Summer Lovin'

I'm not sure where the time has gone, well, actually, yes I am.  gymnastics, baseball, football, fasdogs and summer school. Not to mention the lake, sleep overs, snow cones, camp outs, and day trips. All of a sudden we only have 18 days left until school starts :( and I only know that because little miss asked me how long until she gets to go first grade!  I'm not excited, for them or for me, since my fun starts up again the same day as theirs does. But, at least I have a small little light beginning to twinkle at the end of my tunnel...graduation is May 14 (290 days) but who is counting ;) We are going to squeeze in one more trip before the fun begins. A quick trip to Emerald Beach with a stop at the Cable Park along the way. We might as well be super tired to get going again, right?! Then I will have a first grader, fifth grader (last year in elementary) and freshman! Oh my!!

and...keeping up with tradition...way behind again

*Not a lot has changed, we are meeting ourselves around each corner, but thats ok, I wouldn't change a single thing! I completed another semester of school and now feel like I can slow down enough to enjoy things again. We have a busy summer planned, and I don't want to let any of it slip by because I know it will be over in the blink of an eye.  I have 11 hours left before graduation, its crazy(& a little scary) to even think about it. We showed the house several times over the last few weeks. Nothing to speak of, other than a lot more house cleaning than I care to do :)

*Big man turned 14 & got his drivers permit :( He got to spend a night at the lake with a few boys to celebrate.  It was the first time he got to go without little brother in tow,  He also made it through the first round of baseball tryouts.  As a parent its so stressful to watch them go through things we have no control over (especially me who wants to fix it all) I was super proud & excited for him but so sad for those who didn't get the outcome they wanted. I just hate it for them.  Oh how I wish life was fair according to a mom's rules ;) He plays 12 games in 3 weeks and at the end of that time there will be another "cut". We'll see...I just keep telling him (& myself) everything happens for a reason, even though that really doesn't make it any better.

*J's "mini me" is playing baseball too, although he is really more excited to start football! He was asked to join the boys level 4 gymnastics team so that starts next week, we will be there 6 hours a week. I'm excited to see what he thinks of it and how he handles such a commitment. 

*Sis wasn't ready to leave K, and really I wasn't ready for her to either.  Yesterday morning she was up and ready to go to first grade, I mean, come on, you had the weekend off, what more do you need?! We went to see a plastic surgeon a few weeks ago because she was born with syndactly on both of her feet.  Two of her toes are fused together and she has always asked when they were going to come apart.  The boys don't think much of it and usually tell her she will swim better or be a good duck hunter because of it. Unfortunately kiddos can be mean.  A few of them were giving her a hard time at school and she came home sobbing (not just crying) more than once. Turns out it is a MAJOR surgery to separate those sweet little toes. So, we will just use this as an example for ways not to treat others and a growing experience to help others accept those who are different. It breaks this mommas heart to see her cry but I know she will be fine.

*We will be adding a new  creature to the collection.  For our 15th wedding anniversary I booked him a bear hunt in WY but because of timing issues he just now got to go. And , yippee, he got one :/ Now we are waiting on it to return from the taxidermist to find its new residence. 

a little later than usual ;)

9 days, thats what I have left in this semester, but who's counting, right? I AM!!! This has been the most difficult one yet. Good thing there are only 2 left ;) I'm sure it is a time I will look back on and be thankful for eventually, but at the moment I just cannot wait for the next 9 days to pass.
My big guy is less than a month from 14 and a driving permit
My little guy gave himself a concussion, while riding a skateboard, a little surprised it has taken this long!
Sis, well, is just, Sis. Confident (Bossy) & Independent (stubborn). Oh & did I mention BOSSY?! She is so different than the boys. They take her in stride though.  She manages to get her way most of the time.
Its turkey season so the great white hunter is pretty much MIA. He makes the occasional appearance to wash his clothes and is gone again.  I think there are 2 weeks left which will consist of a second OK trip and a journey to TX.  Then he heads to WY for a bear hunt. He says hes just getting prepared for my graduation and his new "job" as a stay home dad. I think he's in for a big surprise!
Mom is in TX as much as she is here. Things are still about the same with my papa.
My grandma here has adjusted to assisted living but the dimentia/alzheimers has really set in and there are more and more things she can't do.
Overall life is crazy but good and there is a light beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel.    

