YIKES!

Yikes I say because I am a whole month behind in posting. But, I promise to give you all the Waltner haps just as fast as my computer can upload the pics!
Last year my goal for the month of December was .... to savor! Although I had known it all along, I think it had finally sunk in that all the ladies in the grocery store were right..... it does go by fast and I wanted to savor it. To soak it all in so that I wouldn't forget how fun these early years are. I succeeded pretty well in my quest of savoring last year. This year, despite our exponentially busier December calendar, I will be savoring once again. I will be drinking it all in, trying to capture the memories forever so that one day I can share with the girls all their sweet and funny stories.

So the first thing that I have to tell you in my catch-up tale is.... soccer season is over. And I have to say, it was ALOT of fun!
(Chris, Piper, Holly, Turner, Josiah, Hunter, Baelin and William)

I don't know what was my favorite thing, watching the kids play and get so much better with each game...

or getting the chance to watch Seth and his Dad coach them together.

So here are a few pictures to wrap up the season.

Seth tried Josiah out as goalie and boy was she excited. You see, Baelin was our main goalie, he was good and we needed him at the net. But, the time came when he wanted to get out on the field. So Josiah stepped in....

And I hate to say it (because I am her totally biased Mom) but she was pretty good. She kept her head in the game and her eye on the ball.

And she was always excited (and of course completely adorable) to make a stop. Not many balls got past her. But I now understand what my Dad use to say about my brother Jonathan when he played.... You're never anxious at a game, unless your kid is the goalie!



One of the favorites of every game; the snacks and

the tunnel!

Adalie and Ashlyn keeping close track of their sisters play at the soccer game.... or maybe they are just playing cards to pass the time!

Look out soccer world, these 2 cousins won't be sitting in the dug outs next year! (Adalie and Ashlyn 3yrs old)

Gone Fishin'

Hello Friends and Family,
I know that I have neglected my posting duties these last few weeks. And now, you will have to wait even longer for our latest..... we are headed into the blue yonder for the Holiday. See you in a week.....
PS I am sure I will come back with a million pictures to post..... so hang in there until we return!

Aunt Julia

Aunt Julia got to come and visit us a couple of Saturdays ago. It was fun to see her and her baby bump! Oh how we love the belly!

Swallowed Up

Yikes! I just looked at out blog and it has been over a week since I last posted! How did that happen? Well, I can tell you..... life has just swallowed me up in the last few weeks. We have been too busy. Busy with all good and fun things of course, but none the less, too busy. So busy that I have not had much time to stop and smell the roses with my family, had to miss a fun tea party with my girlie friends, and just plain been rushing from one thing to the next. Mind you, I am not complaining, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the events that life has thrown our way in the past few weeks. But I am grateful for this blog. It has reminded me today, like it did the first day I began posting, that life can be a whirlwind...... I just need to seek out the rainbows in each day and pause long enough to enjoy them, because they don't last long and if I don't take notice now, I will miss them!

Thunderstorms

The best part of a thunderstorm is when you are scared, there is always a sister there who has been dying to hold you and will take whatever excuse it is to get you to cuddle into her arms.

And when there is a break in the rain, nothing feels better than a walk in the fresh, clean, cool, crisp air.

Did it Even Happen?

Yesterday was a rare "free day" in our November schedule. By "free day" I mean that other than church in the morning, we had no obligations or expectations. SO Seth and I decided on a whim to make it "date day" with our girls. They were so doggone excited it was cute, but also a good reminder that we need to step away from our schedule and routine more often.
So after church, we had lunch at the pizza parlor, with everyone getting their favorite kind of pizza. Then headed to the movies to see Madagascar 2. We had a big bucket of popcorn and laughed our way through the whole film. After the movie, Daddy thought the girls would be tuckered out, and they were. But when asked if they had enough energy to make a little detour to go shopping, they were ready to go. Which, of course, sent Seth and I into fits of laughter because girls will be girls...... and our girls like to shop until they drop (just ask Amma)! When we finally got home, we finished off our pizza, washed it down with some hot chocolate and headed off to bed with a stack of books to read!
It was the perfect date day with our girls. We did things we don't normally get to do, we stepped totally away from our routine, we laughed, and we just plain had fun!
The only thing that would have make it more perfect...... if I had a picture of Adalie sitting on a cardboard box booster next to her sister at the movies with a big ol' bucket of popcorn on her lap, or one of Josiah bouncing her bouncy ball prize across the table to Seth that she had gotten with her quarter at pizza, or even the looks on the girls faces when we said we were going to have date day, or the hot chocolate mustaches they had once we got home...... But alas, I did not even have my camera. Calamity, I know! And as Grammy says "did it even happen? because it is not documented..."
Now it is written in blog. The pictures will have to remain sweet memories in my heart, but the day will not be a lost memory because I have written it.

Halloween

Although Halloween is not really a holiday we celebrate around here, we did a bit this year. One thing that I am totally capable of is compartmentalizing things in my head. Case in point.... Halloween. In my simple little mind I can separate out all the things I don't like about Halloween, the witches and goblins, and enjoy the things I do like; dressing up in costumes and getting candy. Oh, if only life outside of my little world were so simple!
A big thanx goes out to the Webb family for hosting another year of their awesome party. I can imagine ALOT of planning goes into this event and I love it!!
All the kids get to dress up in their fun costumes and be taken on a hay ride around the neighborhood to pre-selected houses to trick or treat. The best part though.... this all happens the week before Halloween!
(Logan, Talan Kylee, Turner, Josiah and Adalie)
Just think, when Halloween night actually comes around, we are done with Halloween. We have already dressed up, already trick or treated, already counted our candy.
(Adalie, Josiah, Kylee, Talan, Turner, Rev)

Talk about feeding right into my compartmentalizing! Just good clean Halloween Fun! (Josiah, Adalie and Summer getting a hand full of candy)

Josiah and Adalie got chosen for best costume by this Halloween enthusiast you presented them with a pirate's jewel. And well, Summer is just cute too!

Adalie, pizza in one hand and a cupcake in another.... could life get any better??

Josiah bobbing for apples.

Even Mommy dressed up this year for her Bunco with the help of Josiah's Kindergarten teacher.

And then came the mayhem of costumes and candy at school on Halloween.



That's Josiah's teacher, the banana. Love her!

They paraded around every class in the school!

Too cute!

The Bologna is Josiah's teacher's aide, love her too!



Well, being new to this whole school thing, I now know why all the seasoned school Mom's asked me if I had fed my girls a big breakfast?? Yeah, to soak up all the sugar they were about to ingest! YIKES!! I know now!!