A Little Update

Hi guys! This is LAUREN posting this, so things might sound a bit different (but probably not :)). Things have changed a little bit since October 2014, so I am going to do an update on things that have changed!

I am Lauren Weyel. I am 10 years old, and I am writing this blog post. I am currently re-doing/ changing my room, so it could be cleaner. This is my room right now.

The things on my bed are going to be hung up on my wall!

JON

This is my brother, Jon. He is 7 years old. Here are some pictures of his room.

More Stuff Soon!

October, So Far

As usual, October is off to a busy start! It began with Lauren being chosen for the Battle of the Books. The top two readers in the whole school were selected to answer questions about the books they read in an epic battle. :) As you can see, Lauren won!! She was so excited to win a Kindle Paperwhite and a $50 Amazon card to buy books. She's been reading it ever since!

Lauren also got to help lead a song for worship at church. It was pretty fun to see her up at the keyboard!

Jon has been busy, too. We started Awana this year for the kids at a local church. They go every Tuesday evening to play games, learn about the bible, and do crafts. They also receive rewards for memorizing bible verses, and Jon earned his Awana vest for learning John 3:16. He will earn patches for the vest as he learns more. There are over 100 kids attending each week--this was the small group for Jon's class, applauding as he received his vest.

We did our annual visit to the pumpkin patch once the temperature dropped below 90. My cuties just keep getting bigger every year!

And this past weekend we FINALLY got Jon his "big boy bed!" He said he didn't want a new bed until he turned 6, but as you can see, it was long overdue!

He got to help Daddy put the new bed together...

...and here he is, with some room to grow!

Another Year Come and Gone

This morning, Lauren learned the word "bittersweet." It is the last day of school, and she is excited for the summer ahead, but also mature enough to realize the sadness in saying goodbye to a wonderful school year. I'm usually pretty excited for summer, and I definitely see the wonderful possibilities that lay ahead of us. But I am just not ready for this year to end. This school year was exactly what both kids needed. The right teachers, the right classrooms, the right learning levels... and I just don't want it to be over yet.

We are so grateful for Ms. Emrick, who has the patience of a saint and spent many extra hours working with Jon when he needed the help.

We are so thankful for Mrs. Campa, who was Lauren's adored kindergarten teacher and now third grade teacher. She is pretty and kind and smart and everything Lauren wants to be when she grows up. She couldn't pick a better role model.

So goodbye to an amazing year, filled with so many blessings. May the future be just as bright as my
precious goofballs.

The Birthday Bonanza Begins

Lauren seems to be especially good at spreading out her birthday, and this year is no different. She will be turning 8 on Friday, with a family party on Saturday, but we started the celebrating early today with a special get-together with her friends. Not wanting to do a typical birthday party at home (since she's getting one in a week anyway!) we decided to do something a little different, based on two of Lauren's greatest loves: hamburgers and shopping. :)

She picked two favorite friends, and we picked them up after church today. First stop: McDonald's for a hamburger lunch! Sitting in a booth with three 8-year-old girls is both adorable and amusing.

Next stop: Target! Not the typical party destination, but as we were walking in, Lauren said, "I've always wanted to go shopping with my best friends!" In lieu of party favors, we let each girl choose a My Little Pony--the current 8-year-old girl obsession. Walking up and down the aisles of Target, listening to their commentary? Also adorable and amusing.

Then it was back to our house for presents, chocolate cupcakes, and plenty of play time. I'm thankful Lauren has such sweet friends to help celebrate her day!

Lucky Number 13

The view stayed the same, but the people look slightly different. :) 

Happy Anniversary, my love.

Learning to Read!

The summer before Lauren turned five, we bought the "Bob Books" and started teaching her how to read. With all of the issues we have had with Jon's speech delay, I had no visions of teaching Jon to read at the same age. But his preschool class last year worked hard on phonics, and Jon finished the class knowing all his letters and letter sounds. So this summer we figured, why not give it a try? Gary worked through book 1 with Jon and minutes later, he was reading it to the rest of us. I am so incredibly proud of this boy and the challenges he has overcome!

Our Little Dance Star

For the last 6 months, Lauren has been taking a "Jazz/Hip-Hop" class at a local dance studio. It's for 5-7 year olds, so she is one of the oldest in the class and also one of the kids that the teacher depends on to remember the routine. :) They had their dance recital this past weekend, at the Spanos Theater at Cal Poly. The owner of the studio (who is also Lauren's teacher) was a professional dancer and he tries his best to create professional performances for the kids. It was a great opportunity for Lauren to be on a real stage in front of a large audience--and she loved it! Ever since her school play, she tells me how much she loves performing and being on stage and it doesn't make her nervous at all. I've tried to tell her what a rare skill that is!

The theme was 80's and the girls danced to a Madonna song. They had a professional photographer taking pictures at the dress rehearsal (who, coincidentally, was our wedding photographer!). These photos are from that night, since my pictures of the real performance didn't come out at all. But thankfully Daddy did some video of our little dance star, which you can see right here!