handsful

Ridiculously behind.

Sorry.

Can’t believe Summer is over!  How did THAT happen?  We’re in school mode, with the big kids beginning their Mitchell CC classes tomorrow.  We will begin a couple of things with Lainey and Dylan this week, with their official start on August 24th.

So, what DID we do this summer?  Testify concerts, Testify tour, summer day camps, Acrofitness day camps, 5 birthdays, two kids got their braces off, family and friend visits, a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, sewing camps, boating time, sleepovers…

I realize that’s a lot to include in one blog post.  But, time is of the essence.  So below are some snapshots of some of the above.  I’ll add the rest in another post.

Enjoy :)

Remember last year?  When all 3 of my prom-going kids went to the SAME prom?

Not this year.

Ethan and Kailee’s prom was last weekend.  Abbey and Daniel’s was last night.  And, Payton and Elaina’s is May 2nd.

So, here are pics from Prom #1.

They attended an area homeschoolers prom (same one as last year).  We met Kailee and her family at a friend’s lake house for pics.

But, first, a shot of the handsome guy at our house.  He makes a blue tux look good, eh?

The hug hello…

Boutounneire’s are tricky business.  I’m never sure if I’m spelling that right.

Ethan has the easy part…velcro instead of straight pin

The lovely couple

They’re such a cute couple.

Happy Prom season…

We have a houseful of 16 year olds now.

Eeek.

They take their driving tests end of August.

Why do I complain about all the driving I do?  Soon I’ll just be worrying about all my kids driving THEMSELVES everywhere.

Birthday dinner…with family and friends.

They elected to skip a party this year…wanting instead to go on trips with us.  I took Marley and two of her friends to Hilton Head for a weekend.

Pics of that to come later…

The boys and Randy went to Boone to hike and white water raft.

Both trips went great…special memories made for all of us.

And, this concludes our July birthdays for 2014!

How’s that for a creative title? Maybe not…

A couple of weeks ago, Abbey, Marley, and Ethan had their voice recitals. They’ve been taking lessons from Mrs. Susan, who is also the director for Testify.

They chose two songs, one was their choice of any song, and the other had to be an older song prior to 1990. Footloose (old version), It’s a Wonderful World, and Desperado were A, M and E’s choices. Loved it!

The whole group did an impromptu version of Let It Go…I especially loved watching Ethan suffer through that!

Two days later, it was Father’s Day. The kids had a concert that morning, and then it was all about Randy. What did he wanna do?

A little lake time.

It was a perfect afternoon on the water, just what he wanted.

It’s that time of year.

The weather is turning warmer (finally), the pollen is beginning to build up, allergies are flaring up, my lilies are peeking out of the ground…and, teenagers are busy renting tuxes, buying dresses, getting their hair and nails done, and posing for tons of pictures.

In fact, three of my teens did just that last night…attended our local homeschool prom.

And we’ve spent the last few weeks getting ready for it.  After a relatively quick search, we found Abbey’s dress, shoes, and jewelry.  We rented the boys tuxes from a gentlemen’s clothing store downtown, ordered corsages and boutonnieres (am I the only one who can’t spell that without checking first?), and spent the day of the prom taking Abbey for a mani/pedi and a beautiful up-do.

Hope you enjoy the pictures…

The boys were ready first (shocking, right?).  I told them I wanted a picture of them in the doorway.  This is what they gave me.  Goofballs.

Yes, I’m that short.  I don’t mind…I’ve got two very handsome boys.

And then, Abbey was ready.  She looked stunning!  Her boyfriend, Daniel, was already at the house waiting.  Before taking pictures with him, I wanted a quick sibling shot.

We then drove to a park to meet the boys dates, and their friend Trevor and his date, to take photos.

Flower time…

Here’s EJ and Kailee

And, Payton and Elaina

Abs and Daniel

Ladies

Gentlemen

Because this is Abbey’s Senior Prom, here are a few extra shots :)

That title might be misleading.

We’re not celebrating 45 of anything…just 3 kids turning 15 :)

Warning:  I’m gonna sound like a mom here.

