Feels like winter!

The snow has arrived here in NH and it sure makes it feel more like winter. Our family is settling down into the season and preparing to host Christmas Eve here at our house for my side of the family. In honor of that, the kids have been hard at work creating pictures for our Christmas card. They came out great!

Thanksgiving 2009

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. My whole family went to my sister Danielle's house. There was a total of 21 bodies but you would have never known. It was so relaxing to talk and play together. Dinner was delicious and so were all the desserts. It was certainly a day to be thankful for. Not to mention the kids were exhausted at bedtime. I could not have asked for more! :)

Walk for cancer

Last weekend, the family braved the weather and participated in the Breast Cancer Walk in Concord, NH. It was cold to start the 5 mile walk but as we started walking the weather turned to rain and then snow. It was tough going but we know that it is for a good cause and SO important to brave the elements for those fighting cancer and for those that have lost their lives. It was an emotional day.

I am so proud of the kids for doing all 5 miles. They were pretty cold half way through but they pressed on. There were very few children who did the whole walk, so for them to do it was pretty impressive.

Here is my favorite picture each year. The sea of walkers moving up Clinton Street. It is always an amazing sight. I would say that we were in the middle at this point so you can imagine how many people were also behind us. They all came out to brave the weather and walk.

No more training wheels

Lillian woke up this morning and told me she had a dream that she rode her bike without her training wheels. She then asked if she could try that today. I instantly thought of just two months ago..the last time she rode her bike, when she screamed and dropped her bike when it would tip a little. She asked again after lunch and being a sunny Sunday we decided why not? David held onto the back of her bike and ran with her a bit. He let go and then she was off. She was doing it by herself and loving it. It is amazing to me the power this wonderful 6 year old has. She just decided it was time and did it. I am SO proud of her.

Fall update

Okay, so I have been slacking AGAIN with the blog. Sorry to those who actually read this.
We are back in full swing with our home school year. Jadon is in 5th grade, Grant in 3rd and Lillian is officially starting home schooling by entering 1st grade. The weather has been real nice and we take advantage of it whenever possible. We went apple picking last week and enjoyed the sunny cool afternoon. It was such an inspiration for the kids that they chose to spend the rest of the afternoon outside.

Jadon has begun his second year of Scouts and the FIRST Lego League. He is learning about programming robots, teamwork and this years theme of transportation.

Grant is busy with soccer and LOVING it. In fact the day I took this photo he had a morning game...but didn't take off his shin guards ALL DAY!! :) He is also loving the fact that David is his coach. They were sadly without a coach and David stepping in to do it. I think David is having fun too!

Lillian is growing taller and taller. She does not have a favorite sport right now but we are trying gymnastics next. :)

The leaves are starting to change and soon our yard will be covered with them. Hopefully I will remember to blog again soon. Till then have a great day!! Kathi

July 15, 2009

We had a really great day today. We started out the day by heading over to The Children's Place and Parent Education Center here in Concord, NH. The kids were invited to come and read to the small children that were there that day. Lillian even took part as she can read very well now. They all did such a nice job.






Then, because the sun FINALLY decided to show (we have had a LOT of rainy and cloudy days so far this summer) we decided to head to the beach. On the way there we picked up our new composting worms...yes worms!!! We will be feeding them our fruit and veggie scraps and they will in turn compost it for us:)

When we arrived at the beach, we were pleasantly surprised to see Carrie(my sister-in-law) along with my two nephews Tim and Sidney. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with them in the sand and sun!

Batter up!!!! Baseball season at the Rienstra house.

All three kids are participating in base ball this year. So, as you can imagine our schedule is pretty full with games and practices:) Here are some great shots of their first games....

Lillian has started T-ball. She has been SO excited for her first game:)








She was EXHAUSTED after a busy day started by her first game...not to mention the HOT weather. At the end of the day she took a shower. She told me she wanted to wear her new t-ball shirt again. I told her to put it on the end of her bed for the next day. She then put her jammies on but much to my surprise she added the t-shirt and hat. I, of course grabbed the camera. LOL She wore the t-shirt for 3 days.



Grant just had his first game last night. He got dressed first thing in the morning and said, "I am all ready." His game was at 6PM :) Gotta love enthusiasm.

