kid update...

Just to follow up on my sports blog....(because so many of you are into sports!)

Melissa's team ended their season in 2nd place! We were so thrilled considering the number of disadvantages her team had during the season. They really came together at the right time to do well in the playoffs! Yay for her!

Melissa is about average height on her team, but with her long Kelley arms, she plays tall. In the past few games she has reminded both Dale and I of Dale's "little sister" Alison, on the court. It has been so much fun to watch Melissa develop her basketball skills.

And David's hockey team went on to win the "big enchilada" as his coach would say.... The Chesapeake Bay Hockey League Squirt Upper A championship! It hasn't been done in 16 years, so the boys were THRILLED! sadly I had to miss the big game, but have seen pictures, here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2773400579587.2115337.1395227522&type=1&l=c724e18eee

and read all about it, here:

http://howardhuskies.org/news.php?news_id=546524&lang=

A team banner will be signed by the team and hung in the ice rink, and trophies given out at the banquet in April.

Shawn is currently in his High School's production of Bye Bye Birdie. The drama teacher never disappoints, it is a first class show and Shawn is very brave to get up on stage and sing and dance, even if it is with a group!

Outdoor Ed= out-the-door-ed for me!

Melissa is in 6th grade and had asked me to attend outdoor ed with her several months ago. 3 days of camping with her, and 200 other 6th graders. tie dying, canoeing, fishing,"The Amazing Race",team-building, poetry, science, hiking, yoga are some of activities we participated in...we had a great time!

I was told that when kids enter middle school they "find" themselves, and in the process, distance themselves from their parents. This never happened with Shawn and Alex..In 10th and 8th grade, they still ask me to chaperon field trips, attend their activities, and like to have me on hand just in case. To my surprise, this week marked a new era in mommyhood for me, I finally have a middle schooler who followed the pattern that I have heard other parents talk about.

I was the last adult to get there, so I got stuck with the "crappy bunk" that was in the room with Melissa and 7 other girls. as I was putting my stuff away, Melissa tried to kick me out! I told her that this was the last bed left in our cabin and I had to sleep on it. She insisted that I couldn't sleep in the room with her and her friends! really?!?! you want me to sleep on the floor? I wasn't alone, the other moms had tried to sleep in there with their daughters and they had all been kicked out as well...we compromised, they kept the door shut and I stayed out unless it was sleeping time...

Every activity Melissa politely asked me to step back and leave her and her friends to themselves...

At mealtime I took the hint and I was going to go sit at a table with my friends. Melissa informed me that ONE adult had to sit at each table, and that "it might as well" be me to sit with her and her friends because they HAD to have an adult with them...I was also elected to be the token adult who walked the girls to wherever they needed to go...fishing, to the showers, wherever...I was their "minute to win it" coach and was "on hand" if they absolutely needed an adult...

It was bitter sweet, my baby girl really doesn't need me, but she has come into her own, socially, physically and emotionally. She is becoming an incredible young woman

My young woman in her waders getting ready to go fishing in the bay,
The two of us

Her canoe buddies
The other mom and I, canoeing with two little boys whose mom's weren't there. These two boys begged to go with us. Our two daughters wanted nothing to do with us, so we "adopted" these two little guys for a few activities...
Melissa, canoeing with her buddies...

Melissa learning yoga...

Halloween,Homecoming, Highschool and Hockey!!

Greg as "Snake Eyes"...From G.I. Joe...note the Duct tape accessories...I am getting very lazy in my old age!

David as a.....Monster. (A monster who survives on Hockey alone..)

Melissa as a "Colonial Williamsburg girl". I realized how lazy I have gotten with Halloween costumes when I was halfway done buying the stuff for Melissa's costume. I spotted a COMPLETED hannah montana costume for 9.99, I went to purchase it when the checkout woman started chit chatting with me. I actually said.."My daughter wants to be a colonial girl, but I am going to force her to be Hannah Montana instead"...as soon as I said it I realized what I was doing and handed the woman the costume back and said, "uh, actually, any idea how I can make a bonnet from the 1800's"...Melissa is such a sweet girl

Alex was "dad"...thats right, he has it in his head that this is what his dad looked like as a teenager...Don't say it, I know...that is so NOT Dale...next year we will make sure Alex has the flat top and the gold watch for true authenticity.

HOMECOMING

Shawn and his buddies before attending the homecoming dance (and after scarfing 80 dollars worth of pizza, 15 dollars worth of chips and several 2 liters of soda, they are growing boys) Shawn is the shorty, 2nd from right.

Shawn and his buddy worked on the Freshman float...they freehanded a Gladiator head...very impressive for a last minute throw together.

