Long Time, No Blog

Hello, Blog.  Nice to see you, it's been a while.  We've had a busy but fun last three weeks, filled with school, sports, birthdays and family.  

Let's see...where to begin.  The kids made it through their first week of school, and that weekend it was time to celebrate Tanner's and Bruce's birthdays.  Their parties fell on the same night at the same time so John and I headed to Bruce's and Lawrence and Sarah headed to Tanner's.  Since I had the camera, Bruce's party is the only one I got pictures of!

Happy Birthday Bruce!

Bruce gets a hug from Gram while sporting his new
embroidered Louisville hat

This 11 year old boy is loved!

Although I didn't get a picture of Tanner blowing out his candles, I did get this awesome picture via a text on the morning of his 16th birthday.  Look out Louisville, there's a new driver on the road!

Best birthday gift ever

Another fun thing that happened that week is that Lawrence and I got to go to the opening night of the Kentucky State Fair with our friends, Trip and Corrine Fetter.  Corrine pretty much runs the state fair, and she invited us to be their guests at the Hank Williams, Jr. concert, and we got to go the opening reception for the fair board and ride around on her golf cart like we were important.  This was a fun night.

Ready for some fair fun!

That weekend John and Lawrence tried their hand at the Parent/Child golf tournament up at Hurstbourne, and I think John told me they came in second to dead last.  It didn't seem to bother them though, and I had to snap a picture of them hanging out on the deck after they got home in their matching golf shirts (John insisted they match!).  

Maybe they didn't play well, but they looked good.

That next week if was time for John's class to lead chapel at school.  The classes take turns leading each week, and John just hates to be up in front of everyone (sarcasm inserted here).

Leading worship

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Danville to watch John play (and Lawrence coach!) football.  They played a team from Paris, Kentucky and won by quite a lot.  This was such a fun day for the team.  They rode a bus up there and after the game we went to a local restaurant for a big team dinner.  

#99 is ready!

Block!

You can't get to my quarterback! 

Coach Young with two of his best offensive linemen,
John and Austin 

My favorite guys

Rebel Bowl Champions

On Sunday of Labor Day weekend Lawrence headed to the UK vs UL football game and got to relive his glory days on the sidelines, except this time he was wearing blue and was surrounded by dance team girls instead of cheerleaders.  No matter the color, this guy knows how to party.

While he was at the game, the kids went to Rich, Lori's, Taylor's and Tanner's for a cousin sleepover before Taylor headed back to Romania for his second year of school.  The babies are all so big!  Sydney turned 14 a few days later and Taylor is now back in Bucharest.  

Lori posted this picture of them on Facebook

On September 5th I turned 43 (what??), and I had such a great day, start to finish.  The day started off with taking Sarah to get her braces off after three LONG years.  I was looking through my pictures, and I found this picture I took of her with my phone the day we went in to Dr. Tran's office to get them on.  This was in October 2009.  I also took a picture of her last week right when she got in the car after getting them off.  What a difference three years makes!  Check out the before and after.

BEFORE - AGE 11

AFTER - AGE 14

Dr. Tran wasn't kidding when he told me at the beginning of the process that she was going to look like a totally different person when he was done!

When I got to work my office was decorated and a yummy homemade lemon pound cake was on my desk.  I had a great lunch with my friends (thank you Loren and Brittany!) and then that night the kids, Lawrence and I headed to Ruth's Chris for dinner.  All in all, a lovely day.

Throughout the last few weeks we've also been popping in on Mom and Dad's progress on their new house.  They've been stripping wall paper, ordering hardwood floors, meeting with kitchen planners and having an all around blast getting ready for moving day.  They move in this next week and then close on their old house a few weeks later.  A little bittersweet, but my mom says whenever she's at the new house she feels nothing but excitement, so she knows they are making the right move.  

Tag team wall paper stripping

That wallpaper looks like it's been up
there a looooong time!

September is flying by, and the calendar is filled with football and field hockey.  Cooler temperatures prevailed this weekend, reminding us that fall is around the corner.  Can't wait!

Back to School Day!

Yesterday the kiddos went back to school.  What a great summer we've had, but yesterday morning it was rise and shine at 6:30 am!

Sarah was excited to be starting high school.  She felt a little uncomfortable in her new uniform, but I thought she looked great.

Ready to go!

She had field hockey practice right after school, and on the way home after picking her up I got mostly one word answers.  "How was the first day??" "Fine."  "How were your teachers??"  "Okay."  "Are you tired??"  "Yeah."  Hmmmm...moms want more details than this!  After being home for awhile she came out on the deck and said that NOW she was ready to talk, and I got to spend the next half hour hearing lots of details about the day, and it sounds like it was great.  

John is excited to be the big dog at Rock Creek this year.  He's been there since preschool, and this will be his last year here before moving to English Station next year.  I have mixed emotions...I know he's ready to move on to the "big" campus, but I was a bit sad yesterday morning knowing it was our last "back to school day" at Rock Creek.  I went into the gym during morning carpool so I could snap a few memories.

John and some of his fellow 5th grade buddies

He has a brand new teacher this year (as in, this is her first job!).  She is very enthusiastic and he seems to like her, so hopefully we're in for a good year.

It feels good to be back on a schedule, albeit a busy one.  Looking forward to lots of learning this year!

Happy Birthday Nana and a Little Lake Fun

On Friday night we celebrated Nana turning 74 years young by having dinner at Cunningham's on the river.  This was a nice, relaxing night and it was good to spend time with Nana and the cousins.  Mary Lawrence in no way resembles what I ever envisioned 74 would look like. She is beautiful, fit, active and does more in one day than I do in a week.  If this is what 74 looks like, bring it on!

