How are you 11?...

 Dear Zach,

I think it's time to start celebrating your half birthday.  Because no matter how good our intentions are to make your birthday special, there always seems to be this think called LIFE that gets in the way of making your day extra special.  This year your birthday fell on a Monday which meant school,. then basketball practice, so all we had time for was a late dinner at Si Senor, thank goodness Nate and Dylan could come to make it a little more like a party. And its a good thing they brought out warm churros for dessert because we didnt even have time to blow out candles on your cake!  That go postponed until Wednesday after your school choir performance.  Remember that thing called LIFE...it really got in the way this week, but you are so sweet and didnt make a fuss. I think the sweet gifts you received trumped any thought of a ho hum family birthday year.  

You love Soccer and are reallly good at it. You excel at Math in school and pride yourself on being pretty good at the rest too! The Rubiks Cube is your latest addiction and you can be found most mornings on the couch checking out the latest sports news on ESPN. You are sweet and a pretty great big brother to both Kate and Ryan.  I can give you a lot of jobs(garbage, shower with Ryan) and do them all willingly, for the most part.  Zach we love you and we love being your parents.  You make us so proud!

Love,
Mom

Our Charlie Brown Tree...

 We could not have hit better weather the day after Thanksgiving for venturing out to find our perfect tree! The hunt was so hard.  All of the trees were so dried out and half dead from the extra warm spring summer and fall we had this year in the NW.  But after searching for about an hour we found THE one! Justin cut it down and we loaded it into Grandpa's truck.  We also located the perfect Charlie Brown Tree, giving proof of how hard the selection was this year.  Lets hope next year is better.  

Normally we see Santa too, but since it took so long for us to find a tree, by the time we were done, Santa had gone to lunch. Boo! And the Ducks vs. Beavers game was about to start so we left in hopes that we would see Santa another time this month.

Westside U11 Soccer Highlights...

Zach is loving soccer and for as much as he plays I don't document enough, but I figure I will have years and years worth of soccer pics and videos to share by the time he graduates high school.  Here are some of the higlights from his 2014-2015 season.  He impresses me all the time with his determination and skill.  I am so grateful he has found an activity he loves to do.

Kate's Baptism...

November 7, 2015 marks the day of Kate's baptism and confrimation in becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was a very special day for her and she was surrounded by wonderful people who showed up to support her.  Grandma and Grandpa Marostica flew in from Philly, Grandma and Grandpa Thompson, Aunt Heather and kids, Halle and Heath, Jill Bagley and girls, Rachael McCauley and Jacob, Julie Buchan and Lexie, Skyline Ward Primary Presidency  and Kate's best friend Emmy Lunak were all there to support Kate.  We have some of the greatest family and friends in the world.  

She was a little nervous but mostly excited.  The jumpsuit wasn't her favorite part but I loved her response as I was helping her change out of her wet clothes.  She said, "I felt like I was floating." I hope she always feels the Savior carrying her along this journey of life. She is such a sweet spirit and blesses our home daily with constant entertainment and care for her brothers.

Later that night we invited friends and family over for pizza, salad and dessert to celebrate Kate's decision.  What a wonderful day!

 

Reading or Memorized?...

I would love to think our little Ryan is some sort of Genius but I think he has just memorized the story of Hop on Pop.  Either way he loves to read to us, and we love listening to him!

Lakeview Farms and Other Halloween Happinings...

Ryan's pre-school met out at Lakeview Farms to find the perfect pumpkin, pre-school size of course.  He loved it! He woke up everyday after asking to go to pre-school and to the pumpkin patch.  It's one of my favorite things to do in the fall as well, and I am so thankful I still have a little one at home who gets excited to go!   

 This year's Halloween costumes were thrown together at the last minute for the ward trunk-or-treat and they stuck for our, as usual, Portland rainy Halloween.  This year was little nuggets first time attempting the donut on a string. Thankfully the night of the Trunk-or-treat was clear and warm, so it made up for the stinky Halloween night weather.

This year Zach was Mike, the Situation from Jersey Shore(Justin's old costume), Kate was a witch again(remember last year she was puking, so she actually got to wear it out this year), and Ryan was a doctor(one of Zach's old dress-ups).  I did not have to step one foot into one of those Halloween Spirit stores.  Score 1 for me!  Justin and I were Maverick and Charlie from the movie Top Gun, for our friend's annual Halloween party.  This years' theme was Back to the Future 80's.  There were several Mavericks and another Charlie in attendence.  Guess we weren't so creative afterall.  Oh well, there's always next year! And I am happy to report that despite the rainy weather I managed to give out all of our tooth brushes and candy! 

8 is Great!

Kate turned 8 and boy did she party it up! The week before her birthday we had family over for dinner and blew out candles on her(by request) Oreo Cookie Blizzard Cake.  We are so lucky to have family live so close that when a special day comes along, we can make a whole 'To-do" about it within a few days notice.

On her actual birthday I took her to the American Girl Doll Store up in Seattle for a little shopping spree and afternoon lunch. Zach had a soccer tourament up in Seattle that weekend as well, so we got to celebrate with the Heiser and Merrill girls too, who also had birthdays within the month. It worked out perfect, the boys were at rainy soccer while the girls shopped and dined. Kate picked out Grace, the doll of the year and a few other things, and then was spoiled again with doll garb and a three course meal in the cafe, with another cake to boot!  What a great way to spend a birthday! It really was cute eating lunch with their dolls.  

First Day of School...

School started a week later than usual and these kids still weren't ready for school to start. The day and night before they were complaining about having to go, but by morning I didn't even have to wake them up.  They were ready for 5th and 2nd grade.  I am still in shock that this will be Zach's last year at Bonny Slope.  How did he grow up so fast?! Kate's teacher is Mrs. Bergerson-Allen and Zach's teacher is Mr. Basham, and they both came home very excited about them.  

After a long summer with having his brother and sister at home I decided that Ryan would be bored without them, so I signed him up for Pre-school.  He barely makes the cut off for the Early 3's program at Oak Hills, but they had space for one more child so I snagged it and he couldn't be happier.  He wakes up every day asking to go to pre-school.  His backpack is as big as he is, but that's what you get being the third child with a mom who is too cheap to buy a backpack that's the right size. He has no idea its massive on him and he insists on carrying it every time!