Whoa...I haven't blogged since 2009! I guess life with 3 teenagers (I do consider Garrett a teenager - he is advanced, ya know? :) really does blow by with the force and speed of a tornado.

As always, there is never a dull moment with the three spawns. In the past year and a half, we have experienced a knee injury (including a year and a half of physical therapy and eventually surgery, a fractured skull (from not wearing a helmet while skating - lesson learned), a broken knuckle that required surgery (thanks to a neighborhood scuffle over a sled), two pneumonias, two monos, a pending divorce, a move in with the parents, a new full time job...that just made me dizzy to type all of that!

Of course everything isn't so stressful...a lot of exciting things have happened too. Kaylee turned 16 and now drives (soo scary, but soo helpful!), Garrett is now in middle school (half a year with only one ISS - lol), and Lana has found a new love for distance running (and as MVP, she's quite talented).

As I lay here tonight reading my own blog and reliving so many sweet times, I am vowing to make a conscious effort to post at least once a month...and hopefully more. Not only do I find it a therapeutic release, it is my own personal scrapbook and diary. Preservation of memories. I will do it! :)

Starting again...I promise!!!

So...I made a vow to start my daily blogging again, and true to my nature, I procrastinated and the entire summer passed by with nary a post. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I have now added blogging into my schedule on the Blackberry (yayz!! I finally got one for Valentine's day =).

I will recap some of our summer activities over the upcoming weeks - and there are a lot to share: 4th of July in Florida, Kaylee's 15th birthday, the passing of her permit test (eventually!), and lots of plain ole fun! It has been such an exciting and eventful summer, that I couldn't begin to cover it all in one catch-up post. And besides, there's so much happening in our life right now, that I don't want to miss that either.

We are approaching the end of summer vacation - 6 days away, in fact - and anyone who knows us well knows that we never stay still for long. Last year, in September, we finally moved out of our temporary living situation into a more permanent home....or so we thought. After a year, we realized that there were some aspects of the house that weren't working. The main issues have centered around the yard, or lack of usable space...as well as the absence of a fenced in yard for the giant dog. Add to that no central air, and quite frankly, just a bad feeling in the house, and we realized that we should possibly look into our moving options.

As luck would have it, the neighbors down the street just moved out, leaving us with a possible option. After calling the landlord, meeting with him, and giving the house a once-over, we realized that this would be a better option for us. Of the amenities that we like, the kids would probably about out that their favorite is the half-finished tree house in the backyard. This isn't some kid-built rickety old tree house, either. The guy who started building it must have had an awesome set of plans and imagination...it is amazing! Garrett and Robbie will be finishing it out with the walls and roof soon...and it will be camp out and air soft war ready! Kaylee and Lana are particularly excited about a covered patio area - that they have already mentally landscaped and decorated for parties/get-togethers. And I am thrilled with the clean yard and fenced-in back for the dogs...and CENTRAL AC!!! Other than that, the house is pretty much the same layout as where we are now. Amazing how what can seem so minor makes all the difference in the world =)

We are set to move on September 15...follow along and see if I can really hold it all together as they start school!! IT should be an eventful next 3 weeks! Follow along for our progress and pics!!

Atlanta Braves!!!

Each year the ACRMS 8th grade class travels to Atlanta for their farewell field trip. Along with the educational activities including CNN, the aquarium, and the zoo...there is also the Atlanta Braves game where the 8th Reynold's singers perform the National Anthem. An incredible opportunity for sure!! And one that I couldn't allow myself or Lana and Garrett to miss. Yet again...we packed up and headed to watch my oldest baby sing at our first MLB game - how awesome!!

April 2009...and Spring Break!!!

April has probably been the funnest (yea, I know...not a word =) and most exciting month thus far. In the midst of track meets, high school cheerleading tryouts started. Kaylee spent a week eating, drinking, sleeping, and breathing cheerleading. It was so bad, that we would even hear Garrett chanting in his sleep, "Reynold's Rockets, the green, gold, and white..." It was hysterical...we all feel full of ACRHS pep!! The hard work paid off when she made the JV team!! I honestly don't think there's been a happier moment for Kaylee...ever. After almost 2 years of trying to get adjusted to a new school, town, and environment, she is finally doing what she was meant to do!!

