Odds & Ends

Here we all are... not too bad considering the camera was on a timer and I had to do a
mad dash through slippery leaves to get to the table.

2011 has had its share of ups and downs. The biggest up? Baby Jessa of course! Jessa has brought so much joy to our house. She  has 7 people in house spoiling her and that doesn't count the grandparents! The kids have been fantastic with accepting our newest (and last!) child into the family and while adding #6 has been a tough adjustment for me (more so than any other except maybe #3), one smile from her and that is all forgotten.

Jessa and I do a lot of waiting in the car for the other kids while they attend activities. I love my iPhone for its entertainment features alone!

A little light humor in a school year that has been very challenging. Can you tell what he went to
 work as for Halloween?? Answer at the end of the post

And the biggest challenge of 2011... the earthquake.

Doug moved positions in our school division at the beginning of the summer. He is now the Assistant Superintendent for Administration. The job had a learning curve to begin with if the school year had been a typical one but it has been far from typical. On day 7 of school everything changed when an earthquake was felt up and down the east coast and the epicenter happened to be right in the same small town where our high school and middle school are located. I was at the middle school at the time (downstairs under the desk with another teacher and a class full of students) and Doug was in his office (upstairs and thought the building was going to collapse while he said the people downstairs didn't feel it as much), Brynn was at her school (minimal damage there), Nyah and Jessa were at my parents ("Grandma's things fell and broke.") and the boys were in PA and didn't feel a thing.

In less than 45 seconds two of our schools were damaged to the point that reentry was not possible and the decision is still up in the air whether or not they will be fixed or new schools built. The damage is awful. Thankfully no major injuries and having seen the inside of the school they say is the better of the two, that is a blessing. Our house had minimal damage... a few broken items and cracks but we were fortunate there as well.

School resumed miraculously two weeks later with the destroyed elementary school moved into trailers at one of the other elementary schools. The high school, also destroyed, now shares the middle school building, with high school students going M, W, F from 8 until 4:50. The middle school students (where I work) go Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Saturday from 8 until 4:30. A modular high school is being constructed in front of the old high school (basically a lot of trailers) and should be open February 1st so then both schools will go 5 days a week with 30 minutes added on to the school day. Hopefully a long term decision will be made soon.

So back to Doug... he has been forced to make a lot of decisions in areas he is not familiar with and while he knows you can't please everyone all the time, the whole situation is stressful. Still I know I am not alone in saying that he is a great person to have helping lead our school division during these very challenging times. Hopefully in February life will calm a little bit ~ then again our lives are rarely calm. Right now we will just pray for no snow so we can have our Spring Break and get that beach vacation we couldn't take in September.

Okay, one more shot of some cuteness.

She didn't stay little long! She is such a babbler and a nosy Nellie!

And one final candid...

The kids going down the basement on Christmas to see the new ping pong table.

Looking forward to 2012 and all it has to bring! He was a ceiling fan!  Happy New Year!

And even more of 2011!

Some more pictures of favorite moments:

One of my faves of the year. Evan thought Jessa needed a backpack. She didn't complain... how she has survived this long is a mystery to me.

The two witches at a Halloween party. One has black makeup under her eyes and the other just has a black eye, lol. I have enjoyed having Carley come over on some of the days when middle school does not have classes. She helped me redo the girls room and they turned out fabulous!

Brynn being silly on our weekend getaway, Jessa drinking "oil" at the Children's museum, Jessa on our  weekend getaway, Brynn and her fellow GS become Brownies, the end of the year celebration for Price's soccer team, Jessa eating (yogurt is her favorite), spending some time with Papa, and Evan & Ryan working together on the soccer field.

These two pictures (above and below) make me laugh. When I put her to bed this outfit was on right. When she woke up it looked like her legs were on backwards!

How she did this, I have no idea.

One of Jessa's silly faces, Nyah helping make Thanksgiving food, Carley at the pumpkin patch (with a way too
small umbrella that features princesses... this makes me laugh when I see it), Grandpa & Jessa, the preschool pumpkin patch trip in the rain, Caleb counting his prize tickets, Jessa starting to stand, Flat Straley visiting NYC
when the real Kate couldn't get away to hang with her high school buddies, Brynn and her GS troop
wrapping presents at a local electronics store.

