September

Jack dressed like Sasha and Sasha dressed like Jack.

Hot tub is still one of the kids favorite things to do.

Sasha has "create" time at school every day where she can construct things out of recycled items.  Here she is modeling her bird wings.

One night Phil and I found Jack sleeping like this.

Sasha likes soccer a lot still.  She so badly wanted to score a goal in a game and her dream came true the last half of the last game of the season.  Yay, Sasha!

On Jack's birthday we brought cupcakes in to his preschool class. 

He was so pleased to have us all there for his "birthday circle" where Ms. Cate lit a candle for him and all the kids went around and said one thing they wished for Jack.  Then they sang a crazy birthday song.

Jack tore into his gifts.  He loved the legos, baseball and bat, and archery set.

Phil came through again with his cake decorating skills.

Jack had some of his favorite foods for his birthday dinner:  brats, chips, olives, tomatoes, pickles, cucumbers, and carrots.

Phil retrieved this lovely light up light saber from under a heavy iron grate after Jack spotted in the hole underneath.  Jack's lucky day!

Rainbows are a dime a dozen in New Mexico this time of year. 

Just a funny picture...

One weekday we ate dinner early and drove up into the mountains which turn gold for a couple weeks at the end of the month.

August

After Michigan the kids and I took a Midwest road trip home with my mom and dad.  Our first stop was Essenhaus Restaurant in Middlebury where ate our dinner inside an Amish buggy (one of my favorite childhood memories).  It was here that both kids discovered that they love lima beans of all things!  They cheer every time I make them at home now.

We went to a lovely cook-out, pool get together with my good college friends Mandy, Lisa, and Tara and their families.

We then drove on to Wooster, Ohio to see my 95-year-old Grandma Yoder, Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Mel.  We also made an overnight stop in Chelsea, Michigan to see Aunt Char and Uncle Burdette but I somehow didn't get any pictures there. 

Next was Indianapolis where I spent an afternoon with 2 good friends from nursing school, Sarah and Jill.

Sasha and Jack loved swimming in Jill's pool and playing with the other kids.

We spent the night with Teresa, Joe and the boys who had just moved to Carmel a week before.  It was here that Jack picked up hand, foot, mouth disease which we carried unknowingly back to New Mexico.  I'm not sure how many friends and relatives we were able to connect with on this trip but it seemed like a lot! 

We spent two 12-hour days in the car driving home from Indianapolis.  One small detour was to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead in Mansfield, Missouri.  The kids did amazingly well for such a long trip.  It was also such a gift to get to spend that much quality time with my mom.

Sasha before her first day of first grade.

Jack missed the first 3 days of school due to the aforementioned hand, foot, mouth disease which was a week of agony for the poor little thing.  He couldn't eat or drink due to the multiple blisters coating the inside of his lips and tongue.  This was his first day of school.

Sasha made these delicious chocolate chip muffins for her soccer team when it was her turn to provide snack.

Pre-concert smile.

Michigan 2014

Another great vacation at Lake Michigan and Portage Lake.  The first few days included a larger Smucker reunion with all of Grandpa Jon's siblings, many of Phil's cousins and their kids.  The weather was superb for the 10 days we were there.

Testing to see if the homemade icecream is stiff enough to stop cranking.

Jack loved jet-skiing this year.

Sasha and Lydia chilling on the beach

Climbing Sand Mountain down the road from where we stay

This year was special because it was the first that Grandpa Jon had his big sailboat on the water. 

Sasha likes a good beach read.

Although Jack still takes regular naps at home, they were sporadic up in Michigan.

The annual trip to the bakery in Frankfort

Resting in the cabin of the big sailboat.

Grandma planned a fun T-shirt decorating activity one morning.

We ate dinner at a lovely restaurant called Arcadia Bluffs that overlooks Lake Michigan. 

Sasha got up on waterskis for the first time!  She popped right up on the first try and skied around the lake. 

Best picture ever of Grandpa Jon!

Cousins with new t-shirts

Catching a beautiful sunset from the lighthouse on the pier.