2015 Christmas Season

Dear Leah and Logan,

Happy New Years 2016!!    After a busy fall, things didn't slow down much for our 2015 Christmas.  First, you guys continue to do well juggling 2 different schools throughout the week, and I always look forward to getting your daily progress reports.

I guess you could say your Christmas officially started when Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause visited our Muirwood subdivision. When we arrived, most of the other kids had left 'Breakfast with Santa' so our entire family got some extra time.  Logan, you were pretty shy, and Leah you told Santa you wanted 'unicorns and trumpets'.   We then ate breakfast and went home and took naps. (You guys had just played your last soccer game so it was a busy morning!)

You had a couple Christmas parties at your schools, and Stonebrook had a book exchange the week before Christmas.  You first family gathering was at Aunt Amanda's and Uncle Shane's. Your cousins Judson, William, & Emily were there and played with you all afternoon. Nana and Dennis had some big news as Dennis asked your Nana to get married. She said yes.  You came home with a bag full of presents.

THEN...came Christmas morning!   The theme of this Christmas can be summed up in 'Dinosaurs' (lots of them) and one big giant doll house.    You guys spent the morning playing with all your new toys, including Bop-It! and a bunch of new playdough.  That afternoon we went over to Grandpa's new house in Columbia, TN, and had a huge dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Daniela. Uncle Justin showed up just in time for dinner too!

I just want to remind you 2 how blessed we are to have all that we do around the holidays...and that includes family, gifts, great food, and special memories.


I love you both, and I'm excited to see what 2016 has in store for us.


Love,
Daddy


1/3/16

Fall Activities 2015

Dear Leah and Logan,

You 2 had a really busy fall!!  The fun started on Halloween when we hosted a pumpkin carving party. Not only did we carve pumpkins, but Tiffany, Ian, Cadence, Bobby, and Tina all came over too! It ended up being a big pizza and pumpkin party! 

A week later, it was Halloween.  One of you was a ferocious T-rex dinosaur and the other was a rainbow unicorn princess. I'll let you decide who was who. :)

Leah, you and I also did another Spartan race- this one was in Clarksville, TN.  We were kind of late getting there, so me and you sprinted to the starting line and got you over the fence just in time. You were a Spartan champ once again! Another medal!

 

Next, we hosted a family party for the Michigan State (Go Green! Go White!) versus Michigan (boooo!) football game. It was a great game that ended in a miracle finish. You 2 didn't really watch the game, but you did holler 'Go Green-Go White!' a lot, and that made grandpa happy.  But if you google Michigan State punt block 10/17/15, you'll get to see what we were so happy about after the game-great family picture!


After that, you 2 started a brand new school at Stonebrook, which now has you going to school 5 days a week. You go to Lascassas Baptist on Tuesday and Thursday, and then you

MSU 27 UofM 21, 10/17/15

go to Stonebrook on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. All of your teachers love you, and you love going to school! You both have also adjusted to our new house's schedule very well (Mommy got a new job).


To close out this fall, I signed you up for both up for soccer in a program called Happy Feet. It was indoor soccer and you both played and practiced together every Saturday with Coach Julie. Logan, you did great for your first time playing, although I need to get you to stop tackling the other kids :)

I'm glad you 2 are so active, and I'm very grateful we get to do so many things with so many great friends and family.

Love,


Daddy


11/25/15

Family Reunion: Summer 2015

Dear Leah and Logan,

I almost forgot to post about our family reunion this summer at the cabin!!  The cabin is in Weidman,

Michigan, about an hour north of where Gi-Gi lives.

We got to Michigan on Friday, July 17, 2015. People who also came were Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike, Uncle Caleb, Gi-Gi, Aunt Karen & Uncle Jim, Rachel and her boys Isaac and Lucas, Courtney, Kathryn, Sharyn, Aunt Mary & Uncle Dev, Aunt Patti & Uncle Bruce, Matt, Patrick, Aunt Dee Dee, and a few boy friends and girlfriends of people.

The whole event started out with some excitement when we found a family of mice in the fire pit and a snake in the wood pile....then we put them in bucket and all the kids just watched them play for an hour.

We had such a great week after that too.

We went to the beach.

We made lots of camp fires.

We rode Uncle Jim's 4 wheelers.

We went fishing with Grandpa.

We went on hikes.

We made lots of S'mores.

We slept in a tent.

We played in bubbles and with bubble guns.

We threw rocks in the pond.

We caught butterflies.

We had so many stories and so many laughs, and I'm glad you got some quality time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins from Grandma's side of the family. Plus, you guys were really good on the road trip too!  When we left Michigan, we got to have a picnic lunch near a playground with Grandma. It was a perfect ending to a perfect week.