I thought the Ag. teacher and my husband were joking when they first mentioned me going up in a plane to take pictures of the high school field for a contest. They were not. I didn't have to wear a parachute like Doug told me I would. Though I really didn't know what I was doing, it was fun.

The plane I went up in.

Final 2011 wrap up tomorrow!

More of 2011... Summer Fun

A swim at Disney... guess which two lost goggles and had to go with what was available??

Maybe not my most technically perfect photos of the year but I love them just the same...

Fun at the pool and at home, Brynn's birthday party (including armpit tattoos, Jessa & her paci, a picture of me on a day I decided I needed to get in at least one picture, and Brynn with a bit of team spirit:

Brynn getting to ride a pony on our mini, local vacation (she cannot wait to be 8 so she can finally trail ride, the first first day of school (there was a second 1st day after the earthquake that destroyed two of our schools and gave us all two weeks off after only six days of school), more Allstar pictures (love how happy Caleb looks in the top one), and Evan before his first game of the season.

These two just make me laugh. My two Gators swimmers at the district championships at the UVA pool. Both pictures taken from across the pool. Notice they both spotted me trying to take their pictures and their different reactions. ;o)



Ahh, Disney. We were blessed to be able to go again (thank you Mom & Dad!!) though Caleb stayed home for ball play. You can tell I hung out with the girls more than the boys, though really I didn't get the chance to take too many pictures overall. We had a fantastic time though. Seeing Disney through Nyah's eyes was magical. The girls enjoyed breakfast with the princesses inside the castle (even though the one picture below shows a very pouty Rapunzel... apparently not liking bacon on her plate, lol), and we all enjoyed the breakfast with Chef Mickey (look at Brynn's enthusiasm twirling that napkin!).



And see the picture above with Rapunzel and Flynn with the girls? Rapunzel is trying to figure out what the chopsticks are in Brynn's (Mulan's) hair. Brynn should be a trainer for characters because she comes up with every imaginable question and even some unimaginable ones. We were lucky to see Flynn because the next week he was no longer part of the meet & greet. He even smouldered for us. :o)

More tomorrow.

The girls...

The girls' turn...

Disney in June

Brynn continues to be the spunky, chatty girl as always been. She says whatever she is thinking, and that is sometimes a bit scary. She always wants to know what is next on the agenda and, like Price, is a social butterfly.

She wore this dress to school on dress-up day with her hair up and came home beaming because so many people told her how beautiful she looked.

Brynn swam for the local swim team for the first time this summer. We were not really sure how it would go over so we did the trial period first knowing if nothing else her swim skills would improve. Well, she loved being a Gator. She may not have finished first in the water but her enthusiasm was worth a gold medal. She worked hard at practices, participated in the swimathon, swimming more laps than any of us thought she could,  and even swam at the UVA pool which is very deep without hesitation. Her swim cap is probably still at the bottom of that pool. And her dives are simply fun to watch... she gets up on the block, gets in dive position, when the gun sounds she moves her arms nest to her ears, puts her hands together in find dive fashion, and then jumps in. That is Brynn for you!

The dive.

She wanted to be a cop or an army girl for Halloween this year. Cop won out because she wanted the handcuffs.

Brynn returned to Girl Scouting again this year, moving up to Brownies. She enjoys being with her friends and all the activities. For a fundraiser this year some of the girls wrapped presents for 3 hours at a local electronics store. She was a great "sales lady" with her bubbly personality. She was very polite too and almost made it the whole time without embarrassing me. But then it came out. "Oh poop!" in response to a man and his sons' polite, "No thank you." She said it laughing and thankfully, the family did as well.

She likes to clean up after she cooks.

Brynn decided not to dance or play soccer this fall and instead tried Aikido. She had a fabulous instructor but decided it just wasn't her thing. I think she thought she would be training to be a fighter like in the movie The Karate Kid. She is going to start dancing again in January, tap and jazz. She misses being on stage.

Painting pumpkins.