Next...FINALLY...came spring break!!! Originally, we had planned on staying in town, hanging out around the house, and maybe hitting some local tourist spots, and relaxing. But as we sat at Garrett's ballgame on a warm and pretty day, he lure of the beach was just too much for us to handle. So at 5pm, we packed whatever clean clothes we could find, grabbed Athena, and headed for Daytona Beach!! Although we only stayed 3 days, it was full of sun and surf...and Brandon!! After we were beached out, we headed home so the kids could spend time with friends (read: Kaylee could see the boyfriend - LOL) and check out some of the local attractions and events. The kids enjoyed Blowing Rock and Linville Falls but the highlight of all highlights came when we saw the ACC All-Stars (including Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green!!) play with Crossfire ministries. So we never got our quiet and relaxing spring break, but in the end...it was SOOO worth it!! Check out the highlights of the week =)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Catching up!!!

I suppose the only way to start back blogging is to, as briefly as I can, catch up on our life over the past 6 months...covering all the missed milestones month-by-month. Here goes =)

January 2009:

What better way to ring in the new year than with Guitar Hero Mania!! After playing Garrett's Christmas gift on PS2, we all decided we needed the games for the Wii...and what a great investment! Great music and fun for family and friends!

Garrett hit the big double digits - 10...a very happy, but hectic birthday!! He had a small sleepover with some neighborhood boys - complete with pizza and cheesecake. They did whatever it is that little boys do at that age...LOL...staying in his room where we heard a lot of banging and scuffling. It wasn't until we smelled the burning that we became a bit concerned...and how right we were to be concerned. They had taken apart a DVD player, and were using pliers to create sparks of electricity! GEEZ!!! Will I make it through Garrett's teenage years??!!

School started back after Christmas break, and Lana made the switch to Reynold's Middle. After a few difficult days, and friendship from a very sweet McKenna, she made the transition smoothly, and is proud to be a Rocket!!

All in all, January showed us a promising 2009...sure to be full of adventure an excitement!


February 2009:

February was full of ups and downs. Valentine's Day brought lots of ♥...and a new Blackberry for me!! The girls and I all succumbed to the flu, giving us a week of rest at home...while poor Garrett tried ever-so-hard to stay away. His tactic must have worked, because he stayed amazingly healthy. Kaylee tried out for and made the track team, had a breakup, then a reconciliation. And Lana continued to thrive at her new school. I will admit, though, that we were glad to see February come to an end =)


March 2009:

March gave us eh promise of spring! We were all excited to have a few warm weekends mixed in with the lingering cold...allowing us to go on some awesome hikes. It was exciting to see the early signs of spring change daily. Because 6th graders aren't allowed to play school sports, Lana became a manager for the girls' soccer team, Garrett's baseball season began, and track meets started. As always, spring made sure that our schedules were as busy as ever! Probably the most significant event of the month was the dreaded high school registration. Kaylee and I sat through numerous meetings, pored over class listings, and finally registered her for a full schedule of honors academics. The sadness set in as I realized that my baby is slowly, but surely, growing up!!


The beginning of 2009 was just a preview of excitement and craziness to come...

Reminiscing with Sweet Memories

As I sit here reminiscing on a lazy Sunday morning, I have realized just how special keeping this blog can be. What a wonderful way to keep a history of our normal (or not-so-normal) daily life. I find myself wondering when life became so busy and hectic that I completely neglected capturing sweet memories. As the school year comes to a end, and the carefree days of summer begin, I am making blogging my first daily priority. Here's to creating our new memories, and adding to our old!! ♥

25 Random Things...

Recently I was tagged on Facebook to list 25 random things about me. Thought I'd include it here as well....

