Soccer Fun

Alyssa Kate played her first soccer game Saturday. It was a beautiful day and soooo much fun. She loves soccer and did such a good job. I think my shy girl could become a soccer nut :)

Caroline scoped out a good seat :)

Running through the tunnel while they announced her name

From the moment game started she stayed right with the ball. She would just run the other team out bounds when they had the ball

She was a little excited :)

Studying the game during a substitution

Kicking the ball in

She got to see Noah and Sara who also had games that day

There is one more new post below this.....

Dunk in the tub

Tonight I was privileged to see my Aunt Donna baptized into the family of God! It was so wonderful and emotional. She is such a wonderful woman with a huge heart. Alyssa Kate and I were up in the baptismal area with her so I could take some pictures. I loved that Alyssa Kate could be there to witness this sacred event. She has seen others baptized and we have spoken to her about it but I know that it is much more meaningful because it was someone who she loves and can relate to. So, tonight before bed we were doing our family prayer time and it always starts with Wes and ends with Caroline. Well, Wes and I both praised God for Donna's baptism and God allowing us to have a personal relationship with Him. Then it was Alyssa Kate's turn and she said "thank you God for seeing Aunt Donna at church in the tub". It was so difficult to keep from laughing out loud :)

Wye Mountain

Thursday we went to Wye Mountain with our friends the Kamps. It was such a nice, warm, breezy day! The kids had a blast and Sara and I enjoyed watching them run through the daffodils. Sara and I are both entering into our first official year of homeschooling our oldest for Kindergarten in the Fall. The decision to teach Alyssa Kate at home has not been without its challenges but having such a sweet friend to bounce ideas off of and receive encouragement from has been great. It will be hard but an adventure and I am glad that we all have buddies to walk through it with!

The kids could not wait until the could rush the flowers


Alyssa Kate's favorite part of Wye Mtn.- running :)

How old are you?

Caroline's "gotcha" face

Gorgeous girls

The crew: Caroline(2) holding Lily(3 months), Noah(5), Eden(2) and Alyssa Kate(5)

Sweet Buddies!

The great race

Love that girl!

5 Already?

My first baby is 5!!!! Actually she was 5 last Thursday but with the pace life is moving the last few weeks it is amazing this is only week late. Alyssa Kate Heltz was born at 2:49 am after about 8 hours of labor. My water broke at home while we were putting the crib together, I thought I peed on myself at first but she was just ready to play. After my epidural I slept through most of my labor and when the nurse woke me up and told me it was time to push I was slightly confused. After three full pushes she came into the world howling. She was a tiny thing that the nurse actually rounded up to get her weight at 6lbs 1 oz. She is such an amazing gift from God. We tried for a couple years to have a child and had a miscarriage five months before we got pregnant with Alyssa Kate. While choosing a name for her I loved the name Kate but did not want her name to be just "Kate" without something it was short for as her official first name. So we choice Alyssa which is my middle name. I love that we are connected in that way.
Now that she is 5 I can not believe how fast the time has past. She is totally the guinea pig, the poor child. She started with two very green parents and it is amazing how wonderful she has turned out :). She is such a smart, sweet girl who takes my breath away at times with how completely amazing she is. God surprises me daily with how much this little girl can challenge me and show me His love at the same time.
Alyssa Kate loves to be read to and is improving in sounding out words by herself. She loves to pretend to cook, clean and take care of babies. She adores her little sister and likes to help with everything! She is a pleaser who doesn't push too many boundaries but will speak her mind when it is important to her. She has her daddy's eyes and my attitude. She loves to snuggle and be close and would rather fall asleep wrapped up in her daddy's arms than anywhere else.

3 days old precious gift

1 year old cutie pie

2 year old fairy

3 year old princess

4 year old sweetheart

5 year old beauty

36 Years Combined

Saturday, my mom and Alisa threw Alyssa Kate and I a birthday party. Alyssa Kate will be five on the 27th and I was 31 on the 22nd. Alisa did such a great job decorating for the Ice Cream Parlor party. She made all the cute signs and the very professional looking cake. My mom provided all the yummy goodies for ice cream and snacks. These two ladies can really throw a party. We had such a good time, all the kids played and the adults visited....a perfect afternoon.

The pictures on the right are me when I was five and the left was AK now.


My talented friend Kim made the cute puffs.



Isn't Alisa talented :)

Everything you could need to make a yummy sundae

The birthday girls

Looks good

Caroline's turn whacking the pinata

All decked out :)

The Arctic Tundra

We went to Minnesota this week to visit some family and let the girls play in large amounts of snow. We had an amazing time and are so glad we went. What we didn't know when we went was that we were visiting on the coldest week of the year...actually the coldest week in years :) The warmest day was the first one we were there at a balmy 7 degrees for a high. This was our first time flying with the girls and it went great. The large amounts of snacks and activities in their backpacks helped make it seamless. The amount of snow that was on the ground was crazy to me, I actually looked out the window before we were landing and thought we were still high in the clouds but we were near the completely white ground.

Our first day in Minnesota we went sledding. Both girls loved it. Here is my cousin Danielle with her son Wesley and Alyssa Kate

Caroline shocked us all and loved flying down the hill on her reindeer sled. When she would reach the bottom she would say "I do that again".

Wes getting some air :)

Wesley and Alyssa Kate flying down the hill.

Mommy's snow beauty

The kids standing in front of the neighbors mailbox covered with snow....it was crazy!

Lego Land at the Mall of America...the Woody made of Lego's was very impressive

My Aunt Donna (my mom's little sister)

The big kids waiting to go on a ride at Nickelodeon Universe in the MOA.

This is the big roller coaster, it was so cool to have an entire amusement park indoors and the kids loved it.

Caroline sat on two rides but refused to actually ride them and got off.

I thought Caroline looked like an Umpa-Loompa(sp?) in her snow gear

On the other side of the fence is the Mississippi River...it was a trip for me to see it covered in snow and ice!

We visited the aquarium at the Mall of America... the kids loved it.

My cousin Jessica with Caroline at the aquarium

The Family: (L-R)- Danielle, Wesley, Travis, Caroline, Big Wesley, Alyssa Kate, me, Aunt Donna, Kate, Jessica and Mark

I took this picture this morning. It was a phenomenon I have never heard of. It was -20 degrees this morning and I walked outside and it looked like a glittering snow globe. Apparently when it is that wildly cold any moisture in the air freezes...the air was frozen :)

Another freaky trick in the cold....when it is over 15 degrees below zero you can throw a boiling cup of water into the air and it will immediately freeze into snow....you can see the steam coming from the cup

This one you can see the first bit of water hitting the air at the end of his hand turning to snow

Most the water is out now...cool right? :)

When it is that cold you have to find something fun to do :)

Our trip home...Alyssa Kate is looking at Minnesota covered in snow

Caroline was not impressed :)