Keeping on...

BTW- I cannot get this to format correctly and it is irritating the CRAP out of me. ARGH!

Kate with her friends at college

Well, it has been FOREVER since I have posted on here. There are a million reasons I could cite, but the truth of the matter is that the longer I've been gone, the harder it is to come back and get started again.  So, I'm just going to do a general catch up and let that be it for now.

Go Ravens!!

Last time I posted, it was August and we were in the throes and then last gasps of summer. Each year I congratulate myself a little more on getting the summer thing down. Heck, by the time my kids are all working in the summers, I bet I will have the summer camp thing DOWN. lol Wouldn't that just be my luck?  What I did this year re: camp was give the boys the thick catalog and told them to choose camps they'd be interested in. Then I worked my magic, trying to put them in as many joint activities as possible, then rounding out the rest as best I could. Some weeks were a logistical nightmare driving wise, but in the end it all worked out. By and large we were all satisfied with the end result. I had them in no camps the first several weeks of summer, then camps for the middle part (either half day or full day) and then no camps the last 2-3 weeks of summer.

Random picture from August after church photo directory pics.

The boys at the Fair in August.

The last part of summer was also spent getting Kate ready to go off to college- our first little bird flying from the nest. The shopping got done, classes chosen, books acquired. Visits were made. The actual weeks leading up to Kate's departure were not without their bumps and bruises- this is a major life change and a scary one at that- but in the end our girl held her head up high and marched in to her new school with bravery and some degree of excitement. Since then, she has KILLED IT. She is making friends, joining clubs, reporting good grades and most importantly, she is HAPPY and we could not be more thrilled for her. Tomorrow we will go as a family to visit and this will be the first time that the boys have seen Kate's new school. I am excited to see her and excited to see them all together. Kate has been awesome about keeping in touch and as a parent, I love technology because the distance is much smaller when we can keep in touch with texts and Skype, along with the occasional phone call.

Chris and Trey both had transitions this year as well. Chris started high school, albeit at the same school, and has a challenging schedule. He is also playing Fall Baseball in preparation for Spring Baseball at his high school and that keeps us busy, particularly on the weekends with a game on both Saturday and Sunday. This is really interfering with our NFL watching! ;) Chris is taking a friend to her school's homecoming tonight and I'm geeking out over getting to see what it's like on the BOY side of things.
Trey also had a new transition, switching schools from elementary to middle. He is joining Chris at his school. So far Trey is just killing it also- he likes school ("well, it's school and I don't really like school but I like the SOCIAL part of school.") and his peers. He is involved in Robotics after school on Thursdays and seems to like that pretty well. He and Chris will both be playing basketball in the winter for Upwards. Good grades for both boys so far.

I guess that is more or less it. Rob continues to work hard and does an excellent job providing for our family and saving time to love on all of us. I've been busy with the usual things I do, but have added a new focus of a boot camp. I'm on the fourth week and am loving it. I feel much stronger in every area of my life and am grateful to my friend Melissa R. for introducing me to the concept.

Hopefully it won't be too long until I write again, but you never know. :)