Hellllllooooooo

As Facebook and other social media outlets take over there seems to be a general downward trend in blog land... or at least a number of the blogs that I visit... as well my own personal blog. While it is far too easy to overlook the blog, truth is that I miss it. Or rather, I miss looking back at the memories. In order to be able to look back at the memories I must first jot them down.

Like starting the mower the first time of the season, it may take a couple of attempts. I make no promises, but I hope that I can blog more than once a year. :) So here we go!

The kids. Surprise, surprise, they are doing awesome! Truth is, they make this parenting gig pretty easy and I feel so blessed to be their mom. As kids do, they are growing like weeds. The girls are quickly turning into young adults. Spencer hit a winter long growth spurt and (shhhh) we believe he is officially taller than Abby. It's not been a huge deal around our house because truth is; he is going to be taller than all of us before we know it!

They all are thoroughly enjoying school. The girls have hit the magical year where they can become involved in numerous clubs... Student Council, BLAST Club, Tiger Explorers, Golden Sower Club, Sandoz Singers, and Orchestra. I often wonder how often they are IN class.

Their extracurricular activities keep us going on weeknights and weekends. We're enjoying a nice break in activities at the moment as the girls just wrapped up their 2nd winter swim season. Over the past year they had some really cool opportunities to meet and swim with Olympic swimmers Josh Davis & Kathleen Hersey. Most recently they had an opportunity to meet Kim Vandenberg as well. We're all really looking forward to attending the Olympic Swim Trials that will be held locally.

Abby has continued to show interest in basketball and recently tried out for a feeder team through our high school. We'll know soon if she made the cut or not... I'm not sure what we are hoping for. :) Ellie is super geared up for Triathlons and is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to participate over the summer. Both Abby & Ellie also had an opportunity to apply to join the XYZ Club (youth volunteer club) at our amazing Zoo and were selected. We get to find out more about this commitment very soon!

I think I also managed to skip blogging during the period where Abby managed to break her left arm/wrist then like 6 months later break her right arm/wrist. Upside... we now have an Orthopedic that we really like! Both incidents happened at times where we would have otherwise taken family photos. Needless to say, we still need to get "official" portraits taken.  Bubble wrap, anyone?

Spencer is really enjoying his school year as well. He has really blossomed into an amazing reader and he totally loves all things math.  His class was selected to participate in the Classroom Champions program given them the opportunity to hang out with Olympic swimmer Kim Vandeberg.  We're also enjoying a small break in his activities as his basketball season recently came to an end and baseball hasn't "officially" started... except that pre-season clinic we offered him. The dad of one of his basketball buddies was trying hard to recruit him to play in their soccer league this spring. Thankfully we came to our senses and opted out of that opportunity given the number of baseball games he will be playing. Perhaps fall soccer is a more likely option.

One of the coolest things, I think, is that they all are significantly more involved in Church. Not only are we physically attending more, but they truly have a vested interest in their involvement. It's been amazing to witness this unfold and to know that it is their thing, their desire. There are some really cool opportunities coming up this summer. I think it is safe to say that we are all excited about them.

Now onto the parents...

Carie continues to be a rock star at the "SAHM" gig in addition to providing childcare to the twins she has cared for the past (nearly) 9 years AND is in her 2nd academic year working as a Paraprofessional within our school district. She is a mom of many hats and wears them all quite well. She is also rockin’ this Pinterest thing and has discovered some delicious recipes that have received thumbs up from our kids.

For my day job, I continue to work outside the home as an IS Project Manager. Exciting, eh?

I'm thrilled that I was also given the opportunity to help coach our swim team this past season. It was a really cool opportunity and I'm looking forward to future seasons! I continue to be quite involved at school and am wrapping up my 3rd and final year as PTA President. While I've had a great experience in this role, Carie and I agree that term limits are a good thing. :) I was quickly reminded that I would be available to serve in another capacity and have been asked to be the PTA Treasurer. Time to shift hats! I'm also thrilled to have the honor in participating on an "under the radar" committee forming through leaders within our school district... I don't even know if we have an official name. LOL I am constantly blown away by the support and dedication our allies provide to ensure GLBT equality. This group is certainly all that and more. It would be really cool to be able to witness the movement and success of this group as our kids grow within this district.

"Busy"

I really dislike that term yet I find myself using it all the time.  What does "busy" really mean?  We all have the same amount of time granted to us each and every day.  Its not like it's a race to see who can be busier.  I suspect each persons perspectives on "busy" would differ based on where they are at in their life.  It's just an easy term to throw out there when life has you on the go.  On the go with all things that we've agreed to and enjoy I might add.

Speaking of, I just cracked open a book titled "Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life" that our Principal has loaned to me.  I'm only a few pages in but it looks like an interesting read.  Sadly, I'm not one to enjoy reading as a hobby so I hope I stick with it!

