chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

Chris and I met Carol and Wright through our participation in Trek this past summer. We spent a lot of time together over those crazy three days, so when they invited us to their house to carve pumpkins we jumped at the chance to hang out in regular clothes and in a warm/heated house. We missed them! They have an awesome garden and each of our girls donned a headlamp, strapped on their rainboots, and dredged through the Noel's very own pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin in the dark. So fun! We carted them inside and started carving. The girls had a blast, as always, and it was an added measure of fun to be together with another family. Brynn knew right away she wanted another kitty. I'm getting pretty good at carving cats.  Finley really got into it this year. She wanted a scary face. Chris was on it.   And Paige had an elaborate idea of a haunted castle. She did the initial work, then Chris stepped in to do the big stuff and I finished up with the fine tuning...

This fall has been particularly busy, and unfortunately, we didn't fit in a pumpkin patch visit as a family (darn!). I'm trying not to get bent out of shape about it, and reminding myself we don't have to do everything every year. The younger girls and I did enjoy a preschool field trip to Remlinger Farms so I'm counting it! Remlinger Farms is less a farm and more of an amusement park. Lots of fun rides: Brynn and her cute school friend, Cami, on the awesome roller coaster. Brynn and Jane Finley's favorite ride. It goes fast! Then it was off to the hay maze,  And the hay pile. Some of the kids were throwing it and Brynn had it all down her clothes. That was not fun.  Finley got trampled by a huge school group somewhere between the hay pile and the hay maze. She cried for most of the next hour.  Train ride was a hit for all.  And before we scooted out and grabbed a pumpkin, we visited and fed some of the animals. This was pr...

We had a few Hendricks gatherings in the Fall with lots to celebrate.... First was sending cousin Emily off on her mission to New Mexico (via the Mexico City MTC...she is learning Spanish). We have been so blessed to spend more time with Emily this past summer as she was home from BYU and working near us in Snoqualmie. She is always willing to help us and loves spending time with the girls. She watched our kids often as we prepared for Trek and countless other times for Chris and I to simply enjoy a night out (and she always did so free of charge!!! ). She was 7 years old when Chris and I got married and we have years of memories with her and her family as we've seen her grow up. We are proud of her faithfulness and her willingness to share her testimony of Jesus Christ with the world. We are grateful for the example she is to our girls! We had a wonderful dinner and gathering at her home after she gave her "farewell" talk. We heard her sister, Mary, sing, too. It wa...

Brynn had her first soccer season this fall. She was initially really hesitant and cautious on the field staying a safe distance from the ball, but after a little parental bribery ($0.10 for each time she touched the ball), she started to go from this: Hair twirling...  and dancing for me and Chris...   To actually a bit of running and kicking the ball...yay!  She had a fun season with improvement throughout and was especially thrilled about her trophy.   Her coaches Christine and Sarah. Great season, Brynn! Good job!! The most difficult thing about soccer this year was having the girls' games and practices at the same day/time but different fields. I kept having small prayers of gratitude that Chris' job change this past summer actually allowed us to divide and conquer most games (all practices/games are mid-week, not Saturday). There were only one or two that I had to manage alone. Yay for neighbors and friends on Paige's team, ...

Another great soccer season for Paige ended in the middle of October. She continues to make real progress and we are proud of her efforts and hard work. This was her first year on an all girls team...what a difference that makes! Not only are they learning to be more aggressive with the ball and utilize their teammates better, but these girls just have too much fun together. They didn't win most of their games, but you can tell that didn't matter much to them. This is the first year with goalies. It makes a big difference in the game. Paige was always excited for her rotation in this position.  Did I mention these girls had a lot of fun?? Such adorable personalities!  Coach Eric invited all the families to his house for a big end of season party. They have a bouncy house in their garage and the girls went crazy for an hour or two. Such fun! Skylar, Ashley, Paige, Eric, Erica, Molly, Natalie, Rachel. A stellar team! A wonderful season! Go Lightnin...