New Years at the ranch.....

 New Years at the ranch is always lots of fun! It has been pretty cold...but not too cold to ride in Mom's new CanAm 'toy'. The kids were so excited to ride in the Oldsmobile 

(Mom's new name for it). Mom and I were in the front and it was cold!!

 We made the kids take their annual river pic in the cave. It was a bit hard trying to get them all to smile and look normal. But..it's better than nothing! Lined up the same way every year....I just love this picture!!! Love seeing how much they have grown and changed each year. 

Christmas 2018....

 The annual cousin pic in front of Shirley's tree! :) We went to the Christmas Eve service and then back to her house for dinner and presents. It's always loud and chaotic with 7 kids. The big presents for the kids were a Virtual Reality headset, James Avery rings and a gift card and a laser tag set for Joshua and Christopher to share. The boys had so much fun playing!!

 

Christmas morning at our house brought lots of fun! 

 All 3 were beyond excited to get their top gifts!! I love the look on their faces!!! Jake got an Iphone XR. Sophia got an Apple watch. And Joshua got a semi automatic 22.

Later in the morning we went to Mom's to exchange gifts with her and have lunch. Overall it was a great Christmas. Seeing the kids expressions when they opened the Santa bag was priceless!!

Caroling Fun....

 Joshua's friend Patrick had a caroling party this year. There were about 15 kids from their grade and they had a blast caroling and then doing a white elephant exchange.  

Go Pack Go!!!!

Mike and I went for a quick 3 day trip to Green Bay with John and Lisbeth Anne. It was so much fun and a much needed get away! We flew into Milwaukee and drove to Appleton (which is about 2 hours away). There's not a lot to do there but we did have a very nice dinner at Vince Lombardi's Steak House. 

The game was a lot of fun. Lambeau is an experience!! It was super cold, but we had bundled and layered enough that it was not too bad. We had great seats on the 45 yard line. It's such a small stadium that all the seats are good. Packer won against Atlanta (whew!!!) and then the Cowboys won later that evening...so everyone went to bed happy!

First Deers!!!

 Both boys shot their first doe this season. They were so excited! And our freezer is beyond full!!

Jake shot his with Mike when they were at the ranch in October. Joshua got his over Thanksgiving and I was in the blind with him (so I got a bunch of pics!!). 

Ranger Danger....

This guy has brought a lot of happiness to our family. He is such a cutie and wants to be a part of everything. He always watches us as we drive away....

Flag Football

 Joshua played flag football again this year. He loves it!!! It was the same league as last year, but they switched up teams a little. He and Robert had so much fun playing together. His team went undefeated the whole season!!! They were so excited to earn their trophies after the last game!

Volleyball Team....

 Sophia worked so hard during volleyball season! We are so proud of her. She made the A team. Has never missed a morning practice. And has complained very very little about all the early mornings and juggling of band, volleyball and school work. She has made new friends and has really come a long ways with her volleyball skills!

 The MAC Golf Team has been a good for Jake. It gives him a group of friends and he loves to play. There are only 2 other freshman boys on the team. They have had 3 tournaments so far. 

 

 This was the night parade at Mactober Fest. Jake was marching 

with the team. All the kids seemed to have a great time!

5th and 7th..

They still send home school pictures in 5th and 7th. 9th grade...not so much! Hopefully Jake got his picture taken so he can be in the year book!

Beach Bound....

 Labor Day weekend we headed to Port A with Mom, Mary and the kids. It was a little bit hectic getting down there! The end of a long first week and not much time to organize or pack...but we made it! We stayed in this neat house that had a small private pool with a "play" area underneath the house and came with a golf cart. We rented a second golf cart so we could fit everyone. 

As usual...we had to hit our favorite store! 

 

 We went crab hunting both nights, but the second night was the best!! We caught a bunch. AND....Sophia caught this monster. We'd never seen one like this before. 

 

  The boys found a ton of fun hermit crabs in shells in the water. Lots of big ones that we've never found before. Later they "relocated" the crabs to other places and kept the shells!

Overall it was a super fun weekend. It might be a little crazy getting ready to head south, but once we are there, it's always worth it!!!

End of Summer....Beginning of School!!!!

 The group of Northwood kids had an end of summer pool party the day before school. So hard to believe these kids are going to be freshman!!! They've been together since Kindergarten. It's such a great group of kids!!!!

And then the first day of school came.....

No group picture before school. This is our one year of 3 schools. 3 start times, 3 dismissal times....and a whole lot of Mom trying to juggle it all!!!!! 

It's our last year at Northwood. Joshua got the teacher we hoped for...March Hildebrand (that Jake and Sophia both had). We love her! 

Sophia was up and agreed to a picture with Sophia. :) Our 5th and 7th grader!!!

 

This was all I got from the 9th grader! 

And we took at quick pic as he and Jonah walked into Mac for the first time. It seems SO big!!! I am worried and excited for him at the same time. He seems fine with making the jump to highschool! 

It's always a big sigh of relief to get them all out the door on the first day. And then I get to wonder all day how they are doing...and hope for a good report when I pick them up!