The yellow ones Aliza pulls, apart petal by petal singing, "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, & etc." but the fluffy white ones she blows into the wind with girlish birthday wishes for pink Volkswagen bugs and Cinderella glass slippers. Annie enjoys them too... but in another way. :)

Anna Sophia

Picking the flowers

Little piggy, eating the flowers.

Must have been a pretty big wish.

but yellow flowers are pretty too...


see?

Unlikely Visitor

We had a visitor not too long ago... she wandered into our front yard, probably from our neighbor's lake and spent the morning moving slowly across our front yard, which is quite a trek for legs of her size. :-)

Family Vacation!

We look a family vacation mid April, and had a blast. Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

Our first stop: Charlotte, NC (Ashlee enjoyed this trip best of all)

Day 2: Savannah, GA to see Mom's Uncle Jack and Aunt Patty, and visit a quaint Presbyterian church for Sunday morning woship.



After arriving in Orlando/Kissimmee Sunday night, we headed down to Lake Placid, FL to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Lake Placid is the city of murals, and we spent the afternoon enjoying these amazing paintings.

Our Pretty Mommy

All the boys :)

The Magic Kingdom! (doesn't Dad blend right in?)

Join the Dark Side! ;-)

Little Miss Sunshine

Trouble found his proper place. :-P

<3Angela<3

The whole gang! (you have no idea how hard it is to get all of us smiling...)

Our Little Princess