Ethan's First Soccer Game

Ethan enjoys his first soccer game with his team, the Pumas, at the south Grand Prairie YMCA.

Ethan is so excited!  He just got one of his three saves during the game... including one stop with his face!

Some Favorite Pics from 2010

Ready for the Boy Scout Pinewood Derby!

Costumes for Halloween 2010

The Blasdel's on Easter Sunday, 2010

New Chinese Friends

I (Brady) have been volunteering at the Lutheran Student Center at the University of Texas in Arlington for some time now.  Recently they asked for adults to commit to serving as English conversational partners for some of the many international students there.  Our family prayed about this opportunity to share Christ with others, and decided it would be a good fit for our hospitality gifts. 

Yea and Tingquin joined us for dinner in October, and it was a great experience!  The boys were really gracious and helped Yea and Tingquin practice their English; Ethan in particular had plenty to say and many questions to ask. 

What an exciting opportunity!  We will be doing it again.  If you have a multi-cultural Lutheran campus nearby, they may offer a similar opportunity; we strongly recommend it.

New School Year Begins

Ethan and his new textbooks

This 2010-2011 school year began with both boys in the same building at Grace Lutheran in Arlington, TX.  Caleb began his last year of Pre-K with Mrs. Michaelson, an excellent teacher Ethan had a few years back.  Ethan began Second Grade with a new teacher, Mrs. Redd, who seems very competent. 

Both boys will enjoy seeing each other every now again at Grace.  Praise God for a new year of fun and learning!

Caleb has a wry smile for the start of Pre-K

Fond Memories of Summer 2010

The family with Bailey and Sam at the LEGO Museum.

We had an exciting summer together as a family this year!  Ethan enjoyed Cub Scout Camp for the first time, Denyse helped lead a women's retreat, and Caleb celebrated his 5th birthday.

Our whole family also found time to put on VBS at Faith Lutheran, traveled to Chicago to visit Bailey and Samantha, trek over to Iowa to visit close friends, and attend two different family reunions.
 
Highlights included the LEGO Discovery Museum, the boys jumping off the high dive (multiple times), and renewed relationships with those we love and cherish.

The boys dueling in the backyard.

Caleb & Ethan taking turns diving off BOTH boards!

A summer well lived!  Here are some of our favorite pics of the season.

Sam and baby Aaron... He's getting heavy!

Pinewood Derby Mania

This Fall Ethan joined Cub Scout Pack 533 as a new Tiger cub... and Caleb joined his brother as a Cub Scout in-training (as he likes to put it).  A big highlight early of the year was a great trip to a fire station.

But that was eclipsed by the pure joy of Pinewood Derby month!  We made a man-cave of the garage (you know, because you can't have sawdust in the house), chose our designs, got our tools, and got to work.  Ethan's really proud of his police car / pace car... and Caleb's tank has a turret and a gun that turns 360 degrees! 

Christmas Blessings

Our little one -- Aaron -- got to celebrate the birth of Jesus with us for the first time this year, and he began the month by crawling all over the place. Watch out, Christmas presents!

By the end of the month he was pulling up on every table and sturdy object, so we're getting ready for a new toddler in the house.

Praise God for His precious gift of life!