We live!!

How many of you have been wondering if something bad has happened in the Sump house? We are all fine. I just have been extremely bad about sitting down to do updates. Things are getting busy again so I need to try to keep this up so I have a record of what goes on in our house. So to catch you all up here is a brief run down of the goings on here.

Dana continues to love Casey's General Stores. Getting a little busier but still manageable. He brings no work home with him and we all like it that way! He is coaching Carson's t-ball team. Thinks he might be getting to old to be doing it! Ha! Says they wear his patience thin. Plus....they practice and have games on Tuesday and Friday's.....Abbey and Jordan have track meets on those days so he is missing alot of that. Says that maybe next year he will have to bow out so we can rotate who goes where. He is also coaching the Varsity Spring League team to help prepare our boys for Baseball season. Dana and I both pulled an all nighter for After Prom last weekend! It was fun watching the kids have a blast. Recovery was very difficult for us older folks!!

I am trying to keep the bus moving forward. Lots of people going lots of different directions. Try to plan meals or at least sack lunches so we don't spend all of our time eating concession stand meals. I had Dana and Jordan move my treadmill from the basement to our bedroom. Now it actually gets used. I figured I needed something to counter the effects of the poor diet and the constant state of bleacher butt I seem to have. The daycare kids keep me busy during the day and we are all thankful for the nicer weather. Working on stuff for a garage sale next weekend. I do my best work under pressure.

Jordan has been very busy! Between school, track, and spring ball we don't see much of him. Track is going really well and he has high hopes of going to state with the 4x400 team and maybe the 4x800 team. Have had a few meets canceled due to weather. He is working hard on his pitching. He has really worked on his curve ball and it has come a long way from last year! He and Kelli still do everything together. I am not sure anything has really changed except the fact that they don't label what their relationship is. They went to prom last week and looked so cute together. Jordan is also preparing for his job with Parks and Rec this summer. He loved it during Spring Break. "I get paid to play, Mom!"

Abbey is out for track and does well in the distance runs. She mostly does the 1500 and the 800. Occasionally they will throw her a 100 to keep her on her toes! She sang in a trio for contests and played a clarinet solo as well. Both receiving a 1 rating! She is in the Middle School musical. They are doing Beauty and the Beast and she has 3 different roles. The Enchantress, a napkin, and a villager. The 8th graders get most of the lead roles. She is patiently waiting for next year! She has also been preparing for Softball which will start after school is out. They have been having some early morning skills sessions that she has been attending. For fun she reads a ton!

Carson just got finished hatching chicks in kindergarten. He would come home everyday with a new story about candling or how many eggs have holes in them, and finally how many chicks hatched that day. I think he is having fun playing t-ball. Dana says he talks alot! Wonder where he gets that? : ) He is really into Ben 10 right now and loves to have Cole come over so they can play his Ben 10 Wii game together.

Emma continues to be along for the ride. She goes wherever she is told and as long as she has food and something girly to do will not complain. No activities for her yet. I need to find something like gymnastics or tumbling for her but am not sure we can even squeeze it in right now.

Looking forward to boating season! Dana brought the batteries home yesterday to charge them up. Hope to be racing up and down Saylorville as soon as we can! Will do better at posting. Thanks for checking up on us!

Enjoy some pictures and a Prom montage!


Ready for some Dodgeball!!


So beautiful!


Hunting some Easter Eggs.


The sweetest smile ever!

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Broken Hearts......

No pictures with this post. I have been too busy helping to mend a broken heart. Thursday night Jordan came down the stairs a bit emotional. He confided in us that he and Kelli have decided to be friends. I think that she is feeling a lot of pressure to make some decisions about her life. Remember......she is a senior. She is tyring to decide between two schools and fill out tons of scholarship forms. Trying to decide what you want to do with your life is a very big deal with lots of stress involved. She told Jordan she was really confused right now and just wanted to take a break. He also said that she didn't want to make it really hard when she left for college.

He was very sad. And maybe a bit confused himself. He did lots of running and played a few video games. It was the first Saturday night we have had him home all night in awhile. I just gave lots of hugs and a good ear when he needed it. I also thought a bit of comfort food might help so planned a few of Jordan's favorites for him.

As this week has started I have discovered that they still talk everyday and that the plan is they will still go to prom together. He really wants her to be happy and if that means having her as a great friend then that is good.

Track practice started for him this week and also has practice for Spring baseball so he has plenty to keep him busy. This has been a growing experience and listening to him talk has made me realize that he isn't 6 anymore. Some of the things he has said this last few days has really demonstrated his blooming maturity.