1. I adore my kids...and their friends - I actually enjoy having them around :)
2. I regularly allow my children to take "personal days" off from school.
3. I bungee jumped 2 months after giving birth (proving that I wasn't washed up - just yet...lol)
4. I am a horrible procrastinator...and allow the kids to be too (bad mom!).
5. I'm terrified of sickness and hospitals...more than terrified - it's a phobia.
6. I love to drive around aimlessly.
7. Sometimes I stay in my pajamas all day - hahahaha!
8. I'm a die-hard Democrat!
9. I give in to my kids way too much...daily, in fact.
10. I HATE to cook, but I'm pretty good at it when I do.
11. Ice cream has been dinner before (see above :).
12. I love baseball!!
13. I don't love NASCAR.
14. Sometimes I forget to eat.
15. Sometimes I forget to feed the dogs and cat...
16. and I have even forgotten to feed my children - lmbo!
17. I have texted while driving before...but finally pulled over because it was too hard.
18. I love Jimi Hendrix...
19. and Clay Aiken - BWAAHH!!
20. Wild Wings' bleu cheese sticks are my favorite food.
21. I have a bad - really bad - temper.
22. I don't handle my own money well.
23. I pray for snow days in the winter...and used to pray for hurricane days in the fall.
24. I coached gymnastics.
25. I do these lists/surveys when I don't wanna work!!!

Too long...

With the chaos of the holidays, I neglected my blogging duties (along with a few other duties). So...here's my attempt to catch up =)

Our Christmas break was completely full of family, friends, fun, and gifts...Lana and Garrett's birthday parties, numerous sleepovers, Nana coming to visit, 3am bedtimes, and oh yea...there was the actual Christmas celebrations. The kids were most excited about their main present. They finally have their own cell phones!!! And believe me, they have been put to good use - LOL. They were also able to extend the spirit of receiving with their numerous gift cards. I think we shopped for 2 weeks straight! Robbie is now the proud owner of a Blackberry (which he still learning to use =), and I am still the proud owner of a Great Dane.

I think this year was the best Christmas ever...life really is exciting and fun as the kids get older and older. Check out the memories from the last few weeks.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Are you stealing my Christmas list???!!!

So...I posted last week, my desires for Christmas this year. In the #1 spot, was the one thing I have wanted for the past 2 years - a Blackberry. Robbie has always argued that he doesn't see the point in these smartphones. We just need phones that dial and receive calls - blah, blah, blah. What a poopie head! Oh, but it gets better...Saturday, he calls me to ask about eh Blackberry. My heart jumped for just a minute - until I realized that he was asking for his own interest. Yup, that's right. Mr Ionlyneedaphonetocall is now getting a Blackberry. WTH??!!! Okay, okay....I'm really not mad (disappointed a tad maybe). After all, he does so much for us - including allowing me to get a monstrous dog. He deserves it...and we're excited to see him enter the new millennium!

He was ready for change...

You know....my life doesn't have enough chaos, or so it seems. Today we added a third school to the mix. Garrett has been unhappy at his charter school this year, and decided to chck out our zoned elementary school. Initially this morning, we stopped by for a tour to aid in out final decision about switching - after the winter break. The school must have an incredible marketing campaign for the kiddos, because by the time we finished, Garrett had his bookbag and was heading into his new classroom!! I don't tink I have seen him this happy and "sparkly" since w moved here. I'm hoping for an incredible remainder of 4th grade. If this afternoon was any indication, it should reach far beyond our expectations. Garrett had his homework completed before I even got home from picking up the girls! Kinda makes it worth the added chaos - time crunchd schedules, volunteer time, etc.

All I Want for Christmas is....

I'm taking on a new strategy this year for my Christmas list. I figure if I blog my Christmas list...and my kids see it, they can nag at Robbie and make sure that I get something other than candles this year :). So here goes....

Blackberry
Rainbow boots (if you haven't seen them, but they are the boot version of the flip flops - sooo comfy!!)
Sterling silver "peace sign" necklace
Steam cleaner for floors
Ski weekend for the family
New cord for my laptop
Planet Earth DVD box set
Toe socks (so if I don't get the boots, I can still wear my Rainbows!! ;)

So this is a start...with gifts in many price ranges. Everyone print out their own copy to pass along to Robbie. Pleeeeaaaseee, NO MORE CANDLES!!!!

Happy Birthday LuLu!!!

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Lana,
Happy birthday to you!

