At any given moment, Reece has about 18 things going on.  She’s an athlete and she also loves to sing, dance around, and tumble for hours.  Her elementary school offers an option to do special chorus for 4th & 5th graders and of course she wanted to do it!  She even wrote an essay to be part of the leadership team.  Of course she did.  This is what Reece does!  We’re a couple months in now and it’s taken it’s toll.

 

Those early morning practices and extra retreats are about to do her in.  Plus she’s learning the recorder (aka devil’s flute) and is determined to pass all the levels as quickly as possible.  If she doesn’t pass soon with her ‘black belt’ this family is going to LOSE IT.  We’ve already been telling her to go outside to practice or get in the closet!

Never underestimate Reece Conley, she will pass these levels even if she has to pull all-nighters for a week!

We had our first chorus concert and we couldn’t even see her face for a second.  UGH!  We were all looking forward to the concert because she is generally a very animated performer.

somehow Aunt Jenn was able to capture this photo…at least you can tell she’s actually in the choir and it’s not just a stand-in.

I signed Morgan and Jenn to sell Manchester Park sunglasses after the show for a fundraiser.  I’m sure they were thrilled…those two are usually up for anything.

I can assure you, these little choir kids are practicing really, really hard because they were chosen to perform at KMEA in February.  I hope Reece can make it!  Her schedule is a BEAST.

Even though we couldn’t see her, we are certain she did a great job!  She always has a fan club…we are just thankful that Brian didn’t change his business trip to be there, he would’ve been a tad bit irritated!

More to come…

Awwww I used to love snow days.  I remember the feeling when my mom would get the call first because she was the school secretary.  This call would be on a land line (like a phone with an actual cord attached to a phone line in the wall!)  Mom had to start the calling tree to all the teachers and then I got to use the phone to call Lisa, my best friend.  It was a glorious feeling!

I still love snow days because I can imagine my kids feeling that same sense of excitement.  However, it also means my normal day is derailed a bit and I won’t get anything done on my list.  That’s a definite drawback.

We got a ton of snow in a short time and as we were heading to the store to get our gifts for the family we adopted, we got the notification.  Within minutes, Drew was already invited to a sleepover and Jake was making a plan for his friends to come over.  There it begins….staying up late, eating junk food, and pulling out the bins of snow clothes.

Party Pizzas.  How in the world can I let my kids eat these things!?  They have to be top on the list of the most horrible processed foods ever made.  My boys LOVE them and so do their friends.  YIKES!

Reece was ditched by her brothers, so she did her own thing and started snow boarding in the back yard.  I love a kid that will just take matters into their own hands and rock it.  I had her bundled to the max but before long, she was shedding clothes and building ramps for herself.  She gave up snowboarding last year but I’m wondering if this might spark an interest again?

Here are a few video clips—I’m doing this from the warmth of my house of course.  It was COLD!

In the meantime, Jake is at the Falcon Valley Golf Course hill – a hot spot for sledders.  When I passed by, they were putting on actual snow skis.  Hmmm….seems like a bad idea but most of them are when you’re a teenage boy.  They had built ramps for all to enjoy and I was driving all around town getting stuck on slick roads from time to time.

Reece’s girl scout troop even got their holiday party in, complete with ornament and cozy sock exchange!  Yay!Drew’s soccer team braved the extreme temps to serve the community being Salvation Army bell ringers!  I love this.We don’t let snow keep us from doing anything apparently.  We also got our Christmas cookies started.  We tried to take a short cut and ended up with Christmas crackers!This must be the season of “fails” because our fudge wasn’t up to our normal standards either and when we tried to go see Santa, his line was too long so we had to mail our letters and leave!  Ugh!

Don’t worry, Santa, we’re still coming!  We’re just trying to find a time that all 6 of us are in the same place at the same time before December 25th.

After Morgan took the ACT and a couple soccer games, we hit the road for Pittsburg.  We spent a wonderful day with my Grammy and family…we were down 2 of course due to basketball games.  Go figure.

We are officially one week away from Christmas day and we are gearing up to celebrate in various ways with friends and family and we are so excited.  The Christmas crackers, the non-creamy fudge, the lost Christmas letters….it will all be ok.  Sometimes the Christmas season isn’t always perfect, but it’s our perfect this year, and we’re still smiling.  Here are a few of our holiday memories so far!

