Goggle Eyes

Hope is always trying to do what she sees the bigger kids do. Earlier today the boys were having a war with their nerf guns. The rule in our house is that if they are going to shoot at each other, they have to wear goggles so no one's eyes will get hurt. Hope didn't want to be left out. So, when the boys were finished with their war, she had me put some goggles on her. She walked around the house for about 20 minutes with them on. It looked very uncomfortable, but she was pretty proud of herself.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a busy day today. We started off by going to the early service at church. We headed home and gave Hope a quick nap. From there we headed back to church for a potluck with our church's Orphan and Adoption ministry. And then we finally headed to Meijer Gardens to check out their pumpkins. There were also some Art Prize exhibits that we were able to check out. It was a perfect fall day.

All four kiddos


Our family


Hope


Samuel


Mary Kate working hard to eat her apple

Art Prize

On Saturday, the 6 of us headed downtown to enjoy the second annual Art Prize event. My alma mater was hosting an alumni event, so we were able to mingle with some people I graduated college with and then we headed out to see some art. I have never seen downtown so busy. There was a lot of energy. It's really a great event.



Micah


Mary Kate


Hope and Mommy

Mary Kate Goes to the Dentist

Do not let the pictures fool you. Mary Kate did NOT have fun at the dentist. This was her first trip and I thought I had prepared her well. Apparently not. She screamed a lot and very loudly. The hygenist was only able to count her teeth and brush them with a toothbrush. Mary Kate was not about to let any dental equipment in her mouth. I can't wait to repeat the experience in 6 months...

First Day of School

Yesterday was Micah's first day of school. He is in the first grade this year. He was not looking forward to school starting, but ended up having a great time. In fact, when I picked him up from school today, he said, "I love, love, LOVE the first grade!!" So, I think he's adjusting well. Here's a picture of him from his first day of school:



Samuel started kindergarten today. He was so excited. He has been counting down the days since the beginning of August. I had originally signed him up for the section of kindergarten that meets every morning. However, once Hope arrived home, we realized that she naps everyday from 11 - 1, which would have made it impossible for me to pick up Samuel from school. So, I ended up switching him to all day M-W-F. He was exhausted when I picked him up from school today. He said he really liked kindergarten, but it lasted too long. Bless his heart. Good thing he can rest and relax on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Here is a picture of him on his first day of school:



Today also marked Samuel's first time riding a school bus. He was so excited. Here is a picture of Micah, Samuel and our neighbor, Esther, waiting for the bus:



And here are Micah and Samuel sitting on the bus together:



The boy's school has smart boards in the classroom. When Samuel arrives at school, he is supposed to find his name and drag it into position to let his teacher know he has arrived. Here is a picture of him practicing with his teacher:



I think we are off to a great year!!

Last Hurrah

We were able to head to Lake Michigan for a week before school started. We had beautiful weather the first four days out there. It was hot and sunny... perfect for the beach. The boys had so much fun playing in the water with Mike. Mary Kate mostly dug in the sand and Hope was a combination. We had such a nice time.

A family picture of the 6 of us


Hope is proudly sporting her American pride


The boys are posing with our new kite in the background. We bought the kite in China, but I don't think we realized how scary the face looked.


Mary Kate pretending to surf


Micah and Hope playing together


The four kids enjoying popsicles


Mike took the boys fishing one morning while I took the girls to the Social Security office to officially change Hope's name.


The boys caught snapping turtles and we have even kept one for a pet


Overall, it was a great week!