Freshman football is now over and both boys have put their helmets, pads and cleats away for the year.  I love this picture of Brad and the intensity on his face.  His team lost only one game and walked away winning All City for freshman.  Trevor played this fall with a new intensity, and Sidney is in the process of trying out for club volleyball.  She has been and will continue to be very busy.

This is Ryan with his para, Michelle, who is a gem.  She loves our little boy so very much and showers him with love while he is at school.  Ryan will be starting school two hours earlier next week (at 11:00) and I’m not quite sure how things are going to go for a while because that is right in the middle of his nap time.  But, we are trying to transition him to a little bit of a longer day so hopefully he will adjust his sleeping habits to this new schedule.  He’s been doing a little better with a decrease in seizures, but we know from years of experience that is only because he started a new medication recently and he is still in the honeymoon period where seizures lessen.  Give him a month or two and he’ll be back to his old patterns. We have an appointment with the epileptologist next week so we’ll see what he has to say and report back to you of course.

And our trip to St. Louis last week…..We were there for Travis’s grandpa’s last 390th bomber reunion and enjoyed it very much.  It was so interesting, and very educational, listening to the WWII veterans talk about their experiences flying the B17s and the war in general.  The kids enjoyed dressing up and were also very intrigued by all the experiences that were shared.  I know we all learned a lot.

We are dressed up and ready for the first night of the banquet to start.  It was so fun to see family from Utah, Tennessee and Omaha.

We did some sight-seeing while we were there and spend Saturday at Grant’s Farm and the famous arch. I love this picture because of its abstract angle.  Sidney was not at all a fan of the small elevator and the swaying from the wind at the top but the boys did love the views from the arch.

Trevor waiting to get in the elevator to head up.  Did you know it takes 4 minutes at 4 MPH to reach the top and 3 minutes to come back down?

Grant’s Farm was absolutely beautiful this time of year and if you ever travel that direction, it’s worth stopping at. 

In Travis’s words, this is the kids holding up a wall.  I guess he doesn’t appreciate the angle but I love it.  Not sure how these kids got so big so fast!

Gotta get a pictures of the ladies.  Travis’s parents spent the day sightseeing with us.

We saw all kinds of animals; this is Grandpa Mac with Trevor.

I love this picture as the oldest two show their personalities.  Overall it was a great trip, and while we were gone Ryan was safe and sound at home being very spoiled by our respite help.  It was a blessing to leave him home where he was comfortable and secure although we missed him so much.  We are thankful for the opportunity to spend the weekend with family, near and far, and really enjoyed the time with the older kids and seeing the beauty of fall with all the changing colors. 

Blessings to you all!