Oh wow! Am I behind or what?? May hit and our lives became a whirlwind! I can definitely testify to the fact that the older your kiddos get, the busier you get...at least at this age anyway. I hear rumors that once they're teenagers and driving, parents get less busy but that might just be an urban legend. I'll believe it when I see it.
Let's see....I'm behind four months so I'll try to just hit the high points.
May was the month of field trips, end of year parties, baseball and dance. May always has a lot of field trips but with Kyler bidding adieu to Elementary School, we had a few extra. I have to say, Kyler had a great last month of 5th Grade and Elementary School. I think the last week of school he had a party to say good bye to something every day. I think his favorite was getting to spend all day at Cliff's Amusement Park and ride as many rides as he wanted as many times as he wanted. I definitely think it's safe to say he had a great send off to Middle School. We were extremely blessed with amazing teachers and I think he will always look back at his Elementary School years with very happy memories. Mikaela had a phenomenal second grade year. She had an amazing teacher and so second grade will be a tough year to top. With both of their years being so successful and it being Kyler's last year of Elementary....the end of this school year was very bittersweet.
With Kyler playing Little League and Club Ball, Mikaela getting ready for her recital, both of them in ballroom and in the Spring Musical at Church...it was pretty hectic. We lived, breathed and died by the calendar on the wall. Mike and I teased that we had to schedule time to see each other because we were tag teamed so much with the kids having to be at different places at the same time. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've had a text message date with your husband.
Club Ball last Fall was definitely a learning experience for us. Kyler learned a lot but dealing with the type of crazy, competitive parents you always hear about, definitely made us appreciate Little League. The Club Ball tournament was while we were on vacation so you can imagine how disappointed we were to miss it. Kyler's Little League team on the other hand, was probably the best experience Kyler has ever had. This team, coach and season will be tough to beat! I'm sorry if I momentarily turn into a bragging mama...I don't mean to, but I was so proud of this little league team. I love baseball in the fact that it teaches a lot about life and Kyler's coach was all about that. He took everything that happened in the games, good and bad, and would turn it into a life lesson for the boys. This coach was AMAZING and Kyler adored him and just grew this season in so many ways. His team had a great start and beat every team in the league. Well, then they became the team to beat. They started struggling and making mistakes and ended up losing 8 games in a row. It was brutal but I have to say, I was so proud of how they handled it. Because of all their losses, they went from first to last place so they actually had to win the first game to even EARN their way into the tournament. They won and kept winning and worked their way up and ended up taking the whole thing. They went from very last place to being first place champions...it was CRAZY! The thing that made me the proudest was how they handled winning and losing...they were humble through the good and the bad. They were accountable for their mistakes, never gave up and worked hard individually and as a team...talk about a life lesson. I love it!
The kids performed in our church's Spring Musical in May. Mikaela was a part of a trio and Kyler had a solo. They all did such a good job and it was fun to watch. Kamden didn't want to do the Preschool Choir this time around. He keeps telling me "maybe next time", so I guess we'll see.
Kyler and Mikaela also wrapped up the Spring Semester of Ballroom in May. We took a break from Ballroom for the Summer. We're not sure about the Fall Semester since the Ballroom group classes conflict with Mikaela's new dance schedule for this year. She's not too torn up about it so we might just have Kyler have his private lessons with Jayden for now and not do any group classes.
In June, Mikaela had her dance recital...FINALLY. She was so excited and I have to say, all the anticipation and hard work paid off because she LOVED every single thing about recital from the costumes, to pictures, to dress rehearsal to the actual performance. She was nervous too but didn't let it show and did such a good job. The girl was definitely in her element and it's always fun to watch your kids do something they really love. My Mom came to visit during her recital so that made it all the more fun.
We went on our family vacation the weekend after Mikaela's recital. It had been 3 years since we'd gone on a family vacation so it was time. We ended up going to an all inclusive resort in Cancun. Three years ago, when we went to Hawaii, Mikaela and Kamden weren't fans of the beach at all, while Kyler on the other hand LOVED it. So, Mike and I were always trading places with one of us with Kyler in the ocean and the other with Kamden and Mikaela at the pool. It was so nice this time because all three of them loved the ocean and the beach so we all got to be together! What a concept on a family vacation, eh? We were there for a week and we had such a good time. I think we ate ourselves into a food coma but we also got to to swim with dolphins, go to a water park, paragliding and go to an island where Mike and Kyler snorkeled. We were worried about what Kamden was going to be able to do but he got to do everything we did which was so nice! We had a really good time.