Jadon took 23 pictures at the game...he has found photography...here are a few of them:)











Jadon is very excited this year because he is pitching. He has been SO excited when he knows it will be his turn to pitch. I enjoy watching him be such a good sport. He is so proud of himself. He is so happy to be playing baseball:)

It's April already??

Okay things have been even crazier than normal around here and I am sorry for not posting earlier. We had our furnace break and because it is SO old the part we needed is not made anymore:( So for the past two and a half weeks through cold and rainy weather we have used our unused apartment for a warm place to go. We have eaten, played and done school work in there.

The kids will all be starting baseball/t-ball soon. Jadon has begun practices and games start next week. Grant and Lillian are soon to follow.

I have been helping out the local non-profit that is near and dear to my heart, The Children's Place and Parent Education Center. I have made a quilt for their 30th Anniversary Gala and have helped them put together the auction book for the night.

I have also joined the PMC Concord, NH Kids Ride here in NH. It is a fundraiser for cancer research. The PMC (Pan Mass. Challenge) is REAL big in Mass. and raises huge amounts of money for cancer research. We are getting the kids involved by having them ride their bikes on small tracks for a fun family event that will raise money for other families. Look for the pictures in June:)

In a few weeks we will be done our school for the year, the perks of homeschooling we are done before everyone else. I am ready for a couple months break as I am sure the kids are too. Lillian will officially start 1st grade next year so I will be teaching all 3 kiddos. Should be fun:)

That is it for now. I will post more pictures soon.

Grant without training wheels!

Okay, so not only did Lillian loose her third tooth today (in a week and a half) BUT Grant started biking without training wheels! He has LONG been a scooter boy. He would, for the most part choose his scooter over his bike. We have been talking a lot lately about the fact he may be ready to ride his bike without training wheels. Today, we went up to a parking lot near our house (our favorite place to practice) and David took off his training wheels. Grant took off right away! I (of course) left my camera at home. Jadon ran home to get it so I could capture some of his first rides on video. Thank you Jadon!:)

Grant on Wii

Okay this is pretty funny. Grant as we all know and love is a very active 7 1/2 yr old boy. He hardly EVER sits still and his mouth is just as active as his body. Well we have discovered that Grant and the sport of soccer are made for each other. He has been playing indoor soccer this winter and he LOVES it. He has also dicovered soccer on Wii. I had to make this video because the jumping is the funniest part. His brother was annoyed on day when he kept jumping and asked (in that oh so loving brother way) for him to stop. Grant replied "I am NOT jumping" He had no idea he was even doing it! Of course now we have it on video...tee hee hee!!!

Lillian is officially 6!!!

On Monday Feb. 23rd we celebrated Lillian's birthday. She made a special request...chocolate cherry cake. I had never made one before but luckily I am great at googling:) I found an easy recipe and it came out great! She recieved a small pink mp3 player and sang songs ALL DAY!! She loves being 6...just ask her and she will smile that 6yr old smile with missing teeth included!!

Jadon - Scout Achievements

Jadon has been working real hard to get several of his cub scout badges. Recently we attended a scout party called the Blue and Gold (to celebrate the birthday of scouts) Here he recieved some of his pins and belt loop.

Jadon helping with dinner

Jadon has been working on his Family Member scout badge the last couple of weeks. This week he helped me make stuffed shells. I love that he really enjoys doing things like this. Something I wish I had done this more with my Mom. I remember her making soup but I never offered to help her. I also remember her making apple pie but all I ever did then was eat the apple peels when she did the peeling:)

Lillian lost a front tooth!!!

Lillian has been saying for weeks that her two front teeth were loose. Of course, you know in the beginning that they aren't moving very much and so you wait...they wiggle...you wait...they wiggle. Well finally this weekend one of them was looking pretty loose as she moved it around with her tongue. Yesturday we were playing a game. I offered to give it a tug to see if it would come out...no luck. Then she went sledding at Whites Park with Daddy. She fell (of course) and loosened it even further. The final straw was when she was dancing in the living room last night to a Rick Charette cd. The words say "If you put your finger in the lions cage, you better be careful that he doesn't bite you!" She decided to put her finger in her mouth and bite down...the tooth popped right out!! Here are some funny pictures I took last night (some of them are very silly ones:)and a video of her reading to me.

Kids in the snow

Sorry this video is sideways...can't figure how to change it. Luckily it is short:) (and VERY funny)