October was an exciting and busy month.  I blinked and it was over.  My sweet little grandma fell and broke her hip, the poor woman laid on her cold kitchen floor for over 10 hours before anyone found her.  She's been in the hospital and is now in a care center slowly recovering.  We've been up north to see her a few times and she is definitely progressing every time we go up there but is in a lot of pain so she really doesn't move much. 

Rory drove the side x side around Wellington and handed out candy to trick or treaters, he is such a great Chief!

Connor just found out last night that he made the varsity basketball team at Mont Harmon.  He works extremely hard at basketball and is so excited to be on the team.  He just got glasses last month.  He is near sighted and far sighted, so the poor kid hasn't been able to see at all.  He likes his glasses but is already asking when he can get contacts. 

This picture of Connor because it's the only one I have right now!

Kadee has been cheering for wrestling, she also made the competition cheer team so she is cheering 5 days a week.  She has a crazy schedule but still manages to keep her grades up and loves it.  She is so excited to do her standing back hand spring in the cheer competition routine and her confidence has grown tremendously this year.   

Kadee & her cheer squad for Halloween

Kadee's first time cheering at a Wrestling Meet

Kinlee is still dancing her heart out.  3rd grade has been a little rough for her academically, but she seems to finally be getting the hang of things and picking up on the things she was struggling with. I'm actually glad she has struggled a little bit, it has taught her to work hard and that she can learn, even when it's hard.  I feel like she is learning grit. She is doing the musical minors singing group after school on Mondays and loves singing.  She has a beautiful singing voice and is a wonderful performer. 

Kinlee received the perfect attendance award for October

Kinlee received the Kudos club award

Matthew received the perfect attendance award for September

I had Matthew's IEP for speech yesterday and the speech specialist was very impressed with his progress.  She said that if he keeps progressing the way he is he will probably be done with speech before 1st grade is over.  He turns 7 next week and we had a funny conversation.  I asked him if he wanted McDonald's for his birthday diner because he is always begging me to get him McDonald's, he looked at me with a look of disgust and said, "No, I want something good, like Subway!"  It was so funny the way he said it. 

Matthew received the perfect attendance award for October

It's been a year....

At the beginning of the year I decided I need a break from blogging.  I felt like I was really repetitive and writing about the same things over and over again.  I didn't think I'd miss it, I figured my photo books would be enough of a memory for my family and would cover everything I would write about in my blog.  Then, the other night, I was laying in bed thinking about all the things that have happened this year and realized I need to blog for me.  So I can look back and remember these years, because frankly, they are going by way too fast.

This year has not been the happiest of years.  My Uncle Leon and Rory's aunt Cindy passed away, and hardest for me was the passing of my dear sweet grandpa. It's funny, he's had dementia for several years so he hasn't really known who I was, but just his presence was a comfort to me.  When my uncle DR called to tell me it wouldn't be much longer my heart sunk.  He is the only father figure I've ever known and the thought of being in this world without him is sometimes unbearable.  The last thing he said to me before he fell into a coma is, "I love you."  Even though he couldn't remember my name, he knew he loved me and that is a memory I'll cherish forever.  August was a whirlwind with his passing and the funeral being on Kinlee's birthday.  Luckily my cousin Ashlee took Kinlee with her and her kids to Cowabunga Bay after the funeral to celebrate her birthday, she knew I was stressed and trying to help and I was so grateful she stepped up and took that weight off my shoulders.  I was able to speak at his funeral and pay tribute to the wonderful man that he was, and I was also given the honor of picking out his headstone. Although he is gone, I will never forget the generous, kind, loving man that he was.  I pray every day that I can be as good of a person as he was.  

Connor has had a rough year, he started out in February with what we thought was the stomach flu, but couldn't stop vomiting.  He missed months of school and we took him to several doctors and finally found out it was his gallbladder.  He had it removed and has been healthy ever since.  He was going to play football this year, but before the season even started he broke his hand playing basketball at the school and couldn't even start the season.

Kadence made the cheer team and has loved it, she has grown so much as a person and physically.  She is 5'4" and is turning into a beautiful young woman.  Last week at cheer her flyer fell on her head and she ended up with a nasty concussion.  She had to miss a week of school and is better this week, but still can't stunt.  I am so proud of her though, she has worked so hard to keep straight A's, even with missing a week of school, and has been practicing her jumps and routines constantly.

Kinlee switched dance companies this year and has been working hard to get her back walk over.  She is really good in school and at parent teacher conference last week her teacher couldn't say enough good things about her.  She wants to be a dance teacher and an OB nurse when she grows up and is seriously the messiest child I've ever met.

Matthew is playing flag football and is loving every minute of it.  He loves to Rollerblade and ride his bike and LOVES the IPad.  I actually had to take it away and set very strict limits or he would play it all day, every day.  He is in 1st grade and his teacher loves him to pieces.  She said he is so quiet and well behaved and loves to learn.

Rory had an exciting career change.  On August 22, 2018 Rory was sworn in as the new Chief of Police for Wellington City.  His first day was August 27, 2018 and so far it has been an amazing experience for him.  He has really enjoyed it and loves serving the community we live in.  He has big plans for his little department and I really think he can make it happen.

So if for nothing else, I think I'll continue to blog occasionally for me, so I can look back and remember the good, remember the bad, and remember I lived. 
 

December

December was, as always, a whirlwind of fun.  We had school parties, family parties, trips, and fun.  It went by way too fast and I can't believe Christmas is over for another year.  My favorite part was all the family time and our quick trip up north after Christmas.  We went and jumped at hang time, went to Pitch Perfect 3, did a little shopping, ate lots of food, and swam at the hotel, I love this memory we make with the kids and I hope they remember how hard we tried to make sure they had a happy childhood.  So, as for the month of December, Connor played a lot of basketball, Kadee got to participate in a gingerbread house contest at school, Matthew made his Kindergarten Candy Train with grandma Debbie and Kinlee lost her 2 front teeth in just enough time to sing constantly, "all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" and she got the Warrior Award at school. 

For New Years Eve we did our annual stay at home, pop balloons with different activities in them, eat lots of food party.  We played games, put puzzles together, played hide and seek, had a silly string fight, ate cookies and milk, had a dance off, got in the hot tub, drank sparkling cider, and crashed at exactly 12:01 haha.