It's always been a priority for us to not over schedule our kids.  Sure, we want them to be involved in organized sports, activities & clubs.  But we also value the opportunity to be spontaneous and free.  We've always avoided overlapping activities.  But at the ripe old age of 8, it seems like we've hit the magic age that this gets more complicated.  Seriously, EIGHT!  It seems like the activities are more intense and have a greater time commitment.  Thankfully the girls only have an interest in swim team!  It feels good to have found a sport that they really are passionate about.

We're also trying to balance the needs and schedules so Mr. Spencer isn't drug all over the place due to the girls schedule.  That's a tough one that we are still trying to figure out!  At times I feel at peace with our efforts and other times I've got huge momma guilt.

The girls had their first fall swim meet this past weekend in Norfolk.  It was a great day of swimming!  It was the first time we've ever had to get the entire family up and out of the house at the crack of dawn.  Due to the above mentioned momma guilt we went back and forth on who would actually go to this event.  Not to mention our newly added responsibilities of Mr. Mason.  But in the end it ended up being a great decision for all of us to go.  Spencer enjoyed a really long day of playing various pickup games in the gym.  He had no qualms about asking the big kids if he could play whatever they were playing and he made some friend along the way.  I know he loves the time we shoot hoops or play kick ball in the gym.  He finally had met his match and these kids were in it for the long haul, far longer than I would last!

I know for other families it may be a regular occurrence to get the family up and going in the wee morning hours, but for us it is not.  We regularly have a hard time making it to Sunday School by 9:30. :)  For this day, our goal was to leave by 6:45am and we were pretty darn close!  It all went much smoother than we anticipated.  The kids thought it was weird to go in their jammies!  One of the highlights of the morning was watching the sun come up.  Of course by the end of the 12 hour day we were all exhausted, particularly the adults.  The kids of course didn't crash until their heads hit their pillows.

PTA related... I've just made it through 5 big events since the start of school with 1 more small event and 4 more really huge events coming up in the next few weeks.  November is my key event, one that I added to our calendar just last year.  It's a month where we focus on Healthy Lifestyles with each week of the month taking a different theme.  I'm hoping it will go as great as it did last year!  Once I get through November we'll be set.  Thanks to school breaks we've got a nice little break from PTA stuff in December and January.  We can't be fooled by these breaks though!  The February deadlines sneak up on us rather quick!

In our down time we are enjoying the College Football season!  It's a time of year we always look forward to but not always have we been able to kick back and enjoy the games.  As the kids continue to get older we find ourselves able to enjoy such luxuries while they thoroughly enjoy their down time with hobbies that are of interest to them.  Which means that they either are reading or have covered the dining table and a solid 5' perimeter in various art materials.  It's worth it though! 

Mr. Mason

We've got our puppy!

Mason came to us through a local rescue shelter that Carie found through adoptapet.com.  I wasn't sure that he was "the" one but Carie fell in love with his profile.  There was another Cocker Spaniel mix that we were really interested in meeting, but unfortunately he was adopted before we got a chance to meet him. 

Then, THEN I met Mason and knew right away that he was part of our family.  His foster momma brought him over to meet us on Friday afternoon.  We were all sitting on the floor hanging out with him and it didn't take long for him to crawl into my lap to look for some lovin'.  He sure knew who to suck up to first! 

Mason is the name he was given from the rescue shelter.  We've discussed giving him a new name and ultimately left it up to the kids.  They've all decided that they like the name Mason, so Mason it is.  Hopefully he'll answer to his name at some point!  LOL

I don't often get all excited about "signs", but perhaps this is a sign that it was meant to be... Abby & Ellie's birthday is 06/06, Spencer's birthday is 04/26, and Mason was born on 06/26.

He sure is one adorable pup with tons of personality.

Good Move

Given the age of our kids and their love for pets, it feels only right to involve them in the selection process.  Given our approach of searching rescue shelters, etc... we aren't involving them in all the little details.  No, that's hard enough on the adults.  On the flip side, it just doesn't feel right showing up at our front door with a new family pet without their involvement.  It would be so much easier to find a littler of pups and let the kids loose.

Carie and I've visited the Humane Society to look at a couple dogs that were of interest to us and mostly to figure out their adoption process.  We were quite surprised to discover that they didn't see it at all necessary for the kids to meet the dog prior to adoption.  I can possibly understand not making it a requirement, but I can't understand not encouraging it.  The counselor made it clear that it wasn't necessary "but if we weren't sure that the kids would be good with the dog" we could put down a sizable non-refundable deposit and they would hold that dog for 4 hours.  I'll add that the adoption center opens at noon, kids get home from school at 4.  If we opted to not adopt that dog our deposit would become a donation.  Quite the contrary, I'm absolutely confident that our 3 kids will be wonderful pet owners.  I'm shocked actually that they would adopt a pet to a family without at least encouraging all family members meeting the pet prior to adoption.