 

 

There’s 6 inches of snow on the ground, it’s 25 degrees, and I’m sitting in my office in my winter coat and space heater practically on my lap.  My office sits above the garage and it’s FREEZING.  I’m going to try to tough it out so I can share this post about Drew.

Drew LOVES KU basketball.  I think he likes to pave his own way and try something different than the rest of the family.  A rebel, I guess.  Maybe just in regards to his love of KU, because he’s actually not a rebel at all.  He’s the sweetest kid around!

We signed him up to be a ball kid at Allen Fieldhouse again this year and he was selected for the East Tennessee State game.Luckily we have connections for less popular game tickets and we sat a few rows off the court (thank you Don!!) Look how close we are!We had amazing view, however, the best seat was the one he had right there on the hardwoods.  It’s definitely worth all the sweeping!Check out this cute video clip of the warm up.  He was in heaven being so close to those players! 

Brian was sitting behind me with his arms crossed, meanwhile I was cheering for KU and ended up on the big screen waving my arms in excitement in Allen Fieldhouse and on TV.  FAMOUS!  Brian didn’t even get a picture of it.  boo!  And this isn’t the first time I was famous!  Remember when Morgan and I ended up on TV for being model baseball fans at Drew’s game!?

Apparently they were doing a news story on how crazy spectators get at youth sports games and we caught the attention of the camera for having fun and not yelling/losing our cool at other parents/umps etc.  That’s how we roll…just happy to be there to support!  No crazy behavior here.  That ended up being Drew’s last few games of baseball and as much as I will miss it, because he is wickedly smart about the sport, the pace of play is just not for him.

He is now on two basketball teams and just won his first tournament with his GABL Futures team.  Way to go Drew!

Just the day before Drew got to be a ball kid, he was chosen to be part of the assembly at school with KC Wolf!  This kiddo was having an amazing week.  It couldn’t have happened to a better guy, he’s wild about sports and also a great student.  I think he’s fitting right into middle school and winning the hearts of all the teachers. 

Luckily a friend of mine is a teacher there and sent me the pictures and a video clip…

He did say it was a little smelly in there!  Drew says some of the greatest things ever.  Just ask my family, we can laugh forever.  And the best part is, he isn’t trying to be funny or sweet or charming.  He just is!  This week I was giving him trouble for always wearing the same shirt and he said, “well, this is my cold and tired shirt.”  And who can argue with that?  When it’s early, you’re cold, and you’re tired, you just have that certain shirt that makes you feel better.  You go DREW…wear that shirt with pride…except it’s too small.  Let’s find a new “cold and tired” shirt!!

 

 

It’s December 2019.  This means Fall soccer is over and  we’re already into the indoor season!  Competitive soccer is a year-round commitment and with 4 kids that love the sport, I suppose you could refer to me as a “soccer mom,” but I’m not one for titles.  The truth is, I’m not a soccer mom.  I’m an all-sport mom, a laundry expert, a carpooler, errand-runner, appointment maker, proofreader, problem-solver, counselor, and just all-around ‘keep the ship afloat’ mom.  So yes, I LOVE to watch my kids play soccer but I also love to decorate, create, craft, exercise, learn about wellness, plant flowers, watch movies, go out to eat, spend time with friends & family, travel, write, read, organize, help others, and probably a bunch of other things too!  This might be news to my kids even though these have been hanging on the wall since their births,I was always very committed to excelling in school, got two college degrees in 5 years, had a career at Hallmark for 15 years, and here I am now not titling myself in any fashion, but hoping to excel in this phase of life and document a little bit.  A large part of me hopes my kids follow in my footsteps in regards to education and as always, I want to set an excellent example for them.  We could have a future wildcat in the house!!

Back to soccer!!  While these cuties were enjoying the football game in Lawrence, I was in St. Louis with Reece for a soccer tournament.  I’m a professional soccer tournament attender now.  My bags practically pack themselves!  Reece’s team is wonderfully talented and made it to the championship game.  We came home with finalists medals instead of champions but we enjoyed the weekend together.  The girls had an extra room to hang out in “the she shed” and parents went crazy in the lobby.  It’s really not about soccer at all and more about the parents having a wild weekend — wait, did I say that!?