Today is the day...my baby girl is 12! We started the celebration with a lunch with the grandparents yesterday...today we shall shop. Having girls is a blast!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this eve of Thanksgiving, I relect on all the blessings in my life...

* I have an amazing husband who works harder than one should - so that I can be home with the kids.

* And those 3 kids are happy, healthy, beautiful, bright, and successful.

* I live close to my family and am able to see them on a regular basis...and can watch the nephews grow up <3.

* We have a home, heat, and food (although I do complain about cooking it :)

* I (this is not a we - LOL) have 2 cool dogs (well...Athena is cool when she's not using the kitchen as her personal bathroom - or sticking her nose in the pots on the stove!) and a sweet kitty.

* I walk outside every morning amazed by the beauty the mountains that I am so lucky to live in.

* I have wonderful friends.

* Our country has an promising new leader!

In troubling or stressful times, it can be difficult to remember that there is so much good in life...but everyday really is a Thanksgiving.

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here...

We are embarking on my favorite time of year. The holidays are met with happiness - it's the season of family and giving and great tv Christmas classics. Although all of things warm my heart, my real reason for loving this time is much more calculated and cynical than that. Simply put, my kids are on extra-good behavior. With the promise of Santa and loot, they tiptoe around kissing bootie...in hopes of getting more and more and more. This year, the gift of choice is cell phones. Quite the biggie in our home - as I have fought the purely materialistic want for years. As the kiddos get older and branch out away from me on a regular basis, I am actually considering the idea. Here's my proposal: If they housebreak Athena, cook dinner every night, do all the laundry, and massage my feet...they just might be texting a Merry Christmas to all!

**Hey guys, read this carefully - especially the last sentence, okay??
Love ya all!

10 things you don't know (and probably don't want to know) about me...

1. I was born in Honolulu, HI.

2. A policeman had to bring me home when I was 3 for playing in the middle of the street (and we wonder where Garrett gets it from???).

3. I once told my little brother that he flushed our baby sister down the toilet.

4. I was once blamed for peeing on the floor of the bathroom that I shared with my 3year old brother.

5. I cheated ONCE on a biology test...and felt so bad that I told on myself.

6. I had a summer job as a California Raisin - complete with costume and dancing.

7. I pawned my roommates tv (while she was out of town) to fund a trip to the beach...and yeah, she was ticked!

8. I was a radio DJ.

9. Robbie and I got married 3 months after we met.

10. I love Clay Aiken (and have seen him in concert...twice!!!).

Crazy or Not...I'm AWESOME!!

Inspired by one of my favorite daily blog reads, I decided to make my top 10 list of why I'm so incredibly, wonderfully, awesomely, crazily AWESOME!! Check it out...and then make your list...why do you rock?!

1. I am known as the cool mom with my 14 year old daughter's friends!!
2. I must have done something right with my kids - they are always respectful and kind (outside of the home ;)
3. I'm smart enough to understand 8th grade math and algebra.
4. I can get up multiple times in the middle of the night with the Great Dane puppy, and still love her in the morning.
5. I am the queen of pulling it all off in the last minute - all while no one is the wiser.
6. I can fight hard for something - when it's important...
7. I can let it go when it's not.
8. I have awesome taste in music!
9. I have awesome taste in friends!
10. And last, but not least...I have awesome taste in blogs!!! Check out my fave:

Cutting for a Cause

So....last night Kaylee and Lana were in their room doing girlie stuff, when they came out and told me that Lana had finally made a decision. About her hair, that is. She was ready to cut it for Locks of Love. She has been discussing this for a year...and it seemed like the right time. I'm so proud of her!

Check out the before and after:

Fun in the Leaves

Our task at hand today is reaking leaves. In a rare moment of kindness, the kids offered to help. I was so excited for the help...but then I realized this is what I was getting. What can I say? Kids will be kids - they had a blast!

Natural Beauty

Lana's class took a field trip to Grovestone Quarry and Nature Trail yesterday - to learn about rocks. As interesting as the presentation was (note the sarcasm ;o), I was more interested in taking pictures of our surroundings.

Breakfast Celebration!!!

Excited? Oh yeah....