I'll include a bunch of pictures so you can always remember the week!

Thanks for an amazing family reunion!

Love,

Daddy

A Fabulous Father's Day

Dear Leah and Logan,

Going into 2015 Father's Day weekend, my only goal was to have a relaxing weekend with the family. We didn't have any plans, so it looked like a great time to just be lazy. That changed in a hurry.

First, we got an invite from the Tucker family to join them at the Nashville Sounds baseball game that Saturday night. You 2 didn't watch a lot of baseball, but the brand new stadium sure was nice. Plus, you got to eat a lot of junk food, including ice cream from helmets. And who could forget the ride on the yellow bus?

The fun didn't stop there,  though. Sunday we talked Mama into braving the elements and going to the zoo (it was 100 degrees that day). So we loaded up on gatorade and water, and we went to the Nashville Zoo.

We saw all the animals and drank 7 slushies! Mama got some great pictures and joined you two in the tunnel to see the marmets up close and she also helped you feed the parrots. My favorite part was the battling flamingos. Let's also not forget the reptile and creepy crawly house, which keeps big spiders, lots of fish, and even snakes.

A great day, even with the heat!

We were all tired when we got home, but Mama and Julia decided to go say hi to Pappy on Father's Day. So, we added another road trip to our weekend, and went to Centerville, Tn, to see Grandma and Grandpa! They were very surprised,  and Grandpa had grilled enough food for 12 people...so we ate well, too. We definitely made Grandpa's day!

Thanks for a great Father's Day... I'm very proud of both of you!

Love,

Daddy

July 2015

Laughing Logan

Dear Leah and Logan,

Summer 2015 is here! But I just wanted to share a video from 2 years ago. This is Logan laughing like crazy in the car while big brother Layne instigates. Logan's laugh is precious.

Love,
Daddy

6/15/15

Recipe for a Perfect Easter

Dear Leah & Logan,

I'm a month late, but I wanted you to remember what a great Easter 2015 we had. We went to Grandma's house in Centerville, and the fun started as soon as we got there! On Saturday, we were outdoors almost all day, and Grandpa made us a bonfire that evening. And that meant S'mores for everybody.

Then on Sunday, the kites came out!! Grandpa showed us that if you keep adding string, the kite can go into the atmosphere. The day was a

perfect combo of sunny and windy for kite flying, and I think you both walked 2 miles through the fields as you followed your kite around.


As it turned out, while you were flying kites, the Easter Bunny showed up!! The colored eggs were everywhere in Grandma's yard and garden. You two, however, used completely different strategies for getting your eggs. Leah, you used speed and 'quantity over quality.' You ran from egg to egg as quickly as you could and through them in your basket just as quickly. Logan, you spotted an egg, jogged to, set your basket down, opened your egg, then tasted its contents. All that before you proceeded to the next egg. The number of eggs in your baskets at the end of the hunt reflected your contrasting styles.



Overall, a really fun weekend that a little bit of camping with a whole lot of eating and Grandma and Grandpa time.

I love you two,
Love,

Daddy

Atlanta Trip and Junior Spartans

Dear Leah and Logan,


Spring weather means road trips :) Let that be a lesson for you...never be afraid to just get in the
car and go somewhere!

We drove to Atlanta this past weekend to see Uncle Caleb. Grandma and Grandpa rode with us, and we had great weather!!

We arrived in Atlanta Friday afternoon, and walked up the street to find a place for dinner. We found a place called Metro Cafe that Uncle Caleb had never heard of. Leah had a giant 'breakfast for
dinner', and Logan, you were just 'typical Logan in restaurant'...terrible. :)

Then it got really fun. We went down to the hotel pool, and pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves. We swam and swam until the pool closed, and by that time, everyone was so tired.

Saturday morning we all got up early and took a small road trip to Centennial Olympic Park so we could all do Spartan Race. Leah, we registered you at the last minute, and you had so much fun! You team up with a 'green team' of girls and ran the race with them. You were so proud of your medal!

Then Daddy, Uncle Mike, Uncle Caleb, and Grandpa, ran our own Spartan Race, and got even muddier than Leah did.

Everyone survived the day...even Grandma who walked 13 miles with you two.

Saturday night was pizza by the pool and more swimming. Uncle Mike joined us this time and you guys played racing games with him until we were all prunes.

Really fun weekend as you can tell by all the pictures.

Spring time is here, and I plan on being outside every nice day with you both!!!

Love,

Daddy
3/9/15