Here is the completed Gladiator...Roarrr, scary!

And the completed float...with a tornado tearing through the Competion..(Shawn is the kid to the left of the "man" sign)

And an impromptu reunion for me and a friend from High School at an event to thank some schools for participating in a program to help oyster habitats in the cheasapeake. Ironically Melissa participated in the program with her Grandma Kelley, after our elementary school had to back out at the last minute due to insurance reasons.

My friend actually told Melissa, "Your mom is the reason I made it through Algebra.." Even with that kind of a witness, Melissa and her brothers prefer their dad for Math homework.

HOCKEY

Two exciting Hockey events. (exciting to us because we are Caps fans). First, Shawn and David participated in the flag holding at the beginning of a Caps game. Shawn does not play hockey, but was excited to participate. Here are a few pictures from that event..

The players about to come on the ice

As the Caps came shooting out on the ice

This is the second exciting event...Greg participated in the intermission game during the a Capitals game...He is the goalie in white...the good news: Greg's team won, the bad news: Greg didn't face one shot! (at the end of the video slapshot the mascot comes ovcer to keep a bored Greg busy)



Greg celebrated in the locker room after scoring two goals in his game saturday night...(He is a goalie, but occassionally he skates out so that he can improve his skating)

New Post

A new post? I know, it's amazing!

I love this time of year! kids are back in school, Some days the house is clean, and most importantly SPORTS! I Love LOVE Sunday afternoon football! and the Skins are giving me something to cheer about this year, FINALLY!

My kids are getting into the swing of things also...The three older ones will start basketball in the winter. Until then, they are involved in other things. Melissa is in art classes. She and I had some special time at Hershey Park this weekend. (Yes, we did go to chocolate world, and can you believe it, I wasn't in the mood for chocolate!! What a waste..it's ok, it's less than 2 hours away..I WILL go back!) In one of the park photos, Melissa and I were screaming as we were going down the log flume,(The same photo that I opted out of purchasing for 20 million dollars)we had the exact same facial expression.. we looked like twins! (it was from a distance...you couldn't see my facial flaws)She is such a sweetheart, and I love getting time with her...I love my boys to pieces, but I am so happy to have my baby girl...





Shawn is in the school play, SGA and basketball conditioning. (Not to mention Seminary and his new found thrill, texting on his first cell phone!) Shawn is really doing well in his first year of high school...I still am in shock that I have a ninth grader!! I always tell Shawn, be careful how you treat the ladies, you never know which one could become your wife one day! (considering I knew Dale when he was in ninth grade, that is not such a far fetched idea!) (And if I had I known I might marry Dale, I might have acted a bit differently when I was younger!)

Alex is in love with golf, and goes with Dale every chance he can get! ...Until basketball starts he will keep busy with scouts and church activities. (not to mention the occassional paper sculpture)
The two younger ones are in full swing with hockey. They have been practicing and are about to finish up preseason games. David's team is starting out rough, but we are hopeful they will come together for the start of the season games. I have no complaints in David's performance. He is a hard worker and has been very coachable. He did not want to play defense this year, but his team desperately needs him back there. He has realized that playing defense means he is on the ice longer, so he has decided it's not so bad.

Greg is in a unique situation...He has never actually played Hockey on a team. He really needs a year of low stress recreation hockey. Recreation Hockey is more instructional, without assigned goalies for games. Greg practices two nights a week with the recreational program and one night a week with the travel team in his goalie pads. He will continue to develop his goal tending skills. The travel team needed a backup goalie, so they asked if Greg could be ready for a "call up" during the season. Ready or not, Greg was asked to play his first game on Saturday for the travel team. The coach knew that they were playing an easier team so Greg wouldn't have a stressful game. Greg was more ready than we gave him credit for, he made 9 saves out of 11 shots on goal. Experienced or not, that was a great game! I didn't get any good video of this, my camera froze !! anyway..here is Greg's first official game as Goalie!

Notes from Maine...

We just got back from the beach, then Melissa and I headed to Maine the next day...the drive was nice, and more beautiful then I imagined. You see, this is my first time in Maine, ever! Despite my New England roots, I have somehow avoided Maine for my entire life! My loss, it is stunning!

The town we are in is Lubec Maine. The easternmost town in the United States. I can see Eastport, but it is directly North, with Lubec sticking out just a hair further East, it wins the title for Easternmost town in the U.S...

