Carson's Birthday Party

Just a few pictures from Carson's 8th Birthday Party from a few weeks ago! It was just a small gathering of our immediate families...Kane took him and Harper to the movies to see Night at the Museum, too. 

Cake is super sloppy, but I didn't have much time to throw it together...it tasted good which is all that matters! :)

Carson is EIGHT!

Eight whole years ago, our oldest baby was born. I can hardly believe its been that long. 

Carson is the sweetest, smartest, kindest little boy I know. He is my right-hand man when Kane is not home. I try not to ask too much of him, but being the oldest of four, he helps a lot..Whether it's keeping Grant busy so I can wash dishes, picking up toys (that he didn't take out), or talking to Clara so I can finish dinner, I know that I can always count on him. 

Carson's absolute favorite things in the world are: 

Legos.

Reading.

Football.

He spends hours and hours every week with his nose stuck in a book...he always reads through several books at a time..he doesn't have a preference...this past week he's been reading Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, and a Goosebumps book. 

I'm not going to get into the Football thing, because I have had about ALL I can take of football talk, ha! But just know that he is o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. His favorite team is the SF 49ers. He has NFL trading cards that he carries around and studies the players stats. And thats all I'll say about that, haha.

Carson is still an avid Lego builder/fan. Just like his football cards, he has a container of minifigures that he takes out and plays with several time a day. He got a Lego Minifigure Encyclopedia for Christmas and it goes everywhere with him.

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I love you SO much Carson. Even though Daddy and I had no idea what we were doing 8 years ago (sometimes I question whether we know what we are doing now, ha!), God knew exactly what he was doing when He blessed our lives with you. Happy Birthday to the kid who made me a mom. I love you buddy!

Carson's TMNT Party!

I've been telling myself for almost two weeks now that I would sit down for 10 min and do a quick post about Carson's birthday party...so here goes! 

We gave Carson the option of what kind of party he wanted....a big party with all of his friends, or a smaller party with just family and a fun outing....he chose the latter! :) I think he made the right choice...with his birthday being so close after Christmas and New Years, it is hard getting everything together in time! Besides, I took cupcakes and juice to his class on his birthday, so he was still able to celebrate with his friends.

Here are a few pictures from his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party:

I decided I would just order a cake this year instead of making one...but guess who forgot to order one? yeah...I had to improvise!

After we sang happy birthday, he asked if we could sing to him one more time....he doesn't like being center of attention, or anything.... ;)

sweet card Harp made Carson!

For his fun outing. we are going to go see the Lego movie when it comes out in a few weeks...he is so excited about it!!

On Carson's actual birthday (the 14th) I took cupcakes and juice to his class...This was when his class was singing to him :)

I made him a giant cookie for his birthday, too!

 It was a fun, whirlwind of a birthday...still can't believe is 7! And can you believe I'm already starting the party prep for Grant's bday next month?!?! Now THAT is hard to believe! 

Hope everyone has a great week! Kane and I are headed out of town for the weekend! 

Until next time!

SEVEN.

How can it be? Yesterday, our oldest babe turned SEVEN. 

I'll update this post later with what Carson is like at 7 (when I have more time!)...until then, here is a look back...7 years of Carson!

Happy Birthday Carson!!! We love you SO much!

Halloween and Football!!

Another month has come and gone, and I have NO idea how it happened!! October is always a busy month for us, but esp this year...Halloween festivities, field trips, therapy, and football have consumed our lives over the past few weeks. 

A few Saturday's ago we went over to our old church's Fall Festival and had so much fun! It was so great to see everyone! It has been several months since we've been there, but even so, it still feels somewhat like "home." The boys all went as Star Wars characters: Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Yoda :]

I bought all three costumes last year on clearance at Target for a total of like $7...I plan on doing the same thing this week when everything gets marked down to 90% off...can't beat a good deal!

This past Wednesday, we took the boys to new church's Awana Trunk-or-Treat and festival. We had a last minute football practice right before the festival, so we got there a little late and didn't stay long because by the time we went through the parking lot and played a few games inside, Grant was DONE! Which is why he looks so..ahem...excited in the picture, haha!

