Summer Has Started!!

Summer has started with a bang at our house. Starting with a week of VBS at our church for the kids. They had a blast. This was the first year that I was not able to help out and I sorely missed being a part of it.

To say my kids were excited about VBS would be an understatement. I really don't think either of them slept much the whole week just because of how excited they were to get to go the next day again. It wasn't with out a  little bit of fuss though. As I went to drop them off that first day Bug found out much to her and her best friend Avery's horror that they were to be in separate groups. Avery was to be in Kindergarten and Bug with the 1st and 2nd graders. They are both the same age but I had put Bug in the 1st grade group since that is the grade she had done at home with us as opposed to the grade she should have been in had she been in public school. Epic Mommy fail! They survived though I guess there was a "serious talk about their friendship surviving".

While they were enjoying learning all about 1 Peter 3:15 and what it means to discover, decide, defend, I was at the Classical Conversations Practicum learning grammer, dialectic and rhetoric. It was interesting and got me excited to start in August!

On Friday the 13th it was Caden's 8th birthday!!!! I can't believe me lil' man is 8. It's crazy crazy crazy. He decided he wanted to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel, go fishing at rookery bay, have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese which his daddy was able to meet us at for a bit. Then he and Grandma and Honey headed home. When his daddy got home they headed to the park and played some basketball. Dinner was at Red Lobster then cake at the house and presents and finally bed! It was a LOOOONG day.

If you noticed I said that Caden went home with Grandma and Honey. That would be because Bug and I had to leave from Chuck E. Cheese to head to her dress rehearsal on the other side of town. I had done her hair in the morning praying it would stay. I got her dressed and did her make up in the school bathroom with another little girl and her mom (because I am not the only one that was running around that day) and fixed her hair a little and we were good to go. Rehearsal took 2 hours and she did great. The girl loves the stage. She actually had been thinking about giving up dance but while we were gearing up for the show she said "Mommy I just don't think I can give up the stage!" She gets that from my sister because it definitely doesn't come from me or Joe.

Saturday was Bug's recital day and she did really well. She loved it! She already is asking when dance starts again and thinking about what her costume with look like next year.

Caden started Basketball Camp this week. This is a big thing because I have never signed the kids up for any camp before and never left them anywhere that wasn't church, family, or friends that we knew well. Also a big deal because this is the first thing he has shown a real interest in. I thought he would be nervous but NOPE left me in the dust after I signed him in with a "bye mom love you" I won't lie. I had a moment driving away where I wanted to turn the car around and go and get him back out of the camp and say he couldn't stay. Only because I missed him. I figure this is what a mom taking their child to school for the first time feels like. Having never experienced this before it was pretty crazy. So now to all those moms that had to deal with this when your child was in kindergarten I AM SO SORRY!

Anyway he loves camp and gets up each morning ready to go and is sad that tomorrow is his last day. Me? I am not so sad about that.

This post is really long and I am sorry but like I said we have started summer with a bang!

 Bug and her friend Madelyn

 Their VBS verse

 His birthday morning picture!

 Last day of VBS and being a 7 yr old picture

 last day of ballet

Building fun electric stuff with daddy with birthday present from Auntie Heidi and Uncle David

Little Fish

Here are some pics of what the kids enjoy more than anything else

 the kids with Anna

 Caden's little friend Alyssa and him playing in the waves (these two are like dolphins)

 Bug and Ally doing what they enjoy most about beach days

And now that this post is over we are heading outside to....yep SWIM!!!!

Our new addition to the family

The kids and I have been wanting a puppy for awhile now and Joe had decided we should wait till we get back from vacation this summer. Well me being me couldn't help but look on Craigslist every day just to see what kind of puppys were out there. You know I was just looking what harm could come from that right?

Yea most of you know me pretty well and know this was definitely a mistake. I can't look at cute animals and not immediately want to buy it, save it, love it. I was good though I knew we couldn't have one yet. So I scanned the animals everyday and would fall in love with all the cuteness and want to rescue the rescued ones without asking Joe if we could buy it...until this one day when there was a ad for Chug/Min Pin mixes. See Joe had told me there was no way we were going to have a big dog because our house is too small. He also said he wanted a Min Pin but they are too expensive. This was a little, a Min Pin mix, AND cheap!! Seriously how could I not send Joe the picture of the puppy while he was at work so that he would fall deeply in love with it.

Needless to say...

Meet Fancy Nancy

(Bug named her after her favorite books)

 She was the runt of the litter and only was 1lb when we got her she now is almost 4lbs

 Jubilee wasn't really a fan but she is coming around

 Notice the bling and the dress? Yea Bug is in puppy heaven

 Caden loves cuddling with her

And Joe well he pretty much spoils her rotten

 Kids taking her for a walk (she has a lot of energy she really needs her walks)

We got her the day before she turned 8 weeks old she is now 3 months old and will be 4 months on the 29th. Yep her and my beautiful Livi share a birthday which is good because i would never remember the puppy's birthday otherwise.



lets try again

Okay so I kinda stink at keeping up with the whole blog thing. Oh well!!! Let's try again.

