Hello!!!

Oh Glory Be!  Kent was able to get me back into my blog after 1 1/2 years of being locked out! I'm giddy.  I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to blog---write my thoughts---get our daily-ness written down before the memories fade into this busyness that we live.  One of my greatest joys is re-reading old posts of days gone by.  Re-living a funny event or phrase uttered by the mouths of my kids.  I am so happy to be back.  So. Very. Happy. 

Another attempt at catching up

The air is chilly.  The leaves are beautiful and changing golden yellow.  Our winter clothes are hanging in our closets and fires are being built quite regularly in our fireplace.

That means it's been WAY too long once again, since I posted anything fun for you to see. 

So, here's an attempt at filling you in.

We started back to school on August FIRST! I'm not kidding.  It's quite ridiculous. With our three older kids enrolled in another district for their homeschooling programs, they start early, as that district has a modified-year-round calendar.  Eme didn't start until about 10 days later.  She is ALWAYS ready to go back, though as she gets older and her classes get harder, she seems a little less enamored. 

We are almost through the first quarter of school, and she's doing so well on her work.  Homework is becoming easier, though, and I rarely have to help her at this point.  That is a HUGE accomplishment, as she is becoming much more independent on so many things.  She has the same 4th grade teacher that Trevor had, and we LOVE her (Mrs. Gatti). 

Jay Henry is a sophomore.  I took great comfort in the fact that we still had three years with him at home, but now that we are this far into the school year, I realize that our number has dropped to 2 and 3/4 years left.  Ummmm.....no.  That's not okay.  Every time I look at him, he looks a little older.  That, also, is not okay.  He recently went on his first "date" when he accepted a girl's invitation to go to Homecoming with her.  It was exciting.  And weird.  And overwhelming.  And nerve-wracking.  But it went well and they had a good time.  They are very good friends (both play the cello in YS) and have very similar personalities. 

He is as focused as ever on pursuing the cello as his future.  This year, he was accepted into a College Prep class whose entire objective is to get him into the music college or conservatory of his choice.  It is time intensive, but he is in it 100% and still spends 3-5 hours a day practicing.  I'm so excited to see what his future holds. 

Trevor is at home with me this year.  He's doing great in the 7th grade, and has really started evolving into a teenager.  Like his brother, each time I look at him, he appears to have aged.  He is taking Pre-Algebra through FHAP (Falcon Home Academic Program--where Jay Henry attends as well) two days a week.  He then is responsible for doing the other three days at home.  While this is helpful, it really cuts into our day, as his class meets at noon.  We have a hard time getting everything done in the morning, and by the time he gets home from that, we're all focused-out and it's hard to get anything done.  So, we're figuring that out, and tweaking things here and there, but for the most part, it is going so very well. 

Masyn is home again with me this year as well.  She is an easy 5th grader, and can crank out her school work so very fast.  She is focused and determined, and then fills the rest of her day with gymnastics, and e-mailing her friends.  She's definitely a "Tween" and is still pretty happy most of the time.  She recently hit the 5 foot mark (she's TEN!!!) and is looking forward to the day that she will catch up with me.  She also made the competitive gymnastics team in August, and now attends twice a week, with competitions slated for next summer.  She's THRILLED! She's working so very hard, though those legs that come with a 5 foot frame sure make it harder. 

Here are a few more pictures of what's been going on lately.

Watching the Eclipse from the backyard:

Hanging out with the "wildlife" around our house:

Possibly-Last-Annual-Trip-to-Las Cruces

Okay--not really the last trip to Las Cruces, but we were well aware that this might have been our last trip where everyone can actually go.  By everyone, I mean that oldest boy of ours is making it more and more difficult to plan anything.  He's busy.  Like crazy busy.  So, we enjoyed our time and made the effort to make every moment count.  Most of those moments are spent in the pool.

We also took a mini-vacation within our vacation.  We headed to Carlsbad for the day and finally toured the caverns.  It was such a fun day for all of us.  I think one of my favorite memories of our trip was the ride home afterwards.  It was late, the girls had crashed, and the boys and Kent and I laughed much of the way!  They are at such fun ages, where they really have great senses of humor, and oh my, can they get me giggling!

I can't even begin to tell you how many laughs we got out of these chairs!!

We hiked in and hiked out, and let me tell you--we're not in good shape (the parents)! The kids beat us out by quite a bit, and waited patiently for us.  It was really a good little wake up call, and we need to get our rears in gear!

I had planned on taking family pictures while we were there, but once again, time got away from us.  Next time...

Champions!

Trevor's been playing baseball for four years.  Each year, they have won the championship!

This was his final year of "Little League."  We're not sure what next year will hold, as Peyton doesn't have teams for 7th or 8th grade, meaning we will have to play with a city league or play for a surrounding town.  The nice thing is, our coaches son is Trevor's age.  So, we keep telling him "where you go, we will go!"  We're just not sure where that will be yet.  We always enjoy baseball season, and are always a little sad when it's over. 

Final Youth Symphony Concert

In the beginning of May, Jay Henry had his final Youth Symphony Concert of the Year.

They played beautifully, and in case you didn't notice, he made second chair!  This was a huge surprise to him, but so, so appreciated.  This concert was followed by auditions for next year (he made it), and a week of rehearsing and recording with the Hennesey Six, a jazz band who asked to record with the YS.  The  CD's will be released this fall, and at that time they will perform a joint concert to celebrate the accomplishment.  

Jay Henry will be participating in the Sounds of Summer orchestra July 6, 7, and 8th. The second week of July, he and I will be traveling to Utah to attend our first opera (Madame Butterfly) and a concert (or two) of the Utah Philharmonic.  He will then participate in the Manitou Springs Chamber Music program the last two weeks of July.  This will be immediately followed by camp for YS, for which he will miss the first week of school.  He is one busy musician!  I keep telling him to enjoy June, because there will be very little relaxing in July!

Eme turns NINE

In the midst of our "May Madness," our youngest child turned nine.
Nine.
One more year, and we will have no more single digits around here.  Crazy that it's gone so fast.

Eme's desire was to have an "Emoji" party.
What??

Emoji's.  They're all the rage, apparently.

So, an emoji party it was.

Kissy face emoji is her favorite

She invited several friends from school and we entertained them for a few hours.  It's SO much easier now that the friends are older.  I love this phase.

The first game we played, we learned from Grandma Phyllis.  The kids had to put a paper plate on top of their heads, and then draw what I told them to! It was a hoot!  They looked so serious, trying to get it right, and the majority of the time, it just looked like scribbling.  I forgot to take pictures of the "winners," but let's just say we were hard pressed to pick ones that looked right!

Please notice Eme's pouty face--she didn't get the cup she wanted.  :(

After that game, we ate lunch and then decorated cookies to look like emoji's.  The kids did so much better than I thought they would! They ended up with some great looking cookies.  

Johanna

Shelby

Masyn

Sammie

Birthday Girl