Christmas Marathon!

So, as always, our Christmas is filled with LOTS of activity! We actually call it our Christmas Marathon! Suprisingly, our kids do amazingly well! So, here are a few pictures from all our celebrations!

It all starts at my Grandma and Grandpa Glass' for Christmas Eve and a visit from "Santa." Liliana wasn't so sure about the big man!


Next we go to Drew's family for more fun with all his cousins! We stay up and open presents at midnight - not a minute earlier!


The next celebration is about 7 and 1/2 hours later, in the morning at our house. Liliana got a baby, stroller, playpen, new slippers, and some Dora balls, bat, and glove.

Ethan got more Power Ranger stuff (again!) that he loved, and a game!

After Christmas morning at our own house, we head to my parents for breakfast and more presents. All the kids had fun opening their presents and then playing Grandpa's Wii !

But, Liliana really needed a nap before our next stop!

The next stop was for lunch at G-pa and G-ma Izzy's house! There was LOTS of YUMMY food there, and fun presents too!

This is where Drew was surprised with a Wii of his own!

The final stop was for dinner at Cisco and Erin's house (Drew's brother). By the end of the night, we were all ready to go home, relax, and play with our new toys!

It was a wonderful Christmas!

First time sledding and putting up the Christmas tree!

Last Sunday we went sledding by my parents' house. Ethan and Keith liked it a lot, but Liliana wasn't so sure about it. Then on Monday, I stayed home with the kids, and we put up the tree. Both of the kids loved it! Liliana was especially proud when she got the ornaments to stay! This is going to be a wonderful Christmas season!

Ethan and Keith were going down on their stomachs!

Yeah! I did it!

Ethan putting the angel on top!

Say "CHEESE!"

Winter Fun!

First real snow of the year! Ethan was SUPER excited, and Liliana didn't know exactly what to think! We'll see if Michigan winters grow on her or not...

Halloween and Fall Fun!

So, it seems like the holiday are quickly approaching now that soccer season and Halloween have passed. For soccer, Ethan had a great 1st season! He played well for most of the games, but we knew he could do better, and he hadn't scored a goal yet. So, we bribed him the last game! We told him that if he made a goal, we'd buy him a new power ranger. IT WORKED! He played awesome and made a goal! Needless to say, he was a happy boy (and we were quite proud parents)!
For Halloween, the kids went to school with me all day. Our whole school went to the movie theatre, which turned into Lili's first bus ride and movie! We then went back to school for lunch and holiday parties! They had a lot of fun, and both of them slept all the way home! We quickly got some dinner and went out for trick-or-treating! Liliana was a bumblebee and Ethan was Bumblebee from Transformers. They were both so cute, and they both thoroughly enjoyed the festivities!
Today we spent some time outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and the big pile of leaves across the street! Now we prepare for the holiday season. Ethan keeps all eyes on advertisements and is constantly adding to his list! Hopefully we can get him to remember the real reason we celebrate!

Time is flying by!

So, we've already been in school for over a month, we're taking the MEAPS in about 10 hours, Ethan is completely used to school and still loving it, his last soccer game is this Saturday, and Liliana gets more and more personality (and attitude) every day! WOW! This fall has been flying by!

Go Irish!



Pumpkinfest!



Ethan showing how far he can jump! Yep, he's gettin' older!

As Drew said today, "She adds a little spunk to the family!"

Signs of fall

So, school has started. That's a big sign of fall, I suppose. The year is going well so far. I have 24 students, and it's a great bunch! I also have a student teacher, which is a big help! Ethan is loving kindergarten, especially getting to ride the bus and sometimes having 3 recesses! He is also playing soccer. For the first game he was extremely shy and didn't do much, but his second game was very different. He was getting in there and kickin' the ball hard! Thank goodness, because Drew had a really hard time watching the 1st game :O) Liliana is continuing to grow like crazy, and really running all over, especially if it means away from me!

A picture of my class - missing 1




Ethan getting off the bus on a day I actually got to pick him up!



Lili lookin' cute!



Ethan at soccer practice!



My kiddos at the park!

Bubbles in the Bath

Ethan, being the great big brother he is, has taught Liliana how to blow bubbles in the bath tub! They both think it's great!

Michigan Adventure

Drew's company picnic was at Michigan Adventure, but he didn't want to go because Notre Dame was on! So, Ethan and I went with our neighbors - his best buddy, Nate, and my fellow teacher friend, Katie. It was a great day!





Ethan and Nate after their first roller coaster ride!
They liked it!

A small ride, but the result was BIG smiles and laughs!

On the Mad Mouse!

Ethan, being a little stud driving Mommy around
in a cool car!

Some other favorite summer pics

In the last days of summer, we stayed busy with Drew's family! We went to the beach one last time. We also hung out at his mom's house where the kids enjoyed the slip-n-slide for hours! Ethan, Liliana, and I went for a bike/rollerblade to Helder Park, which is about a 5 mile round-trip. Ethan is also starting soccer, which really tells me that fall is here!






Her hair is finally long enough to put up! YEAH!


My kiddos at the park - so cute together!

Ethan playing in his first game ever!


Liliana "watching" her big brother

Fall is here - cheer, cheer for old notre dame!

Ethan is in kindergarten!

Ethan before his first day!

Getting on the bus!

At the end of the day - big smiles!

Ethan doing his first homework assignment!