Thankfully Brynn has had great teachers both last year and this year. They say she is well behaved in school. I am thankful that her chattiness isn't an issue. Both teachers say that she is a very hard worker, inquisitive, and curious. Her classmates from 1st grade voted her "Funniest" ~ yes, both my 1st graders earned the same superlative in their different classes. So proud to have two class clowns. :o)

Animal Kingdom at Disney... I think the look fits her!

They may not be her favorite but she did enjoy the princess breakfast at Disney. She went as Mulan and we heard several times throughout the day how nice it was to see Mulan since she is not seen too often.

Brynn was thrilled to be tall enough for most of the big rides at Disney and Kings Dominion this summer and very little scares her. At the Tower of Terror she would get in the line and say, loudly, how scared she was, getting everyone's sympathy before the ride and lots of, "Are you okay?" inquiries after. She duped them all, considering she did this on her 2nd and 3rd time on the ride and it wasn't me dragging her on it!

Such a ham!

Story character day at school.

For Christmas this year Brynn wanted, and received, an Easy Bake oven, spy glasses, and Bayblades (something Caleb also enjoys). She still loves horses, drawing, and writing.

Sassy!

Nyah has grown up so much since last Spring. While she still sometimes gets stubborn and emotional, she is also inquisitive, thoughtful, and fun. And she loves to help clean up around the house! Woo hoo!

She insisted on the wig for her Ariel Halloween costume though when the time came I had to beg her to wear it.

Nyah finished up 3 year old preschool in May and now is in the 4 year old class, going 3 days a week. She has the same teacher her older siblings have and has learned so much, though she often says she is done with preschool (sounding a bit like Evan). She is also still going to speech two days a week and her speech is now so much more understandable though she also is becoming aware that we don't understand everything she says and that she says some things wrong and it bothers her. She has a classmate one of the days she goes to speech and they are cute together... he is so friendly and outgoing and she jokingly ignores him (sign of things to come?).

Before the December recital; we have had some nice weather here!

Nyah is doing dance again this year. There are only 3 girls in her class. She looks forward to going every week and while she got a bit nervous, again, before the recital practice, she ended up loving being on stage. And her dance teacher made her year when she picked out a blue costume for the recital AND a blue costume for the group for the spring recital.

Bouncing her way across the soccer field.

Nyah also played soccer this fall for team Ducky. She was so excited to play and did great in practices. On game days she did a lot more bouncing and running around than actual kicking and stealing but she had fun. She always looked forward to the "Gatorader" she insisted I have for her on Saturdays.

Helping mom with some baking.

I cannot say enough how great Nyah has been with "Baby Jessa" ~ she calls her "my baby" and often says how much she loves her. I really expected their relationship to be one of the biggest challenges this year; instead it brightens my day to see their relationship. Only in the last few days, actually, am I seeing a bit more tension but that is because Jessa is much more mobile and into everything and Nyah doesn't want her to play with her Barbies or Legos (and I am thankful that she is keeping those little shoes away).

Buddies

She loves the camera she got for Christmas. 

Nyah now has a princess room and someday Jessa will be in there as well. It is painted "Bibbity Boppity Blue" and "Cinderella Ballgown Blue" and has huge decals on the walls. Nyah is very much a girly-girl...wearing skirts to soccer, wanting to wear dresses every day if allowed, and loving princesses, Barbies, and having her nails painted. She also likes to ride her bicycle, wear flip-flops and bows, and play with Playdoh. She already has her bag packed for her next trip to Disney (maybe June 2013) and has made it very clear we are not to unpack it.

Smiling Nyah and her faves... flip flops, bicycle, favorite dance outfit (blue of course)

Jessa seems to have turned into a toddler overnight. Wow the time has flown. She is still a sweet baby though the past week, with all the Christmas activity, has left her a bit out of sorts. She is in a cling-to-mommy stage at the moment and is still a terrible sleeper; she goes down fairly easily for naps and at first in the evening but from 11pm to 5:30am she wants to be with me, in my bed, and is a very light sleeper. Circumstances here haven't helped the sleep issue either... we are a bit of pushovers for her cuteness and the  earthquake scariness happened right at the time we were about to start serious sleep training (more on that later but in short, I felt bad making Doug lose more sleep to help when he was already exhausted from dealing with earthquake aftermath).