So life will go on and we will see how the next few weeks goes.

Onto the next big thing!

Well, basketball is officially over at DC-G. Our boys lost in first round district play on Monday night in a close game (3 points) with Carlisle. Jordan actually got to suit for that game. He received the OK to return to hand contact sports last Friday from our Dr as long as he buddy tapes it. Our girls lost their sub-state final last night against Harlan. You just feel so terrible for those seniors who were working so hard for 1 more game. The emotion on their faces always makes my heart hurt for them. So...now it's onto the next big thing. Track starts next week for both Jordan and Abbey. The boys actually started practicing this week but Jordan has to take a week off between sports so he will join them next week. He has been coming home and running after school. He isn't in as great a shape as when he left Cross Country. The basketball coach doesn't work them very hard so he needs to keep running or he will really be behind when he starts next week. Abbey is just excited to have something to do after school again.

Last week found Abbey with a case of strep throat. She woke feeling very badly on Friday morning (a no school day here!) and ended up passing out at the breakfast table. She isn't my little girl anymore! I had a hard time getting her back up off the floor. She was so worried about not feeling well because she had the last show choir contest on Saturday and since they missed their first one due to the weather she was not going to miss this one. So I made an appointment and Dana took her in. Strep, just as I thought! We squeezed 24 hours worth of antibiotics in over about 14 hours and she got up very early Saturday got herself ready and performed with a big smile on her face!! She went right to bed when they got home. Our choir got 3rd place, received the award for best band, and one of our girls received a star performer award.

The performance!

The sweet treat after!


Emma went to Sayler's birthday party on Sunday at Build A Bear. Emma had never been there and loved it. She asked me to buy her a new dress for the party and was so excited to wear it.


Emma stuffing her bear.


She looked so beautiful and she picked a pink bear and a dress that almost matched the one she had on. They all had lots of fun.


Sayler and Emma



Dana has a terrible head cold and is feeling a bit rough to start this week out. He continues to really like his new job and I can tell the difference it has made in our quality of life! He is home at a nice time each night and I never hear much about what is going on. So far, Casey's has not taken over our lives as KG did. He and another dad are coaching the varsity spring baseball team and he is getting very excited about that. He has been going over to the indoor batting cage every Sunday night and throwing buckets of balls to the guys. He and Steve take turns because "we aren't as young as we once were." I haven't had to help him put deodorant on so that's a great sign!

I am ready for spring and yesterday and today are feeling a lot like it! But they are talking ice for tomorrow....so I will just live in today!! Keeping busy with daycare and updating the calendar with new schedules. Track and Spring baseball will be starting soon. Also working on tax stuff. Never a fun time as I am a terrible procrastinator! (I guess Jordan comes by it honestly!) Am looking forward to planting flowers and working on the yard. Even more than that is getting the boat back out!! Should probably find some time to do some spring cleaning too! UGH! But for now, I will enjoy the calm before the storm of new activities.

From ABC's to ACT's!

Last week started with me attending a Kindergarten meeting for Emma. She will be attending the Kindergarten Round Up scheduled for the end of March. We have no intention of sending her to Kindergarten next year but rather the Optional Kindergarten program. She has to go thru the evaluation at the round up so they can tell me if they agree with our assessment of Optional Kindergarten for her. She is a July birthday and, just as Abbey did, will benefit from that extra year of physical and emotional growth. However, I have to say, she is probably more ready than any of them to go. That means she will graduate with the Class of 2024. Good God!! That will make me.....oh, never mind!

The week ended with me dragging our 17 year old to the computer to register for the ACT's. He will take them on April 4th. He is also filling out a Student Activity Information Form for consideration into the National Honor Society. We were so excited for him to get the invitation to complete the form for the selection process. We know that there are probably many that receive the invite and they only choose a select number. He doesn't think he has enough service hours to even be considered. The whole process of getting him to fill out the form was painful. He hates to brag about himself and REALLY hates essay type questions. I found myself having to walk away and let Dana take care of some of it. I already have visions of filling out college applications, scholarship forms, and financial aid forms with Jordan kicking and screaming the whole time.

So it was a weird week for me as a parent. Making kindergarten decisions for one and college prep stuff for the other. I honestly have to say that sometimes it's more than I can wrap my brain around. Every stage has it's challenges. I would just appreciate it if the kids would have a meeting and send us only one challenge at a time! Would that be too much to ask? The emotions of preparing your first for college and your last for Kindergarten are so much the same. It's just that I get to multiply those emotions times 2 since it is happening at the same time.