We missed Tanner, who was at football practice

Nana with her grands

On Saturday John had his football weigh in and first scrimmage.  I missed his scrimmage (and Lawrence's coaching debut for the season) because Sarah had a field hockey scrimmage at the exact same time.  Sounds like me not being there didn't hurt anything...CAL won against St. Stephens 13-0.  Hope this is a good sign for the season!

Over at Sacred Heart, Sarah scrimmaged the Ballard and Male JV teams and then hopped over to the varsity field to scrimmage Male's varsity team.

Right after her scrimmage ended we headed to Nolin for a quick 24 hours at the lake (the only time we've been all summer!).  Sarah's friend Emily joined us, and while storms were in the forecast, we were able to get in a nice day on the water on Sunday before the rain came in.  Hoping we can get back down at least one more time before fall.

There was tubing...

...kneeboarding...

...jet skiing...

...walking on water...

...and a little rock jumping

Today was high school registration today for Sarah, and she went to school and got her schedule and new iPad (every high school student gets one this year!).  While we're sad summer vacation is ending, it was good to see all her friends and feel the excitement in the air that comes with a new school year.  We plan to soak up this last week of sleeping in (which we desperately need after watching the Olympics every night!) and enjoying our break.  One week from tomorrow the alarm will be blaring!

Reds Game and City Swim Meet

OK, WHERE did July go??  I feel like we just got back from vacation, and now it's the end of July!  With football and field hockey gearing up, it feels like our nights have been busy, but we've still managed to squeeze in some summer fun.  A few weeks ago we went to a Reds game with a few of the families from John's baseball team.  I had never been to the Great American Ball Park, and we loved it. Actually, I had never been to a major league baseball game, other than one time as a middle schooler, and I don't have any memory of it.  I loved this ball park because it's right on the river, and this is the view I got to see all night.

The Reds played the St. Louis Cardinals, and it was a great game.  We stayed until the very end to watch the Reds sweep the Cardinals, and it was well worth getting home at 1:00 in the morning.

All American Boy

Reds win!

Last weekend was our city championship for swimming.  The kids did so great this year, and we had a great weekend at Big Spring watching them swim. Sarah's relay team dominated their age group in both the medley and freestyle relays, winning both by several seconds.  

These are some super star girls!

Sarah then went on to win first place in the backstroke.  This is the same stroke she won first place in when she was ten years old, so it must be her specialty!

Spoiler alert: the girl in the blue cap wins!

Proud dad

John did great too...he came in second place in the freestyle, and his relay team came in 7th.  

Go John!

It always feels good when city meet is over because now we have a few more weeks of summer with no swim practices or meets.  School starts in two and half weeks...supplies and new uniforms have been bought, we're a tiny bit behind on our summer reading (ok, a LOT behind), but we have a few more items on our summer bucket list that we need to get to.  Oh, and they Olympics open tonight - go team USA!

John Turns 11 and Other July Fun

A lot has happened in the last few weeks since we returned from Wild Dunes.  First, my mom and dad bought a new house!  They've been talking about "downsizing" to a ranch for years, and they have looked many times at various houses around our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is fairly close to where they live now, and there are many one story homes that are ready to be updated (just what Papa specializes in!).  We had lunch with them the day after we returned from the beach, and they told us about a home they had gone to see a few days earlier.  They really liked it, but after discussing it, they decided to stay put (which is what I've alway thought they would do!). We said we wish we could have seen the house because it sounded great, so my mom called the realtor and she let them in again.  Something must have took the second time around, because less than 24 hours later they made a bid and it was accepted.  The house is just what they've been looking for...good layout, good "bones"...all it needs is their special touch, and I think they are looking forward to making it their own.  And I'm looking forward to having them down the street!

The new homestead

It did feel a bit strange to pull up to their house a few days later and see the For Sale sign.  

I'll be sad for them to leave here, but excited for
the fun times to come in the new place

On Friday we celebrated John's 11th birthday.  He was so excited to get the present he asked for - a bow and arrow.  He's been learning to shoot and has recovered most of the arrows he's lost in the ground!

Who too!  Just what I wanted!

That night we had the family over for a cookout.  John got some new UK items and the gift that always fits - cash!  

Every year I make my little jock a different "jersey" birthday cake.  Since he turned 8 I've done the Lakers, the Celtics and last year was the Red Sox.  This year he decided he wanted a Team USA jersey for the 2012 Olympics.  Since the jersey is mostly white, I got off pretty easy this year!

This was also the first night we got to see Taylor since he returned home from Romania for his summer break.  He's all finished with his first year of school there, and it will be great to have him home for a few months.

Being silly with his mama

On Sunday we had a swim meet against the Boat Club.  Lawrence got to assume his role as the "Voice of the Hurricanes", and the kids had fun swimming.  

Love my Hurricanes

The meet ended up being called early due to an incoming storm, but this actually worked out well because I needed to have John up to Country Lake for camp by 6:30 that night.  He was so excited to bunk with his buddy Daniel, and when I picked him up on Wednesday he couldn't quit talking about how much fun he had.  He loved every minute of it and can't wait until next year when he can go for a whole week.

Happy campers

While John was away, we celebrated Meme and Papa's June and July birthdays with dinner at Corbett's.  Lawrence had to miss it because of football practice (he's coaching this year!), but we enjoyed having a delicious five course meal.  

Happy 69th!  

This week football and field hockey both start up in full swing, and I feel the summer racing by.  Sarah and I bought her high school uniforms last week, and I know school will be starting in the blink of an eye.  Gotta keep checking things off our summer bucket list!