Tap, tap, tap...

 ...is this thing on?

I'm feeling quite proud of myself that I didn't let an entire year pass before posting again!

I used a similar title after not blogging for quite a while in 2017, so why not post a link to that?! (Click here to read that post.)

It's funny and strange to read what was going through my head six years ago, which is why I appreciate the blog so much in the first place!

Also funny: I mentioned a "fear" of technology in the 2017 post as a reason (ahem, excuse) for not posting for a while...wouldn't you know that's my same excuse today? Last summer we bought my very first laptop (I'm nearly 40 years old and have never owned a laptop!), and while it is a fantastic machine and MUCH faster than my desktop computer...I never made time to learn how to access my pictures (to post on the blog) from my new laptop. And my slow desktop computer took so long to upload pictures...see my predicament?!

Well. It took less than five minutes this morning to learn how to access my pictures from my new (now one-year old) laptop. Ahem.

Here are a couple of pictures to make this post more exciting:

Easter (it was COLD!)

Mother's Day (not cold -- sunny)

Pool (Sydney and Ruthie -- in case you don't recognize them)

Lorelei, Sydney, and Ford looking like teenagers (I guess Sydney is one)

Monster (thinking he looks svelte in this picture)

I have no idea why there are so many things on the floor in the above picture, but there you have it.

Time to wake up Sydney, Lorelei, and Ford. It's summer, but we still keep some semblance of a schedule.

Friday

Well, we had a whirlwind of a week, mostly involving me shuttling Sydney and Lorelei to and from the high school each morning and afternoon for basketball camp.

In addition to camp, we closed on (sold) our condo Monday, and decided to paint Sydney's and Lorelei's room (which we really, REALLY didn't have time for, but there's no going back now). Ford also did a ton of chores so he could buy himself a new Lego set.

Condo Closing (Sydney was at a camp)

Half-Painted Room (the blue is the new color)

Hard Worker

I hope you had a great week! Tomorrow (Saturday) I have an all-day homeschool seminar, during which Chet will hopefully continue painting the girls' walls. Sunday after church we will pack Sydney for church camp (she leaves Monday and returns Friday).

Hello, June (and some April pictures)!

June is off to a good start -- the kids and I went to the neighborhood pool, gymnastics (Ruthie), and the library. Ruthie and I also picked up a (blue) paint sample for Sydney and Lorelei's room, and painted swatches all over the walls, so there's no going back now.

On Good Friday we attended a service/performance at First Baptist Church Jacksonville. This is not the church we belong to, but our friends are members and very involved in the music ministry, so we often attend special performances to see them sing. I took this picture of the kids:

We took a family picture at our own church Easter Sunday (very, VERY early -- we all look sleepy, ha!):

After the service, Ruthie took her sweet time eating a donut whilst dancing:

 Chet and I didn't understand the term "slow eater" until Ruthie joined our family.

Happy Wednesday!

Goodbye, May!

May was an enjoyable month for our family. In addition to Mother's Day, my mom and SIX of my nieces and nephews had birthdays!

Speaking of nieces and nephews, during our recent trip to West Palm Beach our kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with their cousins. They all missed their North Carolina cousins (ALL the cousins were able to get together at Christmas), but they still had fun. 

We got back home yesterday (Monday) around 3 p.m. We unpacked quickly and washed a load of laundry, then went to our neighborhood pool for about an hour and a half before dinner.

Today we stayed home until we had to leave for Jiu Jitsu at 5 p.m. I reorganized some of my plants. My indoor plants only want to live in my closet (it DOES get the best light).

I also have a fiddle fig plant that only wants to live in the front room that we call the homeschool room. The room has a south facing window, which means that it's also the window where Monster's cat tree MUST to go. We have become a crazy cat family, and therefore can't deprive our precious feline from a nap in the sunshine, as well as a view of the comings and goings of the neighborhood.

Clearly the cat and my plants are the bosses around here.

I hope you also had a great May -- on to June!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is when Americans honor and remember the brave men and women who died while serving our country.

The Daily Wire states that it is a solemn day (it is), and people may not know that it originated with Americans honoring those who lost their lives during the Civil War. (You can read the interesting article here.)

Here is the picture posted today on my USNA class's instagram page:

Sunday

Should I mention the elephant in the room (four months since my last post) (!!!), or just carry on as if no time has passed?

Carry on it is!

Here are some happenings since the end of January:

1) We added concrete pavers to either side of our driveway in order to widen it.

2) Sydney, Lorelei, and Ford finished basketball season (they played through the YMCA).

3) The kids and I visited Crystal River, FL with friends.

4) Ruthie turned 6-years old on March 6th.

5) Sydney, Lorelei, and Ford received a promotion in Jiu Jitsu.

6) Sydney and Lorelei both passed a difficult oral exam for school.

7) Sydney and Lorelei wrote and presented final papers for their afternoon language arts class.

8) The kids and I finished the school year with our homeschool group at the end of April.

9) To celebrate #7, the kids and I visited Legoland with many of our homeschool friends (also at the end of April).

10) Sydney, Lorelei, and Ford participated (virtually) in their (Mississippi) piano teacher’s spring recital.

11) Sydney visited her friend Lucy in Mississippi for a week. 

12) We drove south this weekend to visit Chet’s family for Memorial Day weekend.

More to come tomorrow (and pictures to accompany posts when I’m back on my desktop computer)!

Then End of January!

Normally I am not bothered by the long, cold month of January, because my birthday is the last day of the month.

Now that I'm an adult and my immediate family has FOUR January birthdays, January flies by even faster.

UNTIL THIS YEAR.

Seriously, it's felt 68 days long, and I'm glad to see February 1st arrive tomorrow. In fact, I took down the birthday paraphernalia Saturday and put out the Valentine decorations a few days early.

However, today was still a great day, spent with the kids (Chet is out of town!) doing schoolwork, and then taking them to Jiu Jitsu and basketball practices.

The only downside to the day was when Ruthie asked me if I was eighty-eight.

Chet took this of the kids and me Saturday night (he left for his trip Sunday morning):

Sydney and Lorelei cooked everyone breakfast, and served mine on our "You Are Special Today" plate:

Sydney doing schoolwork amidst the Valentine decorations:

Goodbye, January; welcome, February!