And I am back...

I am back to blogging and so excited because I just discovered a blogger app for my ipad.  I don't have much time during the day to blog anymore due to my job and the kids typically are using my laptop for homework in the evening.  Thus not much blogging has taken place....well, that and a super busy summer contributed to it as well.  

We are back to school here.  I will get some pictures posted soon...hopefully.  We have a 3rd grader, 5th grader, 7th grader and 8th grader this year.  Boys started back to football the week before school started.  They have been whipped the last couple of weeks!  Four days a week for two hours of football would whipped anyone especially since summer decided to make its appearance.

Summer was fun and full of travel this year.  We may have overdone the travel just a little bit, and that is saying a lot coming from me.  I LOVE to travel!  We started out with about two weeks in Florida at the beach.  It was a perfect way to start the summer.  Let's be honest, the beach is a perfect way to start anything.  We were back for two weeks and then the girls headed to camp.  They each did a specialty camp this year.  Sara did horseback riding for the second year and Ashley did drama.  They both said it was their best camp week yet at Timberlee. The day after we dropped them off at camp I went to Jordan for two weeks.  Wow!  Yes! Jordan the country.  That deserves several posts of its own.  The day after I left, the boys headed to my sister's house with my parents.  She now lives in the same state I do.  I know....still pinching myself that she is here in the Midwest.  If you are keeping track, yes, that means Joe was still at home...by himself...alone...in the quietness...and...very lonely according to him.  He was just by himself the first week fortunately. And we were super blessed that FaceTime worked great while I was in Jordan.  The second week I was gone, the girls came home and the boys went to their other grandparents.  Then I came home and a week later John headed to camp for the first time.  He LOVED it!  Then he came back, I headed to my annual Iowa visit for an overnight, and then football started, school started and BAM! Summer was over!  Whew!  You can catch your breath now.  We aren't going anywhere in awhile.  Well, we did travel to my sister's last weekend, but now we aren't planning on going anywhere.

I will leave you with the funniest thing I heard today.  Nathan was reviewing his science lesson for the day.  They watched a little Bill Nye.  He was explaining an air mass.  Nathan had all the hand motions and dramatics and in his best Zorro voice he announced the air mass's name.  It was "El Macho".  We stared at him briefly and then Joe asked him if he meant "El Niño"?  Oh yes, he said...that was the name.  I will always think of Nathan now whenever El Niño wreaks havoc on our weather.

July 4 2014

We had such a good time on the 4th this year.  I got a patriotic taste earlier in the week as I was called for jury duty.  As much as it is a pain and a disruption to life (and it certainly was this time!), sitting in the courtroom and listening to the judge and feeling the weight of my possible responsibility makes me feel very patriotic.  Fortunately, I did not get selected this time (apparently the defense lawyer for a man accused of child abuse doesn't want a mom of four and a daycare provider sitting on the jury; the man was convicted by the way.) One day I wouldn't mind doing my civic duty and sitting on the jury.  Anyway, all that to say, it was a patriotic week and a very patriotic day...I even made some apple pie!  We had some friends come over for the evening.  The kids ran around the yard while the adults and the teens played Kill the Overlord and King of Tokyo.  Somehow Sara ended up winning both games....still trying to figure that out!.  I let Sara have the camera for most of the evening so most of the shots can be contributed to her.

My beautiful friend Amy who is a photographer

trying to catch some fireflies

Vacation 2014

A week after school was out we packed up our van (and by packed, I mean you were lucky if you had a place for your feet) and headed south to the beach.  We have been to New Symrna Beach, FL a lot.  The first time Joe and I went was the summer before we got engaged when we joined his family for their first trip....so 19 years ago! It feels a little bit like a second home.  This trip was special in that we stayed for almost 2 weeks which Joe and I have never done.  We've always just been able to do a week. We were also joined by Joe's parents and his oldest sister Alissa.  We basically sat on the beach and did nothing.  It. was. great.  Okay, so maybe we did a few things....here's the highlights:

• Introduced the kids to Brisco County Jr.  
• Watched The Incredibles on the way home and felt like accomplished parents since the kids could quote all the great lines (No Capes!)  Watched The Princess Bride as well and quoted right along with it.
• Searched for sea turtles, but I think we were too early.  The beach where we stay is popular for sea turtles to come out at night and lay their eggs.  In the past we've been fortunate to actually witness this.
• Spent a day in St. Augustine exploring the oldest city in the U.S. and doing some shopping at one of the best Outlet Malls I've been to.
• Played Kill the Overlord more times then I can count
• There was word of a snake on the dunes between our condo and the beach.  If you know me, you know that made my walk to the beach a lot more adventurous then I had planned for it to be.  
• Nathan discovered hair glue thanks to his wonderful aunt.
• We hate driving through Tennessee.  This isn't new for us, but I thought worth mentioning.
• Joe and I both read 3+ books.  I think this broke some kind of vacation record for us.
• The kids taught me how to use a boogie board
• We perfected our football catching and throwing by some rousing games of monkey in the middle in the pool.
• We really can drive straight through without stopping at a hotel.  We were on a little bit of a time crunch when we returned home as we had to be back for a wedding.  So we thought we would give it a try.  We did it.  We couldn't walk very well by the time we got home and our hips were creaking and complaining, but we made it!
• The kids all saw dolphins for the first time and we enjoyed checking out the manatee as well.

