Volleyball Highlights

Ok, I am finally back. Need a way to share videos of the kids and thought this would work better than Facebook since not everyone is on it.

Connell vs Burbank 9/15/16
Set #1A https://youtu.be/PM8jKAic1OM
Set #1B https://youtu.be/hA7zLknRvnA

Set #2A https://youtu.be/cjCuk62RFVw
Set #2B https://youtu.be/PMbk3V1qZsI

Set #3A https://youtu.be/TxbEaJFNWsc
Set #3B https://youtu.be/qYCl7WNULGo

Connell @ Riverview 9/20/16
Set #1A https://youtu.be/8k3tQz9jOY8
Set #1B https://youtu.be/AdQ2VQC_AEI

Set #2A https://youtu.be/GRj7h6cVuwU
Set #2B https://youtu.be/wnf4E3nDFEw

Set #3A https://youtu.be/0ng3OydkFDc
Set #3B https://youtu.be/uqlC6R72I1E

Set #4A  https://youtu.be/p637IA_W-XU
Set #4B  https://youtu.be/UKTTwnROleI

Set #5  https://youtu.be/OEDzPpQb-FY

Hopefully these work! Will be posting Fair and Ash's volleyball videos soon, too.

An Update

Yes it's been awhile again.  I finally got the pictures off our new camera (from Xmas) and here are some highlights & updates:

My mom's car seems to have an invisible bulls-eye on it due to several recent accidents.  So at Xmas, my brother's fiancee (W) and I decided it needed some bubble wrap ;-)

Someone else gave her the shirt but we thought it was appropriate.

AD had cheer camp in January and did such a great job.  She is currently in tap and will be performing in a recital in June.  She is loving it and her teacher says she is doing well.

AJ had basketball which started in January with T as her coach.  They had a good season and the girls were really good together.  I can't wait to watch them play over the next few years. She wasn't sure basketball was her sport but we were really impressed with how aggressive she was.  She seemed to have a good time.  (Can you see T in the background pointing & probably yelling?)

AT is loving PS and is still my little ham!

T & I are keeping busy.  Basketball ended and baseball immediately started.  First year as head coach and their first game is this Sat!  I am still busy working and now also tutoring at the junior high.  And still trying not to go crazy keeping up with everyone's crazy schedules.

Enjoy your day!

Silly Post but ....

This seems like such a silly post but yet I have a little girl who is upset because it left so it must be important to someone.  Thinking hard about it, I am probably a little sad too.  Today we sold our suburban that we have had since I was pregnant with AD (which is why she is sad).

While weren't driving it as a main vehicle anymore, it is the one thing we still have had the longest.  I can see why she would be sad.  Many trips were made with this rig when we lived further north and the youngest two came home in this from the hospital, I believe.  We had a lot of good memories from it.  Good Bye old blue!

Enjoy your day!

2011/2012

2011 wrapped up with a Christmas program at the church.  AD was an angel and AT was a cow.  AJ helped corral the little ones :-)

After school let out, we headed for my folks for Christmas.  We enjoyed spending time with everyone.

The kids were so excited for Christmas morning.  AT had talked and talked about Santa bringing him a Dragon World Fortress and Santa didn't disappoint.  He was so excited that he didn't want to play with anything else.  AD got her microphone stand (a play one) and a new MP3 player.  She has spent her entire time in her room jamming out. AJ wanted anything UW and an iPod.  She wasn't disappointed either.

T & I got a new camera (although all these pictures were still taken with the old one)

And then just like that, Christmas Break was over and it was back to work :-(  AD had her 3rd grade spelling bee today.  

She placed 5th in her classroom and continued on to compete against the other 14 3rd graders (from the other classrooms).  She didn't make it past the second round :-(  She got out on the word "wheat."  And we live in wheat country!  She had had trouble with that word last night so I wondered how she would do.  She was sad she got out but by the end was cheering on her friends that made it to the district competition.  She starts tap next week and is very excited!

