Thanksgiving at the Ranch

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! It was our year to be with the Knochel side of the family. All 19 of us were able to spend a long weekend together at my parents lake house, which was so nice. The kids had so much fun, as usual, playing outside and just spending quality time with their cousins, who they love. We did a bunch of fishing, horse back riding and ate too much yummy food. Nate finally got on a pony (after saying he would several times and then refusing to do it once the stable manager had him saddled ready to go).  He had a blast riding him around the arena several times, and was so proud of himself he decided to ride one of the big horses from the area to his stall when the rides were finished. Philip and I were able to go fishing at sunset without any kids, which was so fun and relaxing! Levi bought his first fishing license in town and then Philip took he and Joel on a couple hunts. They didn't get anything, but saw some deer and pigs, which was exciting. Of course, our thanksgiving meal was delicious, and the kids had fun gathering and creating the centerpieces for the table. They made "thankful pumpkins" with strips of paper on which they wrote something they were thankful for, which turned out very sweet and looked cute on the table with the leaves and flowers from the fields around the house. 

 

 

 
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we participated in a youth fishing tournament and the Knochel's took home all the awards (ha!). Most of the kids had a blast, Levi was super grumpy because he was the only one that didn't land a fish. The one he hooked pulled the whole rod straight into the water and down to the bottom never to be seen again. Nora hooked the biggest fish and Nate was the youngest to reel one in, a tiny bass. After fishing we were treated to a yummy fish fry lunch. What a fun way to end a great Thanksgiving weekend together!

 

 

School Fun Run

Levi and Joel ran in their annual fundraiser the Apex Fun Run last week. They were so excited the whole week leading up to the event! Each day they had an assembly that focused on a different character trait, such as, perseverance, being a team player, and coachability. Both boys did a great job giving their best effort while running. Levi tan 55 laps and Joel ran 46! Levi loves to run and it was fun to watch him race around the dirt track with a big joyful grin on his face. Joel worked really hard as well, and was so sweet encouraging all of his friends. Nate and Rachel even joined in for a few laps with their brothers. It is a fundraiser I'm actually happy to support!

Halloween!

We had fun celebrating Halloween this year! Nate and Rachel helped me staff our church pumpkin patch, and we had fun spending the morning there with our friends. For the 4th year in a row we had a family themed costume. We chose Peter Pan; Philip was a pirate, I was Wendy, Levi was Peter, Joel was Hook, Nathan was tic tic croc  (or tic tock aldigator if you asked Nate) and Rachel wad Tinker Bell. It was a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed playing their parts (especially Nate). The Saturday before Halloween we went to a family costume party and won best family themed costume. It was a lot of fun to spend time with some of our dear friend since high school and enjoy each others kids. 

This year's trunk or treat at our church was extra fun! There was a petting zoo, games, food and of course, lots of cleverly decorated cars to get candy from. We carved pumpkins as a family with only a few melt downs, resulting in some cute jack-o-lanterns. On Halloween night we enjoyed trick or treating with a large group of our friends in the hosts neighborhood, which was much more lively and festive than our neighborhood. The boys had a blast running with their friends from house to house. Meanwhile, Rachel rode in style in her friend Kate's wagon munching animal crackers and waving her glow stick star wand. The last 10 minutes or so of trick or treating Levi was very grumpy. We couldn't figure out why until he threw up on the way home and he admitted to eating 3 full sized candy bars, a few small treats and drinking an entire can of coke. Hopefully, that tummy ache helped him learn that pacing yourself isn't just a mean rule from mom and dad. Overall we had a bunch of fun this Halloween, and I'm already looking forward to and brainstorming for next year!