We really are alive!

Our poor neglected blog! It makes me a little sad to realize that so much has gone on without me blogging and journal-ing about life. As we speak I am finally downloading the camera for the first time in 2 months and there are over 1000 pictures on it. We have been a busy family the last few months so here is a recap in a nutshell! Charlie played basketball again this winter. John was his coach and they had a great time. Basketball ended 2 weeks before baseball practice started and off we all went, it has been a fun and busy season with practice twice a week and often 2 or 3 games as well. John is his manager this year and they are just getting ready to head into playoffs this week. This doesn't mean ball is over by a long shot -John is managing Charlie's all star team so we have lots more ball to look forward too. Charlie was a Weeblo scout this year and had some fun adventures including a camping trip and the pinewood derby. He finished 4th grade and it was a great school year. His teacher Ms. Shehorn was great and He (mom) got an A on our first Mission Report and project. He went on a school camp out to Old Sierra Camp, Climbed deep into the earth at Black Chasm Mines and stared in Gold Bust or Dust the 4th grade play. Annie played soccer this year for the first time and discovered a new love! So after Fall out door soccer she played on an indoor soccer team and mom & dad discovered a new sport they love to have their kids play. It was the best sport ever, the game moved so fast and was intense from the moment it started til all 30 minutes of continuous play time was over! After that season ended it was almost time for softball. This year was the first year of girls pitch and Annie did great. She is a slugger if I have ever seen one - she could hit the ball farther than any other girl on her team. She continued on in Brownies this year and we did lots of fun activities and sold girl scout cookies again. Second great was a fun year, Annie really made us proud of how well she tried and all she accomplished. Audrey finished up preschool! I can't believe she is almost ready for kindergarten. She is our smart little one - she is reading and doing math like there is no tomorrow. She played softball this year even though well into the 2nd week of the season she looked at me and said "why did you sign me up for this again?" Not sure how much she likes softball but I will admit it is kind of boring at 5! She has spent the last 3 months taking swim lessons and has proved once again she is a fish! She is incredible in the water and loves being in it - often I would have to step down the steps to drag her out. Audrey and her best little friend Camille are inseparable - we got home from a long weekend away and she went straight to Cami's house, didn't even walk in ours! I think the award for the most changes goes to Emily. Gone is our little baby and in her place is a 2 year old going 12, no joke "MOOOOMMM" (said with a drawn out voice, head tilt and eye roll). One day in early March we walked in from a long day of baseball and she went to the closet and changed her own wet pull up. I guess that was a wake up sign for mom that she was ready to be potty trained. The next day I put panties on her and we haven't looked back! (honestly we went away for a weekend a week later with no accidents). 2 weeks later I couldn't find a binky one night and that was the end of that. I am not sure which one I am more excited about but together they are wonderful - never again will I be searching for a binky when just the day before 6 were sitting on the counter. Emily is turning in to a little girl all the way around, she plays with her sisters, talks up a storm and she did swimming along with Audrey. She loves the water as well and we are amazed at how well she learned to swim for a 2 year old. During all of this John has coached and I have volunteered (a little too much as always I am on the board of both softball & Baseball, have scheduled the snack shack, planned a jog a thon ($15,000) and a school gala ($6,00 - but no dinner this year) and a few other things - lol. Well I still have 300 pictures to go so maybe soon I will up load some of them but there you go - the last 6+ months in a small blurb!