On Wednesday, late afternoon, I was sitting down after all the daycare kids were gone to watch the early news and catch my breath when our phone rang. It was Jordan's coach....."You may want to come out here to North Ridge. Jordan has dislocated his finger and will need to be seen." Yikes! That sounds painful. So, off Dana and I go to find Jordan in the staff lounge with his head on the table and his hand in the air. "Are you ok?"....."Yeah, I just don't want to look at it!" Sure enough, his right pinky had a 90 degree angle in it. We put him in the car and off to the ER we went. I snapped a photo of the finger while en route. Not a great picture as the swelling was taking over that knuckle making that 90 degree angle not as impressive.

2 hours and 2 x-rays later they had it reduced and we were on our way home. Not a very fun way for Jordan to spend a Wednesday evening. A little codeine helped the night go a bit better. Basketball is done for our man! Two weeks with no hand contact sports. He didn't seem too stressed out about that. Very thankful that Track is next as he should get plenty of time to heal before baseball.

Abbey had been spending the week anticipating their first Show Choir competition scheduled for Friday night. Unfortunately, the weather took care of that. It was a bit frustrating as the Superintendent waited until half of the choir was already here in Grimes to pick up the other half before he denied the buses to leave. The competition went on without us. They even canceled the Varsity basketball games 15 minutes before they were suppose to start. The other team was already here and I am sure our girls were already warming up. I have to say.....we have had some really poor decision making with regards to the weather this year. Getting out early when the sun is still shining with anticipation that ice (that never showed up) is on the way.......sending the basketball teams to Carroll in the middle of a snow storm that pulled the plows off the roads. (That was way scary!) So she had a very quiet Friday night and is now hoping to compete in Pella next weekend.

Dana and I attended the "Have a Heart" Breakfast with Carson on Friday. The kindergarten classes do it each year. The parents come and have breakfast with their child and then we open their Valentine cards with them.


This year we got a bonus and were able to watch the Fairy Tale plays after. Carson performed in "Little Red Riding Hood" as the Big Bad Wolf. His play was last and boy he loves to perform! He had us all laughing. Both Dana and I took the morning off and were so glad we did! I took a video of it but none of the kids spoke loud enough to be picked up. All you see is their actions, you hear the teacher reading the story and the audience laughing! Carson is definitely going to be a friend of the fine arts. He loves to make people laugh!


Saturday, Dana and I snuck away and had a nice meal out at my favorite place....Sam & Gabe's. It never disappoints. We didn't stay out long. The little two have been a bit under the weather and we wanted to be with them too. It was great to have some alone time, though. Neither of us had to ask anyone to "use their quiet voice" or "stop using your sleeve as a napkin" nor did we have to tell each other to "sit still!" There was no chicken strips or mac n cheese on the menu! It's the small things!

A little Valentine love!

17 years!

We have been knee deep in basketball. Games every night except Wednesday's (which is our bowling night so we aren't home then either!) We have been having to battle at each game. Shooting % has been low along with rebounds. Maybe they are getting tired too?

Most exciting since my last post was Jordan turning 17 on February 3rd. We started the day by surprising him with donuts and juice at the early AM shoot around with the Varsity basketball team. Coach called them all off to the side and they sang Happy Birthday to him. The Varsity had a game that night and at the end of half time the student section broke into their rendition of Happy Birthday for him. It was a very close game and with 23 seconds left in the game the Coach put him in and the announcer informed everyone it was his birthday. The team set him up for a 3 point shot and.......it bounced of the rim! He asked Kelli home for cake after the game. All in all a pretty good day for a kid who doesn't like to be the center of attention! I looked back at some early photos and wonder where all the time has gone.


Jordan at 1 month old.


Kelli and Jordan (she claims it wasn't a good picture day, but I think she is darn cute no matter what!)


Jordan and his really yummy cake!

Most of the rest of us have been battling upper respiratory stuff! Emma and I have managed to not be affected by it. Dana, Abbey and Carson have all been feeling yucky. Carson was hit the worst, missing 3 days of school last week. They are all back on the mend. Carson spent this last weekend trying to catch up on school work and get his Valentine cards done. They wanted them in school today so we were busy yesterday.

