I have some updating to do here, but this will have to do for now. Maybe I should make keeping the blog updated one of my New Year’s resolutions!
The countdown to the first day of school has begun. The kids aren’t necessarily excited about it, but I have to admit that I’m looking forward to getting back to something that resembles a routine.
I took the kids to Tanganyika Wildlife Park this week. We’ve been wanting to go and I figured it was time when they started offering a BOGO special on Wednesday’s! It’s a small park and they don’t have a ton of animals or exhibits, but you can interact with several of the animals which makes it a really cool experience. We were able to feed the giraffes,
lemurs,
bunnies,
tortoises
and lories.
Feeding the lemurs was by far the winner! The kids exchanged their token for a cranberry, held a closed hand up to the lemur and he would open your hand and take the fruit. The first time we visited the exhibit, they were all napping. The kids all decided to go back before we left and found that the lemurs were all awake, which meant that they would crawl across your lap for the treat!
The lemurs were so soft! I’d like to bring this little guy home. I think the keeper said his name was Vegas.
I think we’ll definitely go back again when it’s cooler.
I’ve kind of gotten out of the habit of updating this blog and I think Facebook is probably mostly to blame! It feels redundant to post here and there, but I think it’s time to recomit to the blog.
We survived spring soccer season, the 2nd semester of school, Cub Scout camp, a few birthdays and now summer vacation is already half over!
Jake went to a Ground School Academy put on by Kansas STARBASE. He had an incredible time and ended the experience with a flight in a private plane.
McKenna turned 12 a few weeks ago. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that this is our last year of parenting a pre-teen girl! She just returned from a week-long soccer camp at a local college. It must have been a ton of fun because she was asking if she could come again next year as we were leaving the dorms!
Joshua is still such a little character! He’s always saying things that make us laugh and I imagine he’s a lot like his Daddy was at this age! He’s counting down the days until his birthday (37, in case you are wondering) and can’t wait for soccer to start again.
So there’s a quick and dirty update. Hopefully it won’t be so long between updates next time!
I could probably be charged with blog neglect. Let’s hope nobody turns me in!
Needless to say, November and December were pretty busy months for us and not because of the holidays. We sold the house, bought a new one over Thanksgiving and then spent the rest of the year packing up all of our belongings. Christmas was pretty low key, but I have to say that not having to worry about all the Santa stuff was a huge relief this year. We went to Christmas Eve service and then opened our presents when we got home. Almost all of us enjoyed sleeping in Christmas morning… Jay, of course, was up early for one of his final duck hunts.
Packing the truck was more than a little stressful. We were all very doubtful that we’d be able to fit all of our belongings on the truck! It was a super tight squeeze, but our friends worked some magic and packed it all in. Loading day was gorgeous… we couldn’t have asked for nicer weather. Moving day was a whole other story! It was cold and windy and bad weather forced us to take a different route. It took us nearly 9 hours to make the journey that usually takes us 6!
So, we’re settling in and boxes are gradually disappearing. We love the new house! You should come for a visit if you haven’t already :)
The Lord has really blessed us and it’s been very clear to us during this move. We left behind some truly amazing friends in North Platte that we’ll have to stay in contact with. Life won’t be the same without them :(
Aren’t they cute? :)
Someone please tell the 9-year-old that it really is ok to smile and show some teeth for these things!
The weather was beautiful this year for Trick-or-Treating! Some friends came by and we walked about a mile, gathering entirely too much candy.
McKenna had a hard time choosing a costume this year. She really wanted something super scary (which I nixed) and didn’t want anything girly (good thing because apparantly the trend this year is super slutty), so we finally settled on a pirate.
The boys were zombie soccer players. Jake’s soccer coach had a great idea for this costume and the boys loved it! Jay did a great job attaching the balls to the jerseys!
Josh had the scary zombie look down pat!
The dogs were a little late to the game, since I refused to pay $7 for a dog costume. I got suckered in last night when Kenna noticed that they were 75% off ;)
Diego was not a fan… at all.
Daisy tolerated it long enough for me to snap a picture and then she was pawing it off of her head. I guess I don’t really blame her!
Poor Diego… he’s such a good sport! Here’s Jake pretending to bite the "hot dog!"
My poor, little neglected blog. I can’t believe I’ve gone a month without at least saying hello! Needless to say, it’s been more than a little busy around here!
Soccer season is over, thank goodness. As much as I love watching the kids play, I’m not a huge fan of the driving all over creation. Kenna’s team placed 3rd in fall league. The last few games were pretty brutal, but the girls had fun. Jake’s team came together for a tournament a few weekends ago and kicked bootay! It was so awesome to see the boys mesh and play like they’d been playing soccer together all summer. (A little back story… the head and assistant coach quit before the season was over and took about half the team with them. The club ended up combining the 2 U10 teams, so these boys had about 3 weeks of practicing together before the tournament.) The Blue Devils won all 3 games… what an awesome way to end the year!
The kids are all doing great! We have conferences this coming week and I’m hoping to hear what wonderful little angels I have! Hey, no laughing!
The biggest news of all is that we are moving! We stuck the "for sale" sign in the yard about a week ago and are praying for a speedy sale! Jay has to be there in January and we’d really like to move together. We’ve had quite a bit of activity and even a repeat showing, so I’m hoping that we’ll be hearing something soon.
Well, the wrist is not actually broken. Thankfully, what the doc thought was a fracture wasn’t and she’s not tender in the spots where she was last week. She is, however, tender in other spots… so, it’s still a sports injury, it’s just not as bad! It’s likely just a bad sprain. Her hand/wrist is still pretty swollen and there is some bruising, not to mention pain when she rotates her forearm or when pressure is applied. Prescription… wrap it, ice it and take some ibuprofen. I did make an appointment with the sports medicine facility, but the earliest they could get her in was next week. I guess we’ll keep the appointment unless she’s miraculously healed in the meantime!
We experienced our first broken bone yesterday. McKenna was doing a drill at soccer practice and fell while back peddling (running backwards for all of us non-sports people, me included). I took her home and we iced it through dinner. It was swelling despite the ice and painful to the touch, so I took her to urgent care. X-rays showed a fracture on the radial fossa (or "anatomical snuff box"). He wasn’t sure if she fractured her growth plate as well, but will re-check her in a week.
So, she’s splinted up and still in some pain. Such a trooper though! She didn’t want to leave practice last night and insisted on still participating in P.E. today (they were running a mile). We’re hoping that she’ll still be able to play soccer since they’ve only got 4 games left in a few weeks, but if she can’t I know she’ll make a fabulous cheerleader for her team :)