On the flip side, I'm not so sure I want to take 3 young kids to the Humane Society unless we, the adults, have been able to identify a match. If we weren't in the process of selecting a dog to take home, I wouldn't have any qualms taking them over there. I think it would be cool for them to be involved with/support the Humane Society. But we are in the process of selecting a family pet and I fear that they would walk in and they would choose several dogs that they wouldn't be able to leave behind. We're up for adding one pet, not four! I'm trying to be the rationale one here. That's me, the party pooper.

So a few nights ago we did share this news with them and their response was priceless.  They clearly weren't expecting it and they were clearly thrilled.  It's proven to be a very good move on our part to involve them now and not later.  One bonus, I now have Abby to support my attempts at being rationale.  While they are all very excited this has also brought to the surface the raw memories of losing Hobbes and Carmen.

While Hobbes was my dog, my very first pet that I got 19 years ago, he was also very much Abby's dog.  While we added Carmen (a rescue dog) to our family when Carie and I were together pre-kids, Carmen was totally Carie's dog and then became very much Ellie's dog.  At some point in their toddler hood phase the girls somehow decided that Hobbes was Abby's dog and Carmen was Ellie's dog.  I'm sure there's some good science experiment here given that Ellie is totally Carie's clone and Abby is very much like me.

So when their time with us came to an end (Hobbes 3 years ago, Carmen 1 year ago) it was naturally particularly hard on the kids, hardest on the girl who had claimed that pet as her own.  All 3 kids continue to talk about Hobbes and Carmen on occasion.  They all have great memories of them and miss them dearly.  Just a couple of months ago Abby was clearly missing, Hobbes.  One quiet evening she took Carie outside to show her a star that she's decided is Hobbes star.  It was a very good moment!

So while we're trying to contain our excitement over the idea of this new addition, we're balancing memories and aching hearts from those that we've lost.  I'm so glad we made this move and we all have this in between time to have these feelings.

Adding to the Family???

A few years ago we were in a phase where we knew that our two dogs were in the final years of their life.  We didn't know when it would happen, but it was clear that it was sooner in our life time than later. 

At that time while we were very sad to see our very long time family pets go, we (the adults) were ready for the break.  Ready to lift the guilt about not having "enough" time (compared to the attention our pups got pre-kids) to devote to our dogs.  Ready to have less depending on us.  Ready to not have to clean up the backyard.  Ready to not have to deal with surprises brought inside or the inevitable mess (grrrr) that was left behind.  I can't remember a time where I've not had a dog in my life.  I got Hobbes, my very own dog, as a pup when I was 21 and I'm now about to turn (uh um) 40.  Carie and I together got Carmen (known as Carie's dog) from a rescue home several years later.  I think I was ready for a short break.  Oddly Carie didn't grow up with dogs but she was also ready for a break.  After all, we had just made it through (sometimes literally) infancy and toddler hood of twins and a singleton.  Our lives had drastically changed and we were ready to step back a bit.

We lost our last dog, Carmen, just before Halloween last year.  In the first few months after her passing we had no desire to "replace" her.  Not only did we want that break from all of the above, but we wanted time to heal from the passing of both Hobbes and Carmen.  They were both very special pets to our kids!  We didn't want to "replace" her.  We wanted the kids to reflect on them and their lives with us.  Even recently the kids will talk about Hobbes and Carmen.  It's fun to hear them speak of them and their memories.  It's touching when we are asked to go outside to look up into the stars as the kids point out stars that belong to Hobbes & Carmen.  This is just how they've processed it all.  It's been a good and healing 11 months.

In the past several months the kids have started watching a show called Dogs 101 along with other animal shows. We have some serious animal lovers in our house so we weren't surprised.  They love watching and reading anything about cats as well but unfortunately this Momma is highly allergic to them.  My kids are sad that we can't have a cat as a pet!  They are looking forward to the time when they move out and can choose to have a cat at "their" place.  I'm doing my best to brainwash them to never having a cat simply so I can come visit them.  LOL

For now they've enjoyed learning about the different breeds of dogs.  Along the way, unannounced to us, they started creating a list of dogs that would be a great fit for our family and a list of dogs that wouldn't be a great fit for our family.  When we stumbled across this list we got a hearty chuckle.  It was too damn cute!  But I also knew it was a sign.  At some point I mentioned to Carie that I was semi-close to being open to the idea of getting a new dog for our family.  At that time she laughed at me and said that I couldn't be serious.  Seriously?  Training a new dog in our winter months?  I said I was semi-close to even talking about the future possibility of someday being dog owners again.  Key words... talking, future, possibility, someday... all talk not necessarily action.

