First and last

This weekend was very busy for us. We had Thomas's last soccer game of the season. It was a chilly morning, but bright and sunny. Thomas finished out his season with four goals in the game and a win for the Panthers.

Soccer mom in Ethiopian gabi.  It was chilly, but I was warm.

A blurry phone picture of the mighty Panthers and their participation medals.

 We also had a big first this weekend: Candace and Sarah had their first real meet competing for Nebraska School of Gymnastics. We traveled to Ankeny, Iowa for the Jump Jivin' meet hosted by Triad Gymnastics. The girls had some rough routines on beam, but they had some bright spots and the meet went okay on the other three events as far as a first meet goes. Most importantly, they had a blast! Looking forward to watching them improve over the course of the season!

Sarah performing an arabesque...

... and a nice handstand in the first half of her beam routine.

Candace prepares for her handstand...

... and overshoots it, but look how nice and tight she is!

Sarah starts her floor routine while her teammates look on.

 Candace on floor.

 Sarah got fifth on vault!

My boy plays soccer

And he plays it very well.  :)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Spears for coming out from Indiana to watch him play... it meant the world to him.  :)

 

Apples

One fall activity we haven't done for a long time is picking apples. Tom got a good coupon for a local orchard, so we spent a beautiful Saturday enjoying the orchard.  Everyone enjoyed picking some nice fresh apples and working our way through the corn maze.  Afterward, the kids enjoyed caramel apples and the playground while we adults had some locally made wine... pretty good.  I think we'll go again next year.

The orchard and surrounding area... those are kites in the sky.

Emily and Candace on the wagon to the apple trees.

Thomas and Sarah choosing some Gala apples.

Getting some help from Emily.

Thomas checking over his apple.

Starting the corn maze...

...lots of decisions on which way to go!

 Fun day!

 

Mackinac wedding

Over Labor Day weekend, our dear friends Heather and Bill tied the knot on beautiful Mackinac Island in Michigan. Tom was the best man and the twins were flower girls. The rest of us were happy to attend as guests... our entire family made it out to the wedding! The island was beautiful and the perfect setting for an incredibly lovely weekend. We stayed an extra day to make sure we got to soak up some old world charm, and we were glad we did.

Rehearsal

Waiting for the ceremony to start.

Candace and Sarah start the wedding procession.

Best man Tom and maid of honor Abbey.

Saying their vows.

Mr. and Mrs. Loughman!

Trio of bigs by the Lake Huron beach.

 Biking around the island.

 Littles and a cannon.

Tom and I in a surrey with fringe on top.

Bigs with Abbey in their buggy.

Littles on the veranda at the Island House.

 Our buggy horse, June.

 Tom and the littles on the boardwalk.

At the butterfly house.

The kitschy but fun 3D House of Mirrors.

Summer Photo Dump series... #6

The Hot Air Balloons

One fine evening after dinner, I glanced out the back window, and I saw this beautiful spectacle!  Hot air balloons gliding toward us... the silence of their flight occasionally punctuated by noisy blasts from the burners and bawling from the agitated cattle below, who were scrambling wildly to escape the shadows of these mysterious airborne beasts!

So pretty as they drift towards our house!

Several families in boats pulled up to watch.

 This one just kept coming closer...

...and closer!

The pilot yelled out, "Is it okay to land here?"  It was.

 His Re/Max buddy joined him a few minutes later.

 The kids got there on their bikes and our 4x4 just in time for landing number two.

It was pretty awesome.  :)