When they weren’t playing soccer, they were watching soccer!  What the heck is wrong with these 8-9 year olds!?And I missed half the championship game standing in line for a shirt that Reece doesn’t even like that much…oh for the looooove.

In regards to this season, they finished with 12 wins, 5 losses and 3 ties.  They scored 59 goals and conceded 37.  They went 5-3 in league, won the CSI and finished second in the MAG and SLSG Fall Classic.  I don’t actually know these stats, people, this comes from the head coach who is absolutely obsessed with soccer and emails us multiple times a day (we love you, Chris)!  I’m not a stats keeper at all!!  But I do want to share this quote from the coach, “The competition they faced I assure you is the finest I have seen in all my years at this age of player.  The level of play is so much higher than it was even five years ago it is truly amazing to me.”  And here are a few more pics from the fall season…

Meanwhile, Drew at the old age of 11, has been playing on two soccer teams and 3 leagues and a new competitive basketball team.  He’s played in a million games (one Wichita tourney) and I don’t even have many pictures!  Maybe it’s because I’m just constantly worried about if he has on the right uniform or he’s at the right soccer complex, or even playing the right sport!?  His primary team (2008 MLS) has a new coach and everyone is adjusting.  Instead of doing tournaments, he opted to play in two leagues 9v9 and 11v11.  That’s a LOT of running.  Thankfully Drew is good at that!

 

 

 

Jake has had a bit of a hiatus from his team.  Since a majority of his teammates were playing on their high school teams, he has been practicing with his old team.  However, they are now back together and played in the HIT tourney in November.  They came up with finalists medals which is quite good considering they have not been practicing together for a few months.  These guys are always fun to watch!

 

Morgan started in a new club after being part of the Fusion family since 3rd grade…wow!  Change is GOOD!  With the exception of having to buy and entirely new uniform kit….eek!   She loves her new coach and is enjoying a new number, new friends, and new challenges.  GO MOMO!

So there you have it…lots of soccer memories!  We’re moving on to basketball/indoor soccer/futsal season.  More to come!

 

It’s always a whirlwind around here.  As I sit here in my office for the first time in weeks.  I’m looking around at stacks of stuff that I want to go through and sort into memory boxes.  For Jake’s 14th birthday, I remolded his room and still have all of this piled in my office now…

How did this happen!?  Isn’t that the way it goes for moms?  We spend our time making everything great for others and we get what is left over!  In my case, it’s a messy office full of stuffed animals and baby bedding I can’t part with.  I guess it’s not a bad thing to always put others first, but if I don’t get a handle on this soon, I’m going to be overtaken by piles in here.

What started out as a harmless trip to Target to get a birthday balloon in the dollar aisle ended up with an idea to remodel and cart overflowing with stuff.  This is the way I do things sometimes – just ask my family or my neighbor, Kim, she crossed paths with me that day in Target and I don’t think it even phased her that I ended up at the paint store an hour later.

My Jakers was leaving for the weekend with a friend – what an awesome surprise!

After 24 hours, it looked like this – with the help of my amazing side-kick, Morgan, of course.  And Brian, who said he would NOT be a part of it, ended up putting on a second coat of paint for me.  I love it when my peeps actually embrace my ideas.  My dad has said when I put my mind to something, I go for it.  He’s right.  And look at my super handsome birthday boy!The first thing he said was….where are all my trophies!?  Here we are in December now and they are still in a plastic bin in the garage.  It’s on my to-do list to get some of those back in there.
In the meantime, he passed his drivers permit test on the first try, we pulled off any amazing football-themed celebration, and he played football for the first time since he was in grade school.  I would say this guy is living it up right!

I love this guy so much, it’s hard to even describe.  He is an annoying teenager that wants to spend most of his time with friends right now, he loses everything that’s not strapped down to his body, and he eats like an animal, but I know his warm, kind heart is still in there!  It’s just a phase of life and I’m determined to be a part of it.  Jakers, keep being your charming, funny, & smart self.  YOU ARE LOVED!

Awwwww….I really want to go back to the days when Jake asked for a Rainbow Loom for his birthday!!  Remember the “rainbow loom” craze!?  We found this in the closet and it brought a smile to all of our faces.

I can’t wait to see what my Jakers accomplishes in the year ahead!  One thing is for sure, he is no longer in youth-sized clothing or shoes and he can set his chin right down on the top of my head with ease.  He’s really making me look short 😉