Here are some pics:

the fort at St. Augustine

Father's Day at the Beach

A sand castle builder graciously let the boys help him

This is how I looked and where you could find me most of the week

I love these boys!

View from our condo

Whew...time to catch up....

Time for some bullet points on what has been going on in the Horn house.......

• I got my plants in the ground.  My kids love Brussels sprouts so when I was at the store and saw a box of them, I grabbed it and the other one too.  They were the last two so I figured I should grab them because I doubt that they are going to restock those.  It was only later when a friend pointed it out that I realized that I brought home 18 plants.  Yes...18.  I meant to purchase several, but not quite that many.  Hopefully, they freeze well.
• The boys have been arguing over who gets to mow the lawn.  It could have something to do with the fact that we are paying a little bit of money for it to get mowed.  Nahh...I am sure they are just being helpful and enjoy the accomplishment.
• Sara has a social studies teacher who enjoys quizzes and tests.  She has actually learned A LOT this year.  So have I as I am the designator "quizzor".  For example, did you know that before Springfield was the capital of Illinois there were two other cities that were.  Kaskaskia and Vandalia.  How do we remember "Vandalia" for the test?  It is an onion that drives a van.  Get it?  I thought that was one of my better memory triggers for her.....
• The winter was hard on us in more ways then one, but specifically it was hard on our waistlines.  I think we must have all just sat around and ate while it was freezing cold outside.  So we have been enjoying the outdoors and "enjoying" our current workout schedules.
• We've been hanging out in the school gym bleachers lately between concerts and award ceremonies. I have a tip for some of the others out there doing that.  Don't spend an hour planting your garden before you then go and sit in the bleachers at a band concert for almost two hours.  Your back will thank you if you take my advice.
• Speaking of awards, here's a summary of what my blessed and gifted children have earned this year:

• Both girls won "Unsung Hero Awards" from our local Optimist Club.  Sara was nominated by the sponsor of the Team TRRFC club at school and Ashley was nominated by her teacher Mr. Webb.  It was a great honor for both of them.
• Nathan won the Sparky award in AWANA for completing all three Sparky books.
• Sara won Outstanding Musician for the 7th grade for this year.
• Sara was also chosen as Honorary Usher for 8th grade graduation.  So proud of her for being selected.  You have to have the grades, character and be nominated by the teachers.  It is a great honor for her.

AWANA 2014

AWANA is over for the year.  The boys had an awards night.  John received his book award for finishing his 2nd TNT book.  He is well on his way to the Timothy award....he only has two more books to complete. Nathan received his Sparky award for completing all three books.  I can't believe I don't have any more Sparky kids.

Love this unprompted hug by the brothers after they got their awards. 

In the background of this one you can see our newly remodeled youth room

Scholastic Bowl spring 2014

Both the girls were able to be on the scholastic bowl team this spring.  Normally it is just 7th and 8th grade, but since Sara was the only 7th grader, they allowed the 6th graders to participate.  It was hard to get pictures during the matches because I was always afraid I would interrupt their concentration. So I had to settle for preparation for a match. They had a great year for it being their first year and they were basically a team of 6th graders going up against 7th & 8th graders. Next year they should have a phenomenal year.

Nathan's spring concert

 The second and third graders at Nate's school always do a spring concert.  I think this was the highlight of Nathan's 2nd grade spring.  He LOVES performing.  I was going to get a video of a cowboy dance number, but unfortunately, my battery ran out just as it started.  You will just have to trust me that it was epic.

An early spring hike

A few weeks ago (actually it may be longer than that.  I just realized it was before Easter) the boys and I went for a hike in the woods.  I grabbed my camera and took a few shots while we were out and about.

Solo and Ensemble 2014

The girls both performed solos for solo and ensemble contest last month.  They both earned 1st place rankings.  So here is Sara on the flute and Ashley on the oboe.

Winter in Pictures

Well, it has been a long winter.  But that has meant a lot of fun "snow days" filled with games, food, movies and relaxation.    Here's what we have been up to since November.....

This was the girls Christmas concert for band in December.  Love listening to them play!

This was the first of the mighty snow storms that we had blow thru our midwest town.  This one happened before the brutal cold set in so we were able to get out and enjoy it.  We helped build the boys some snow forts and then they enjoyed battling it out.  Later that afternoon it became apparent that I had come down with one of the many, many viruses that moved through our house this winter.  And it was a wretched one...ugh.

The younger three were able to participate in our church's pageant this year.  It was so fun.  John got to be Joseph, Nathan was a wiseman, and Ashley was part of the angel choir.  She helped keep the little angels still and passed the mic around.  I am so thankful for all the hardwork of everyone who led the pageant.  It was great!

Ahhhhh...Christmas.  One of the best days of the year.  We had a great Christmas this year hanging out at home with my parents.  This pics sum up our day.  Sara enjoying her new, fancy earphones, Ashley "crafting" with one of her new crafts, John-legos-of course!, and sweet Nathan enjoying his new bongos and his headlamp at the same time!

And this one was taken this last week during our brief warm up.  This kid had such fun playing in the snow while it was almost 50 degrees.  Bummer that it didn't last long, but it did last long enough for us to remember that winter won't last forever.