Time for a Revival!

Boy has it been a while since I've posted anything here! Actually, almost a year now. Crazy!! Guess it's been a busy year. So, here's the quick rundown to get caught up...

Let's see... spring meant a return to lacrosse for Abbycakes after a season off, which was fun to watch. We had our first girls 10U team in the area this year, which was kind of a big deal. It was so fun to watch them improve throughout the season. Emmy Lou and Abbycakes also joined me for a race in April this year, which was a blast! I love running with friends, but it's especially fun running with my girls and friends!! Then softball season hit and we were doing double duty for a few weeks as Abbycakes' lacrosse season overlapped with her softball season for the first year ever! That was entertaining! lol It definitely kept us on our toes. Plus, this was the first year all THREE girls played softball, so we were running in all different directions every week for a couple of months, but it was fun. And everyone still managed to get a chance to watch each other play!

Before we knew it, summer was here and we were headed to the cabin as often as we could for fun in the sun, time in the lakes, and camping in the camper. Plus, all of the kids successfully passed their respective grades. WOOHOO! July brought my best friend and her family up from Kansas for a week long visit, which went much too fast!! Oh the fun we had though. We introduced them to all of our cabin fun while they were here, including kayaking, paddle boarding, and 4th of July fireworks at our favorite location. The Hubby competed in his third Strong Man competition during Ashland Bay Days, and even pulled a semi! Emmy Lou and Abbycakes went to Girl Scout Camp and had and absolute BLAST (boy was Abbycakes nervous, since it was her first year staying all week long, but she did great)! Abbycakes went to her first volleyball camp and JackJack started his first year of youth football.

And as quick as it started, summer came to and end and the kids were headed back to school. Emmy Lou started 7th grade, Kenzie Bug started 6th grade, Abbycakes 4th grade, and Jack Jack 3rd grade. The school year hasn't disappointed though. Emmy Lou made it her mission to finish her first trimester with all As and did it! Abbycakes decided not to play hockey this year, but instead wanted to try some other sports, so she played volleyball through the YMCA, she and Emmy Lou are currently in curling through the YMCA, and Abbycakes and in the ski club at school through the month of January. She's found that she really likes downhill skiing!

Quick update on each individual right now.... Emmy Lou is still holding all A's in the second trimester of school and made the middle school archery team (her one true love), while she has also found that she is thoroughly enjoying curling! She also still loves to cook and bake and basically do anything in the kitchen that will result in yummy things! She's working hard toward archery state competition in March, but is also excited to start softball in May!

Kenziebug has been struggling in a couple of subjects in school, but is pulling them back up with some hard work. She is in Girl Scouts and isn't sure if she will play softball in the spring just yet. When asked she just says, "I don't know," so I guess we'll see. This girl LOVES to read!! She would read all day long if we would let her. Dragons are her latest fantasy fiction topic.

Abbycakes is doing well in school and has adjusted well to public school. She is loving ski club and curling and cannot wait for lacrosse and softball to start this spring! Thankfully, lacrosse starts first! She did go back to karate for a bit, but decided that she enjoyed skiing and really wanted to do to ski club, so gave up karate again for other things. When asked if she will go back to hockey she says, "I don't know, maybe." It is clear she's thoroughly enjoying her much more open schedule this winter!

Jack Jack is our nonstop talker! He is 100% boy and keeps us on our toes. It can't be easy to be the only boy with all of these sisters. He loved football last summer, but doesn't seem overly interested in trying any other sports at this time, although he thought watching the girls curl was pretty cool. We just didn't have him enough of the weekends to enroll him in the clinic. He definitely wants to return to football late summer, but until then, he's just hanging out. He doesn't really want to go back to baseball, which is fine with three schedules to juggle already. We're just looking for one more activity for him to wear off all of that extra energy. He is doing well in school though, as long as he can control his chatter!

The Hubby is doing well at work and nothing has changed for him lately. He did the Strong Man this summer and is considering another one this summer, although he'd better get moving if he's going to start training for one! Otherwise, he's my awesome hero, getting the kids to and from school. (I don't have a fancy pic of him, so I'll just post one of my favorite Strong Man training pics of him for his pic.)

As for me... I graduated this summer with my MBA in Rural Healthcare Administration, then accepted a new position as an Academic Advisor with the college this fall. I'm loving the new position and learning new things everyday! It was a great move for me and I couldn't have asked for better timing! Unfortunately, I got sick the weekend I was supposed to walk across the stage for my commencement ceremony, so now I have to decide if I want to participate in the one this spring or not. But I did get my diploma!! :) So, it's official.

What a year!!! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This was mostly for me to look back on and reflect. I decided that I need to start posting again. This is like my personal journal and I need to get back in the habit. So, here goes. I'm BACK!!!