A few more pictures...

Mighty Knights...very creative Knights
I just love how Kensie is gazing at Thad...hmmmm...maybe there's a future there. :)
A car full of silly kids....but where is Caleb?

He's getting the donuts with Aunt Anna! :)

Here's a few pictures of the kids in New Jersey. Each of the kids took turn being sick so we didn't really take them out a whole lot. However, we did manage to get donuts just about every day thanks to Aunt Anna's desire to spoil Caleb completely! :) Despite being sick the kids LOVED being together. It was like the never ending playdate!

Fall Pictures

All 3 kiddos at the start of the Corn Maze...oh and Charlie Brown too. I love the expression on Kensies face, "Please don't let him drop me!"
We dominated the corn maze!
Father loving on daughter
Kensington was very excited by the pumpkins.
Kaden's perfect pumpkin now named John
Caleb's pumpkin now named Pookey Head :)
A Kensie sized pumpkin. :)
This is the best picture we could get of all 3 kids in the coach. Caleb wasn't quite tall enough to see through on his own.
Sitten pretty after church.
Pretty Lady

I'm taking a break from posting New Jersey pictures in order to bring you the Van Hook Day at the Pumpkin Patch. We went back to the same Young Life patch as last year and it really took me back as I started thinking about what life was like a year ago. Wow time flies. So fun though to take Kensington through the corn maze and show her all the pumpkins. I never get tired of seeing a big brand new exciting world through a babies eyes. Thank you Lord for our precious little ones!

Kensington in NYC

Kensington and Aunt Anna on the train into New York
Kensie's (and mommies) very first NYC Parade. We were so so SO excited to see a parade in New York! It wasn't the Macy's Day Parade but it was still lots of fun. Although, it did take us a good hour to figure out why the Columbus Day Parade was all about Italy. :)
Kensington where she will some day get married...The Plaza Hotel...ok maybe not but it is a beautiful place.
Kensie hits up Time Square
A picture in front of THE Macys! Very exciting for Mommy
And last but not least a picture with the big bronze Bull in the Financial District. Why not?

So in order not to stress out, I'm just going to put up New Jersey pictures up a bit at a time.

So our first installment is our Girl's Day to New York! Anna's husband offered to watch the 4 older kiddos for us so we could go and walk New York, and by walk I mean, all the way from Central Park to the park by the Stature of Liberty and back! So fun...and so sore! :) What a great way to get a feel for the city though. It was amazing to see how the vibe changed as you moved through the different districts. Slightly disappointing not to see any celebrities, but we did stop into Serendipity, I love that movie! It'll be so fun to show Kensington these pictures someday in all her different poses around New York!

6 Months

Happy Girl
I just love her rosy cheeks
:)

Well Kensington is already 6 months and 9 days! Wow! But seeing as her 6 month birthday took place while we were in New Jersey and I still haven't got the pictures from New Jersey onto the computer these will have to do! :) We busted out the johnny jump up a few days before she turned 6 months and she seems to really enjoy it...and it's nice for mommy to have one more place to put her so that I can get things done around the house! :) You'll have to excuse the laundry room background in the pictures. It's the best place to hang her so that she can see into the kitchen and we can chat while we work. :)

I Like:

Eating!!! Peas, Carrots, and Squash

Kaden and even Caleb now :)

Chewing on everything

Laughing with Mommy

Books

Trying to eat whatever paper (i.e. grocery list or school papers) Mommy has in her hands

Sucking my thumb

Playing in my exersaucer and jump up

I Don't Like:

Not being fed on demand!

Green beans

Being away from mommy

Being tired

Teething

First:

Time to fly to New Jersey

Time to eat cheerios

Time to walk New York City (Ok mommy walked but I saw all of NYC)

We're off again

Just saying goodbye for a week. The kiddos and I are headed to New Jersey tomorrow! After we get through our first flight (4 hours and 42 min.) the rest is downhill! :) We are so excited and covet your prayers for Matt at home and us as we travel. Thanks!

