Our youngest just turned three. He is probably the biggest area of busy. He is SO busy. But we love him. He is so very much loved by all of us, particularly his three older siblings, that we sometimes have to remind them to leave him alone and so he can learn to plan on his own, eat on his own, talk for him self. He was our slowest walker because everyone was always carrying this child around. My heart bursts with so much happiness we had him but he has really pushed us into the super busy realm.
Kid activities. That's another area of busy. The kids are all into something now. At least one activity, usually more. So, I am a professional chauffeur. I don't mind driving carpool most days. S is at the gym 5 days per week and does violin every other week, T has oboe lessons, broadcast new club (he's an amazing new anchor) and Boy Scouts. He will be resuming taekwondo once we find another studio for him as his teacher moved - he's very close to gaining black belt status. And not a black belt factory one but 6-7 years worth of consistent training. He is quite strong and we are proud. BB started kindergarten but needs to go to first grade part time because she is such a proficient reader and a wiz at math. She is half time kindergarten, half time first grade, and part time gifted class. Her testing showed she scored perfect on her spacial abilities which means she can put puzzles both 2D and 3D together super fast. She learns at a rapid pace and can memorize in a snap. And yes, she still has her imaginary friends from Venus. There is an entire family of them now. She does rec gymnastics and also takes piano lesson which she is getting quite good reading music. W - he tags along but it will be his turn soon. I'm thinking wrestling (half joking statement) - he's tiny and freakishly strong. He's like a younger male version of S - fearless, tiny, and super strong - basically a wild thing like S is referred to at the gym.
Skip spent 5 years at Taos but has since returned back to Micron. Being back at Micron increased his busy level, too. I continue at the same clinic and am on year 7 - crazy - it feels like I just finished grad school. I only work two days a week to keep up with my crew. Plus, I added a new job this year - after 5 years on the school PTO board I am now the president. Ironically, it is busy but I don't feel like I'm quite as busy as I was in the past related to my volunteering there. But with three kids at the same school this year, juggling classroom volunteering has been tough. I still teach art when I can.
Our dog Max is awesome. We lost Anya after 18 years this past spring. She was such a great dog. We are glad Max is still with us. He just turned two. He is a solid family pet and loved by all of us. He is literally everyone's dog.
We have a big school year ahead. T is auditioning for honor band in a couple weeks. This will add some more activities. S will be starting competition season for gym in December. Last year she skipped level 5 and competed 6. We knew it would be a stretch for her but her coaches felt it would set her up to be a stronger level 7. She is cruising along and one of her coaches said she has the ability to potentially score a perfect 10 this year on bars or beam which has totally motivated her to work harder on both those events. Plus, vault last year was really tough being so tiny, having a new set of rules where the vault could not be lowered for tiny people like her, and it was a brand new style vault she needed to perform. Well, now she's taller and stronger, and it's not new. So we won't be praying for her just to make it over the table. Last year we were literally worried she would score a zero. She didn't but it was close a couple times.
So I will add some photos just so you can see that we are indeed alive and all is well. It's just like treading water though - always something going on. But I have to emphasize - it's all good things. Truly. We are so blessed. Life is good. Our family is happy. We are a bit crazy but is good crazy.
Photos - not in any particular order:
Becca's first piano recital in May. She was SO excited to wear her unicorn dress. She had also just cut her hair and donated 14 inches.
Biller at work with me. Now that she's older, Beck has been able to articulate to us that he is subatomic and small which is why we cannot see him. This is a large scale version which she sometimes sends to work with me as a reminder she is missing me.
Family night at Blue Cow - frozen yogurt plus. Just a great place where everyone can find a a favorite dessert. S doesn't like frozen yogurt but sorbet is fine and they make it fresh there. T doesn't like either but they have lots of gummy candies. W - he'll eat anything but just cannot have peanuts. Tree nuts are fine. Beck - all of the above goes in her bowl.
Beck reading bedtime story to W. She is amazing at reading. She just finished her 6th chapter book. She's been in kindergarten 2 months.
Lunch with Nana. Kids absolutely adore her. We are so glad she is around to read and snuggle them.
Max on walk. Just the best dog.
S's straddle jump in her floor routine. I love the shadow in the photos, too.
S giving her dad a beam lesson. Gymnastics is her passion and she loves sharing it.
S teaching W to point his toes. These two - he loves doing whatever his Yaya is doing. Sometimes he won't go to bed until she tucks him in.
T did basketball this past winter/early spring. He never played but he was not too bad and quite the defensive player. His ability to not be affraid to try new things that he will potentially be bad at is such a lesson to me. He is my old soul. Love him so much!
Color run this fall with older kids. Look how tall T is - he's taller than me now! Not that is saying all that much as I'm five feet but still, in 6th grade he has passed his mom.
T's first fish this past spring. He has been dying to catch a fish for years so this was a dream come true. His Scout leader was awesome helping him earn his fishing merit badge.
Girls at gym - they surprised each other with matching leos. They each pick out new leos for each other. Ironically, they ended up being the exact same ones. It's fun when they go matching to the gym.
S won beam for her entire level at this meet. She was crowned ice queen. (She has blue lips because she was super excited about the blue ring pop that came with it.)
T hiking on a boy scout camp out. He was the only one who opted to go hiking with the leaders. He is always eager to hike on scout trips. He's done 4-5 camp outs now and is getting quite good at camping.
There is the update. I will try to do more.
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