Spring Break 2018 week 1

Decided to try and blog by the week.  Maybe I can keep up then.  It definitely will not be as detailed and maybe not even chronological, but it will be recorded! 

.  Last week we went to the Smith cabin with our friends the Johnsons.for the first week of Spring Break.   The kids had a great time playing games, ziplining and hanging out in the basement.  Brooklyn and Becca hid out in the RV most of the time, but the did come in for food every now and again.  Both Jake and Glade were able to make it as well, even though there was still some work to be done.  Jenny and I spent a little time in town checking out thrift stores. Nothing too exciting to find there.  Chelsey came up for a night, but things were rough with the two little ones and the one tiny/big one still in her belly.  She decided to head home and sleep in their own beds.  Emily and Brynlee had a GREAT time while they were there.  All the kids got some scrapes and a few rope burns from the zip line, but it didn't slow them down very long!

We had a hard time getting the wood to burn because it had rained.  It was really smoky and all the girls held their noses to not have to smell it.

I thought surely there would be a blow dryer there, but...nope.  So I used a little space heater.  It was a bit awkward and took a little longer, but totally did the job!

Max went with us and followed me around under my feet the whole time

Aleah and Emily became BFFs

The boys took a liking to croquet.  Even Dad got out there and played with them a few times.

Rhett had to bring his "friends" with him to the cabin.  Luckily he wasn't like that the whole time.

It was Tessa's birthday while we were there so we tripped into town for some DQ.

Dalin, the working Man

Dalin just turned 17 and started working.  Well, first of all, he actually had a job at Taco Bell but that didn't go so well.  Then he was really busy with XC  so he didn't work for awhile.  Finally, after many applications, he landed a job at Little Caesars.  He's only been there like a month, but so far so good.  For his birthday, he and I went to IHOP for breakfast and then he had to work that night.  Later in the week, he had friends over for pizza and then they all tripped off to Sonic for slushies.  He's pretty low maintenance. 

Katy, Student of the Month...again

Yep, every single year since Kindergarten, Katy has been chosen as Student of the Month.  Trying to keep her humble here.  This year it was for the virtue of service.  I love what her teacher wrote.

This is her and her future husband, Drew.  They both earned student of the month at the same time.  They have been good friends since first grade, I think they'd make beautiful children.  He is he one in the black jacket with the big dimples. 

Also, for the second time, Katy's poem has been chosen to be entered in the school-wide poetry contest.  We won't know if she'll win for a while, but what an honor to be entered. 

Katy 11th bday

Katy has always known what she wanted.  This year she wanted a glow party for her 11th birthday.  We invited all her friends, including Zaiden, who is a boy but has been her best friend for a few years now.  She didn't want chocolate cake, but she wanted a confetti cake.  I, in my awesomeness (sarcasm), made these silly little cakes.  She was happy!  We decorated the driveway, busted out the boombox and had glow jewelry for everyone.  They ate pizza, opened gifts and then danced until it was time to go home.  On another big note, she also shaved her legs. 

I Was All THAT?!

I was laying in bed last night thinking of how much I loved watching my kids perform in Peter Pan at the theater.  Then I started remembering when I was at the theater ALL the time.  It sent me down a road of all the things/phases I have gone through in the last 25 years of adulthood.  I thought "man, I've done a bunch of stuff!"   While doing each thing, I couldn't imagine anything else being so great.  Then I'd enter some other thing.  Anyway, it's kind of cool to think of all the things I've done and then also to think of what's still ahead!!  These events are not chronological because some things never change and I'm really not a detail oriented person so rearranging all the pics would have been too time consuming and then I'd no longer be sitting here.  Let me begin by also adding Once I was a Blogger!  I have no pictures to prove it, but you are here so it must be true. 

So let's start back to when I was 16 and loved to dance!  This was a dance to Keep Me Hanging On and I still remember some of it.  Right below is me at my 40th bday party...still groovin.  Some phases never quite end. ♥

Lets just say I spent the next 15 years doing this....mostly a blur, but I'm positive I loved it!!

Oh and let's not forget that I decided to run a preschool during all my "making babies" years.

Then there was that time I had skin cancer, yikes!!

Then there was the five or so years I spent at the theater.  Like...ALL the time.  Started by appearing in Hairspray and Annie, morphing into helping with a production of Glee, and then snowballing into Choreographing my first show Oliver and several others, to directing the Wiz. Oh how I loved those years!!

Then there were the cruise years.  Started on our 15th anniversary and that I can honestly say will continue to be part of what we do for a long time to come!  Cruisers...that's what we are!

How about the time I decided to become a runner?  Yep, Ran three Ragnars, the Redrock, 3 half marathons, several 10Ks and one mini triathlon.  I really really miss those days!!

There was a small period of time where we went to Diamondbacks games all the time, I love baseball and love being there, we even had season tickets once!  Below that, is a very old picture of me playing softball as a teenager.  There were several years where Glade and I played on a coed team regularly.  It's what we did.  And I loved it!

These I like to refer to as the "I was still clear headed enough to be the creative mom" years where we spent time and energy doing things like creating cool cow costumes for a free meal.  Now I cut up some paper, tell them to tape 'em on and get in the car.  

Oh how I love to can and prepare!  I still love this, but haven't done it in way too long.  For awhile, canning was all I could think about.  I tried canning....everything! Someday I'm going to revive this one.

We had great years where we camped..a lot.  We spent time and money gathering the best camping supplies and things to make it nice and comfortable.  We would go several times in the summer and I even took the kids by myself a couple of times during fall/spring break.  We loved camping!  Such great memories.  We still do this, but on a much simpler and way less frequent basis.  I can't say I miss this one as much, lol.

Now I've entered the Grammy stage.  I only have 5 kids left at home.  Two married, one on a mission,  and one serving some time elsewhere.  I have three in high school with one graduating in a month.  Babies have come and brought a whole new level of fun to my life.  It's a little tricky being a Grammy and still having little ones at home (9 and 11).  But seriously, look at those faces!!

Ok, I'm sure you'll all have to do some serious memory searching to remember that I LOVE Christmas!  No, really....I do!  That's never gonna change and is always one of my favorite things to look forward to, participate in and reminisce about.  Yep, pretty much lasts all year! 

So It got me to thinking...I've done so many cool things, what am I now?  Seems like all the fun is behind me.  Why don't I do really cool things anymore?  Wait.., I have this cool job of visiting foster kids, and I substitute as a school nurse on occasion and I own a DANCE STUDIO.  Hmmm, I guess I'm still doing some pretty awesome things, but apparently they don't seem that awesome till you stop doing them and look back at it.  Gotta try and remember that.  Kind of excited to see what the next ten years brings!