I guess first I will give you a quick over view of July and August. Baseball and vacation. Really....most of summer was spent at the ball fields. When we could, we spent time of the boat...which wasn't much considering we really didn't have it running until early July. We took off the first week of August and spent time at Crest Lodge on Table Rock Lake like we do every year! It was a great time. Just the 6 of us this time as Dale (Dana's brother) is in Germany. After we got back it was State Fair time which we all love and time to prepare for back to school which the parents love and the kids are lukewarm about. And that pretty much brings us up to the present day Sump house.
Jordan stayed busy all summer with baseball, work, and saying good-bye to his friends as they headed off to college. His hard work in baseball earned him Honorable Mention All Conference for outfield. Which we would all agree shocked us a bit. No sooner than baseball had finished, he packed his bag and was off to Cross Country camp. He lets no dust settle. He loves his job with the Parks and Rec department and still get hours on the weekend supervising at the Community Center. He really got more confident on his wakeboard this summer. No crazy tricks yet but he is jumping the wake a little. He and Kelli remain close friends since she has gone to college but I do notice he is spending more time here at home since most of his group is gone. Jordan started his senior year on August 18th. I was taking that first day of school picture and he said, "This is the last first day, mom." Ouch! School is going good so far. He is taking an AP Composition class that might be the death of all of us but he is working hard at it. XC is going good. We are hoping this is the year we make it to state. Jordan is running on the varsity team but the competition is tough! He is running a 18:28 right now consistently and so far no real issues with the asthma. Think we have the right mix of meds. Next week is Homecoming and low and behold, he came home yesterday and announced that he was nominated as a Homecoming King candidate!! How exciting. He is also trying to narrow down the college choices and get applications going and there are a few scholarships with deadlines that he needs to work on.
Jordan on the tube.
Riding the wakeboard.
The perfect speed dad!
The last first day of high school! : (
After the home Cross Country Meet. He hates the course and was glad he would never have to run on it again!
Running at Winterset
Explaining that his new spikes rocked!
On the podium as a 4th place senior finisher at Winterset with 2 other team members.
Receiving his certificate for making the All State Track Team at the first home football game 2 weeks ago. Way cool!!
Abbey spent July and August reading! That girl is amazing. She also helped with the daycare kids a ton!!! When not helping me or reading, she was at the library or socializing with her girlfriends and helping the Youth Leadership group prepare for the new school year. She got to help in the Character Counts booth at the State Fair this year and had a fun time doing that. She turned 14 while we were on vacation!! And with pointers and encouragement from her brother also figured out the wakeboard! She is studying for the written test to get her driving permit. Doesn't feel quite ready to take it which is fine with me because I really only want to have to go to the DOT station 1 time. That is not my idea of a good time! She started her 8th grade year on August 18th and has amazing grades and seems so organized. She chose to be a XC manager rather than a runner and loves being part of the team still. She said she just wasn't cut out to be a XC runner and God bless her!! She helps with the school's Teen Center once a month and is working to raise money to go to Washington DC over Spring Break. She does that by taking tickets at school sporting events, picking up trash in the bleachers after football games and babysitting for us!! : ) She is anxiously awaiting the start of Show Choir and so are we because she is so fun to watch!
Abbey attempting to ski........
And not too successful. Ouch!
So she thinks she will try to wakeboard instead.
And it works out a little better.
Looks like she really has the hang of it!
Well...almost!
Living it up on vacation!
First day of 8th grade.
Carson spent his summer going to baseball games! He really didn't mind it. He loves talking to the other parents who are watching him grow up right along with us. He loves helping Dana in the "construction stand" aka the concession stand. Had a good diet of concession stand food for most of the summer too! When not at the ball fields he was playing video games, working on his reading, playing with the neighbor kids, and talking my leg off! He's my laugh a minute. He loves to be out on the boat or anywhere near the water! Passed Level 2 in swimming lessons with flying colors and would ride the tube behind the boat from sun up to sun down if it was possible. He started 1st grade on August 18th and really enjoys school. He bounces out of bed each morning with a smile on his face and asks us how our "sleep" was. That makes my job easier. He is reading really well. He was a bit behind in the guided reading at the end of kindergarten and I thought that maybe he would end up in Title 1 reading but we worked really hard over the summer and continue to work hard. It is fun to watch him get excited about reading new books. They evaluated him this fall and there was no need for additional help.
