Johnny Appleseed

Over the past few weeks in Kindergarten, Charles has been learning about Johnny Appleseed, plants, and apples. Last Wednesday, his class had a Johnny Appleseed party. They were excused from dress code that day and were told they could dress up as Johnny Appleseed. Charles wanted overalls to be Johnny. I searched all over and luckily found a pair. He did not want to wear a real pot on his head, so we made one out of paper.

We were working on apples in preschool, so the decorations of the walls at home were the perfect backdrop for a picture of Charles dressed as Johnny Appleseed.

Charles class all dressed up for the appleseed party.

For snacks the kids were treated to apples and carmel dip, apple cake, apple cider, and the cutest apple tree cake ever. You can see one in the bottom right corner of the above picture. One of the mothers made an apple tree cake for each of the kids.

I am the classroom coordinator for Charles' class. It was my job to organize this party for the kids. It was so great to see all of the parents wanting to be involved and all the work that the parents put into the Appleseed Party so that the kids could have a great day. We had 15 mothers there to help with food, crafts, or whatever Mrs. Johnson needed. One kid in the class said the Appleseed party was awesome and they needed to have one every day. Thank you Charles for letting me be a part of your life and actually liking it when mom comes to help in your classroom!

The Dancing Duo!

We had a wonderful time attending Gabe's cousin Sunny's wedding. It was beautiful and she is so happy. We were very excited to see Sherri and Dinah dressed up to the hilt. I have been married to Gabe 10 years and never have seen either of them dressed up so much. They were lovely. We had great fun spending time with Gabe's family.

After the wedding, the reception was held at the Abbey. From the moment we walked in and our kids heard the music, they began moving. They were on the dance floor grooving before the reception officially started.

Dancing with Grammy before the reception began.

Michelle was the absolute funniest. It did not matter who was on the dance floor, if it was a slow song or a fast son, she was dancing. That little girl danced for almost three hours straight. No wonder her legs hurt when we were headed home.

Michelle and Aunt Sherri

Michelle dancing with Scott, the groom. She didn't know him from Adam but insisted that Grammy give her a dollar to go dance with Scott.

Charles came up with this new thing. He would dance until the end of a song and then slide across the floor and strike a pose.

We found out that night where our kids get their love for dancing: from Grammy and Papa.

We had such a wonderful time. Thank you to all of Gabe's family for all of the fun and the many great memories.

The HFFL

Well, football season is upon us once again. Many hours are spent watching favorite teams win or lose and yelling at the TV even though the players cannot hear you. There are lots of snacks and carmel popcorn at our house. But, the best part of the football season is the HFFL. A few years ago, Gabe's family decided to do a family fantasy football league. It has turned into a really fun tradition for his whole family, thus the Hicks Fantasy Football League. Gabe's dad, all of the brothers and sisters, some of the nephews, and some of the sisters in law all take part. Good clean competition brings the family closer together, not to mention the time we spend on draft day. The HFFL draft was held on August 29, 2009, at Dan and Christine's house. They were wonderful hosts and we had a great time.

Presentation of award to last year's winner: Mike

Getting ready to get started.

Who to draft, who to draft, who did I draft?

"I'll take........" are the famous words of the draft.

This is very serious business!

Thanks to Grammy, Christine, Brittney, and Chandler for entertaining kids.

This is a time Gabe's family looks forward to every year. There are so many laughs and memories each year. I am thankful to have such wonderful in-laws!

Michelle Starts Preschool - Aug 25, 2009

My baby girl started preschool! That is so good and so sad. She anticipated starting preschool for a long time. When Charles was going to Mrs. Cathy's, Michelle always said it was her turn to go to school. The time finally came. I am so happy to see her growing and learning, but it is sad to think that she is doing so. Time flies by so quickly. One perk to her starting preschool is I am her teacher. It is nice to be a part of what she is doing, but it makes it difficult because she is usually the worst behaved. Oh well, it will be fun.

Michelle in preschool.

Michelle's preschool class, minus the helper (Charles)