Happy Birthday Joanne

Ok - so I know I'm a little late :) - but we celebrated Joanne's birthday on Saturday the 6th! We had an amazing time! We also met their Japanese exchange student "Kase-K". Poor guy was a little nervous meeting everyone - but he warmed up quickly! Anyways - we hope Joanne had a great birthday!!!

The Burbs

This past Saturday we had our 2nd "Blue Wallet Cinemas" in our backyard. To kick off fall, we watched a Brown classic "The Burbs". We had a great time! Another Brown tradition - when the Klopeks offer pretzels and sardines as an appetizer to their neighbors - we then paused the movie and attempted to enjoy a sardine and pretzel as well (I have to admit, I did not partake in this lovely tradition!). I forgot to take a picture once everyone arrived, but you can get the idea of what the backyard looked like :) We had candles lit, Allison baked delicious cookies for all of us, we enjoyed popcorn & candy, plus it was a bit chilly (yeah!) so we had hot chocolate to keep us warm. I also had to include a picture of the boys zoned into X-Box! Can't wait for the next movie!

Fall Ball

Its that time of year again!! Fall ball is here! Blake is on the same team with most of his friends from All Stars - so he's having a blast! Its very low key, so Jake and I really enjoy going to the games.

Remembering David

Today would have been my brother, David’s 24th birthday. I can’t believe that it has been almost (6) years since he passed away. I can’t help to think what it would have been like to still have him around. Would we have been close? When he passed away, we still lived in Maryland, so we only saw him once a year. Would we still be living in Maryland? Would David have been married already? What type of career would he have been interested in?

The past 11 years of our lives have been full of wonderful blessings and as well as trials. God has always made it clear to us, where we should go and what we should do. Jake and I have lived in (3) different states and moved (7) times! Within the past (6) years we have lost my brother, father-in-law and my dad. Through all of this, God has always comforted Jake & I and protected us.

The pain of David’s passing is no longer fresh. We are now able to look back at pictures and talk about him without constant tears. I found this verse today that is a real comfort to me:

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (New Living Translation)
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. “

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He has been there for me through everything without complaint. Through all of the happy times and the trials, God has made our bond together even stronger. I am so blessed to have him!

If I could share one thing with each of you it would be…don’t hold grudges and don’t let petty things get in the way of your relationships with your friends and family. Always be thankful for what God has given you!

Bocce Ball League

Jake, Mark & Jeff have joined a Bocce Ball league with a friend of theirs. They go all out - and dress the part - since bocce ball has Italian roots, the guys dress "old school Italian" with khakis, white collared shirt, white shoes, pipes & hats that snap on the bill. They have two games every Friday night and are really having a great time. Anyways here are some pictures from the bocce ball website. Enjoy!

First Day of School

Summer has officially come to an end...today was the first day of school! Mackenzie is now in the 5th grade (CRAZY!) and Blake is in the 3rd grade. They both go to the same school and are really excited to spend time with their friends again.

Mackenzie looks mad - because Blake just knocked her over - this is also the same reason that Blake looks so pleased with himself!

Kayaking

On Labor Day we went kayaking in the bay w/ Andy & Allison. We had a great time! While kayaking about 10 feet away from us a seal popped it's head out of the water & looked around. Then swam even closer to us - bobbing up and down in the water! It was awesome - but a little scary - I kept picturing it deciding to come up for air under our kayak & tipping us over :) The kids were both thrilled to be so close to a seal! We also kayaked over to an area in the bay where there are "moon jellies" - which are a type of jelly fish that don't sting. Both the kids were able to reach out and touch the jellies! Great way to end the summer!

Blake's Hair Cut

We let Blake's hair grow all summer long, but after much debate (with Blake) we decided he needed a clean look for school....

BEFORE


AFTER

End of Summer Pool Party

Thank you Jeff for throwing a great end of summer pool party!

Attempting to pick up Mark & throw him in the pool :)

A day in the life.....

I thought I would share a story of what it's like to take your 8 year old son & 10 year old daughter shopping together. For those of you who don't have kids, but hope to one day, let me preface this by saying that not all of our days are like this, kids are wonderful, so hurry and have them so we can hear all of your stories :)

The other day I decided to take the kids back to school shopping. The kids are either a). very cranky & in a bad mood while shopping or b). getting along - but very wild while shopping. Well today was a b). day - the kids were getting along - but were running wild. We were at Target - and within the first 5 minutes the kids were climbing around the cart and touching every item of clothing - giggling and chasing eachother. I would whisper threats, but evidently the thought of summer coming to an end was too much for them to bare so they decided to get all of their energy out in one day! So anyways I'm in a bad mood not only because of the kids, but since we waited to the last minute to shop, all of the size medium shirts were completely sold out - so unless I wanted Blake to wear a XXL shirt, we were out of luck. When we were almost done with the school supply section - I was kind of in a daze -focused on finishing the shopping trip and getting home! I see this dad walking with his two daughters - in matching dresses no less - serenely walking along the aisle. As I was noticing this my two lovely children run up behind me and Blake says very loudly (while laughing) "Mom, Mackenzie just gave me a nipple twister". I was shocked- first of all we don't say this word - secondly everyone around us was now listening! After a quick inhale of air - I say "Blake, first of all, I never want to hear you say the word nipple like that again. Secondly Mackenzie, do not pinch your brother"! I then not so wisely decided to take a second to explain to Blake that we never ever give girls "nipple twisters". He looks at me like I'm a moron and says "Mom, girls don't even have nipples"! Well - what can you say to that! Hope you enjoyed this lovely story!