I can’t believe they’re 15?  I look back at pictures of them when they were babies (and Randy and I were bleery-eyed parents, who slightly acknowledged each other as we passed in the hall…), and wonder where the time went.  In some ways, those baby days were eons ago.  But, at the same time, it’s flown by…

With 5 birthdays so close together, we decided to do a combo-dinner for all of them.  But, how would we EVER get them to agree on ONE place?  Once we thought of a day trip to Boone (Randy’s idea, actually), having dinner at the Dan’l Boone Inn was easily agreed upon.  Nothing like having bowls and plates of delicious (healthy?  eh…) southern food placed in front of you, with promises of more if we just ask.  It’s hard to leave there hungry.  Impossible, really.

So, we left that morning for Boone, and our first stop was the Mast General Store.  Love that place, and they have barrels and barrels of old fashioned candy.  Given I have a sweet tooth (or two), I have to restrain myself.  But, I did come away with a bag of jaw breakers and a couple of sugar daddys.  Yum.  The other kids chose a few favorites, and they we decided to attempt a trip to Linville Falls.

I say attempt, because it’s done nothing but rain lately and the skies looked a little angry.

We started down the trail, and noticed that everyone else seemed to be going the other direction.  Hmmm.

Payton had the camera, and was snapping pictures of everything.

This lone yellow leaf really spoke to him…

Dark clouds turned into thunder, and then some sprinkles.

Back to the van for us.  Just in time, too, it started raining hard.  We decided to bag the idea of sight seeing and head to the restaurant.

We had to wait outside, in line (typical for this place) and ended up meeting a family with 5 adopted children from China.  As we talked, we both realized that we follow each other’s blog.  Actually, hers was one of the first ones I ever followed, even before we were matched with Lainey.  Meeting them was one of those sweet God surprises.

No pictures of us eating.  I mean, who has time to take pictures when you’re eating salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, fried chicken, biscuits, baked apples, ham biscuits, corn, slaw, and a choice between three desserts?  Not us, that’s who.

After dinner, we walked…with difficulty…outside for some picture taking.

All the birthday kids.  Posing with a bear.  Of course.

They have a party with their friends planned in a couple of weeks.  They have no idea what they’re doing, but they keep telling me they’re working on it.  We’ll see.

Happy Birthday, Marley, Payton, and Ethan!  We love you!

I know, I know…I’m almost 3 weeks behind in getting Marley, Payton, and Ethan’s birthday blog up. But, despite my continued camera / memory card / photo issues, I’m gonna get it up here. We’ve got plans to possibly trade in our cameras for a newer, better, and easier to use camera soon. And, we need new memory cards badly…as evidenced by the complete LOSS of photos that I took today while on the boat. Trying to let that one go…

I know, I know…I’m almost 3 weeks behind in getting Marley, Payton, and Ethan’s birthday blog up. But, despite my continued camera / memory card / photo issues, I’m gonna get it up here. We’ve got plans to possibly trade in our cameras for a newer, better, and easier to use camera soon. And, we need new memory cards badly…as evidenced by the complete LOSS of photos that I took today while on the boat. Trying to let that one go…

Taken today, with my Iphone. The triplet pics I took ON their birthday were “eaten” by my memory card.

They’ve aged SO much in this last year. They’re all (yes, all…) taller than I am now. Payton is quite a bit taller than the other two.

Are they even the same kids?!? Especially Payton!! Time is flying…

But, they’re still goofy. Always will be, I hope.

For their party, they chose roller skating and then a movie/sleepover at the house afterwards.

Marley, far left. Payton on right. These were taken with…yes, my Iphone. I’ll stop complaining eventually.

Can’t remember how many friends that attended, but we needed our big van, our friend’s mini van, and Randy’s landcruiser to get them all back to the house :)

Marley will just love this shot…

I think that girl in the back is wanted by the authorities. Heh.

Ethan looks miserable, surrounded by three girls huh?

Lainey and Dylan’s first time skating…they were out there nearly the whole time and did great!

Quite a crew

After making the trek back to our house, the kids all crashed in the living room to watch present-opening.

His favorite junk food…someone knows him well.

Yes, we had three cakes. Marley chose marble cake with butter cream frosting…Ethan wanted a cookies and cream ice cream cake…Payton wanted my apple dumplings!

Yes, we sang the song THREE times.

Randy, as usual, took the night shift with the kids and they all spread out to watch a movie until late! Sleepover (not much sleep was had!) and then the party was over as parents poured in the next morning.

Happy 14th birthday, Marley, Payton, and Ethan!