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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

First Teeth Cleaning

Scarlett got her first dental check up yesterday. She waited on pins and needles in the waiting room as she watched Sofia and then Grayson get called back. She was SO antsy for her turn. The hygienist said she did perfectly and had no trouble at all. We even got a copy of her little x-rays showing her baby teeth AND adult teeth (kind creepy looking). This is the prize bucket on her lap. She made out with bubbles, a ring, toothpast, floss, and an Ariel Princess toothbrush (surprise, surprise, right?).

Bear Hugs

We had our last "4th Sunday Dinner" at the Hardie house before Afton leaves for Texas. VERY sad. Afton had special presents for the kids. Grayson got a special Key that represents the key to Afton's heart, and the girls got little Cabbage Patch dolls whose names are Afton. Then Afton pulled out her big surprise...Months ago, Afton asked the kids (or their moms) what their favorite colors were so she could make them these special presents. The bow on top of each package represented that favorite color. Of course favorite colors tend to change (even in a months time apparently), but everyone was excited and didn't really care about colors anyway.

Scarlett with her red bear hug blanket
Sofia with her purple bear hug blanket
Grayson with his green bear hug blanket
Thank You AFTON!!
Amandine got orange and Thierry got baseballs. Honestly, this has to be the most creative idea I've seen in a long time. The kids already sleep with these every night. They are SO special to them already and are a perfect way to remember Afton when she's gone. We will miss her dearly and are already making tentative plans to vacation in Dallas.

Ninja Board Breaking! TANG SOO!

Grayson got to try his hand at board breaking during his Advanced Ninja class this past Friday. He was SO excited for it and talked about it all week long. I just hoped he'd be able to succeed...He was first in line. I was worried since he didn't get to see others do it first, but they practiced on their pads. One, Two, THREE!
Board broke on the first try. I think he surprised himself (wish I could have captured his face in the photo). Ms. Holly was SO proud.
So exciting!
A couple the kids needed to try a few times and some more needed help. We were SO proud of this little guy. He got to take home the board as a little keepsake.

Crazy Hair Day

That Hair Totally Rocks Dude!Koepsell had spirit week last week. Monday was "Crazy Hair Day". In years past it's been easy to throw Sofia's hair in crazy buns or wacky pony tails and clip a million bows in it, but we weren't quite sure what to do for boy hair. AHA! Spray hair color. We also had glitter in Sofia's, but it's harder to see. SUCH fun!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

When I grow up...

SO, I asked these two:

"What are you going to be when you grow up?"

Grayson: "I'm going to be a Train Engineer on Mondays and a doctor on Wednesdays and Fridays."
Mom: "What are you going to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"
Grayson: "Stay home!"

I LOVE how this guys thinks!

Scarlett: "I'm going to be a Princess Doctor"

I'm not too sure if she plans on becoming a princess who goes
to medical school or if she plans on becoming a doctor who specializes
in treating sick princesses. I think it may be the former. TOO funny!


Saturday, September 17, 2011

Down on the Farm - Blake's Apple Orchard and Cider Mill

Today, Tadj and I took the kids to the cider mill. Grayson, Scarlett, and I have gone together with preschool for the last 2 years. Scarlett and I will go again in a few weeks. But Tadj and Sofia haven't gotten to go in 3 years. That was sad. So we went. It was a BEAUTIFUL day (though a bit cloudy at first). We got there right at 10am because I figured a pretty day would draw a huge crowd. Luckily there were very few people there in the morning and we got to do a lot of stuff without a lot of hassle.First, we picked apples. A whole 1/2 bushel of them. That's a lot! I think we'll be eating them for a long time.
Don't ask me why my kids thought these poses were cute. They just did. Funny thing was, they each posed this way independently. None of them saw another one doing this. Must be a weird Hemingway trait. HA!

Tadj and the kiddos

Kids at the pumpkin patch. Check out Scarlett's gangsta stance. She looks ready to take these pumpkin pickin' skillz to the streets.
Me and my little darlings

Feeding a cute little baby goat. The big goats just liked to eat the cone the feed was served in, but this guy ate right out of our hands.

Sofia's tractor jumping skills
Gray's tractor jumping skills (he didn't land on his face, but this pic. looks like he might have).
Tricia and Nick just so happened to be going to Blakes today too, so we met up. We never get to see them anymore, so this was an extra special treat. Scarlett didn't leave Tricia's side all day.
We raced tricycles - Grayson won. Every time.




Check out that mean looking horse. YIKES! I've never met more friendly farm animals ;)
We climbed the straw mountain...



watched the guys make cider and donuts...

rode the tractor train...

let Scarlett have the camera (hahaha!)...
and ended the day with a hayride.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I LOVE the autumn colors, the apples, the pumpkins, and the cool, crisp air. I'm SO happy to live in Michigan where this season is especially beautiful.

Tang SOO! Gray gets his Yellow Belt

Grayson tested last week to advance and earn his Yellow belt. He will remain in his Advanced Ninja's class with Ms. Holly until he earns his Orange belt (probably another 6 mos.). This was a particularly difficult test because he had to do his first basic form. It was hard, and all the kids made mistakes, but that was ok. They will get better with more practice.Ms. Holly is Grayson's instructor. She's been working hard with these little guys (and gals) and it's paying off.

Jeff Jackson is the one putting Grayson's belt on. He's one of Shaun's assistants and a good friend of Uncle Chris and Aunt Rachel's. He and all his kids go to PKSA too.

The other 3 kids were A.j. and Vincent (brothers) and Zoe. They've all been with Grayson since he was a "Little" Ninja. They are the first class of Ninja program to earn their Yellow belts. We're proud of all of them.