On Halloween morning, the elementary school always hosts a breakfast for Dads and Grandfathers to come to. They eat doughnuts and carve pumpkins...the boys were SOO excited because both Kane and my dad went, and they let Carson hang out in Harp's class for the morning so they could all be together! Afterwards, they had a Book Character Parade (They dress as a character from a book, and march around the school holding their books). Carson really wanted to wear his doctor costume (also a Target clearance snag from last year!), so he picked a random book that happened to have a doctor in it, and Harp was Superman from his favorite easy reader book! Grant wore his firefighter costume to the school to cheer his brothers on!

It was such a fun (and busy) week!! 

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Our Football season is officially over! The boys had such a great time, and the boys' team ended up runner-up overall...which is SOO awesome! 

This picture was taken a few weeks ago at scrimmage game against a team from another county...it was FREEZING at this game! And they aren't allowed to wear toboggans during play :/

I took this pic last weekend after they won the semifinal game 30-28...who would have ever thought Flag Football could get so intense?! haha! By the way-their game that morning was at 8:30 am, it was 30something degrees, and the field was iced. Grant was miserable during this game because he couldn't move from all the layers, haha!

This was from yesterday at the Championship game..we lost by only 1 touchdown!

All for now...I know I'm not very regular on my blog anymore, and I'm rarely on FB either, but you can follow along on my Instagram account!

The Next Manning Brothers?!

Will the Trochelman brothers be the next football stars? 

ehhh.....probably not! haha!!

but they sure are cute, aren't they?!

They are having a really great time and have learned so much this season! We are already 4 games in and only have 1 game left of the regular season before the playoffs. And...we are undefeated! Next Saturday, we are playing a really tough team (also undefeated), and it is going to be hard to beat them...even so, I'm excited for them and for how far they have come!

Carson really has a lot of heart-even if he doesn't pull the flag everytime, he tries, which is all that want from him. And Harp-really has come a LONG way, haha! Bless his heart-the first game he ever played, he probably didn't even the know the name of his team, much less what to do! At one point during that game, he was in the OTHER teams huddle! lol!! 

Here's a super short (grainy) video from practice the other night of Harp (in the red)...he's come a long way!! They both have!

It's been a fun season...Carson already has his sights on playing tackle next year, but I'm not sure we'll let him...I think he's going to need another year of flag...I really wish will we had a full flag division for kids of all ages! 

Anyways, all for now!!

Kindergarten and 1st Grade!!!

Whew. 

That pretty much sums up life right now, haha! I just realized today that I haven't sat down to blog about the boys first day (err....week..) of school! 

Last Monday, I sent my oldest babies off to Kindergarten and 1st Grade! They had a pretty good week, overall! Harp is having the time of his life! Preschool (and now Kindergarten) has really allowed him to blossom and branch off from big brother's shadow. He is such a friendly, easy-going kid, and has already made several "best friends," and is apparently in love with a girl in his class named Sophia (I'm only half joking...). Carson has had an overall good week, but he has had one hiccup with his first grade teacher substitute...His real teacher is on maternity leave until the end of the month, so hopefully things will go more smoothly when she gets back. 

We've also been busy with football practice every Tuesday & Thursday nights, and church on Wednesdays.

Here are a few first day of school pics!  

Baptism and this past week!

After Carson accepted Jesus into his heart a few weeks ago, Kane and I started talking to him about getting baptized. We talked to him a bit about what it was and we read about John the Baptist in scripture.

Because we have been doing this whole two-church thing for a whole year now, we decided we would give Carson 100% choice as to where he would get baptized-at "home/old church" where we still attend on Wednesdays, or "new church" where we attend on Sundays for the service and Sunday School. Without any hesitation, he chose new church. We asked him a few more times in the days following, and he was pretty adamant about the pastor at new church baptizing him...so new church it was! 

Today was the big day: he was a bit nervous, but also SO excited!

The funny thing about technology is that we have the ability to capture/record any and all memories that we choose...but at the same time, it really distracts us from being in the moment. I didn't record the baptism simply because I wanted to enjoy the moment in real time. I did manage to snap just a couple of pictures, though :)

  

After church, my parents along with Kane's mom and sister went to grab lunch with us! It's always interesting eating with these crazies!

And this is what Grant thought about getting his picture made with Harp! haha!

Kane and me with Carson-the sun was in his face :)

And an attempt at a family picture...these just keep getting worse and worse! ha!

We've had a busy July so far! This past week we had VBS at new church and this week, Kane's oldest brother, wife & kids will be here visiting! 

All for now!