AJ & T started basketball this week.  T will be coaching her so this should be interesting (although probably better than me coaching her!).  She is really sore, but she'll get over it ;-)

We cleaned up AT's room over the Christmas Break and his latest thing has to be to keep it cleaned up.  He has been so proud to have it clean each day.  I am loving it, but am not holding my breath on how long this lasts!

Enjoy your day!

It's Almost Christmas!

Well the last time I posted was the first day of school. And now we are only 3 school days away from Christmas Break.  My how time has flown.  So what have we been up to?

AJ started junior high this year.  She is absolutely loving it!  I have never seen her so full of stories of her day and excited.  Volleyball started the first day of school, as well, so she was a little tired making the adjustment to junior high homework & 2 hr practices.  However, she survived (or rather WE all survived) and I think she'll be ready to tackle basketball here soon.  T will be her coach so that will be nice.

AD is the only child at the brand new elementary school.  I think she is enjoying that fact, but I know when her brother joins her next year, she will be helpful to him.  (It's just in her nature.)  She is loving 3rd grade and doing really well.  She starts tap dance in January and can't wait.  She did play soccer this year and really enjoyed it.  She also had a role in our elementary school's play this year.  She was a little sick (not sure if it was stage fright or viral) but managed to pull out the final performance.

AT is in two different preschool classes and doing really well with both.  He is always drawing inventions, building forts, and playing with his buddies (and aggravating his sisters!).  He is keeping a pretty busy schedule this year which is good because he should be ready for Kinder next year then.

T is still teaching math at the high school and was recently hired to be the head baseball coach.  It is something I know he will do well at and he is excited.  With AJ being in jr high softball, I am not sure how many of his games I will be able to make, but he knows we are always cheering him on!

I am still job-sharing with my MIL one day a week at the jr high and teaching at the local correctional facility as well.  Between that and running after the kids (of all ages!), I am keeping busy.  At the start of November, I had my gall bladder removed and while it cost me a couple of weeks of normalcy, I have felt great since then!  (Gave my mom a good reason to get off work and come up and visit/help.)  I have fallen behind in my quilting & reading, but hey, that's what Christmas break is for, right?

I wish for you all safe travels this holiday season and a great New Year in store for you.

Merry Christmas!!

1st Day of School 2011-12

Just like always, the 1st day of school ritual is to take the kids' picture in front of the frig.  It is always amazing to see the changes from one year to another. 

AJ 2010

It is hard to believe we have lived here this long, but AJ starts 7th grade today.  We moved here for her to start Kinder and now here she is in junior high.  The junior high is "camping out" at the old elementary school because they are going to remodel the junior high.

AJ 2011

AD gets to start at a brand new elementary school this year.  She is really excited and it is hard to believe she is in 3rd grade already.

AD 2010

AD 2011

AT starts next week so we will get his pictures then.  My how they've grown!

Enjoy your day!!

Unplugged at FH

After we got back from visiting Mom & Dad, we headed out for the west coast for some crabbing & beachcombing.  While we were riding the ferry, we ran across this boat.  AT was so excited because he immediately started yelling "Pirate Ship!!"  (Most everyone knows he loves anything pirate!)

We laughed and reassured him it wasn't a real pirate ship.  Little did we know there was actually a pirate convention (I guess) at FH that weekend.  He could have got a chance to see "real pirates" walking around the town.  When I was bummed that he could have seen them, he gave me a hug and said "It's okay Mommy, I still love you."  Sweet but it didn't make me feel any less guilty for missing that opportunity.

The weather was beautiful at FH.  Not one day of rain and tons of sunshine! 

The kids took advantage of the weather by kayaking & swimming in the pool.  We saw three deer & a fox in our own backyard.  There was a seal swimming around our little inlet all week and we caught lots of crab. 

Again, I was so amazed at how beautiful the weather was.  We had clear skies during the day & at night which gave us beautiful views of the nearby mountains and evening shots.

Boys being boys!

