WARNING...Long post ahead...Turn back now!!
2015 was a great year for us! We made lots of wonderful memories, the kids all achieved wonderful accomplishments & we were all happy and healthy and that's all that counts.
There is always some sort of action at our house. Having 3 rambunctious boys and a very active daughter, there is never a quiet moment in our house. AND, if there is...you better go check what is going on!
January
Aaron broke his foot in December 2014 and was in a cast for 6 weeks, then was moved to a boot. He and Alex were pushing each other in Wal-mart one afternoon (yes, I'm apparently THAT Mom in Wal-Mart!). Aaron fell on the corner of a clothing rack and broke his elbow! So, for a while in January, he wore a boot and a cast. I was sure Child Protective Services would show up at my doorstep. Aaron has broken each of his feet twice and each of his elbows! I had a long conversation with the doctor regarding his bones. They feel like he is just a normal boy and aren't concerned with his constant breaks...I'm putting my trust in them!
We celebrated Emma's 13th birthday...how can I have a teenager?
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| Happy 13th birthday Emma! |
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| Another broken bone for Aaron! |
February
February was COLD! We got quite a bit of snow. Our town shuts down at the mention of snow or ice!
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| Kids trying out their new sleds! |
These pictures were from the first snow in February. We had an even bigger snow 1 week later (6"). I love snow, but even I was sick of seeing it all! We live on a good size hill. There usually isn't too much traffic on it, so the kids slide down the street. It goes super fast with a little ice on it, the kids would stay out all day if I let them, especially Aaron!
March
March was quite the opposite of February. It was warm and we spent lots of time outdoors. The boys had baseball tryouts, Alex tried out for the tae kwon do demonstration team and was accepted as a member, Ethan was on the Science Olympiad team from school and competed at UNCG & Ethan got his new insulin pump and CGM.
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| Nice afternoon to ride bikes and go for a long walk. |
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| Don't all ninjas match their shoes to their belt? |
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| Ethan up bright and early for Science Olympiad. |
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| We celebrated my Mom and Aunt's 69th Birthday! |
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| Ethan's new pump and CGM...well worth the $7,000!! |
April
April was the start of our busy season. Lots of baseball! Ethan and Aaron are on different teams, so we were at the ballfield several evenings a week. We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ with family. I had to fly to Dallas for work and enjoyed the time away, but sure missed everyone.
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Emma got a selfie stick in her Easter basket.
She quickly took a selfie with Jack! |
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Instead of using regular baskets, I made the
kids baskets by gluing boxes of candy together!
The kids loved them and traded out candy. |
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I love watching my boys play. They really
enjoy the game and are pretty dang good! |
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| My view from my window seat! |
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| More selfie stick fun! |
May
Guess what we did this month? Play baseball!! Aaron's team won the season...he was a part of a great team this year. He pitched this year and did great...love watching my leftie! Ethan's team came in second place for the season. There is a player on an opposing team that has Autism. When Ethan pitches to this player, he refuses to pitch hard to him. His coach really gave him a hard time about this towards the end of the season. But Ethan refuses to listen about this. He knows to always listen to his coach, but this time his coach is telling him to strike him out. One game, Ethan threw slow enough that the player got on base. When he got to first base, he threw his arms in the air and jumped up and down. Ethan beamed! Some of the other players picked up on what he was doing and they also started going easy on the player. They look like the Bad News Bears throwing the ball around so this player can get on base and even score. One of the fathers came over to Ethan and shook his hand...told him that he was "a class act"!! I'm so proud of him for realizing the importance of everyone to be able to enjoy the game.
We surprised the kids with a camping trip to the Outer Banks over Memorial Day. We had a great time. It was really cold the first night, but warmed up! We got home in time to celebrate Ethan's 12th birthday. May was one great month!
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| Go Ethan! |
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| My view most evenings! |
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| Season champs! |
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| Emma at her school dance recital |
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Makes sense that we find a heart shaped
shell as much as we love the beach! |
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| I love this picture of me, Aaron and Ethan |
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| Happy 12th Birthday Ethan! |
June
I told you this was going to be a long one!!
Summer camp season is starting! I started applying early for camps for the kids and they seemed to have back-to-back camps. There was a 6 week stretch that we didn't have all the kids home at the same time.
Aaron's team won the year end tournament. We were so proud of him...considering he did even want to play this season. His coach called and pretty much bribed him to join his team!
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| Alex is ready for a demo! |
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Alex was accepted into Victory Junction
Gang Camp again this year. He ended up
missing the last week of school since
we had so many make up days. |
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| My tournament champ! |
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| Last day of 7th, 6th and 4th grade faces! |
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We watched a very dear friend battle and win his fight against brain cancer!
Way to go Reuben! |
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Emma was accepted into a camp held at WFU
for students that want to pursue a medical career.
She lived on campus and did college level
classes. Here she is in the lab coat and stethoscope
she got for attending. She will attend this camp every year
until she graduates from high school...and, it's
free because of her grades. |
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Emma & Ethan were accepted into Camp Weaver based on their grades!
I was so nervous about sending Ethan to a non-medical camp. One of
Emma's counselors is type 1 and she took him right under her wing!
