this one's for you, maya quandt!

Wow! You're still here? I know, you probably thought I forgot that I had this little blog, right? I can assure you that I didn't forget. It's just that, well, October kind of swallowed me whole. I knew it was going to be a busy month, full of an out-of-town soccer tournament and loads and loads of soccer practices and soccer games and acting classes and school conferences and visitors and birthdays! I mean, I knew in my head that it was going to be crazy, but I had no idea how crazy. Kind of like how when we found out we were expecting Ainsley...we knew things were going to be nuts with 4 kids, but honestly, we had NO IDEA! And I wanted to write, to share with you the exciting stuff that was going on here but then Doug wanted to upgrade the computer with a new hard drive. And when he was finished the computer was faster and quieter, but I couldn't find my pictures. And then I found my pictures, but my photo uploader was gone, and I had about 100 pictures on my camera. I mean, there were blog posts just waiting to happen, but I couldn't possibly write them without my pictures. So, I finally figured out how to upload the pictures, but then too much time had passed. And the thought of posting something seemed daunting, not fun and exciting. And then I thought, well, maybe everyone else is super busy too and they don't even realize I haven't posted anything for months. And then I got the text. The angry text. In all caps. UPDATE YOUR BLOG! So here I am. Updating my blog. And here are the highlights of what you may have missed while I've been away:

1.) The entire soccer season!

Man, it was a good one! Remember the Fury team from last fall that only won 1 game all season? Well, I barely do thanks to the Fury team of this season! Emily and her teammates went 7 - 0 - 1 this fall! First place in their division! It was so much fun to watch. The girls really play well together and when they bring it, there's no stopping them! We have a bit of a break now...no practices until after the holidays. Our spring season should be fun!

And the Greyhounds had a great season too! I'll admit it was a bit dicey at first. Jackson appeared to be more interested in karate-chopping the opposing team instead of focusing on the ball. And while most of the time he still seems content to just run with the pack, he did manage to break away and score a couple of goals. He even seems excited to play again in the spring! And I'm glad he's playing in the spring...it will give me a chance to take pictures of him playing, since I didn't seem to take any this fall. Please don't judge...he's #3 of 4...he's kind of lucky we remember to feed him...

2.) There is a teenager in the house.

I know, right? When did that happen? It's still a bit surreal to me. Yes, I realize he's a great kid. Not likely to give us much trouble. But he's still a teenager, with the hormones and the angst and well, I'm sorry. I just can't talk about it anymore. Except to say that I will be devoting an entire post to the celebration. It was fun. There was even a Snuggie involved.

3.) School is AWESOME.

All three of the kids are having a great year so far. Jackson really likes his teacher, especially the fact that she rides a motorcycle to school on sunny days! He's up to about 25 words he can read, which is quite amazing given the fact that at the beginning of the year, Ainsley could say the alphabet better than he could. He's working hard and soaking everything up and having a blast. Emily is enjoying her first year in the Talent Development program. She's being challenged, loves her teacher and is making new friends in her new school. Ryan loves his new school too. He's reconnected with some old friends and made some new ones. I think his favorite class is his Musical Theater class, which comes as no surprise to me, but he's really doing well in all his classes and seems to like this school better than the one he attended last year. Not that I want to say I told him so or anything. Oh, who am I kidding...of course that's exactly what I want to say!!

4.) The death of a loved one.

R.I.P. Summit. You will be missed. But only for about another day or two. Because Doug is totally in love with his new Kia Forte. The fact that it starts every time would have been enough, but the fact that it has Bluetooth, a sunroof, Sirius satellite radio AND he can plug in his iPod??? He's on Cloud 9! Within 24 hours after buying it, he had purchased the new hanging shelves for the garage and it only took a day for him to install those shelves and completely clean out the garage so that both cars can be parked there. If only all projects around here were tackled with such gusto...

5.) Other helpful information...

You will not even be able to have a conversation with Ainsley unless you are well versed in the subjects of Yo Gabba Gabba, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and A Charlie Brown Christmas. It will also be to your advantage if repetition doesn't make your head explode. On the plus side, she's really cute when she sings "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!"

6.) The 2 year anniversary of this blog.

On November 6, 2007, I started this blog with a post about Marie Osmond. The kids spent some time yesterday going through the archives. This post started out funny, but Emily said, "I don't think I can watch two minutes of this." This one is one of my personal favorites. This one had Ryan cracking up, practically rolling on the floor! And I think this is one of Doug's favorites. How about you? What are your favorites?

I've got some fun things planned for this blog. Nothing too drastic, just a few changes here and there. Probably some more posts about food, some product reviews, my life list and even giveaways! Thanks for being patient while I figure out how to make this fun for me again. And as for you not-so-patient ones? (Yes, I'm looking at you, Maya!!) Thanks for giving me the kick in the pants I needed to start writing again!