I can breathe a sigh of relief! The father/daughter dance went fabulous this weekend. We think we had about 400 people. It was the most heart-warming event to be a part of! The dads in their suits and the daughters in their very nicest dresses, some with corsages, all dancing and having a very good time. To see the smiles on everyone's face was priceless. There was a Grandpa that was doing the 2 step with his blind granddaughter that I just could not take my eyes off of. Of course, there were dads that brought their daughters and were happy to sit on the side most of the night and let them dance with their girlfriends but I was so happy they came and did dance a little. We aren't sure of the total raised for After Prom but am certain we exceeded out expectation. I will definitely help with this event next year. Now it's on to the dodgeball tournament.

Thanks to all of you who sent up prayers for my aunt. I am so happy to report she is back home and doing much better. Sometimes those extra prayers sent up, even from strangers, can make all the difference and we are grateful!

Enjoy your Valentine's weekend.

We hate winter!

I am soooo tired of the cold weather. It just makes everything more of a production around here. Getting out of bed in the morning isn't fun, bundling the kids up to leave isn't fun, getting into a cold car after a ball game isn't fun, getting the dog to stay out long enough to "go" isn't fun, shoveling, shoveling and more shoveling isn't fun (so Dana says..heehee). We had a 59 degree day this week and it just teases me and then it was negative again by Friday. That damn groundhog better not see his shadow!

We continued to eat, sleep, and breath basketball and show choir this week. Jordan had his first two varsity points last Saturday night. They put him in the last 3:00 minutes of the game and he scored 2 points, took a charge, and blocked a shot! That was the best 3:00 minutes of varsity basketball for me thus far! He followed that up on Monday by scoring 13 points in the JV game! He did play a few minutes of Friday nights game but there wasn't a lot of time left. He spent Saturday evening at the Show Choir competition. Kelli performed and even had a solo so we stayed to support her. They were the last to perform. She sounded great. Jordan was bored out of his mind but she goes to almost all of his games so he thought it was only fair to stay for her. He is starting to get a cold so I am trying to get him to rest more and increase his fluids. Most of the time it falls on deaf ears.

Abbey spent all Saturday at the Show Choir Invitational DC-G hosted. She and a friend were the host to the Ballard Middle School Choir. They decorated the school on Friday night and then on Saturday they made sure that Ballard found their homeroom and got them to the warm up room and their performance on time. They were suppose to "keep the director happy." She had a great time and said that the Ballard director was very nice and happy to have their help. Because we were the host of this event our choirs don't compete but do exhibition performances. Abbey's was at about 6:00pm and the high school's was at about 10:20pm. (At the least the auditorium seats are comfortable!) The middle school sounded really good and watching Abbey perform always brings tears of joy to my eyes. She is so confident while she performs and really looks like she is having fun. We are so happy that she has found something she is passionate about!

Carson is anticipating the 100th day of school this next week. We have been busy counting out 100 items for him to take for that day. He went to most of the games this week. He takes his Nintendo DS and that keeps him busy and quiet. He also went to a birthday party on Saturday for a classmate. It was at Pump It Up and he loves to go there. He spent this afternoon at Cole's house playing the Wii.

Emma went to all the games this week and she usually takes her colors and that keeps her happy. That and a bag of M&M's, some popcorn, a ring pop, and a soft pretzel. On Thursday, I was getting ready for a Baby Shower for our Cross Country coach's wife and Emma asked me why I was changing my clothes. I told her that I was getting ready to go to a Baby Shower. She looked at me a little funny and then went off about her business. While we were at the table for supper (before I left) she asked, "Are you going to have to take your clothes off?" Everyone burst out laughing and I had to explain to her that it wasn't that kind of shower. Can you imagine what was going through her head. I don't think that she still understands that I didn't go and take a shower with a baby. Bless her heart! It did make for great material at the shower and got just as big a laugh there!

Dana and I are growing weary of winter and bleachers! We bowled our last week in our current league and begin our new league next week for another 16 weeks. That takes us just about to the start of baseball and warmer weather. Last weekend I helped with the Silent Auction for After Prom. We made almost $3000. We were very happy that it exceeded our expectations. So far most of our fundraising efforts have fallen shy of what they did last year. The poor economy is effecting many things! Dana spent that whole night as the booster club rep in the concession stand. He claims that he wants nothing to do with Walking Tacos for awhile. We snuck out after that busy day for a quick beer and food at a local pub and many of our friends were also doing the same thing.

Last Sunday some neighbors called and said we are taking the kids sledding. I had just snuggled down on the sofa to watch some football. I have no real winter-type activity coat so Dana said...."you hang here and enjoy your quiet time. I'll take the kids sledding." Now part of me was thinking "I shouldn't miss this." and the other part of me was "a few hours all to myself would be so great!" So I sent them off and they had a blast! Dana took a few pictures but Julie, our resident pro, took some video and some neat photos and made the montage. Thanks, Julie...once again you do all the hard work!