Then more recently it came up again.  Yeah, I'm still in that place where I'm warming up to the idea.  I'm not opposed to it but I'm not quite yet sold.  AND my one stipulation is that we take our time and do some research to figure out what we really want.  In theory this new pet will be with us for a very long time and we need to find a good match.  At the same time we're not looking for a purebred or anything.  We would very much like to look at the Humane Society and rescue shelters.

I've pointed out that we also need to be realistic in the amount of care a new puppy/dog will require and I've pointed out again our schedule as I've outlined in a previous post.  We need to make sure that we can give this new pet our time!  I'm not saying that it isn't doable... I just want us to really think about this next phase of our lives.  And then of course to absolutely no surprise to Carie, she's going to be the one who bears the brunt of the "work" that comes with such a new addition.  Yes, the kids will be highly involved.  They are at a great age to take on some of those responsibilities.  But I'm not going to kid myself, it will ultimately fall back to Carie to make sure it's all getting done.

Which leads me to my huge surprise that SHE is the one who is obsessively researching dogs, taking quizzes to identify what type of dog would best suit our family, what types of things we should really consider, etc...  SHE is the one obsessed with researching rescue homes.  SHE is  the one glued to the Humane Society's website, pouring over each picture, each story.  Somehow Carie and I have swapped places in life... momentarily.

How long can I hold her off... that's the question!  How long will it be before the kids catch wind of this possibility?

Very First Camp Experience

Sunday morning when we arrived at our Church Camp there were greeters there, stopping the vehicles, welcoming their guests, handing out maps and event details, etc... This was a big day for the camp. It was their big BBQ where everyone was invited in the hopes that they would raise big money to support the camps future efforts.

At that particular time there were two greeters, an older man and woman.  The woman was talking to the car in front of us, a group that we were caravaning with. The man then approached our van to, more than likely, have the same conversation. In the van was Carie (front passenger), myself (driver), and all 3 kids in the back. Both Carie and I were greeted with a very warm welcome. Then his next question, without skipping a beat, was "Are you representing one family or two?"

Now, I know some may take offense to this. We did not.

I guess I look at it this way...
Should he have assumed we were one family unit?

Should he have assumed we were two families?
Should he have been able to tell just by looking at us?

It then became clear that he didn't realize we had 3 kids in the back. With the tinted windows, he hadn't noticed them.  It wasn't until he was confirming how many people were in the vehicle that we had 3 stowaways.  I wonder, would his question had been any different if he had noticed the kids?

Would he have asked the same question to a vehicle with a man and a woman in it?  I don't know.  Again, I don't know that it's safe to assume.  I guess it all boils down to what you are really trying to get out of the exercise. I think the sticking point may be that if he were to assume that a vehicle with a man and a woman in it were one family unit, why ask the vehicle with two women in it?  An excellent question!

I think for me, in this scenario, it all boils down to...

With his warm welcoming nature, the tone of the conversation, and particularly the way he asked the question, it felt quite appropriate.  More so, our answer of "one family" was very well received, expected almost. 

While our particular Church is very welcoming and very open to diversity, not all Churches in our denomination are going to be.  This camp is located out in BFE and this event was for all congregations in the "area"!  For us, it was a solid hour drive.  So imagine the number of congregations this Camp would support.  Even with our "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" slogan we all know there's a difference between talking the talk and walking the walk.  Our Church totally walks the walk.

Even SO, I know that individuals within the Church can say some pretty off things.  Somehow we've run into this well meaning gentleman before.  More times than I care to remember, actually.  He sure meant well when we ran into him at a restaurant and he started talking about Abby's accident.  Yet when the words were coming out of his mouth I wanted to cover Abby's ears.  Heck, I wanted to cover my own ears!  And I'm sure he meant well at the BBQ when he approached us to tell us all about how so and so donated $X to pay for this beautiful gazebo that was nearby.  I had already wondered if there was a connection to our Church since we have the same exact gazebo on our property.  Coincidence, I think not.  I just didn't need to know the specifics that he provided.  I'm sure the wonderful person he was speaking of would appreciate that as well.

Bottom line, I think I was honored that the greeter asked.  I keep thinking back to that moment, to that conversation and all I can do is smile.  It's not like he was asking if our meal was all on the same check.

We were truly welcome at camp, as we are, as a family... in BFE Nebraska.  It felt like a safe place for us, for our kids!

Our kids are really going to enjoy this place!

Crossroads

I'm finding myself at a crossroads. The in-between phase when you've just completed a major task (2 actually, come to think of it) that consumed hours upon hours and that next major task (okay, a few of them) that's looming. A weird feeling!