Pretty baby... 9 months old

Anyway, back to the wonderful things about Jessa. She is now almost 11 months old. She is average height and a bit below average weight but healthy as can be; she is just petite. She is still wearing 6-9 month clothing. She is a speedy crawler, loves her pacifiers and anything that is not her's, puts everything she can in her mouth (Nerf bullet at the moment ~ one of the safer choices), knows and signs (in her own way) milk, all done, and more, and has turned into quite a chatterbox.

Cutie!

Her eyes are hazel... Doug and I both have hazel eyes though none of the other kids do. She has brown hair with a little curl but I am not sure it will be curly. Her birthmark on her back is still there.She LOVES music and will bounce up and down to any tune. She loves yogurt and fruit and will make the funniest faces the first time she tastes something different though she usually will try a 2nd bite. She played baby Jesus in a church movie earlier this month though she was a bit of a demanding actress; clearly we didn't meet her demands of not reclining her but the movie turned out amazing anyway.

Taking a little bath... usually it is in the tub. 9 months.

She is just learning to stand independently and laughs when she falls on her rear. She talks to you as if you understand her. Right now she is letting me type this though usually she wants to type herself; she is busy chewing on a Christmas ornament. She has her two bottom teeth but recently started more biting and drooling so others may be coming. She is still nursing and isn't seeming to lose interest as much as the others did at this age. She hates the bath when she first gets in and then loves to splash. She does not like to be buckled into a car seat. She likes to eat scraps off the kitchen floor, which has led to me vacuuming a bit more than I used to.

She was not too fond of Santa. I think he is pointing at me to tell me, "I told you so!" ~ I knew she was going to cry but I had to have the 1st Christmas Santa picture.

Didn't take long for her 1st black eye and it was on my watch! Eight months of sleep deprivation caught up with me and she took a tumble off the bed.

She was spoiled rotten with gifts for Christmas and her toy of choice was my lens cap!

Have a mentioned how much she loves her "Paci" ~ she often has one in her mouth and another in one hand. She is absolutely adorable when she waves hello or goodbye and absolutely pathetically cute when she reaches up to be picked up. My arms are tired most days. Maybe I'll start trying to unspoil her when she turns one. Maybe.

Cutest witch ever!

More tomorrow!

The boys...

The boys at Halloween

Okay, at this point I have probably forgotten so much I would have written about but I will do the best I can to hit the highlights of the 2nd half of the year... and I'll start with the boys.

Caleb during All-Stars

Caleb finished his 6th grade year in May. He had a fantastic year and we could not have been more proud of him! He maintained a straight A average all year on his report cards and was invited to the All A's banquet at school.

District Champions!

In the beginning of June Caleb got the call that he made the 11 year-old All-Star baseball team. He was so excited but it left him with a choice to make... play baseball or travel with the family to Disney World. Ultimately he decided on baseball, stating that he knew this might be the last opportunity he has to play on an All-Star team. I missed my ride buddy but I understood and the experience was a great one for Caleb. His teammates were a great group of kids and they won the district championship! The team, and the parents and fans, headed to Lebanon, Virginia for the state tournament. The team did well, advancing further than most thought they would. It was an exciting season!

Caleb on 1st.

Caleb up to bat... still great at bunting.

My first attempt at decorating a vehicle.

Swimming breast stroke during the relay.

At the same time he was practicing/playing baseball every evening, Caleb was also getting up in the mornings to go to swim practice. He was only able to swim in 3 of the 7 meets but he did well. He moved up an age group so that was an added challenge this year but the competition was good for him.

Caleb turned 12 in September.

The start of the school year went well until day 7, when an earthquake hit... the epicenter of it being in our county. Caleb, and his brothers were out of town (watching the Little League World Series) with their grandparents so they didn't experience the big event. But since it destroyed our high school and those students now share the middle school building, Caleb goes to school Tuesday and Thursday and every other Saturday from 8-4:30. The new schedule has been interesting. It has been nice for the scheduling of medical appointments (we are having some testing done due to the lumps on the back of Caleb's back) and for me to have help with Jessa during Nyah's dance and speech times. I have also enjoyed getting a bit more time with Caleb than I get when all the kids are at home. Going back 5 days a week in February will likely be hard but I think Caleb needs the more typical routine to stay on top of things.

