wow, I dropped the ball!

I knew I had not posted in a long time, but since last August? Wow. I guess with Kevin's deployment to Iraq, the blog fell off of the radar.

Well, in this time, we tried private school for the kids. They stayed for the first semester, at which time the mutually agreed and begged to come back to homeschooling.

Kyle's mysterious bouts of vomiting have a name now. After multiple tests, surgeries and scans, he has cyclical vomiting disorder. It might be a form of migraine, or might not...it is kind of a mystery and is often outgrown.

Carrie has turned into a beautiful and wonderful girl. She is as tall as me, wears bigger shoes than me, and is the best baby sitter EVER.

Collin is into everything. He loves to play games and watch videos. He told me he needed a video he saw on a computer ad and I decided to buy it. In 2 days he knew all ofhis letters and sounds...guess he knows what he needs!

Cameron is almost 2! I dont know when that happened. I looked at him tonight and realized he is a weed and will probably be as big as Collin this summer...they can share clothes! :)

Kevin and I have had a crazy past few months. He is back, we are so happy to be together again. We are doing projects around the house and taking time to go to the zoo and swimming with the kids. The joy we have now is that Carrie can babysit while we run an errand together. We even had dinner out for Kev's birthday!

I am looking at the next few month with a lot on my mind. Collin is so busy and he may need to start some form of Kindergarten next year. Cam is a crazy man and is ready to potty learn. Carrie is into Saftball. We run around to practices and games 3 days a week. Kyle loves Gymnastics and is showing great promise. He has 2-3 days a week of pracitce.

I dont know where I will find the time or the energy to keep up. I fell off on the running when I started to have some cardiac issues, but have learned I am okay. I have an enzyme deficiency and hypoglycemia...now to get back into the running shoes!

Silly Summer fun

This summer was about survival for me. Kevin being deployed meant a lot of 'mom needs a break' time! In an effort to keep things light, we have traveled, played and been silly. I can only hope the kids have enjoyed some of the summer without daddy. It is defintely less fun, but I am trying!

Summer in Florida

Kevin has been gone for over 2 months. The kids and I managed to finish up school and head to Florida. Four weeks in Florida to help pass the daddy free time. :)
I took the time to go to the University of Florida's Women's Football Camp. It was not all fluff. By the end of the day, several ladies had been seen by the trainers/medics due to the 100+ degree heat and the very serious exercise. All that said, I will be there next year!

Carrie is growing so fast. She is now taller than both of her grandmothers. Her foot is more than a full size bigger than mine. And everyone seems to think she is 15 yrs old. Oh boy! These are pics of her fun summer hair cut. We also added some colored streaks. She had A fun hot pink for a few weeks and now turquise...back to normal soon for school though!




Kyle is so full of energy, that most days I cannot keep up. He is starting a competetive Gymnastics team. Hopefully 4-6 hours a week of heavy gym time will wear him out!

Collin seems to love being a big brother everyday, except on those moments when Cameron wants to share his toys or does not want to share me. Those two little boys are going to be quite mischevious as Cameron grows!

We will be heading back home at the end of July. It will be time to get ready for school. However, unlike other years, we will be getting ready to 'go' to school. Carrie and Kyle are giving private school a try! Cross your fingers for their mama!!! I am sure Cameron and Collin will love more time with me, so I hope to jump into some playgroups and enjoy the little ones!

Catching up, boat races, soft ball and life

Kyle had the Rain-gutter Regata this past week. He took second place. This is a race where the boy scouts build a little wooden boat and race it gown a 'gutter' full of water. The boys use straws to create the wind for the sails. I think it just proves Kyle is full of hot air.


Carrie's soft ball team is currently in first place in her league. The team has come a long way and after losing the first game, has won every one since! Carrie loves it and she better, since their games often last past 9 pm two nights a week. I am always tired!


With Kevin taking some leave before he deployed we spent time doing family things, like the zoo....The kids love the zoo, we go often, but it was a rare treat for Carrie to get an 'up top' ride from dad! I laughed about it, so Kevin threw me up on his shoulders next...not a picture I will share, but we got a LOT of looks from concerned teachers with kids on field trips! :)
The picture of Cameron with the Gorilla made me laugh, I think they were thinking the same thing...if only I knew what that was!
Kyle, Collin and Cameron all loved the Lorakeet feed exhibit (we always spend too much money on nectar)!

Easter, Mountains and fun!

We spent Easter in the Mountains with my friend and her kids. We had a great time. WE found a sweet little church for Easter Mass. We had a big Easter bunny visit. We also adopted 2 puppies ( to help ease the separation of daddy deploying in a few weeks...oh fine, we did it because we are crazy and they were cute)!

While we were coloring eggs, Cam decided to try to grab the blue dye. He is faster than me and the result was Cam Smurf...

Happy Birthday Cameron!

I am enjoying Kevin's last few weeks at home. We had my parents up for some little home projects and a visit...and CAMERON's FIRST BIRTHDAY!
Cameron was a trooper, he even ate his cake with a fork. He is so fun and loves to play games. I cannot believe he is already a year old. That may have been the fastest year on record!
Collin is trying very hard to be a 'big boy.' He dresses himself, goes to bed most nights without a complaint and is generally making my life easier.
Kyle has started Gymnastics. We found a boys' class and he is already loving the high bar, parallel bars and horse!
Carrie is still a book worm and lives in a fantasy world of characters. She is a great big-sis and helps me so much. She is playing soft-ball right now. It is Fast Pitch and she is working hard at making the transition from co-ed baseball!
Kevin is working for another week or so and then he is on leave. We will take a little trip for a week to our friend's family cabin in NC and then just veg out and enjoy each other's company. The kids are all pretty much in the know about his trip now and it is causing some ripples in behavior. Carrie a little more cranky (or it could be pre-teen drama), Kyle a little more likely to burst into tears and Collin just wonders every time Kev goes to work if he is going to come home.
Overall, we are happy and healthy. We are currently together in one place and life is as it should be....
More to come as soon as I load the darn birthday and sports pics! :)

Well, the saying is 'when it rains, it pours,' and this is the case at our house.
This past weekend was a lot of fun seeing my friends. Kevin managed to squeeze in almost 2 days at home because of a weather related flight delay. Christy and Jim stayed for a long weekend. The kids were all pretty good and the weather stunk!
It rained the whole time!
Well, this was all fun, but somehow, my ability to have things go terribly wrong always sneaks in! The main water line to the house busted. It was a weekend and the repair was an emergency $$$ cha-ching!
Then the very nice big screen tv we have decided it no longer liked functioning....cha-ching$$$...Kevin will enjoy getting to pick out a new one though!
The toilet in the kids bathroom seems to have lost it's ability to work properly! I am sure that as soon as I call the plumber another cha-ching$$$!
Then Cameron lost my car keys. We thought maybe Kev packed them by mistake, nope...the search took 2 days, digging through the trash and a lot of swearing under my breath...finally, Christy found them. Good thing, because I could not find a spare and I am pretty sure it would have been a disaster!

So, needless to say, I am trying to cope with no hubby and things keep falling apart. Maybe God is trying to help ease me into the long deployment by making this short seperation so bad! :)
See I AM looking for the silver lining!