Last time I posted it was after my Birthday and it was about going to visit my amazing sister and her family. This time it is about her visiting us! YAY!!! I love when they come to Florida. We had a great time. My kids were beyond excited to see Anna and Brielle (ok mostly Anna since she is the same age as them but Brielle was able to play more this time too). It was filled with swimming, food, games and of course shopping!

Heidi is going to her bro-in-laws wedding soon and wanted the perfect dress. This means she had an idea in her head of what it would look like and we needed to try on lots of stuff till she found the one that spoke to her. I have been shopping with her like this since we were kids so I was ready. What was the most fun though is that our girls have both been watching a lot of Say Yes to The Dress and have become fashion critics. We let them pick out dresses for both of us and then they gave their fashion opinion. They are adorable and sassy to say the least. In the end Heidi found 2 gorgeous dresses that look AMAZING on her and I got 2 also :)  I think my favorite part was that Heidi and I have very different taste but we both ended up with the same dress. It's ok though since she lives in TX and I am here no worries of showing up matching.

Joe and Dave bought a new Wii game at the beginning of the visit...Tiger Woods Golf. Need I say anymore as to where they were during our shopping experience and the rest of the visit? It was good for Joe as he has been working crazy hours still. He was able to unwind and really enjoyed their visit.

Then the stomach flu hit. It was ugly and miserable and it knocked everyone down but Joe, Dad, Brielle and Livi. At one point there were 6  of us down on the same day with it. The good thing though is that God was really good and Heidi, Dave and Anna were better the day they had to drive home. We were all praying hard on that one because it is a very long drive.

It was a bummer though because Anna wasn't able to have her Ball so I guess we will be having a Christmas Ball when they come down again.

The other fun thing is that Caden finished Kindergarten <3 Classical Conversations came to an end at pretty much the same time as he finished he Math K book and other Kindergarten books. We are moving on to 1st grade soon as his new workbooks get here. I was beyond excited last night at the book sale because I got all his new books for only 27.00 and then just had to order the workbooks for 2 of them. Seeing as how even one of the new books I got him would have been around 90.00 each bought online I pretty much did a happy dance. Best part is that everything I got Bug can do with him since she finished the Kindergarten Math book too and I can work the other things to her level. YAY for used books!!!!

Well hopefully I will do better at keeping this updated now. We shall see!

It's been a Looooooong time

It's a new year and a lot has happened since the last time I got a chance to post. I don't think I will be able to remember everything that we did so I will just do recent stuff. First though the reason behind the big hiatus was our computer was busted and with the Geek Squad for over a month then life just got too busy for blogging.

First I am a proud new Auntie again!!!! Ms. Alivia Elaine Bronleewe was born Dec 29, 2011. Mom, the kids and I had just gotten to Texas that day and lil Livi decided to make her debut earlier than her scheduled time which was supposed to be the next day. She is gorgeous and I couldn't be happier to have that little girl have my middle name.This was the first time I was able to be there for the birth of any of my nieces and it was really special. I was incredibly excited and I am so glad I was able to be there when Heidi got back from the hospital. Those new born snuggles are priceless!! It was so much fun getting to spend time with my nieces!!! Anna is a star and rules  Texas with a sparkly mircophone and a crown atop her head and Brielle is little dancing queen that adores tutus and baby dolls (don't let that angel face full you though she isn't a push over she has enough of her Auntie in her to stand on her own two feet). If you add my two to the mix you have quite the combo!!! Bug and Anna I think had to adjust a little to sharing the spot light since frankly Bug rules Florida with sparkly dancing shoes and a crown firmly in place but they were thick as theives and put on some hilarious shows. Caden is a go with the flow kinda kid and of course the only available Prince Charming so was in very high demand. There was many tears when it came time to leave and the count down has already started for when they will all see eachother again. <3

While we were in TX my lil man got a cold. That turned into a sinus infection. That didn't go away after two rounds of antibiotics. Which then after that turned into pneumonia. That final diagnosis was a week and a half ago and he is doing better now thankfully. The good thing is that he was in good mood through all of this and never really lost much energy. Actually the pneumonia kinda took me by surprise except that his cough had turned funky sounding he hadn't really slowed down much. He was still not taking a nap but was going to bed at 6p.m. which is very early but when he is not feeling well not uncommon for him.

While we were in Texas Caden asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. It was a huge moment. He was so excited and couldn't wait to come home and tell everyone. We ended up having to miss church though because he was sick for a while and finally he got to go one sunday and he told Pastor Hixon. I was so proud of Caden because usually Caden is very shy and it is like pulling teeth to get him to talk to people. Pastor Hixon likes to speak to the kids before they walk forward and get baptized to make sure they really understand what they prayed and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus so Caden and us went into his office 2 weeks ago and Caden was a little chatter box! I was a little shocked. My little boy is getting so grown up. Anyway Caden wanted to get baptized right away so we set it up for the following sunday. That was the week we found out about the pneumonia though and we had to reschedule...twice. Now that he is doing better it is back on and will be this Sunday!! Caden is super super excited about it.