Carson the fish!
Loves the tube!
Has no fear!
Handsome little man!
Looking at the tractors at the State Fair.
Enjoying an I Cubs game with friends.
First day of 1st grade.
He gets a desk this year! He was so excited about that!
Emma's summer was very similar to Carson's. She spent most of it at the ball fields and eating concession stand food. She loved to go to the ball games in her dresses and dance behind us parents camped in our lawn chairs. She always has playmates at the ready with the daycare kids here so she is never looking for things to do. She got brave this year and actually got on the tube and let us start the boat and pull her. She asked Jordan if he would go with her. I think that while we were on vacation Jordan talked with her privately several times about tubing and that he would go with her and she would really have fun. She loved it. She looks so little on the tube. I, of course, thought that Daddy was going way to fast but she thought it was just right. Emma passed the Preschool Level 3 in swimming lessons and is getting way more confident about putting her head under! She turned 5 in July. She celebrated with some friends at Build-A-Bear and got a new bike which she loves to ride! She started Optional Kindergarten on August 18th. She goes to school from 8:10-11:10 each day. There are 14 in her class and she loves it. She was a little nervous that first day because she didn't know anyone, but she didn't cling and followed the group to her class room. She loves doing her "homework". She doesn't love getting out of bed in the morning. Doesn't matter that she goes to bed at 8:00pm every night. So, it's a good thing that Carson is a morning person. Leaves me more time to deal with Emma in the AM.
Dancing in her dress at the baseball game.
Emma and her friends at Build-A-Bear for her 5th birthday!
Emma and her new bike!
Enjoying the lake!
Emma finally gets on the tube with Jordan's encouragement!
Sprinkler day with the daycare crew and Abbey!
First day of Optional Kindergarten!
My greeting when I picked her up!
Dana is enjoying his job and the fact that he gets to play way more golf now. He came home with "new" clubs this week. He found a great used set of Calloway's that he thought would better serve him than the Dunlop clubs he bought at Kmart in high school. Him and a few friends went to the Iowa Speedway for the Camping World Truck Series over Labor Day weekend and the weekend before that he got to go over there and do the Richard Petty Driving Experience. He had a great time. He is so much more relaxed now and enjoying some of those things that he never had time for. He really enjoys being out on the boat and showed us all that he can still ski at his age!! Ha ha! He is still the VP of the Booster Club and has been busy with the membership drive for this school year. We started bowling last night and we both enjoy that. He is just way better at it then me.
Dana enjoying a game of golf with some co-workers.
He's still got it!
The following are video clips of Dana driving a NASCAR at the Iowa Speedway. He is in the blue car in the clips.
And then there is me! I feel more like Lucille Ball than June Cleaver when it comes to my wife and mother skills. I still have 4 other kids besides my own that I play mom to. My oldest left the nest to go to Kindergarten and was replaced by a sweet 5 month old. So I have a 3 year old, 2 year old, 1 year old, and 6 month old right now that help keep my days anything but boring. I decided that I needed to put myself back on the list again and have started to do things just for me. One of the best things I have done for myself in a while. Mostly to do with a healthier lifestyle but it is paying off. My kids are my hobbies so nothing new there. I go from helping with Kindergarten and 1st grade home work to discussing college and scholarship applications. It's wacky but I just do it.
Me and my kids!
Ok...I know that you have all heard me rave about my neighbor who take amazing pictures. Well...she has been busy with my kids this summer. Mostly Jordan, who has the most amazing senior pictures courtesy of Julie. We have another session scheduled for Jordan and a family session scheduled in October. The following is some of her work. The two montages are all pictures she has taken. One of the girls and one of the boys. Now remember that Jordan has way more pictures than the others because it's his senior year. Check out her website www.landryannadesigns.com and make sure you check out her everyday pages where she shows a bit from almost every shoot. Enjoy!
Well, I think that should bring you mostly up to speed. Stay tuned for all the Homecoming fun!!