Aquarium Fun

I LOVE this picture of the kiddos with their Sea Otter pal! I love that the reflection caught the joy on Kaden's face and Caleb too. Such a neat experience.
The way you want to see a shark....swimming away!
The newest addition to the aquarium. This is a "little" Great White Shark!

Just thought I'd put up a couple of pictures from the aquarium. Matt took the boys while I was on the farm. I love and am terrified of this new shark all at the same time. She is fascinating to watch but it scares every ounce of me! She makes the hammer heads and the Galapagos sharks look like puppies! They won't keep her in captivity long, and then they'll release her back out to the "wild"...oh goody....just what I want to think about the next time we go to the beach! :) I'm still trying to figure out what God was thinking when He made the Great White Sharks. Oh well, we know that He made it and when He was done He called it good! :)

Just popping in

Popping in to say hello. Fall has come to the central coast...well it's cool in the mornings but then warms up, the leaves aren't changing, cause most of the trees are cypress and don't change....but there are fall decorations up everywhere so close enough. :) However, the kiddos and I are headed to New Jersey this Saturday to visit our treasured friends and we get to stay for a whole week so I'm sure we'll get to see "real fall" soon! We are so excited. Especially Caleb since we just bought some donuts to bring on the plane! :) Thank you Lord for this increadible blessing...and guide us on our LONG day of travel!

First Food!

Getting ready for her first food (not counting rice cereal which she didn't dig at all!) So clean, so pretty.
Yum Green Beans! (Yes, I was taking the picture and feeding the baby at the same time. :)
Silly face
Messy but still pretty

We started Kensington in on solids last week. She'll be 6 months on the 11th and I was going to hold her off until then, but seeing as she was trying to grab food off of our plates and doing everything in her power to grab glasses to get a drink we figured she was ready. She's only been eating green beans and peas. She really likes the peas and isn't quite so sure about the beans. We'll keep her on this for a couple of weeks before adding more exciting things like carrots and squash! :) Hard to believe, we're at this stage already. Time flies when you're busy chasing kiddos! :)

Apple Picking!

California Orchards...very very hot and dusty...but still pretty.
Getting ready to start picking...notice how red we already are!
The apple tree were really small which made them the perfect height for all the kiddos.
What about this one?
I love apples!
Look at this one!
Inspect before picking!
Our expert apple picker
See it's pretty!
Now look how red we are!

Play time on the tractor

Yesterday we got to go apple picking with our good friends the Allans. I've been wanting to do this since last fall so a very exciting day for me! It was so so fun but also so so hot. Not quiet the cool crisp fall experience I anticipated but so much better then just buying apples at the store. :) We came home with about 30 yummy apples and some pie and got to sample some of the best apple juice I've ever had. After we got home and showered (we were very very dusty after walking through the dirt scuffing our shoes and having a hay fight) the Allan's came over for dinner and to play Apples to Apples while we ate Apple pie! :) Quite the fun themed day.

Hope everyone has a great start to their week. Happy Fall.

Happenings

This is how Caleb amuses himself at Kaden's soccer games (notice the binoculars are backwards. :)
"Hey Maddie...you can stop playing dead now!"
Throwing the ball in (That's our amazing coach behind Kaden)
Action shot

Kensie in her exersaucer for the first time...I think she likes it! :)

Thought I would pop in and say hello and post some pictures from Kaden's first soccer game and Kensie's contagious smile. :) Another week has flown by...especially busy since Matt's been gone every day from 7 a.m. until after 9 working on finals! WooHoo it's Friday and finals are over...unfortuantely classes start again on Monday! Looking forward to a slow weekend...well not slow...a 10 mile run, soccer game, apple picking, dinner/game night, church, and family movie night...so not slow but a fun weekend! Jesus loves you.

View on the Farm
4 Aulgur Girls
Country Girls
Eleanor Aulgur and Kensington Eleanor Rose Van Hook
Do you see any similarities? :)

This last week Matt let me fly to Missouri to visit my Grandparents (and my Mamma who was also up there this weekend!) so that Kensington could meet her name sake and I could get my coveted 4 Generation picture. :) It was such an amazing blessing to be able to go and just visit. I treasure the relationship that I have with my family. Thank you Lord for the love and heritage that you have placed in my life.