Our preschool had a field trip to Kercher's Apple Orchard. It was fun for me to go as a teacher and also as a Mommy. Eli chose to hang with his class when they went on a hayride and picked out a gourd, but then I joined him when they picked apples. Eli enjoyed finding apples that didn't have any "goobers" on them and, of course, he loved eating one! Yum! It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time!
Yum! Now that's a good apple!
A few weeks ago we headed to Amazing Acres in Michigan! This place was awesome! Eli loved all the fun activities....and there were a lot!....feeding goats, (plastic) duck races, the Miner's Line (Zip-Line), the slides, playing in the corn sandbox, the hayride to the pumpkin patch, small tractor races, a corn-maze, and mining for gems! You could have spent many hours there! What a fun place...we will definitely make this a yearly thing!
A few weeks ago we got to meet Benjamin (Ben) Kidder for the first time! He is just absolutely precious! I'm so mad I didn't get any pictures, but I did use a picture that was sent to us. Eli also was excited to see Grace...I did get a picture of them. Aren't they an adorable little couple!
Daddy's favorite sport is football (played in high school), so I think it will probably be something our boys do, too. Scott has been working with Eli on how to throw and catch a football and he has gotten pretty good! Notre Dame....here we come!
Last weekend we went to the Nappanee Apple Festival. Eli had such a fun time riding all the rides and we enjoyed trying all the food! Yum! It was a beautiful day and a perfect afternoon for a festival!
He had his hands up the whole time on the boat!
Eli made a new friend. They rode the boat together, then rode this roller coaster. So cute!
Preschool has started again and this year Eli is in the Cherub's Class! He goes to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is doing really well! He's one of three boys in his classroom (14 students) and his teachers have told me what a fun boy he is! They love his friendly outgoing personality!
Another exciting tidbit of news is that I am now a teacher at Eli's preschool! I am a teacher in the Duck's Class (4/5 year olds) from Tuesday through Thursday. This is totally the ideal situation for me! I am only teaching 1/2 days 3 days a week, Jayce is in the free daycare offered to the teachers (Eli is in there on Wednesday's), and I get to teach again!!! (It's also been fun seeing Eli playing outside each day!) I'm really enjoying it! I have a wonderful class of 16 students and they are adorable! I team-teach with another teacher and she's so much fun (however, she's a Michigan fan...ugh!)! I'm so excited about my new job and love being at the preschool!
For Eli's birthday party this year we had a racing theme and held the party at Strikes & Spares in Mishawaka. The kids (and some of the adults) had so much fun racing go-karts and playing putt-putt. We had pizza for dinner, Eli opened gifts and then, we had cake & ice cream. 
Grandma Joey made one of her famous cakes again for the party....it was awesome!!!! It was such a fun time for the kids and I'm sure Eli will remember it forever!
The night before Eli's birthday we celebrated with Grandma & Paw Paw, Uncle Shawn and Uncle Casey. We went to Hacienda for dinner....yum! At the end of the meal the servers sang to Eli while he wore a large sombrero. They also brought him a yummy cake! Eli loved all the attention and was really excited that he got to take the hat home! We then headed to Grandma & Paw Paw's house for more cake and Eli also got to open presents. Eli got lots of fun toys, but the best was his new bike! He loves it!!! What a fun evening with family!
The day before Eli's birthday we headed to St. Joe, Michigan with the Goods and Erin Schrock. We had fun checking out the farmer's market that was going on...even got to buy some delicious pizza crusts! Eli & Cole got to play the violin for the first time! The boys enjoyed looking for the painted dogs around town while we did a little shopping. We had a nice lunch at Clementine's and then headed back into town. After all the walking, we rented a bicycle that seats 8 and headed down to Silver Beach. Eli enjoyed his ride on the carousel, which is always one of his favorite things to do. After riding (& pushing) the bike back, our last stop was at Kilwin's for ice cream...Yum! It was such a fun day!
Eli's birthday is on Aug. 15th
Jayce's Birthday is on Nov. 6th
Our anniversary is Feb. 22nd
