The Koester Dancers

Well the Koester dancers are back from last year and we have added one more member to the group. So pause my music that's playing down at the bottom and then press play to enjoy the show.

Our Thanksgiving Feast

This year we had a great Thanksgiving. We surely missed not being with either of our families but luckily for us we have some great friends here in Lansing that we got to share the day with. The day started off early with me running the 5k turkey trot downtown. It was a lot of fun but it was really cold. There were over 1200 people that came out to run the race.

Thanks Kyle and Evelyn for coming out and cheering me on, it gave me just that much more motivation.

I felt good about my results and was so glad I went out and did it. I ended up coming in 3rd place in my division and came in 13th place out of all women.
Later that day we had Thanksgiving dinner at our place. We had a total of 15 people, it was great to have such an awesome group. The food was so good. Kyle did great at cooking the turkey and making homemade gravy. All the sides were so good and the pies did well to polish everything off. Thanks to our friends for making the day so nice. The rest of our weekend has been pretty chill. Kyle is very busy studying for finals but we were able to catch a movie Saturday night and eat a burger at Johnny Rockets. The movie of the night was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It was really a great movie. It takes place during the holocaust, it is very touching so if you have a chance I would recommend going and seeing it.

Silver Bells

Friday we attended the Silver Bells Parade downtown. It was freezing cold but it was fun to get hot chocolate and get into the Christmas spirit. Christmas is my favorite holiday and December is my favorite month so I like to live it to the fullest and do all the classic activities. I don't think Evelyn enjoyed having to be so bundled up, she was feeling a little claustrophobic but she did seem to enjoy looking at the lights and getting out of the house.

6 Whole Months!!

Wow I can't believe Evelyn is 6 months old today, she really is just growing up so fast. She had an eventful day today by going to the doctor and getting all her shots. She came in at just over 27 inches long and over 17 pounds, they keep telling me how she is going to be a tall girl. She has been such a joy in our lives and has filled our home with such peace and love. I love watching all the new things she tries to do and comes to discover. She likes to scoot around on her back, loves to put anything and everything in her mouth and has finally figured out what to do in her jumper and really likes being in it now.

This is a look when she has probably done something and hopes nobody figures it out.


This is a picture of her face when she is fed up with mom trying to take so many pictures of her.
In other news all is going well at our little household. Kyle is very busy studying for finals coming up here shortly so it was nice when last weekend we had the opportunity to go out. It started off at a banquet dinner for law journal and ended off with us at the movies seeing W. It was actually a pretty decent movie I thought and interesting to see the life of George W. I didn't really know. Monday morning I played basketball at the church with some other girls and that was a lot of fun. I really miss playing and am glad I have an opportunity again, so all you ladies in the ward should come out. It is starting to get pretty cold here and I'm not sure if I am really ready for it, but hopefully the winter will go by quickly.

Michigan in the Fall

We made it through our first Halloween with Evelyn and it was a lot of fun. She did really well in her costume all night at the Halloween party, not sure she really knew what was going on but we had a fun evening with all our good friends while eating good food. During the month of October in Michigan you can see so many pretty colors while the leaves change, I do enjoy being able to have the beautiful seasons here even though it does get sooo cold. This weekend was such nice weather that I took Evelyn out and captured a few fun fall pictures. Thanks to aunt Brittany for the pink booties, Evelyn loves them.

Pumpkin Patch and Carving Knives

This past week has been fun with going to Uncle John's Cider Mill and carving pumpkins. It was a bit cold at the cider mill but we still enjoyed ourselves with warm apple cider, donuts and caramel apples. Evelyn helped us by sitting on the pumpkins to determine which one felt right to take home. It was a fun first time October family outing.



We also had a good time carving the pumpkins Evelyn just wanted to be photographed with her behind, on-top and in the pumpkin, she really seemed to be enjoying herself.


Kyle and I each had our own pumpkin to carve and he felt the need to use his drill to get the job done right.
Here is Evelyn again posing with the final products, she just loves to be in front of the camera.
She is just growing so quickly and we are having so much fun with her and here is a sneek peek at some future pictures to come of my little ladybug. Happy Halloween!!

Fun Family Reunion

This past weekend was a lot of fun at my family reunion in Arizona. It was so great to be with my whole family and just hang out with them all. Saturday was a fun filled day full of games, races (which I won in my group), eating and an awesome talent show. I also won a candy bar for being the one that traveled the farthest to get to the reunion, yeah I was proud. Saturday night my mom, sisters Rebecca and Brittany and I did a tap dance for the talent show. We did it to a song by Elvis and everyone loved it, I'd have to say it was the best act of the whole evening. Sunday we had a nice testimony meeting and enjoyed visiting out on my grandpa's ranch. It is always fun getting together with my cousins and having fun out in the dirt of Arizona, it's just a little different than being in the city of Los Angeles. Evelyn enjoyed seeing her cousins as well and of course having photo shoots. She also wanted to show off her new hat that she is beginning to use as the weather begins to cool.

That's My Grandma!

That's my grandma! She has been featured in a couple pictures in the Ensign this month. Our stake president is a photographer for the Ensign and we were so excited she was asked to be a part of the article. She is such a wonderful grandmother and someone I have always looked up to. I love her sweetness, confidence, love and of course her lemon squares they really are so good. I really am so blessed to come from such an amazing line of women from my grandmother to my own mother. I really strive to be like them and live as they live. I love you grandma and I love you mom.

Doctor Says She's Perfect!

Evelyn is 4 months today and she had a great doctors appointment, besides getting shots. She came in at 15 1/2 pounds and is a little over 26inches. She really is doing so well and is such a good and happy baby, which makes me so happy. I think she is enjoying her new home and new room, but I know she notices it's a lot quieter here than back at Grandma's house and I'm not sure if she likes that, she really enjoyed having people around all the time.I have been doing a body boot camp class at the gym and I really like it. It has definitely helped me get back in shape and feel like I am back in high school with a coach telling me what to do. It is also nice since it is some time I get to get out of the house all by myself. Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner and had our classic Koester chili. It was really good and nice to have them over. Oh and good news Evelyn slept for almost 11 hours last night, lets hope she can repeat that.

We're Back!

Well we are back to blogging and back to Michigan. I definitely miss not having my family around since I was spoiled to be with them all summer, but it is nice to be back to our home and back with good friends. The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of activity. Evelyn turned 3 months which is just amazing that she is getting so big.
Before leaving California Kyle, Evelyn and I went on a mini family vacation to Hearst Castle. It is up the coast from L.A. and there is a beautiful castle to tour. It was fun to have a last little get away and enjoy being together. I am surely going to miss the beautiful scenery of California.



Evelyn was sad to leave her cousin Chloe, they have had a good time hanging out together this summer, and of course she will miss Zach, Gracie, Olivia, Ricky and Juliet.
We made it back to our house very well. We had to ship back 9 boxes of stuff and still had very full suitcases on the airplane. I just don't know where the stuff all came from. Being the kind husband he is, Kyle let me fly first class so I could have the extra room with Evelyn. It was so nice and much more comfortable. Thanks hun! Also thanks to the Misseldines for keeping our house so nice. It was so nice to come home to a clean house. I am sad we missed them and didn't see them before they left. Friday the 29th was Kyle's 30th birthday. So we took a break from unpacking and headed to Detroit for a Tigers game. It was a lot of fun to hang out together and enjoy being at the game. I hope he had a good birthday and isn't too upset about turning 30.

Well we are just trying to get unpacked and back into our normal routine. The best part is setting up Evelyn's room and when I have together I will show the final product. Now it is time to re-pack since we are headed off to Georgia this weekend for some football games!