times of change

I'm not good at it, change that is.  I don't like it. In fact, if I thought I could get away with it I might just possibly consider sitting down in the floor and throwing a little temper tantrum. But now that I am a year older (my kids insisted I have a b day no matter how hard I tried to convince them it was no longer necessary) I don't think I have a choice.  And to top it off there are several things changing at once...even better. I am having a super hard time adjusting to my new routine this semester.  My program director left and the new one is going to be fine, I think, but she is quite unorganized.  That all by itself is a huge issue for me. But throw in the fact that she is new and I have NO idea what to expect from her or what she expects from me, and it is magnified just a tad. Not to mention I am now participating in actual real life clinical activities and I am just a smidge overwhelmed.  I have NEVER, EVER, EVER been in a clinic unless it was with a sick kid that belongs to me. Making the role change from nurse to provider is slightly terrifying. I feel like a complete and total idiot.  It is stressful. Then you add in the fact that for the last I don't know how many years I have been the one to take the kids to school and pick them up (for the most part) and now I can only do it a few times a week and we are all having issues big enough to warrant therapy! I know it will get better and I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, because we only have 60 days left in the semester, but ya know, who is counting, right?! But in the last 3 weeks I have seriously questioned my sanity. So, besides all that fun and excitement, we are moving my grandma into an assisted living facility. She is the one who wants to go and she is super excited. I was really happy for her too until we started moving her things out of the house and into the apartment while deciding what to sell and watching strangers carry it out the door. Packing up her stuff and (that dreaded word) changing everything.  I kept saying I was worried about her and how she would handle it that I was totally blindsided when I was the one having trouble. I'm sure it has been worse because of everything else going on at the same time, but goodness I didn't see it coming. It will be a great thing for everyone I think.  Mom will have more availability to go to TX and actually get to stay for a while, things here will be less of a worry for everyone and my grandma will be happier and much less of a danger to herself and others :) Don't get me wrong, I want all of those things to happen, I just don't want anything major to CHANGE!!  I just haven't figured out how to stop it ;)

same old story

I made it just over the 2 month mark this time :)
We had busy holidays just like everyone else, and all were good.
Sis turned 6 and we took a quick trip to Dallas to visit the American Girl store
My big guy is playing travel ball for the first time so we are trying to get adjusted to that craziness
Little man isn't so little anymore, hes growing up into quite the young man
Hubby went on 2 elk hunting trips and got one each time, YAY! :/
I managed a 4.0 last semester and now I'm getting ready to start the downhill slide!
My work/school schedule will be an adjustment for everyone this semester
My parents spent a week in TX with her dad. Things are still about the same
My grandma here is ready to move into an assisted living area. Some days its good and some days its not
Overall life is great, just going by way too fast!

every 2 months

a post every 2 months, I guess thats going to be about my "normal" for a while (probably for a long while)
*Football is officially over for the oldest.  Even though he didn't get to play as much as he wanted to,  he had a great attitude and learned a lot and is ready to try again.
*Have no fear, basketball started this morning and then on to baseball so there is no down time!
*We still have one weekend left for little man & his football team, so we're not bored yet ;)
*He is getting to go camping and hunting with his dad and some friends this weekend, without big brother, I think it might be a first, and they are both excited!
*Sis has had a rough go lately with illness.  First it was the tummy bug then respiratory so she was down for the count.  Its getting better though, except for being extremely attached to my side from all the extra attention!
*School is winding down for the semester and there is a light shining at the end of the tunnel.  Spring semester will be an adjustment for everyone but it will be good (I hope:/)
*Hunting season is in full swing and hubby has already been gone once for an extended period of time. Two more big ones to go, until then just every weekend ;)
*my mom is closing her store, after 23 years years in business. She's not sad though, she says she is just ready to retire and move on. It will be different, but good.

So, here we go again!

Starting the new school year off behind, since I didn't blog one.single.thing. the whole summer I guess I'm just keeping up the trend! So I guess I will hit the high points and maybe not miss too much :)
We'll start with the beginning of summer...
-Way back in May my big man turned 13, wait, what??? (& now he is in jr high!)
-I had my gallbladder out & didn't recover quite as quick as I hoped so we missed several lake weekends which I heard ALL about
-both boys played baseball so we were at the ballpark 4 nights a week. I can't believe thats already over
-little man learned how to jump on the wakeboard
-we didn't take a "real" vacation this year since I was in summer school but we did tag along with dad to Dallas and did a few fun things there
-my little man turned 10!
-both boys are playing football and even though we are never home its lots of fun!
-sis started kindergarten :( she loves it but says her favorite part of the day is when I pick her up!
-I started another semester of school that requires me to go to LR every Wed so there are a few more responsibilities for everybody ;)

It seems like the older I get the faster time goes by and the harder it is to slow down!