Texas Vacation

Here are some pictures of the week we spent with my family in Texas. 

This is the kids on the Scream ride.....I would definitely have done just that!

You're never too old for your mom to force you to pose with a life-size stuffed character

Trey with my nephew Connor

Jake relaxing with a book.....this rarely happens at home

This also rarely happens (typically if they are sitting this close they are hurting each other)

Emily and I (not the best pic....)

Delaney and my niece Addison

Trey, my mom, Emily, and I

Emily and Addison

I forgot: I am now officially a teacher

I had a second interview on Monday with a school principal and was offered the job on that day. I am thrilled!!! Now I have to make the most of this summer and get this house whipped into shape.  My new-hire paperwork is in the mail (which once I see it I'm sure I will feel more official.....right now I think I'm still afraid I dreamt it ;)

I am considering this my first full-week of "normal" summer....

meaning non-vacation, "we're bored, what can we do", kind of days.  It has been a bit overcast for the last couple of days, which after the 100 degree heat in Texas should be welcome.  Instead it's a bit of a let down.  It's summer darn it, and here in the Pacific NW we are owed our warm and SUNNY summers. None of this wet stuff.  Emily is partaking in soccer camp at the University of Portland, and despite the rain yesterday is having a fantastic time.

The rest of us are trying to clean, which really means I am cleaning and they are coming up with reasons why they *cannot, possibly* clean anything.

I hope everyone watched the US women play in the semi-finals today....yes, my world now really is run totally by soccer games ;)  It was an amazing second half which I thoroughly enjoyed from the elliptical machine at the gym.  I found during times when I wanted them to move faster, I tended to go faster- I'm sure anyone watching me was cracking up.

Hello Everyone!

I am happy to report I graduated with a Masters in Special Ed (FINALLY), so now I can hopefully catch up on blogging.  The kids are out of school for summer and immersed in soccer tournaments, sunshine, and downtime.  On a bad note, Em woke up this morning and her "favorite" implant is not working!!! No! So, she is wearing her "newer" implant only (four years old, but still the least preferred), and is doing pretty well overall. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise? Who knows.  Delaney hurt her knee in the soccer game last night, so we will be heading to physical therapy early this next week to see how long she is out :( She also managed to break her iPhone. Which do you think shook her world more? Yes, the phone.

Anyway- just a quick note before I have to run out the door for another game.

Week three of school....

And I'm still playing catch-up from summer. I have loads of laundry, and a million house cleaning projects. Sample paint "swatches" painted on three different walls, and three weeks left of my last class before student teaching. In addition, as nice as it is having some time without the kids, I send the last two off on the bus, turn around and it's 2:00.  How??? I haven't quite figured that one out.

Delaney is loving school, but her hearing fluctuations have continued- Bummer. She is still experiencing some ringing, and by the end of the day her hearing is just not as good as it was at the beginning. She has started wearing her implant (yay!), and agrees that it actually *does* help her hear (yes, she's a slow learner ;) 

Everyone is doing well in the hearing department (well, as "well" as Emily ever does). She definitely struggles the most.... It doesn't make sense as she has bilateral implants but she definitely has good hearing days and bad hearing days.  She's always been a bit of an enigma. 

My camera is still broken- I miss it. I've missed eight soccer games, the first day of school, and who knows what else. The rationale side of me knows I have enough soccer pictures to last a lifetime, but who knows when it will be "the" picture. Anyway....I WANT MY CAMERA BACK. Please :)

Back to school (75% of the kids)

Can you tell which child is not THRILLED???
The picture of Delaney is not from the first day of school (although she *did* wear her hair in braids. And, as a plus she is posing with one of my other favorite girls, my niece Addison). My camera died (see previous post) and her battery was not yet charged so she got out of the traditional first day of school pic. Maybe Trey should have gotten out of it as well (????) He really, REALLY, really wants to go to the neighborhood school. Sigh.

Summer is over.....

And my children are all back in school. We had a great summer- lots of soccer, some vacation, several roller coasters, and a couple of water parks. I have tons of pictures, but my computer will not let me load a chunk of them, and my "baby" broke (while on vacation), so I had to use my parents' cameras for pix. My Canon DSLR is not working- Big, big bummer. I have a ton of soccer games in my future (like this weekend) and I might miss the perfect shot ;)

Delaney is now an 8th grader (SCARY, last year before high school)
Emily is a 5th grader (Again, SCARY, last year before middle school)
Jake is a 2nd grader (He's just scary- kidding)
Trey is a 1st grader (Hard to believe my baby is in 1st grade).

I will update soon with lots of pictures, but for now here are a couple of the boys....being boys. BTW- the pictures help explain how the boys 'kind of' got wet on their outing with my mom ;)