Kyler and Mikaela joined swim team again so we were at the pool every day this Summer. Kyler had to move up to the next age group and so he was the youngest of his bracket which made it a challenge for him. Another life lesson...you work your way up to the top and then have to go back to the bottom and start again. He loves a challenge though so it didn't phase him too much. This was Mikaela's first year on swim team and we learned a lot about our girl. We learned that she doesn't have a competitive bone in her body which is foreign territory to Mike and I. We have Kyler who is definitely competitive and Mike and I are competitive (we're not sure about Kamden yet). We're not crazy about it and can definitely lose but we still WANT to win. In the beginning, she really struggled and sometimes looked more like she was surviving instead of swimming. But then she found her niche. Our girl does a heck of a breast stroke. She went to her first meet and was getting a lot of 5th up to 9th place ribbons...then she gets in with her breast stroke and wins 3rd and shocks us all. At her second meet she got first. The funny thing is, none of it matters to her. She handed me her first place ribbon the same way she did her 9th place. You wouldn't think it would make her a competitive racer but it actually helps her because she does her best, she just doesn't get frazzled. At the city meet during relays, her team was way behind and everyone else was flustered being behind but her. She just raced her race and they ended up getting 3rd and getting the bronze medal. Who would have thought? I have to say, we were pretty proud of Miss Mikaela.
Our Kamden turned FIVE the end of July. I can't believe our little guy is that old already! He was more excited for his party that he was Cancun. It was ALL he talked about all Summer. He was giving us a little bit of a hard time in wanting to be a big boy when it suited him and being a baby when it suited him. Of course, he always wanted it to be on HIS terms. We just want him to act 5 so we thought we were really smart and would use his party as leverage and told him he could have a 5 year old party when he acted 5. He told us he would just stay 4 and have a 4 year party. That child is so stubborn he repeated his 4 year Spiderman party again verbatim. His party was an EXACT replica of his party last year. When people would ask him how old he was, he was adamant that he was staying 4. Strong willed little toot! Despite him having his 4 year party all over again, he had a blast at his birthday and turned 5 whether he wanted to or not. We had family in town that got to come which made it all the more special. On a side note, he did decide to be 5 when it was time to sign him up for T-Ball because we told him he had to be 5 to be on the team he wanted. Little stinker definitely keeps us on our toes...but we wouldn't have it or him any other way.
Last year when our house was for sale and we were looking at houses to buy, we really only found one we loved. We ended up taking our house off the market for the winter but kept an eye on the other house. A year later, that house was still on the market so we decided to list ours again to see if it's "meant to be". They say the market is better but in reality the only houses that are selling are the ones that HAVE to and are dropping their prices by thousands....at least here in Albuquerque anyway. Buyers just want the "steals" so it's not looking good. In the meantime, this house we like kept dropping and finally got an offer and is now pending. We've had great feedback on ours but aren't willing to give it away when we don't have to so, we're probably going to take it off the market when that other house finalizes and stay put for awhile. We'll just continue to take it as it comes....you never know.
The kids started school the 13th of August. This is a big year since Kyler is officially in Middle School. Yikes! He was pretty nervous (heck so were Mike and I) but he's figuring it all out and doing good. Hopefully, things continue to go smoothly for him. I think it's a little bit easier for boys so that's good. I'll take what I can get. Miss Mikaela started 3rd Grade and is making it almost too easy for us. She LOVES all things 3rd Grade...her teacher, her class, her school work and even her homework. Every day she walks in the door and her first words are "School today was AWESOME!". You can't top that. Kamden technically could start kindergarten this year but we're waiting a year to send him. He's definitely smart enough (sometimes TOO smart for his own good ) but we think he needs another year to mature more. He's happy to wait another year so I don't think we'll regret it.
Along with school, baseball and dance are back on our schedule. Kamden decided he wanted to play T-Ball and already had some practices and a couple of games. He wasn't a big participator last Fall so we're happy to see he's grown up this year and is enjoying playing this time. We had a tough decision with Kyler and baseball this Fall. We decided to forego Little League and let him play Club for the Fall. As much as we prefer Little League to Club, he learns a lot playing with the more experienced "club players" and it's a shorter, less intense season than the Spring. Plus, we knew his games and practices wouldn't conflict with Kamden's games. Also, Kyler's playing for a new coach so we thought we'd give it a try and see how it goes. So far, it's been okay. The hardest thing is the back to back games. But we've learned who the crazy parents are and avoid them. I guess we'll see. Mikaela moved up in dance so she has a new schedule. It's good and bad. Both of her classes are on Thursdays which is good but they're not back to back. We have an hour in between the two. It's crazy how long and short an hour can be. It's too long to sit and wait but too short to go home. So, we're still figuring out what to do with that hour but I'm sure we will.
Mike celebrated his birthday this month. We ended up going to Clovis for his birthday weekend and seeing family. We got to go out to dinner a couple of times and we had a great time seeing everyone so he said it was a really nice way to spend his birthday.
Well, I think that brings us up to date with the Glade household. Hopefully, now that we're back on our school schedule, I'll be better with keeping up....we'll see.
Overall, we had a very nice, fun Summer and we hope you all did too! As always, keep us posted on all your happenings! We love hearing from you!!!!
Sending Out Lots Of Love and Hugs,
The Glade's
May Pictures:
June Pictures:
Cancun Pictures:
July Pictures:
Kamden's 5th Birthday Pictures:
August Pictures:
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