Day after thanksgiving,The Tree goes Up!


Capitol Christmas Tree


U.S. Botanical Gardens Holiday Train Display

Part of the train display included Homes of the US Presidents, made completely of plants and organic material!





Christmas eve at Grandma Kelley's (I did not get pictures this year !) :( ----we had a terrific meal! Tex Mex! It has to be one of my favorite meals of the year! The kids LOVE opening their Christmas Eve gifts from Grandma...pajamas...to them it signifies the start of the vacation...they put their 'jamas on and stay in them for a week straight! (changing to go in public, but coming home and putting them right back on.) The pajamas mean christmas, hot chocolate, family time, relaxing and just plain fun for a week straight... they LOVE them!

Christmas Day was so great...(no pictures again !) :( -----waking up with our kids, going to church, spending time together after church and then going to Steve and Wendy's first ever Christmas dinner. Wendy did an amazing job hosting! She is a real pro and the traditional turkey dinner could not have tasted better! It was a great ending to a great day...

a few days later.....

4 days of Christmas with a few of my family members...(yes, all of us sleeping and eating in the same house!)


Lots of card games...where I pulled out a Win!...I say I am the 2011 knucklehead champion because I won the last game of the year...(none of my family can argue with me because they don't read my blog!!)

Lots of fun, food and family family family!

The inevitable family photo in front of the tree...."Tammy, Dale, get in front of the tree for a family picture..!" no warning. no hair, no makeup,no changing clothes, no staging, but I love it anyway! ! (I could stand to photoshop it, but who has time for that??)

And what would the break be without Hockey?!? Greg played a tournament at the Kettler ice rink (exciting because thats the home of the Washington Capitals)....Greg did a great job! This is him with his snowman buddy before the break...


David had a tournament during the break. fighting hard to get a win over a team from North Carolina that had previously beaten them...

the excitement after eeking out the win...coming in first place for the tournament!


of course we have to jump the goalie

and the banner...


It's January now, so down goes the tree.....

and up comes our routine again.Kids back to school, Percy, smokey and I back at home, alone. The house feels empty after being so full of people so often over the Holidays.

Percy is back to his routine, including my favorite.. every afternoon at 2 he sits and waits for the kids to return...he sits for 45 minutes just waiting, and waiting...

"They're here, they're here! My buddies are home again!!" -percy

Family, THEN, NOW and ALWAYS

1988

(Matt and I should have traded hair ;)


1989

Back row: Dad, Mom, Tammy, Tracey,Theresa, Matt

Front Row: Dana, Katy, Brandon and Sherry
2001 GROWING........
Standing: Tammy,Brandon, Dana, Katy, (Mr. Katy), Will, Matt, Tracey

Seated: Mom and Dad

(I love the pregnant bookends in this photo!! )

GROWING........
GROWN..............!
Most of us! (Minus those who have moved on from this life, and a few who couldn't make the trip to the beach)

For the time being my siblings and I have finished reproducing...(that I am aware of anyway!!)

our own kids are getting older, and we are really enjoying them as teenagers..it's like being a teenager again, multiplied! they are all so great!!

Tammy, Tammy, Matt, Theresa, Matt, Tammy, Tracey

Sisters are FOREVER!!! (Even the ones who may not be with us :)




My Family is THEN, NOW and ALWAYS!




(How blessed am I?, this doesn't even include Dale's family or the Holder family)

my blog is alive again!

I haven't been toting my camera around, so I've missed all the summertime fun...

Pool parties galore, BBQ's, visits from family and friends, vacations, various camps and achievements at said camps, like My "Iron Man" winner Shawn at scout camp, and my "team Mickelson" winner Alex at golf camp. Shawn's excellent adventures at youth conference and his high adventures at Camp Helaman.

I am most bummed about not getting beach pictures! My camera battery died and no, I didn't think to bring the charger. (I thought to bring 3 different kinds of razors, but no camera charger!)

Also didn't document my baby boy riding an airplane all by himself for the first time EVER! (He had an airplane ride with me when he was 2)I got a special pass to escort him to the gate and make sure he got through security without a hitch. Even though he appeared to be the only person flying out of Norfolk that night, I felt like he still needed his mommy! (He didn't think so, but after failing my "ok, try to find your way" test, he didn't have a choice. He was embarrassed, I was satisfied.

So here is the sad, sad documentation of my super summer so far...

Hanging with my man! (Yes, we do still have lunch once a week, leave the kids all to themselves and everything! We keep it short, and the house is still standing when we get back)

Lots and Lots of pool time!! Thanks to my incredible husband for cutting down 7 trees that blocked the sun from the pool, and also thanks to a new amazing pool pump given to me as a birthday gift,installed by yours truly (pat on the back) , I have spent more time in the water than ever before! I spend a LOT less time maintaining the pool now. I would say, it's actually been a joy having a pool!

And a brand new addition. This little guy has stolen my heart!! AND he cleans floors to! What more could I ask for?!?! Percy joined us 10 days ago. he is 3 1/2 months old and is my baby. (don't tell Greg). He is Melissa's dog, but he and I have a bond (Don't tell Melissa, or Dale, for that matter :) What a terrific addition to our family he has been!

Cousin Time!!

" What's up, Yo?"