I am now in my last year of my twenties! I don't know why but my birthday is still just like it was when I was a kid. I count down to it. I wake up several times the night before and the morning of is super exciting. People call to sing Happy Birthday, the facebook messages, the fun texts and cards. I mean really it is so much fun!!!! When you have kids it is even more awesome because you get to see on their little faces how much they want to help you have a good birthday. We went to IHop for breakfast, Red Robin for lunch and then Il Primo for dinner and shopped in between. According to Caden it was the best birthday ever and he wants to do the exact same thing for his. I guess my food choices were right there with a 5 year olds hehehe. My hubby had to work A LOT! so he is going to take me out some time soon for a great date night when his work load gets lighter. I told him that is fine it is like stretching my birthday out over into March which is when his birthday is so I get to keep celebrating with him : ) We also get to go out thanks to Aunt Jan and Doug still for Valentines day at Cheese Cake Factory because we saved our giftcard from christmas like we always do. So thank you guys!!!!

About Joe working so much please pray for him. His one supervisor is having to work in ft myers the past few weeks and it looks like he will be there for quite a while. While this supervisor is in ft myers that means that Joe is carrying the load of a full time super on his part time schedule. He worked about 39 hours last week and he is supposed to only work 20 to 25. He is tired but doing well and he actually enjoys the job. A lot of big wigs are watching him right now seeing if he can handle the job for possible promotions in the future. So please just remember to pray for him that he would remember to seek Gods will, not lose his cool under the pressure, make wise decisions and have energy. Also pray for me so I would have a good attitude as I want to support him and not be snippy when he tells me he won't be getting home till 11 or will be working on a day he was supposed to have off. I may have done that this last week (insert red shame face here) He told me I didn't but I felt like I did.

The Weekend

Friday Joe didn't have to work because of the holiday. We LOVE it when he is off and this day was even better because it worked out the best way possible. My mom had to have some surgery on her veins and I was taking her. Joe is such an amazing Daddy. He took the kids out to breakfast at IHop before taking them to the Letter Club (yep he played Mommy for the morning) and joined my friends at the park. I have the say my friends were really impressed that he brought the kids and said their husbands wouldn't have done it. The kids had a great time and he scored major points with their friends too by doing all the cool stuff at the park that only dads do. By the time they got home for lunch and I got home with mom even Bug was telling me what a great time she had. She is a total Mommy's girl and wasn't all that sure about her Daddy taking her Mommy's place that day but he won her over. Caden of course didn't have to be won over he is all about his Dad.

Mom did good with her surgery though she was sore. She is able to walk around and all which is very good she just can't over do and can't stand still she has to keep the circulation going. I have to keep an eye on her she is queen of trying to push the envelope on seeing just how much she can do before it is too much.

Anyway So Joe ended up having to go to work Friday night and Saturday but he got overtime which is good for this time year so God is good! We had a great time though when he got home. Caden and I went to the Library while he was at work on Saturday (Caden has discovered that he really can read he doesn't have to just read from his lesson book) but Bug decided to stay with Grandpa and Grandma and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas for like the zillionth time and yet another cooking show. I figure if she keeps watching all these cooking shows by the time she is tall enough to reach the top of the stove I will never have to cook another meal again.

Sundays are Church and then Bronco Football!!!! I have decided I do not like 1p.m. games. They mess up my day. It was a mad rush from church to Costco to the pizza place to try and get home in time for kick off and I had a coupon for Sunday only for a store and I had to go grocery shopping still too for the week. The kids were not happy about having to miss part of the game for naps and I had to leave at half time for all the things I had to get done. It was really inconsiderate of the football people to do that to us. Broncos won though!!!!! Browns lost : (

Caden's science project he is working on

racing Daddy

 I was gone at this point of the game see what happens when I am not around!

My Fishing Man

Caden has been asking to go fishing for a while now and since the weather has turned cooler my mom and I decided to take him. Before it was just too hot for me mostly because Bug has no intention of ever fishing and she has NO intention of touching a worm or shrimp and she has NO intention of sweating. Since I am the one that has to deal with the little princess while my mom gets to enjoy the boy and fish and I really didn't want to miss his fishing experience we waiting till I thought she wouldn't complain about sweating.

I have to point out that this pattern of one child enjoying fishing while the other has a strong aversion to it runs in the family.

As it turns out it was a PERFECT morning!!! Caden didn't catch anything but he had quite a few bites which was just as exciting as him actually catching a fish in his opinion. He was cute as could be with his fishing pole and the look of anticipation on his face. We got to see a bald eagle fly over us with a fish in his clutches. This excited both kids as it is Grandpas favorite bird and as a result Caden's too. I have to say God really blessed the trip it was beautiful out and we had a shady spot it was a little breezy too! Bug actually ended up having just as good of a time as everyone else pretending that the dirt, shells and sticks were food and cooking tools and she was making her own cooking show.  I didn't get to fish because I didn't buy my license yet but next time I will definitely be fishing too!!!

Here are a few pictures