Last night I had our 2nd PTA meeting of the academic year. That was the deadline that I had long procrastinated against and ultimately worked hard to meet. I also held a Room Parent meeting prior to the big meeting, also part of this larger goal/deadline. Both meetings were phenomenal in attendance, participation, support, etc... It was wonderful to distribute all of the materials I had prepared for the meeting and be done with it! We actually ran out of chairs for the PTA meeting, a FIRST in my history with the school. It's nice to see some efforts really paying off!!! It was also nice to use that as an example of WHY I'm asking parents to approach their tasks a particular way. This is gonna be a kick ass year, I just know it!

But that's all in addition to our family time. One thing I'm determined to do (last year and again this year) is to not allow my PTA responsibilities take away from our family time... as much as absolutely possible! I did miss going to the gym with the family last night, but mostly that was just me giving up my workout time. You can see how committed I am! Though I did miss shooting hoops with my boy!

Speaking of family stuff... we're just in the groove. The girls are enjoying their swim practice and looking forward to their first meet. We all enjoyed a full day at our Church Camp this past weekend for the girls' first "Tween Scene" (non)event. The girls were a little miffed about all of us (particularly their brother) being there. This is the first time they've really ever expressed such a concern, but they had every right to raise the question. Once we explained that the overall BBQ was a family event and WE wanted to come to the BBQ and it was just their luck to have such involved and overprotective parents they were all cool with it. For us, it was a family day, a family experience and if they were lucky we would let them come back without us in the (very distant) future.

As luck would have it, they (our leader) didn't really need all the help they had (due to weather and turnout) so we took off and spent 5 hours exploring the area as a family. We all enjoyed a bit of archery... I felt bad when Spencer (& I) overshot the target and the bales of hay, ultimately losing an arrow. The girls got to try their hand at tree climbing, and loved it. They also greatly enjoyed hanging out in the tree boats, particularly while playing with bunny rabbits. We spent forever hanging out with various live animals. Once we discovered that the corn maze would take a solid hour and a half to get through, and recalling the fact that our kids got lost in a much smaller maze just a couple weeks ago, we opted to hold that activity for some future visit. I also, somehow, managed to convince the kids to hold off on a trip out to the pumpkin fields. It was a muddy mess that I was just hoping to avoid. Thankfully they agreed! We had so much fun traipsing around the huge acreage. After 5 hours we still had to practically pull our kids away!

And it wouldn't be FALL without Husker football. We've certainly been enjoying the season thus far. We've enjoyed hosting game day and cheering on our Huskers. When the kids aren't actually watching football they are enjoying a stay at home day and playing with friends.

End of Summer = Big Change

I think this blog could definitely file for neglect.

As any family with young children, there's so much life to document. There are so so many thoughts bouncing around my head each and every day. Getting it down on the proverbial paper seems to have taken the backseat. Heck, even capturing our memories through photography has taken a backseat... and when I do take pictures they sit on the huge memory card indefinitely. Photography has been a passion of mine and yet I feel as if I need a jump start. I know what triggered this funk... I just can't seem to get my groove back.

Since I last wrote (ahem, nearly 6 months ago) Abby & Ellie wrapped up their year as 2nd graders and Spencer completed his final days as a pre-schooler, complete with a graduation ceremony. Carie wrapped up another year of volunteering at school. Saying "goodbye" to our teachers continues to be difficult. This year may have been the hardest yet. I wrapped up my first year as the PTA President and found myself elected to continue those duties for another year. It is quite rewarding to be involved at school on this level, if not also challenging and time consuming.

In early May both Abby & Ellie opted to join a local swim team for their summer season, which then quickly consumed our life with a lengthy practice 3 days a week and a longer swim meet on a 4th day. It was an amazing experience for all of us. They love swimming so much, it was incredible to watch their progress and witness their joy. We get a short break in August and the Fall/Winter swim team starts up again in early September. The girls are already looking forward to the next season. Oddly, we are already looking forward to getting back into that routine.

Spencer played baseball during the spring season and absolutely loved it. We've opted to skip the fall season (unbeounced to him) in favor of keeping our month of August totally activity free. Though now I'm feeling horribly guilty about this decision.

All three kiddos had a birthday this spring. Spencer turned 5 in late April and the girls turned 8 in early June.

To celebrate Spencer's birthday we had a combo friend and family birthday party at a nearby activity center. We love going to this place and having his party there was a huge hit.

To celebrate Abby & Ellie's birthday we had a special adventure! They each invited a friend to hang out with on their special day. We went horseback riding, played miniature golf, did mani's and pedi's, had a bonfire, and had a sleepover. All four girls had an absolute blast hanging out with each other. I'm so glad we went this route over a larger party. We then held a family party for them at my Grandma's retirement center. While my Grandma thinks she can get around our house with all of our stairs, we think differently. It was super nice to use a room at her facility that had easy access and a large enough room for all of our guests. And to be totally honest, setup and cleanup was more than a piece of cake!