We get funny looks at places we go on the days there is no middle school ~ easy to
ignore though because nothing is crowded!

Caleb ran Cross Country again in the Fall and, thankfully, did not have the foot troubles that plagued him last season. He wasn't the most consistent racer but he did have some really fantastic races. At the same time he played Fall Ball. It was so much more relaxed than the regular season and was fun to watch.

Home meets were held at Jouett Elementary after the earthquake.

Caleb is now swimming for the high school. He cannot compete, just practice. The earthquake schedule has made that more of a challenge as well so for now he is only practicing 2 days a week.

Crazy pool dives. Sadly, probably the last ones because the country club was sold and there are no plans to reopen the pool. We will miss it... it was a great gathering place for the neighborhood.

Caleb got a trick bike for Christmas, along with a Rip-stik ~ thankfully Santa brought him a helmet  because some of the stunts he tries make my heart beat a bit fast. He also went hunting for the first time a few weeks ago with his Uncle Darryl and his cousin Josh and loved it.

Price and Caleb at the end of the year baseball picnic for the Mets.

One of only a few in-focus and decent captures of Price... typically he only gets in front of my camera when I don't want him to be (jumping in front of whatever or whomever I am photographing, on purpose).

Price is in 4th grade this year. He also did really well in school last year; it was his first year of our state's standardized testing and he got a perfect score in social studies and in math. So far this year he is doing well, and I am happy to say that his handwriting is now readable!

Pool silliness.

Price took the summer off from sports, preferring just to hang out with his friends and at the pool. In the fall he returned to the soccer field with the same coach and many of the same players he has been with since he was 4. The Lions were a very strong team and Price continued to play well and enjoyed seeing his former classmates (redistricting divided them up). He also was a bit more adventurous this year at Disney and at Kings Dominion so between Price and Brynn I never had to ride alone.

Price ~ oh those cleats ~ oh that hair!

Price under the raining umbrella at Disney.

Basketball started up again in November with the first games scheduled for the first week of January. This year he moves up to full court.

Price being forced to pose for a picture.

Price continues to be a social butterfly and would have a friend over or go to someone else's house every day if he could!  Price really wanted a bb gun for Christmas and his Nana got him one. I was more okay with it than Doug, but I think Doug really enjoyed the first practices outside. Price has also taken an interest in helping me cook lately and that has been fun... I trust him a bit more around the oven than my girls.

Evan actually standing still!

Evan was voted "Funniest" by his classmates at the end of the school year last year and has really come out of his shell at school (thankfully the teachers have said he does it appropriately). He played baseball and once again did really well and loved it.

Up to bat. He insisted chewing his shirt helped his hitting.

Silly Ev!

Evan also took the summer off from sports though really he had no choice. During one of Caleb's district ball games, Evan climbed over a fence and on the return trip he got stuck. He pulled himself free, falling in the process and breaking the same arm as last summer, though this time 2 bones with surgery required. He is now pinned and plated for life and is back full force though really once he had the surgery it was hard to keep him still.

Ouch!

Evan started again with soccer in the fall. We wanted to bump him up to Price's team so we would have one less thing on our schedule but Evan would only play if he could play with his age group so that is what he did. Fire did well overall... and I am thankful that they did not go undefeated; Evan hates to lose to the point he wasn't even going to play so being defeated in the first game forced him to deal with it. He became buddies with another boy on the team and the two of them would make amazing plays on the field.

Evan in charge!

We are very thankful that Evan has a teacher this year who challenges him and finds ways to get more out of him. Things are a lot easier here in the morning as far as getting him out the door to school when he enjoys it!

Evan turns 8! Another sports party!

Evan is also playing basketball again this year and looks forward to it each week. He still is ultra-competitive and would play video games (sports of course) 24/7 if allowed, with Sports Center showing on the other TV. He is like a walking encyclopedia and someday I expect he will be bringing home the cash from Jeopardy! Since January our elf, Tommy Z., has been visiting and Evan liked the challenge of finding him first... often getting up at 5:45am to find him. He needed every light on in the house to do so and to let us know he found him and where, then would go off to bed, leaving the lights on and us awake.



Onto the girls tomorrow...