Happy 9th Birthday, Lillian, September 27th

 Lily wanted an art party.  Her cake was adorable with all kinds of colorful, artistic decorations.

 The kids all painted a canvas to take home with them.  It was so fun to see them working so hard on a project.

 I love to get pictures of the kids blowing out their birthday candles.

Presents are another favorite.  She got so many fun things for her birthday.  It is fun to turn 9!  So very thankful for this girl, her friendship with Elli, and her family.

 He loved the donkeys, well all animals really.

 Their shirts say "I'm the biggest pumpkin" and "I'm the middle pumpkin."  I used these shirts to tell my family we were going to have a baby.

 Elli must have had a role in teaching Micah to love animals.  She too has loved animals her whole life.

 Micah was trying to feed the horses.  Look how sweetly he is trying to get this horse to eat the grass he has.

 The kids all rode these barrels.  Even little Oliver rode all by himself.

 Elli was so cute in this little outfit with the pumpkins all around her I couldn't help but take her picture.

 Wesley had to try out his pumpkin before buying it:)

 We all jumped on a hayride to the pumpkin patch.  We just may have to go back the Schappager Farms next year.

 Why did we let the kids lead the way through the corn maze?  We made it out, eventually.

 I forgot to mention that Micah was too scared to ride by himself.  Not sure why, but he loved it once I got in with him:)

 There were a few dogs on this farm as well.  Look how big this dog is!!!!

 Micah and Elli each wanted a pumpkin cookie.  Messy but yummy.

 Mmmm, delicious.

 Great day and perfect weather.

 Trying to get all the kids together is a near impossibility.

Papa was enjoying the donkeys too.
The only sad part about today was that Heather and Gary couldn't make it.

September 23rd, Lindy is in town!

 Elli sitting with Josiah and Lorien.  We went out to the Beam's farm for a camp fire cook out.  The mosquitoes literally ate us alive so we had to cut the outdoor part a little short, but the visit was great.

 Sweet little Elijah.

 Micah was so excited to roast hot dogs on the fire.  he was simply fascinated with it.

 We managed a few roasted marshmallows outside before vacating the territory of the mosquitoes, but made the rest inside.  Delicious.

I sure do treasure moments with this lady.  Thankful for a friendship like this one.

Saturday, Sept 20, Xenia Community Festival (formerly known as Old Fashioned Days)

 These two were anxiously awaiting the start of the parade.  Love their little heads turned to the side as the parade begins to make its way down the road.

 Brent couldn't come but we enjoyed this morning together.

 Mom was able to join us. We had a great time!

Near the end of the parade, but one more "weee-ooo-weee-ooo."  He was so excited.  One of the best parts of the parade was the dogs on hogs.  It was a group of motor-cylclists with their pomeranian puppies riding with them.

Friday Nights Together, September 19th

 We wanted to video this game of duck-duck-goose because the last time they all played it, Gloria and Micah got into a cat fight!  We laughed so hard:)  This time was fun, but no super awesome displays.

 Somehow the kids all managed to leave the game, but the moms were still playing?  Hehehe

 Sweet Francine figuring out how to spin herself around on this toy.

Wish this was a better picture, but at one point, all of the kids were focused on Brent's ability to play with the tractors:)  We sure do love our time together.

Sunflower Fields, September 16

 We decided to meet Brent after he golfed at the sunflower fields close to Young's.  Cuties.

 Micah was very curious about the flowers and wanted touch/pick/chop at all of them.

 Elli was a little less thrilled after smelling this one and discovering tons of bees!

 Elli was trying to warn Micah about the bees.

 Family picture.

 Just the two of us.  This doesn't happen too often.

 Elli and Madilynn- the girls.

 Cody, Caleb and Micah- the boys.

 All the kids.  Cody and Micah are hilarious together.  Love that they can be friends.

This is a great picture of me with the kids.  I love Micah's goofy smile here.  

Travis and Sherry had the same idea for the same night.  She called and asked if we were available and I told her we were already planning on going.  How fun is that!

Happy 5th birthday, Seth!

 He had a Ninja Turtles party.  He was so excited to have his little friends there to play as well.

 He told me he wanted a sword and a dragon shooter for his birthday.  Megan already had a sword for him, so I got a dragon shooter:)

 He loved his gifts.  So fun to be 5 and to get all sorts of great toys.  He was super excited.

The Ferguson family!  Love that we are able to celebrate these special days together.

September 1st-Labor Day and Grandma's 87th Birthday Celebreation

 We were able to spend a lot of time in Heather and Gary's pool. The weather was just right and the kids were happy to play:)

 As you can see, the grandkids wanted in on grandma's presents:)

 Birthday hugs from Elli and Micah.

 Trying to get a picture of all the grandkids with Grandma.

 Micah kept blowing out the candles!  Here grandma is trying to stop him from doing it again:)

Heather is trying to finish off the ice cream before no one else gets to it!  What a great day of fun.
Leah and Matt also announced on this day, by handing us all an ultrasound picture, that they are going to have a baby in April!  So very exciting.