Our summer is about to wrap up. All school registration is this afternoon, open house is next Monday, and their first day of school is on Wednesday. We've had such a great summer that I don't want it to end. I do look forward to the end of the summer season, if only we could continue their break and our family time. We are busy over the summer doing fun summer camps and such. But there's something about sending them into the next grade that isn't desirable for me.

Speaking of summer camps, it was another successful summer. We typically have a full week-ish off at the start of summer and a full week-ish off at the end of summer but everything in the middle is booked with activities. Outside of their camps and activities, we also get to do other fun family activities... Library reading program, Royals Baseball games, big zoo, little zoo, our Children's Museum, Lincoln Children's Museum, Activity Center, Splash Parks here and here, Papio Bay, Mahoney Water Park, Bowling, Go Carts, etc... While there were many things I think we wish we would have done, I think we had a fabulous summer as a family!

All the kids were able to participate in our districts "summer school" (summer camp) program. I wish they would call it something other than "summer school" because it's not at all like their other (more mandatory) "summer school" program. This was Spencer's first year of eligibility and he was thrilled to be able to participate with the older kids. It's totally a fun summer program where they can take enrichment type classes in science, music, Spanish, math, etc... This program is held at a new "host" elementary school each summer. It's just a morning program over the course of a few weeks and it's very reasonably priced, which we love.

The next couple of weeks were dedicated to swimming lessons at our High School. Since Abby & Ellie were swimming so much with swim team, they opted to take the spectator role this round. Spencer was so incredibly pleased with himself that he passed his level and gets to move onto level 3! Of course, he wanted to start that "right now".

Then Abby & Ellie got to participate in a Totally Cool Math & Science Camp through UNO. They were so excited about this opportunity. This was quite possibly the highlight of their summer. We drove by the night before to check out directions and parking. As we turned onto campus the girls’ eyes got REALLY huge. It was then that they realized they were "going to college" (their words). We've talked all along about how it would be at UNO but it became quite clear that they didn't really know what that meant. Abby thought it would be at another elementary school like her other summer camp. We were then bombarded with hilarious (but very real to them) questions. They were clearly a little (more than) nervous! Thankfully they seemed satisfied with all of our answers and drop off the next morning went very smooth for all of us. At the end of the day they were so excited they were bouncing off the walls. Needless to say, they had an amazing week. They think they are hot stuff now that they've gotten to go to college. Thankfully for us, as incoming 3rd graders, they could only participate in one class. But next year there are 18 camp options. They are going to have to make some tough decisions!

Last week was all about Spencer and his "camp". Our elementary school was awarded a grant that allowed them to offer a Jump Start to K program. All incoming K's were invited to participate. It was a very short afternoon program that allowed him an opportunity to spend time with his teacher (whom he already knows) and his classmates. While they got to do some school work, they also got to enjoy all the perks of going out for recess, snack time, and play time in the classroom. While we believe he is totally ready for K, we thought it was a great opportunity to meet some friends before that big first day. He seemed to really love going to Jump Start once he got there, but the first few days he would say "I don't want to go today" or "I'm taking today off". We think he just didn't want to leave the other kids and whatever fun they were having without him.

Somewhere in there we found a perfect time to dedicate a long weekend towards a family vacation. We got out of town but stayed close to home. Limiting our drive time seemed ideal and something we appreciated when we were en route and heard "are we there yet" numerous times. We got to spend a fair amount of time swimming at the hotel, a huge plus for our kids. We enjoyed a full day at Adventureland and a couple of days at the Science Center. Total kid vacation. Making them happy makes me happy.

But now, like it or not, it's about time to move onto the next chapter. Abby & Ellie are headed (full force) into 3rd grade and Spencer is headed to Kindergarten. All three of our kiddos are full time elementary students. How did that happen?

Thankfully, for us, they are all super excited about going back to school. The girls love school so much; it makes our jobs as parents easy! Spencer is really looking forward to being a Kindergartner and we think he'll share his sisters’ love for school as well.

With all the kids in school full time, Carie has taken the opportunity to find work outside the home. She was very fortunate to get hired on for a part time gig in our school district which will allow her to be available before school, after school, and during school breaks to continue to be the awesome SAHM that she has been for the past 8 years.

Zoo Pics

What a beautiful day to go to the zoo... and enjoy the outdoor exhibits!

Anxiety

There are more stories and certainly more pictures of our summer adventures.

I even got super lucky that my camera was spared after I left it outside to endure a torrential downpour last weekend. At the time I thought it would be great to get pics of (most of) the kids after they rolled around in the mud that used to be our yard. Thanks slip-n-slide! They had such a blast and it was hilarious to watch. Everyone had to have a quick hose down before they were allowed to enter their cars or our house. Other parents rules, not ours. But yeah, they were that dirty. And then somehow I was distracted and the camera got left outside.