Melissa and I are here for a week long painting workshop with one of the most talented art teachers I know...we paint in the morning, and site see in the afternoon....The town of Lubec is like Mr. Roger's neighborhood..I have been here for 24 hours and am already waving to people I have met...which is most of the town...This morning I went on a walk with two ladies I met, we all felt like old friends. we saw sights and talked for two miles...Everyone in this town is by their own merits, an artist. Each person goes above and beyond standard neighborliness, committed not only to each others needs, but commited to the art and the artist in every individual...glass artists, writers, sculpters, painters, musicians...so much talent in one place is overwhelming, and would intimmidate most people if it were not for the down home friendliness and comfort you feel radiating from every person.

Not to mention the stunning beauty of Lubec. I will post pictures later, but here is a link I found...the house I am staying in cannot be seen in the link, but is just beyond it...I have walked this loop twice since getting here last night...

http://unclekippys.com/image/obj164geo135pg1p22.jpg

Melissa painting this afternoon...

After painting, we drove onto Campobello Island. It is in New Brunswick Canada, and is home to the summer cottage of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Family. We toured the Park and the home today. FDR began going there with his parents as a baby and eventually built his own cottage there for his family. This is where he was stricken with polio and lost his ability to walk.

spring fever!!

You know it's spring when you start cleaning and making things look nice! The kids start spring break tomorrow, so I wanted to get one major project done this week while they were still in school...I have been putting off cleaning my office and organizing all of my paperwork,it really really needed to be done...so I decided that could be my next major project AFTER I painted the foyer and hallway! Here are the before and afters...

Before: Beautiful green stencil from the previous owner..(circa 1992)

Before: More Lovely green stencil..it was everywhere!

After...a much warmer color...ahhhh
After: of course now I want a new rug, a new bench and a nice big painting to go in the new foyer! in time in time!

I also spent the morning fixing the kids up for "twin crazy hair day" Melissa and her buddy did 3 long spikes...David and Greg decided to "rock the Red" with crazy wild red Washington Capitals hair

Bad parenting, but hilarious!

Waiting for pizza...

With Dale and Shawn away at scout camp, we decided to have a pizza night! The kids have been cleaning and packing and acting like perfect angels for HOURS in anticipation of the BIG pizza dinner!

After getting maximum effort from the kids ALL day, I FINALLY took them to get pizza....

We opted to get carry out,...in what seemed like an ETERNITY to the kids, we waited for the pizza...

Melissa waiting.....

Greg Waiting.....

Alex and David waiting......

It's ready!! We bring it home and open it...

and it's gone! that was FAST!!

I almost feel guilty that they worked SO hard for such a fleeting reward... to quote a Montgomery Gentry song, "working maximun hours for minimum wage", it's character building, right??

activities surrounding the 4th....

Since we came back from New York the kids have been fascinated with tall buildings , here is a chart that they were studying....


Here is a drawing of the tallest building concieved...it is designed to be over 800 stories and 13000 feet above sea level...(thats the height of some mountains in Utah!) who knows if this thing will ever actually get built, but how cool is it???

My kids have been building their own "Twin Towers"....



On the 3rd we had several people over for swimming and taco salad (sorry, no pics!) and on the 4th we went to Dale's parents for their annual fourth of July BBQ...food and family and relaxing, there is nothing better! Even *I* was slightly taken back when I saw this picture of the Kelley family...and an announcement on Wendy's blog assures that this family is still growing!

Cousins and friends jumping on the trampoline....

right before heading to the University of Maryland for fireworks...

Highlights of our 2009 New Hampshire trip

* Camping with my siblings(10 adults 23 kids)
*Going to my family reunion


*playing VolleyBall

*The creek

*Getting together with my dad's family

*Swimming in the lake and playing in the sand

*Our once a year dinner at 'Margarita's'...don't feel bad for our waitress..she got a cool 40% tip...!

*NEW YORK! (half of us decided to stay in New York for the last night of the trip)

*David, Trey and Melissa made themselves really comfortable on the ferry ride to Manhattan...these poor guys thought they were going to have a quiet lunch...!)

*Eating New York Pizza for lunch...GOOD STUFF!!

*Showing the kid's where the plane landed in the Hudson and how the ferry boats were able to show up so quickly....(lil Nick tried to get out of the picture, but I got him!)

*Ground Zero..in the background you can see the "Freedom Tower" being constructed right next to the Memorial site where the Twin Towers once stood...I love what they have chosen to do for the memorial...

This will be what the Memorial will look like at ground zero...

*Statue of Liberty...after a slight snag in security ,"Can I get my scissors and spoon back on my way out?", and helping a homeless man, "I'll take that knock off purse for $24, thank you Mr. Homeless man", we took the ferry over to Liberty Island, where we showed our tRuE tourist colors....(Note Shawn, all the way to the right, poor kid, cursed with me as his mom and Dana, Tracey and Katy as his Aunts..)

*nice

*Riding the Ferry back