AJ, Gma K, AD, & AT

We had a such a relaxing week.  No tv, no internet, no cell phones (unless you stand by the flagpole like the Statue of Liberty).  It was definitely an unplugged week.  Gma K looked good and we got to see the cousins before some of them head off for college.  We went book shopping at a great used book store by the ferry landing and even hit some yard sales (loved it!!).  We certainly did not go home lighter for some reason . .. .hmmm ;-)

Enjoy your day!!

Wrapping up July

To finish out July, we headed south to visit Mom & Dad and attend my 20 year class reunion.  It is hard to believe it's been 20 years already.  It was a lot of fun to see everyone.  Some I hadn't seen since right after graduation. 

AD, AJ, & AT

The next day we headed across to the east of the state to visit a zoo we hadn't seen before, enjoy some Godfather's taco pizza (which is really hard to find out west anymore), and have some fun.  The zoo was a great little zoo.  AT was so excited to see the crocodile, but then we got there he stood about 2 feet back from the glass partition.  He appeared to not be sure about it.  Gpa walked up behind him and scared him and he jumped probably 2 feet in the air!

AT feeding the goats

 Right next to the zoo was a little amusement park with mini golf.  It was so funny watching us all hit the ball everywhere except the hole!  Gpa & T of course were pros at it, but since we weren't keeping score, the rest of us did what it took to get the ball in the hole ;-)

Afterwards, Mom & Dad took us to see this amazing sculpture in a business district.  It is so huge and the picture really does not do it justice.  It is beautiful.

My aunt & uncle from MN came out to visit on Mon, so we stayed to see them and celebrate Mom's bday.  Tues we headed home.  It is so nice to visit, but there is nothing like getting home.

In other news, my cousin's daughter, Sophie, is having eye surgery in a couple of weeks.  She is only 4 and has awful headaches and cannot see very well.  They are having a benefit and silent auction for her this coming Friday.  Because I could not attend, I decided to send this for the silent auction:

I decided early this summer that I needed some more hand sewing projects so I wasn't always trapped in my sewing room downstairs.  So I chose to try my hand at embroidery.  I found this cute pattern for flip flops and couldn't resist trying them.  I wasn't sure where I was going to use them until I dug up this fabric from my stash.  Usually I don't make things this bright, but it just all seemed to go together.

I hope it does well.  If you are my MN friends & family and are reading this, check out Sophie's benefit on Aug 12th.  (See my facebook page for the info.)

Enjoy your day!!

It's Almost August!

I cannot believe the summer is flying by so fast.  The first half seemed to drag and the kids were so bored.  The last half we have been so busy that it is hard to imagine we are a month away from school starting.

The girls went to 4H camp with Gma L this year for the first time.  T & I took them over to the west side for camp and then went to a MLB game.  T's Babe Ruth parents couldn't believe we had not seen a game in the new (I know, not so new anymore) stadium so they gave us tickets to a game as a gift.  AT went to stay at a friend's house and we had the weekend to ourselves.  We had great seats and even saw some friends from home!

 This was the view from our seats!

 After the game, we headed home.  We stopped to see some sights we hadn't stopped and seen before.

The boat is finally running again.  Once we got the girls back from camp, we thought we would spend the hottest day of the year (so far) on the river.  The water was like glass and other than AT getting sunscreen in his eyes and being miserable, we had a great time.  Who knew sunscreen could double as hair gel?

Today some good friends stopped by.  These two below have been friends since they were babies.  We have so many pictures of them as little cute babies that it is hard to believe they are now 12!  Can't believe how gorgeous they are growing up to be, (but I do miss their cute little baby faces sometimes).

Enjoy your day!!

Some Picture Updates from the Month's I Missed Posting

 Gma & Gpa visiting about in May 2011

Kids at the circus in April

AJ at DARE graduation, AT at PS Graduation, AJ at 6th grade Graduation 

The family at AP's HS graduation

Double ATMs

AP with her graduation quilt