The schedule this week in basketball heavy!! Every night but Wednesday and 2 on Saturday. Also this week our prayers all go to my Aunt Ruth, who last night had some sort of coronary event that has left her very critical. If you are the praying kind please send one up for her and her family. I would be forever grateful!!

Enjoy the snowy day fun!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So far....so good!

So I am a little behind on the updates and no Christmas montage as hoped. Not that I haven't had time. I have just been doing other things. Like trying to stay warm! The temps here have been almost record breaking and we haven't seen cold like this in 12 years.

Dana has completed his second week as a Casey's General Store employee. He said that he plans on returning again next week so I think it is going well. He wore a suit the first day and they told him to stop that! ; ) He said that the whole environment is much more relaxed. So far, he is averaging 30 emails a day and a handful of phone calls. The company is much larger than KG so he doesn't communicate directly with the stores as he used to. He also said it is very different having the warehouse right at your fingertips and he loves having a cafeteria right in the building. (especially on these bitterly cold days!) I think that he really enjoyed his time off and was able to shut off the KG way and open himself up to a new way to work. So....it's all good!

I miss him terribly! I am very rusty about the schedule and organization so the first few days back for me were a little helter skelter! Thank God, Julie has offered to pick Carson up each afternoon....so no more waking babies. I am still trying to get my office put back together. I wasn't as successful about getting my jobs done while I was off. Other things beckoned and I gladly stepped out from behind the desk to play with the kids, watch football with Dana, and spend time with girlfriends! I am also getting really busy with After Prom stuff. I am co-chairing the Father/Daughter dance in early February and am trying to help in some way with the Silent Auction this weekend.

Jordan has had a really busy few weeks of basketball. He had a game everyday except Wednesday and 2 on Saturday last week. He seems to be handling it ok. Not getting a ton of playing time on Varsity but plays a lot of JV. Homework getting done and food being shoveled in whenever he can. This week was suppose to be as bad but the cold weather and snow took care of that. KG let him go. (We were thinking since Dana gave notice that they would really look for a reason to release Jordan!) Apparently some boys in his grade liked to hang around there a little too much when he was working and caused some trouble for him. Probably a blessing as he was really busy and not working a ton. Good thing he is very frugal because he is still responsible for filling his own gas tank! He has put in an application with the Grimes Park and Rec department to help with the summer programs and is now looking for a Sunday job that his classmates can't bother him at! (Notice I didn't say friends!!)

Abbey hasn't had much going on! Show Choir practice, homework, and reading. That girl can read a 300-400 page book in a few days! Oh, to be young again! She helped out at the beginning of the week watching the little two while we went to a few ball games. That way they can get to bed at a decent time. She did some babysitting last weekend to add to the stash of cash she has in a shoebox. I think it is time to take her to the bank. She made change for a $50 bill for Dana the other night! She also got a nice surprise this week. In her English class, it is a requirement that all students submit one of their writing works in a contest. She chose a poem that she had written early in the year, entitled "I Can't Write a Poem". Mailed to our home early this week was a letter congratulating her. Her poem has been selected to be published in the anthology "A Celebration of Poets". She was so excited and we are so proud.

The little two enjoyed some nice weather right after the first of the year and played outside a ton. This last week...not so much. We have been doing everything we can to not have to take them out of the house. Thus, cabin fever is setting in. Good thing they still think of the gifts they got for Christmas as cool. So it hasn't been so bad. Emma is having a little "dress up withdrawl". She runs around here with her little princess dresses on all the time and no socks. I told her this week that it was too cold for her to be in her dress up clothes. She didn't get it. She informed me that she "wasn't going outside in them". UGH!

These next few weeks are full of basketball and show choir events. Hoping the weather starts to cooperate so we aren't having to rearrange things again. We went over the Saylorville bridge at Polk City last night on the way to a basketball game and I wished it was warm enough for us to be putting the boat in! Dana also mentioned that with the new job and better hours we should be able to be out on the lake by 6:00 on the nights we don't have baseball! Guess we had our heads in the same place....warmer weather!

I do thank you all for continuing to check in on us! I hope that I haven't disappointed you too much by being a bit tardy with posts. Enjoy a few pictures from the last few weeks.


Jordan during warm ups.


Dana, Carson and Emma at last nights game.


Emma trying her hand at Rock Band!


Emma as Sleeping Beauty!


Abbey during a Show Choir performance.