That was an answered prayer! |
July
We were invited to my aunt's beach house at Ocean Isle Beach. Ethan was scheduled to go to Victory Junction Gang Camp that week and Adam couldn't get off work. I took Mom, Emma, Alex & Aaron down for a few days. We get to visit with my Mom's family from Pennsylvania. We just love going! I hated to leave Adam and Ethan...I hate when we go in 2 different directions.
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| My beach bums! |
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Adam and Ethan went to see a WS Dash
game on the 4th. They have a great firework
presentation. |
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| How Emma feels about the beach! |
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| We just wouldn't be us without taking a selfie! |
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Ethan at VJGC dropoff! This place is amazing!
If you have never heard about, take a look
at their website: http://victoryjunction.org/
Please consider donating to this
wonderful organization!
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| These 2 cuties went to 4H camp together! |
We picked up Alex and Aaron on a Friday and left for our family vacation to Edisto Island, SC. We have never visited this beach and really had a nice time. This is a family oriented beach and not commercialized at all. After looking through all the pictures I took on that trip makes me want to do a post just on that.
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All the kids! My nephew, Pete and his friend were able to come along.
Love spending time with that young man! |
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| We did lots of fishing and crabbing! |
We then left the beach on a Saturday and Ethan had to be checked into yet another camp on Sunday. He attended Camp Needle in the Pines, which is a diabetes camp. All the campers and most of the counselors have Type 1 Diabetes. I love seeing all the type 1 kids together. Makes Ethan realize he doesn't fight alone. This camp is held at the coast and they camp out the entire week. I wasn't sure how Ethan would like that, but he absolutely loved it. His first statement was "Can I please come back next year?"..how can you say no to that?
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| Ethan's living arrangements for the week! |
August
Vacations and camps are now over...the kids had a great summer break. the kids were able to a go to Carowinds with church. I took the day off and tagged along. We had a great time!
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| Kids are in 2 places at 1 time! |
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Alex started rigorous training for his
black belt testing in November! |
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Kids having fun with the water hose
and sidewalk chalk! They were stained
for several days! |
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| First day of 8th, 7th and 5th grade! |
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Emma was selected to be on her middle school
softball team! Practice has started!! |
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Alex's demo team put on a pre-game show at the WS Dash game. They were
all amazing! They worked really hard for this night! |
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And some familiar faces were put on the big screen and asked
to announce "Play ball"!! |
September
We were given tickets to the first Wake Forest football game of the season. We had never been to a game before and really enjoyed the evening.
Emma was finishing up softball when cross country began. Her and Ethan ran and really enjoyed it. You can read about their first experience Here.
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| My spectators |
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| Wake Forest wins |
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| My beauty playing first base |
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Grandma helped Aaron organize his baseball
card collection |
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| We are on to cross county season! |
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| Go Ethan! |
October
We supported a friend at the Domestic Violence Awareness walk. He lost dear family members to domestic violence this year and the walk was in remembrance to this family.
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| Shocking, yet another selfie! |
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| Alex's artwork was chosen to be displayed at our local fair. |
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| Demo team tryouts...he made the team again! |
Aaron has developed flat feet and has been experiencing serious foot pain. He was finally referred to a Podiatrist and they had him fitted for orthotic soles. They have worked out so well for him. He is no longer having any foot pain.
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| Getting his foot molds done. |
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Emma at the Softball banquet.
She looked so beautiful! |
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| We created cute pumpkins for Halloween! |
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| Alex and Aaron turned 11! You can read about our celebration here. |
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| Another fun evening at WFU football. |
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Happy Halloween from my tacky tourist,
Army soldier, baseball player and mummy! |
November
This is much longer than even I expected. I would apologize for the length of this post, but I have enjoyed reliving the last year! But you surely get a gold star if you have gotten this far!!
November had more volleyball! Emma enjoyed being a part of the team. They finished off the season with 5 wins and 3 loses. Once volleyball was over, she tried out for basketball and was selected to be on the team! GO Emma!
Alex and Aaron's school had a skate night for the students. So, I took the kids roller skating. I love seeing them around their friends.
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Ethan was on the Robotics Team again this year. He had to be at the
yearly competition at 7:30 on Saturday morning. They didn't place, but
he loves being a part of the team. |
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We finally found a book series that Aaron likes to read.
It is an older series that I found on Amazon. If you have
a picky reader, who enjoys sports, you should check
out this set. |
After 2 years of training, Alex became a first degree black belt! You can read about his journey here. Way to go Alex! I'm so proud of you and your dedication! Next up? Second degree!!
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5th grade had a Thanksgiving day feast. Grandpa and Aunt Kelly
were able to attend. |
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| Our yummy turkey! |
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We went with Grandpa to a huge Army Navy store.
The boys (even the older boys) loved it! |
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We took our family Christmas pictures. You can see more from our
photo shoot by clicking here. |
December
We had a busy December. Lots of school programs and performances. We also participated in our city's Christmas parade. My office created a float and we all were able to ride on it.
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| Parade selfie! Why yes, we do take a lot of selfies! |
Ethan participated in the 7th grade science fair. He actually won 1st place and has advanced on to the county science fair! He came up with this idea all on his own. So proud of you Ethan!
Elfie came back for Christmas! Click here to see what he has done in the past few years.
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| Gotta support our Panthers! |
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| Someone is a Star Wars fan! |
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| Ready for bed! Come on Santa |
Thank you 2015 for being so good to us!! I hope you all have a wonderful 2016!