For now, all that will all have to wait.

Our focus is on what is ahead of us.

We have been inundated with first day of school preparations! To say that we are a bit overwhelmed and anxious with the fact that tomorrow is Abby & Ellie’s first day would be a gross understatement. It wasn’t supposed to be that way this year. After all they are going into 2nd grade! We have a great school, a great support system at school, we love the teacher assignments, and the kids are excited! What more can ya ask for? But thanks to the accident, it is a bit nerve wracking. We now know anxiety like we’ve never known before. I think we’ve done everything possible to prepare everyone for tomorrow morning. Nine more hours till the bell rings!

Spencer’s first day of his last year of preschool begins on Thursday. We are more excited than nervous about this transition. I guess we’ll see what Thursday afternoon brings!

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A couple of quick stories that stand out…

Abby has been on this kick lately that she is not a “kid”. Anything relating to being a “kid” is beyond her. Heaven forbid she use colors at a restaurant because those are for kids. Heaven forbid she has a “kid cone” from McD’s because clearly mom, it is a “kid cone”. The name says it all! And we are horrible terrible parents because we won’t allow her to walk down to the park by herself. I mean really! She is almost 8 years old and 8 year olds are “young adults” ya know. What a great opportunity to remind her that she has TEN MONTHS to go before she actually turns 8. Let’s enjoy 7 for a while, shall we!

Ellie, our sweet sweet Ellie. Unfortunately I can’t go into all the specifics. Let’s just say that she’s been paying attention at our appointments and she is taking her role very seriously! Sunday afternoon we were at CoCo Key, our last big hurrah of the summer, and Ellie recognized a scenario that she felt she ought to talk Abby through. It was super sweet and hilarious all at the same time.

Spencer, boy oh boy. Yesterday after one of our many appointments it was very much lunch time. So I suggested we all (Carie and I + our 3 kids + 2 daycare kids) go get some lunch. You read that right! 2 adults + 5 kids ages 4-7 at a doctor's appointment... and it was a success. It really can be done! We are sitting at the table enjoying lunch when Spencer (sitting between Carie and I) pipes up loud and clear (to Ben who is sitting across from him). “Hey, Ben has a penis! I have a penis! We are best friends!” I sure hope he enhances his criteria as he ages!

Oh and Spencer's new name seems to be Buddy or Bud. Sure, we sometimes call him bud, buddy, or dude. Like hey bud, how are you doing? But we never meant for it to replace his given name. As of recent it seems that the kids only call him buddy. Last night we were at Open House and the kids got the Principal on board to calling him buddy. Then this morning I asked the kids whose turn it was to play the Wii. In unison all the kids respond "Beth's & Buddy's".

Summer Zoo Adventures

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo...

Abby

Ellie

Spencer

Lincoln Children's Zoo...

Abby

Ellie

Spencer

Summer 2009 Staycation

Getting ready for bed...

Run for your life!!!

Or join them...

Water fun...

Abby... under water 99% of the time...

So much for one person at a time on the body slide...

Oh the looks!

I'm sure this is last time "I" am left with 5 kids and trusted with keeping them out of the water! It was cold (hence the jeans!), no towels, no extra dry clothes, longggggg walk, fireworks and traffic.

We returned the next day with towels, dry clothes, and sun!

Such a boy!

Surprise Visit

This past week we were treated by a visit from Yia Yia. Being so far away after the accident happened was really hard for her. Well, it was hard for all of us. She wasn't able to come for a visit then but suddenly it became a possibility in July. She wanted to come be with us and take care of us, even if she had to endure our July weather**. We of course said yes, come whenever you can! So before we knew it she was here, in person, at our house. The kids were in heaven!

While she was here she had some great quality time with each of the kids individually as well as all together. We also all managed to spend a bit of time at the zoo. We then had Carie's siblings and their families up for dinner, a bon fire, and s’mores one evening. The kids also got some fresh new sand in the sand box! Since Yia Yia always brings Grandpa's truck, I thought why not use it to load up some sand and freshen up the sand box. After nearly 3/4 ton of sand was moved, it is so much nicer. Sure beats paying the delivery fee for such little sand!

Carie and I also got some fantastic quality time together as adults. We got to go out on a date night and we chose to see the new Harry Potter movie. We saw it just days after it had been released and it was still in the big theater. We also managed to get some simple errands (simple without kids in tow, a process with kids in tow) accomplished, enjoyed some retail therapy - for both kids and adults - and got to benefit from some amazing discount coupons in addition to the incredible seasonal sales. We felt relaxed and accomplished!

