I don't know where to start or if anyone still follows my blog...
Shane deployed to Afghanistan at the beginning of February for a 12 month deployment, yes that means he will be back in February 2012. He will be home for a 2 week R&R at the end of September :)
So what have the kids and I been up too? I am pretty much a full time taxi driver, I wish so much that Andrew had his license, but he does have his permit, so I make him drive a lot :)
Andrew was a freshman this past year and boy did he keep himself busy, starting with seminary at 6:30 am and he didn't come home until 9:00pm! He maintained good grades and was on the swim team, cross country ski team, soccer team, performed in the school musical "Footloose" and sang in performance choir. I am very thankful we live less than 2 miles to to H.S.! He applied for a few jobs this summer, actually got a very competive one but he turned it down because his schedule was wed-sun and he didn't want to miss a whole summer of church. So he is refereeing soccer games a few nights a week. Next year he will have a lot more job options since he will be 16(that was the minimum age for a lot of jobs) and he will have his license.
Owen is still always so happy :) At his 5th grade celebration at school he was given an award for being a kid who goes above and beyond to help others. He holds the school record at the elementary school for the fastest mile 7min 10sec. He still loves to plays the piano. He is doing great on the swim team, his best stroke is the breast stroke. He is playing soccer this summer.
Noah played hockey during the fall/winter and spring, it is great to see him out there on the ice, he loves it! He is playing soccer this summer. I make him play the piano, someday he will thank me...He makes me laugh at all the silly things he says and he make me scream at all the crazy things he does! We both survived a teacher who LOVED homework at least an hour an night and giving projects over school breaks.
Me...yes what about me?! Well I am a cubscout den leader, for the Bears. I am also the FRG(family readiness group) leader for the families in Shane's company. This keeps me busy keeping the families updated on all sorts of information throughout the month. Plus, I hold a FRG meeting once a month. I am also keeping my Scentsy business going and growing...I have a booth at a few upcoming festivals! I do get a massage twice a month to help work out all my tension knots-not kidding-lol!
In February, several things broke, typical to happen as soon as the hubby deploys :) I was also in Science fair hell..I think you can guess what kind of mood I was in for the month of February, good thing it was only 28 days long-lol!
In March the boys and I headed down to sunny California-to meet up with my BFF Ann Bush and her kids...we tackled Disneyland together for 3 days of magical memories...2 moms and 6 kids, it was so much fun but we were all exhuasted! My trip down with the boys was an adventure in itself, I'll spare you all the crazy details but I will tell you we EACH got $350 ($1400 total) towards another flight! So hello Hawaii family vacation when Shane returns :), thanks to Alaska Airlines!
April was a very long and blah month for me, I knew it would be hard because that is when I knew I would really start to miss Shane, it begins to sink in at month 2 that he is not coming home anytime soon and I still have 10 more lonely months to go! Owen turned 11 received his arrow of light and crossed over to Boy Scouts! Easter was later this year, why?
May, holy cow what a fast month! The kids get out of school here early, May 19th! I'm not complaining it was nice to not have to deal with homework anymore or having to make sure the power school grades were correct. A few days after school got out we headed down to Denali on the train...it was beautiful. We went on a few small hikes with our friends the Bonins. We had 2 moms and 7 kids on this trip! I can't wait to go down with Shane and explore the beauty down there, he will love it. We got a fence put up so our dogs can be outside without me constantly watching them :)
Here we are in June, another month when several things have broken! A big reality that my wonderful husband is not here to fix anything. We had cub scout day camp the first few days of June. Andrew and I stained the porch railing and cedar siding on the house, weeded and planted the flower beds. We also entered in our first 5k-The Mosquito Meander, I walked it, maybe I will work up to running one at the end of the summer. Noah biked it. Andrew ran it finished in 23ish minutes and Owen ran it finished in 25ish minutes.
3 weeks ago
