Vertical Basketball

Landon had a great season of Vertical basketball (his last year 😔).  He played for the Thunder and Matt coached.  He definitely improved as the season went on.  He made several baskets most games and did a great job on defense.  He loves playing basketball and every Saturday, we were there to cheer him on.  He also had grandparents and an aunt and cousins at most games too!

Back row: Eli, Caden, Tim, Landon,
Front row: Kian, Moses, Peyton

Near the end of the season, NMC put on a Family Fun Night with bounce houses, roller skating, games, and free food.  The kids went off with their friends and just checked in every once in awhile, so we got to talk with other parents.  They had a great time....but I didn't get many pictures, except of Emmy roller skating for the 2nd time in her life!

Thanksgiving and Purdue Basketball

We went to dad and mom's for Thanksgiving this year.  It was nice to have Todd and Cathy join us too!  We had a great day with LOTS of food.  The kids enjoyed watching the parade and playing together!

 Landon played us some Christmas songs on the piano.

 Cathy brought some ornaments for the kids to make.

 The next day, we headed down to West Lafayette for a basketball game.

10 year old boys are so silly!

 The kids were so excited because we came down on a Friday so they had all day Saturday to play with Gunnar and Clella!  The girls enjoyed dressing up and boys played Mario Cart.

Basketball, Snow, and Serving

Landon always wants to do ALL the camps/sports/whatever is offered through the school, so he had fun doing the Panther Baskeball camp for 4 nights.

Last Friday (Nov. 9th), we had our first snowfall of the year.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to make meals with NMC for Feed My Starving Children.  We worked together to fill bags of food to be delivered all over the world.  It's always a great time serving others as a family!

Fiddler's Pond and Book Madness

March brings some crazy weather to Indiana and it sometimes feels like the month that never ends.  Thankfully between the snow falls, we had a few nice, sunny days.  On one of those days, we went to Fiddler's Pond in Goshen to ride bikes and fish.  It was so nice to be outside without a winter coat (of course the snow came back several more times after this!)

 We also had March Madness to help us get through the month.  My bracket was pretty much all wrong and I was in last place for quite awhile in our school and family bracket.  Luckily, I picked the overall winner so I didn't end up at the bottom! 
At school we have a Book Madness bracket and choose the best book of the month.  Kids also got tickets to try to earn a free book, a chance to cheer, or play in a basketball game versus the teachers.  Emmy was thrilled to be able to cheer and Landon thought it was great playing against his teacher!

January review

So, I was told I hadn't blogged since Christmas...which is true! 😁  Here's what we've been up to in January:
Every once in awhile, someone isn't feeling well, we sleep in too long, or the weather isn't good on a Sunday and we have "home church".  The kids plan the service and let everyone know what their role is.  This month, Landon preached the sermon and played a Christmas song while Emmy did the children's story and led praise singing.  It's always so insightful to see what they are learning about God.💒

 We have had a TON of snow this winter and the kids have enjoyed playing in it (well you have to make Landon get all dressed and go out, but then he loves it).  One evening, the Davis crew came over to sled.  Matt made a ramp for the kids to jump and they loved it.  They all played until dark.❄

 Landon also started Vertical Basketball.  He is on the Seahawks and Matt is coaching again.  I just love this program.  They have a practice, game, and devotional each Saturday morning and most Thursday evenings.  Landon loves basketball (just like most other sports!) 🏀

Purdue basketball

A few weeks ago, we drove down to Purdue to see a basketball game for the Boilermaker Kids Club.  We had tickets by the Bergers and Shaws way up in the rafters, but had a fun time.  Our kids got chosen to be part of the fan tunnel, so before the game we went down by the locker rooms and high fived the players to wish them good luck.  After the game, we went back to the Bergers and spent the night.  It was a quick trip, but always fun! 🏀

Catch up from January/February

Well, yes...apparently it's been 2 months already since I last blogged about Christmas time!  My, how time flies!  Here's what we've been up to:
We finally got around to decorating  gingerbread houses on Jan. 1st.  A little late, but it still tasted just as good. 👍

We've been reading Harry Potter, so you may notice Emerson's lightning🗲 scar in these pictures!

Emerson has been taking gymnastics lessons and she's made some great improvements over this school year.  So when a cheer camp flyer came out, she was super excited!  The girls got to work with the NWHS cheerleaders, learned some cheers and a dance, and had the opportunity to cheer at a basketball game.  Unfortunately on the night of the game, Emerson was sick and missed school that day.  But, she did enjoy the day at camp.📣

Kenna came to camp too!

 Landon played Vertical Basketball instead of Upwards this year.  It wasn't much different, but was less expensive and the coaches also acted as refs.  Matt coached Landon's team and I helped out when needed.  He loved the game and really improved over the season.  He got more confident with the ball and scored several times a game.  We had games every Saturday and every other Thursday, so it was busy, but he loved every minute of it.  He was number 3 (and it's totally hard to get a good, not blurry picture during a game).🏀

Front row: Matthew, Karsten, Cole, Wesley
Back row: Carter, Landon, Miles, Brennan, and Coach Matt

Emerson has a huge giving heart and definitely loves to give (and get :)) gifts.  This year, she surprised us by making chocolate mint cookies by following a recipe all by herself.  I helped her bake them and they kind of melted into one big cookie, but I definitely think she did a great job for her first time following a recipe on her own. 

 We don't usually get the kids gifts for Valentine's Day, but I know how much they like gifts and candy, so this year we did. :)  Landon looked at the package and said, "Wow, Russell Stevers gave us a gift?"  No buddy, but Russell Stover did make the candy you're getting. 💗

 Matt and I got tickets for the Purdue basketball game versus Rutgers that happened to be on Valentine's Day from Mikel and Jessica.  We had originally planned to take the next day, Wednesday, as a personal day and spend the night in Lafayette.  But the 2 weeks before, we had all been sick and missed a lot of school between us and the kids.  Then on that day, I didn't really feel well and almost didn't go to the game.  The game was a lot of fun, though and seats were great.

 Lastly, Matt got Emerson tickets to go to the Daddy/Daughter Dance a few days after Valentine's Day.  She was excited for WEEKS!  And John and Kenna got tickets too.  They had a ball and the girls enjoyed every minute of it.  I took Landon out to Steak 'N Shake for dinner and played video games with him.  It's so nice and important to spend time one on one with the kids.

Loving our time together and hope we are over all the sickness that's come our way!  We've had a really crazy winter with little to no snow and lots of warm days.  I don't remember any winter where we've left our coats at home so much!  Looking forward to what March will bring.