Then VBS started on Sunday evening. In the past Carie and I've stuck around to help. Last year we even taught during VBS. But this year we just couldn't take on those commitments. We thought about attending the adult class, but couldn't commit to that either. Then with Yia Yia here we decided that the adults would spend some time together while the kids were otherwise occupied. I think that was good for all of us. The kids are having so much fun in VBS. Tonight is the family picnic then they sing in Church on Sunday.

Carie didn't take any vacation time and I only took one day of vacation while her mom was here. With other things going on it didn't seem right to do it any other way. Thankfully it worked out quite well!

Yia Yia packed up and headed out late Tuesday morning. Before she could leave, she and the girls had to finish up one of the many books they were reading. Her next destination is KS for a short visit with her sister. Then she'll head towards home (Oregon) with the plans of returning by Friday evening. It is quite a drive, one that would easily take 3 full days each way for us. Thankfully Yia Yia loves driving so much (and she doesn't have small children to consider) that she can make it in a long 2 days each way.

**The funny thing is... we experienced some incredibly cool weather while she was here. People keep talking about it being unseasonably cool, and it is. But in my opinion, that has been our entire spring and summer. So while we were experiencing wonderfully cool temps here, Grandpa was enduring 100 degree temps back home. I loved it!

Three Week Recap

A busy and fun summer... as usual.

The weekend of June 26th, 27th 28th...
Friday was the last day of the kids’ FUN summer school. I think they (and we) were all bummed when it came to an end. It was a 3 week mini-morning session and they got to do a lot of fun things! They are already talking about going again next year.

Friday night we got our babysitter and her best friend to come over and hang out with our kids and our friend’s kids. Our master plan was to take our friends out for an adult evening in appreciation for all that they have done for us. They truly made a difference while we were in the hospital. After a superb evening we returned to pick up the kids and headed up to our Church lawn to watch some incredible fireworks that were being set off at a nearby park. We arrived just in time, the weather was incredible, and the kids had a blast. We enjoyed the fireworks and continued to enjoy watching the kids run around and have fun. It was another late night!

Saturday we went to Spencer's t-ball game and then we spent the afternoon swimming at the Y. Sunday after Church and lunch the girls had a friend come over to hang out. That evening we had our neighbor friends over for dinner to thank them for all they've done over the past several weeks. More great company and another late night.

Independence Day Weekend...
We took a "mini vacation". We decided that instead of spending money on blowing up fireworks and hosting a BBQ as we have in the past, we would do something that we KNEW that Abby could fully participate in and enjoy. We haven't setup our swimming pool yet... and probably won't because we are concerned about sun exposure and burning.

So we went downtown (which feels like out of town to us) and stayed at a brand new hotel with a really cool indoor mini-water park. The rooms were really inexpensive, spacious (2 king beds with a lot of room!), clean, comfy, and a great location to all that we wanted to do. The water park was just the right size to enjoy swimming, hot tubing, and sliding on the huge body slide. We also got to spend some fun time at the Farmers Market, Heartland of America Park, Lewis and Clark Landing, the Pedestrian Bridge. We attempted to watch a huge firework show on Friday night but rain changed those plans. We did meet up with some friends on Saturday evening and enjoyed an awesome firework show. It was so much fun watching the fireworks and watching our kids enjoy it all.

After hearing how things went in our neighborhood this weekend, I think we'll be considering going this route in future years!

Last weekend... July 10th, 11th & 12th
All the kids finished up with swimming lessons on Friday. Spencer is now officially in Level 2. Long (but good) story there. The girls passed Level 4 and get to move onto Level 5. YAY! I decided to take Friday off due to a funeral that morning but at the last minute we all decided to go to memorial the night before. So I got to watch their last lesson and got to see first hand the huge progress they all had made from the week before. It is amazing seeing the girls stacked up against all these BIG kids. They were easily the youngest in their class... by a solid 2 years.

After a late lunch with some friends we decided on the spur of the moment that we would go to Lincoln to visit Great Grandma. While Spencer has been to her new place, the girls haven't. So we went home, got cleaned up, packed up, and headed to Lincoln. We managed to get in town in time for a quick trip (our first of the season) to the Children's Zoo! Then we visited with Great Grandma for a good couple of hours. Our visit was a total surprise to her and we had a good time visiting with her. We then headed back home. Another late night!

Saturday was another full day with yard work, birthday party, t-ball game, grocery shopping, carpet re-cleaning, a swim party, a play date. Then ultimately Carie and I ended up having the house to ourselves for nearly 3 hours in the evening, quite an unusual occurrence. Once the kids all returned home at about 8:30, we started a bon fire.

Sunday was our planned trip to CoCo Key Water Resort to make up for the trip we couldn't take on their birthday. As expected, we closed the place down.

More adventures this weekend... stay tuned.

Weekend in Pics