Our November, December, January, February and March....

Oh, I've done it again....let time get away from me and now I don't know where to even start. I couldn't believe when I looked back and saw that my last post was the end of October. I usually go back through our calendar to see everything we had going on but I threw away our 2012 Calendar and with it everything we did in November and December, so it looks like I'm going to have to go with the "highlight reel". ;) Lets see.... Kyler turned TWELVE in December. I can't believe he's almost a teenager. He's already starting to give us a taste of what we have to look forward to in what one of my friend's calls the "tweeny attitude". ;) Mike and I are thrilled to see that with each passing week, Kyler knows more and we know less...at least from Kyler's perspective. ;) That aside, he doesn't make it too hard on us. He likes school and has all A's. We weren't able to sign him up for the Winter Basketball league so we had a nice break from sports for a few months. Alas, it was short lived because now we're in the middle of baseball and track. He'll just be playing Little League this Spring. His club ball coach moved and the team broke up. I was secretly relieved because I was not looking forward to juggling two Spring baseball schedules again. He does however, fill in for an older club ball team from time to time when they're short a player which hasn't been too bad. He tried out for and made the school track team. He'll only be able to go to about half of the meets because of overlap with baseball but he's done real well and won first place in the two events he's done...the mile and a relay. For his birthday he decided to invite some friends over and go to the Aquatic Center and then come back to the house for pizza, cake and a sleepover. The next day we took the boys to the batting cages for a few hours. He was happy so I think it's safe to say it was a success. Miss Mikaela turned NINE in November. They are just all growing up too fast for me! She wanted a small sleepover with her two closest friends. She's super girly so it won't shock you that her birthday agenda included getting their nails done and going to the movies. She loved every minute! :) She's still dancing every week and loves it. For Christmas, she learned a nutcracker dance. Her ballet teacher made them a long tutu which thrilled her to no end. Right now they're working on leaps and she loves the challenge. She adores her third grade teacher and is excited for school every day which I love. For Christmas she got quite a few gift cards and is constantly begging to go shop. She is definitely all girl! We are in so much trouble when she's a teenager. ;) Kamden is still Kamden. We've seen him mature quite a bit the past few months but he's still our strong willed boy with an opinion about EVERYTHING. He has the strongest opinions and they're always way left or right and nothing in between. What I wouldn't give for a little indifference. He cracks me up with his "always" and "nevers" and he either loves something and it's great or he hates it and it's stupid. It's next to impossible to change his mind so now we're mainly working on teaching him that he doesn't always have to SHARE his opinion. Some things really should just be kept to yourself...of course this concept is completely lost on him. We're working on it..... ;) We're trying to find him "something" to do that's HIS. We've tried gymnastics and t-ball. He likes things at first but gets tired of them quickly which bothers his "finish what you start" parents. He's always dancing around the house so we're talking to him about trying a hip hop class where Mikaela takes dance. He's "thinking about it" so we'll see and keep you posted. But couldn't you totally see him as a little hip hop dancer?! ;) We had a good Thanksgiving. We stayed home and made our own little turkey dinner, watched the parade and started decorating for Christmas. That evening we went to The Schimke's for dinner and had a wonderful time! It ended up being a nice and relaxing day! The kids had their Christmas Musical at church. They all did a good job and had fun! Mikaela loved having a non speaking, comedic part and Kyler had fun being a rapper. Kamden ended up getting on stage and actually SANG with the preschool choir. He even smiled and did the dances! Woohoo! A big difference from the kiddo that refused to get on stage two years ago. Our little man is growing up! :) They're all in rehearsals for the upcoming Spring Musical. This will be Kyler's last musical as he'll be with the teens next year. He has a solo and a small part. Mikaela just wanted to sing in the choir this time around and Kamden decided to give preschool choir another shot. It should be fun. Kyler's school had a Christmas Sadie Hawkins dance and Kyler's longtime friend, Katelyn asked him to go. They had a great time but it was bittersweet for us. I just couldn't believe he was old enough to be going to dances, let alone with a DATE! They were so cute together! They have a little bit of a crush on each other but are such good friends that they still act like themselves and have fun. Kyler just found out that she's moving in April. We're all disappointed because we've known the whole family since Kyler and Katelyn were in kindergarten together. :( We moved Sandy back to Albuquerque with us! Those of you who know me well, know Sandy is my horse and my first and longest love. He's 27 years old and I've had him since I was 12....25 years. Oh the adventures we have had and lessons I learned with him....and now he's come full circle and he's teaching my kiddos a thing or two. I love it....and him. Brittany, Korry and the kiddos moved to Japan in February. They'll be there for the next 3 years, so the weekend before they left, we met in Dallas at a indoor waterpark/hotel. It was a fast and furious trip but worth it because we got some fun, quality time together before they left. While we were there, we got to have dinner with Katrina and her family. We've been best friends for 33 years and hadn't seen each other in 7 so it was so nice to get a REAL hug. It was a good trip! Kyler and Mikaela got Carrie Underwood tickets for Christmas so we went to her concert this month. The Schimke's were so wonderful and watched Kamden for us and he was thrilled and felt he got the better end of the deal. It was a good Christmas present because they loved their first real concert and Mike and I had fun too. Miss Carrie is gorgeous and puts on a great show. :) Our Easter was nice, quiet and relaxing this year. Good Friday we spent the day with Shayla and the girls at the park. Saturday the kids went to an egg hunt at the church, spent a few hours with Sandy and then came home and colored eggs. On Sunday we went to church and then came home and hunted eggs and then went to lunch and for a walk. A very nice weekend and Easter. The majority of you already know that my Dad passed away a few weeks ago in March. He was able to be at his home on the lake which was exactly where he wanted to be. He was very peaceful and not in any pain. We were able to go there the weekend after he passed away and see Rhonda and my aunt and uncle. We also got to spend some time with Christopher, Sarah and Hope. It was so nice and helped. In so many ways it still feels surreal that he's really gone. He taught me so many things that I will take with me the rest of my life and he'll always be in my heart. I don't think it was by "chance" Sandy came back here when he did. Having him here has helped me a lot. My Dad got Sandy for me and I can't tell you the hours we spent together with that horse. I don't think we would have had the relationship or bond that we did without that silly horse. So when I'm with Sandy, I feel closer to him and that's been a blessing. Thank you for all your love and support. It means more than you'll ever know! Sending Out Lots of Love and Hugs, The Glade's https://plus.google.com/photos/113971608145479734628/albums/5816002000199632001?authkey=CMKQhb6Z4ce6dQ