the basketball party

Friday,  November 1st - 12:30pm (they had a half day), the basketball party madness began.

Table set, ready for pizza lunch.

Orange Gatorade to fuel them up.

pom poms for the cheerleaders.

Andrew through his 8 sweet years.

Popcorn at the ready, in case we had to implement a rain plain (basketball movie in the basement)

The basketball cake.

 Some of the crew eating lunch.

The Lord was very sweet to us.  15 minutes of post lunch play in the basement proved to be more than enough.  Despite a rainy forecast, the skies cleared mid-day, and the sun came out!  Which meant we were able to proceed with our plans to go the the Beauvoir Outdoor playground.

It's incredible - so much to explore and discover.

The zip line.

Collecting rocks in the creek bed.

And finally some actual basketball on their amazing court.

It was a perfect 65 degree day.

Why not play foursquare.

And ride a trike.

A cave which makes for the perfect scene for many great adventures.

Back home for cake and ice cream.

Will milked the attention from his two special friends (as he calls them), Lilly and Gracie.

Happy birthday boy, with his new buddy Elijah.

Andrew, discovering and watching you grow over the past 8 years has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of our lives.  Words can't even begin to express how much we love and treasure you.  We pray that the Lord would continue to shape and mold you, to give you his heart for people, and use the incredibly creative and bright mind he's given you for his glory.  We love you!

Andrew turns 8, Halloween, and Dave turns ??

Wow, I'm way behind.  The end of October was a blur. A fun blur, but a blur none the less.  We had lots of fun celebrating Andrew's big day.

The celebrating started a day early, when Andrew and mom got to go to a DC United Soccer game with Hunter and Aunt Ginnie (and Hunter's Vienna, VA soccer team).  Here he is meeting one of the players.

Cheering them on.  This, he said, was one of the best days ever.

 Aunt Ginnie hooked him up with a DC United Soccer ball, which he was beyond amazing to him.

And then we came home to a big birthday surprise - Daddy and some YCF friends were building a tree fort!!  How much better can it get?!?  And his real birthday wasn't even here yet!

We started his day with cinnamon rolls (his absolute favorite thing to eat at this moment).

Reading Grandpa Jack and Grandma Kathy's card, and opening their present (a skateboard!!).

 Cupcakes at school with his sweet class.  And then after school, big birthday surprise #2 - Daddy had created a geo-cache in honor of Andrew!  Titled "Andrew's Gold", it's located in the park behind the townhome we lived in when we was born.

That evening we did dinner (tacos - birthday boy's request) and cake with family.

 I think Will was the most excited for cake.

 Present time!

We love our Monie.

Trying out his skateboard for the first time!  Mom was a little nervous.

This guy is a natural.

Will was very impressed.

He only fell once. 

And sadly, this is the ONLY picture I took on Dave's birthday.  We enjoyed an incredibly fun night out with Chris, Ginnie, Hannah, the Choi's, and Brian Lee at a Jason Ramirez/Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors concert (at the Hamilton in DC - GREAT venue!).

And then came Halloween!  This year we had 2 ninja's and a monkey.

 Daddy with his crazies, and then with our sweet neighbor Cathy who just moved away.

And then that night we had our annual YCF pumpkin carving party!  Since it fell on Halloween this year, we got to throw costumes into the mix.  This night was so much fun.

The Mario Cart race.  Seriously hilarious.

 Just a few of the pumpkins.  

The next day we had Andrew's birthday party - because why not throw one more thing into our week?  That party is a post of it's own ;).

Fall!

Wow, lots to catch up on!  September flew by with settling back into school, soccer, starting up weekly Bible studies, starting up retreat planning, getting involved with helping seniors with college applications at a school in SE DC, weekend conferences, and Presbytery.  October has been packed full so far with weddings, a ycf retreat, and little bit of Fall fun.

Here's some of what we managed to capture in pictures:

Soccer!

Will took a class with a few of his old preschool buddies.

Caden got to be on a team with his best bud Douglas.

 Doughnuts afterwards, whenever possible.

Andrew typing up his first school report (all on his own).  Notice the topic, which he chose :).

Fun visits at school with the fire department.

Fun birthday parties, 

Especially Nathan's.

Laser tag in action.

Andrew holding a snake at his buddy William's party.

Wow.

YCF Fall retreat!  We joined them in West Virginia for a night.  A WET, wonderful weekend together.  And our boys have discovered ping pong.

Talking to Grandma Kathy on the phone.

Apple picking!!

Hunting for the ripe apples.

Andrew with one of his best buds, Auberon.

Daddy always gives the best rides.

Jumping in hay, and pouting.

We'll enjoy these for months.

Finding the perfect pumpkin.

Perfect.

Hayride!

We've had a few special weddings (and one more coming up).

The first, Tommy and Abigail.

Will got to be a ring bearer, and Abby the flower girl.  

We couldn't have been more excited!

They practiced well the night before.

I mean really, can you stand it?

Ready to go.

Precious.

Making his way.

He made it.

Love this couple.

So proud.

These two were absolutely hilarious all night.

 Chillin.

 Who knows.

 The vanity fair shot.

A little mid wedding stroll to the White House (just 2 blocks away).

What an insanely wonderful night!

And just this last weekend, Dave got to officiate the wedding of Joanna and Stephan - some of our dearest family friends.

It was an incredibly intimate, and special night.

 Signing the marriage license - Dave was so honored to be a part of it.

Next week is gearing up to be nutty - Andrew and Dave's (and Chris') birthdays, Halloween.  

Lots of fun coming our way.  And then I'll be happy to see November arrive :).