1ST FOOTBALL GAME

Andrew lives for football. EVERY morning he asks if football will be on TV..seriously -every morning. Saturday thru Monday is the happiest part of the week for him (and John!) (and as I type this I hear screaming from the lunch table as we're watching the Ohio State game~I hear chanting of O*H...I*O!!).

So-we signed him up for his 3rd season of flag football..and of course Biruki too.

Biruk really wanted to play baseball...but he has such a short attention span we thought he'd do better with a more fast paced game like football for his first season

**note -we thought he'd want to play soccer -but nope -he's good at soccer but at least right now has no desire to play it**

this kid surprised the heck out of us.

he just might be the next great running back!

just give him the ball -tell him to run- and off he goes.

this kid has wheels!

he had at least 2 break-away runs ~almost scoring touchdowns.

YAY Biruk!!


Andrew did great too -he's great at defense and almost caught a couple guys on their break-aways. I'll try to get some pics of him next week. :)

VACATION ~ DAY 3 ~GRAND CANYON!

If you haven't read about Day 2 or 1 of our vacation, scroll down thru the posts.

Sorry for the delay on this one! Life with 4 littles is crazy at times...add in trying to homeschool, trying to help 1 new little adjust to his new life here, AND 1 little struggling with her attachment issues (just a bit) once again...well, you get a mommy with very little time to update the blog. :)


Day 3 of our vacation in Northern Arizona took us to the Grand Canyon -or as John would say "the big hole in the ground".

It was beautiful...but we were there mid-day..and it was a bit warm....and the sun so bright, dare I say it ~but the colors in the Canyon were a bit washed out. We were told the best times to see the depth of beauty in the Canyon were at sunrise and sunset.

It was still beautiful and breath-taking and a monument to God's creativity and handiwork.

John and I could have sat and taken in the Canyon for hours...the kids not so much. :)

we actually got 1 of just the 2 of us! ~that never happens. :)

don't worry -they're not as close to the edge as it looks. :)

this one's going to Ethiopia for Biruk's 6mo. post placement next month! :)

on the road from the Canyon back to our hotel we saw our first and only glimpse of "wildlife" -a bull elk grazing. There was a female/cow elk by him but couldn't get a good shot of her.


The next 2 are actually from Day 4 ~we left the cabin pretty early Monday morning so as to avoid the heavy traffic from the holiday weekend.

It was a pretty chilly morning as you can see by the kids' winter gear. :)

We had a fantastic time. It was ALOT of work for mom and dad to put together ~but I think it was well worth it. :)

Lots of great memories were made and hopefully the kids will look back fondly on the trip!

VACATION ~ DAY 2

**scroll down to see Day 1 if you haven't already seen it**

Day 2 of the vacation started out with a lazy morning hanging around the cabin, then going on our first hike!

The forest was right behind the cabin's property so we just slipped under the fence and off we went.

the 2 boys were out front most of the time, blazing the trail

this is Becca pouting. About 10 minutes into the hike she started whining about returning to the cabin. Let's just say she didn't get her way as we were gone almost an hour and a half...partly cuz we told her the more she whined the further we'd go. :)

everything became a gun in Andrew's hands ~this is a random stick he picked up.
At 1 point in the hike he had 5 "guns" on him. :)

Becca pouting again. :)

daddy and his girls taking a rest

LOVE this shot of Elizabeth.
She's just so beautiful!

on our way back to the cabin both girlies got rides from their daddy.

here are the 2 horses that captivated the kids. Chief is on the left and Candy Bar on the right. Their corral was right behind our cabin and if we couldn't find the kids, we knew they were hanging out talking to the horses!

after the hike we had lunch, then headed to Williams, AZ ~a town that looks like it's from the movie C*ARS! and it IS right on Route*66!

The above & below pics are on the way from our cabin to Williams.

you might have to click on this to really see it ~but it's an old-time gas station

and one of the highlists of our trip ~an old time photo!

our little campfire

after roasting s'mores!

stay tuned for Day 3 ~the Grand Canyon!

VACATION! ~ Day 1

John has every other Friday off ~and his Friday off just happened to land on last Friday, making Labor Day Weekend a 4 day weekend for him

SO

we took advantage of his time off and headed to northern Arizona for some cooler weather and some fun times.

We took a ton of pics so I'll post them by days. :)


First stop on Day 1 was the Williams Deer Farm, where you could hand feed deer and see quite a few other animals as well

a little marmoset


feeding the deer ~they're filthy little beggars! They've obviously been conditioned to surround humans carrying cups ~knowing their feed is in those cups!

let me just say these were not the most gentle and docile animals ~if you didn't feed them they'd nip at your shirt and pants! my shirt and pants were FILTHY with little deer mouth marks by the end of our time there!

Biruk was a bit scared and Andrew just wasn't all that interested in feeding the deer ~so it was up to me and the girls!

the 1 teeny fawn we saw...it was always boxed out by the adult deer and we could never get close enough to hand feed it~but it was still adorable.

the llamas

several reindeer were there!

wallabies

she's our animal girl!

the kids standing in front of the bison (1 is behind Elizabeth's head)

petting the goat

we finally got Biruk to pet 1 of the deer!

our little cabin ~small but quaint and cozy

the living room/kitchen ~our King bed served as the couch for watching the satellite TV. :)

the "boys' " room

the girls' room


Day 2 is coming next! Hiking and an old time photo. :)