Life is good

Having four Christmases. starting on the 14th with the Holders, Getting snowed in!,Visiting our Nation's Capital, The kids getting to see Rudolph on Christmas Eve right after getting new Pajamas from Grandma Kelley,laughing a lot, Watching our favorite Holiday movies, including my favorite of all time, It's a Wonderful life, being Santa's helper, Seeing the kids on Christmas morning, spending time with Dale's family on Christmas day, spending time with my family, loosing at Knucklehead Rummy to Sherry, (who hasn't played in years!),laughing, 2nd place in a Hockey tournament, exciting Basketball games, cousins spending the night, good friends spending the night,laughing, seeing friends from out of town, getting better from some crazy infection that made my face swell up until I looked like the 'Avatars' from the movie that is out, sticking to my Christmas budget, having a quiet New Year's Eve at home, getting a phone call from the school saying that our child is doing so well that he no longer needs his IEP!,getting to #4 on my 1 -10 cleaning to do list, and most of all, sharing all these moments with my kids and the love of my life!


Downtown on Christmas Eve

Walking on the frozen pool (It's only two feet deep)

sisters: Tracey, (me), Dana, Katy, and Sherry

Dale, my brothers, Matt and Brandon, Brother in laws, Dan,Josh, Edwin, Shawn, and Ronnie

Sister in Law, Teresa, Sister Tracey, Me, Sister in law, Scarlett, Sister Dana, Katy, Sherry, and neice Desiree (standing in for sister in law Dara, who had to work)

Starting to gather for presents

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...

Spring Break!

Having had a very sick Greggy for weeks, we were not sure if we would be able to go anywhere for spring break. The day before vacation started, Greg had been able to digest everything he ate, and had not vomitted for several days, so we decided to take a much needed vacation. (Thank you to everyone who fasted and prayed for him!!) We already had plans to stay the weekend with Dale's family at Goshen Scout camp; 4500 acres of beautiful land in the backwoods of Virginia all to ourselves!! Dale had some great memories of Goshen from going there for scout camp when he was a teenager and it was great for him to be able to share those experiences with me and the kids. The great thing was that we were able to stay in cabins and use a big lodge to gather for family meals. It was the perfect setting for an extended family getaway!

After getting some very delicious cookies in the mail and eating them, (Thank you Kristen!) we headed out for our vacation!

Here are all the Kelley cousins at "Camp Marriott" (Minus Shayne and Maya :( of course!)

Dale picking on his little scout...
Dale at "Camp Marriott"

Dale being picked on by Tom! (for all you moms wondering at what age your sons will stop wrestling..see photo below)

Great Grandma Kelley and the Kelley cousins....

Several of us set out to hike to "Viewing rock"....even though we had a trail map, the signs were off the trees, so here we are trying to figure out which way to go...thanks to scouting, Steve came prepared with his compass, so we at least were pointed in the right direction...

The kids on the hike, (we left Greg with Aunt Alison and Grandma Kelley, he still wasn't 100% and definately not ready for a strenuous hike)

"Look how high we are..."

"I'm king of the mountain!!" (How cute is he?!?!)

Lake Merriweather in Goshen Scout Camp reserve....(How lucky were we to have all this to ourselves for the weekend!?!?!)



Canoeing...Shawn and Alex had their own canoe!! I was so nervous, but they did well..! (they zig zaged all over the lake!)

David and Greg with Aunt Wendy and Uncle Steve

After we left Goshen, we drove to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. We saw lots of things, but because my camera only works sporadically, I only have pictures for some things! One place we went was to the Ripley's aquarium...I loved it, especially the underwater tunnel that allows you to be up close and personal with the marine life!

A shark overhead!

Dale and the kids in front of the fish tank



We spent one day in Charleston. We met up with Dale's parents who happened to be in the area.

We stopped at Boone Hall Plantation....

money well spent...we learned...

Greg, "About Jesus" (WHUUU???!!?)

David, "that slaves were brown and came from France" (Double WHHUUU!!???)

Melissa and Shawn, "That slaves hunt at night for extra food"

Alex, "same thing Shawn and Melissa said"

After correcting some of the History lessons learned at the plantation, we headed into Charelston, we stopped at Patriots Point....

We saw an aircraft carrier...

And a submarine, and planes on the carrier (see above pamphlet)

We went to the "Battery Park" in charleston and strolled around with Dale's parents...then we went to dinner. It was Tuesday and apparently the place we were eating (similar to Chipolte) had "kids eat free on Tuesdays"...whoever made up that marketing scheme didn't know about families like ours! With Shawn still officially 12, we had 5 free meals! Love deals like that!

Then we headed back to Myrtle Beach....

When I was a kid and we lived in Myrtle Beach I remebered playing in a "castle" on the beach that my dad had taken us to. After a little searching I found it. We took the kids to Atalaya Castle in Hunington Beach state Park. It is no longer just open to the public so we couldn't let the kids run wild like I did. But we did enjoy looking around and learning the origins of the "castle" . (A winter home for a wealthy sculpturist and her husband from Conneticut built in the 30's)

The "Castle" has great lighting and lots of people were taking photos...I wish I were a better photographer, great shots were everywhere...!

The kids enjoying the beach....

Dale on the beach near Atalaya Castle

When we arrived home we celebrated a new era in our family...we now have an OFFICIAL teenager!! Happy Birthday Shawn!!