Our July...

Well, it's the beginning of August and all that it entails...our Summer is coming to a close and the new school year is upon us. It's hard to believe that it's already that time of year again. Kyler is in his last and final year of elementary school. It makes my heart hurt just thinking about it. Miss Mikaela will be a second grader this year which is such a fun grade. They both got amazing teachers so they're really excited about that. Usually, they're ready for school to start but this year they're not quite there yet. I think it's because our Summer just flew by and school starting is always a little bittersweet.

We definitely got our "pool time" in this Summer with Kyler being on the swim team. We were there every single day of the week this Summer except for Sundays and Kyler didn't miss one practice or meet. He did really well and worked his tail off. At the beginning of the Summer he knew all of his strokes, was what I would call a "swimmer" but definitely still a beginner. He went from coming in 5th, 6th and even 7th place to coming in 1st and 2nd at the meets and qualifying for City. He liked doing better at meets but my favorite thing about him was the fact that he was WAY more interested in beating and racing himself. The first thing out of his mouth after every race was to ask his time to see if he beat himself the week before. He ended up bringing home a silver medal from city with his relay teammates for the medley relay. So proud of our little man and I definitely think we have a swimmer on our hands. He already can't wait for next Summer. And we didn't even get a week's break before Fall Baseball started up again for him so he's already practicing for that 3 times a week for several hours. One things for sure...he's in great shape. You should see his little six pack...it's crazy! He got his coach he had for Spring Ball so he was happy about that and getting to catch again. So, we're at it again...full swing...no pun intended.

Miss Mikaela took it easy this Summer and just took swim lessons. She made a lot of improvement though and got her freestyle down and learned the breaststroke. We're trying to talk her into doing swim team next Summer but as of yet, she has zero interest and wants to take swim lessons again to get better at those strokes and learn the other two. So, I guess we'll see how she feels about it next Summer. She's started back up again at dance. This year is a recital year so it's going to be a little busier than last year. She was going to take Tap, Jazz and Ballet again but with the schedule this year, it would have put us at the dance studio on Saturday for several hours with an hour break in between classes so we made her pick two and she went with Tap and Ballet which I think will work out great and make our lives a little bit easier.

Mr. Kamden took swim lessons too. He's a funny little guy. He's not afraid of the water at all but he's afraid of getting hurt IN the water so getting him confident in the water has been the challenge there. He made some progress and by the end of the Summer would venture off by himself where he could touch and would put his face in the water with some coaxing. But he's still little so we're not too worried about it right now and will keep working on it. He'll definitely be taking swim lessons again next Summer and hopefully, he'll continue to gain confidence between now and then. With Kamden you never know. We gave Kamden the choice between gymnastics and T-Ball and he chose T-Ball so he's already started practices. It's gotten a little more intense since Kyler played T-Ball, especially for Fall Ball...but it'll be good for him and I think he'll really enjoy it. He's ALL BOY so this should be right up his alley. Either way, it'll definitely be an adventure...with Kamden it always is.

Kamden turned the big FOUR the end of this month. I know I always say this, but I can't believe he's already that big! He is all about Spiderman right now so he wanted a Spiderman party in the backyard. His only request was a bounce house, Spiderman cupcakes and Spiderman balloons so according to him, "It was the BEST PARTY EVER!" We took that as it was a success!

We had a nice 4th of July this year. This year personal fireworks were banned because of the fires and so we went to the movies that day and then picked up Mike from work and went to the Isotopes Park for the game and fireworks afterwards. We ended up getting home really late but we had a really good day and a fun time.

We've had some changes this year that initiated us deciding to put our house on the market and "see what happens". This is a big deal for us because we've been here for 10 years and none of us are really good with change. I think Mikaela is the only one of us that "goes with the flow" easily. Plus, it's hard for this Type "A" girl to let strangers tromp through our house without us there but it's gotten a little easier as it's shown more and more. We're looking to stay in the same area, just get into a little bit bigger house so the boys can have their own rooms. Other than a realtor almost killing Kelsey, it's gone pretty well. It's a long story but basically the realtor took it upon herself to do something that I'd asked no one to do and it made Kelsey really sick to where she couldn't breathe and gave her an infection. So after a very hard night and an expensive round of medicine, she's okay, but I was NOT happy with that realtor. Never in my life have I had to fight so hard not to give someone a piece of my mind. I'm still tempted. So, we're stepping out of our box, testing the waters a bit and seeing where it may lead us. We're not desperate and for some reason, buyers seem to think all sellers are so we may end up staying put, and that's okay too. But we'll definitely keep you posted.

Mike and I are doing good. Mike's hours have gotten better this month which is very nice. It's definitely a good thing having him home again, but it's been an adjustment having him home again and he's had to adjust to being at home again. He's been working LONG, crazy hours for 8 months now so it's a good adjustment, but an adjustment all the same. We just hope his hours continue to get better. We have dreams of him actually getting home when he's SUPPOSED to...at 4.

I think that does it for our July news! We hope all of you are enjoying the last of Summer! For us, it's the BEST time of year so we're going to enjoy it as much as we can for as long as we can! We love hearing all your news too so keep us posted!

Sending Out Lots of Love and Hugs,
The Glade's

Click for July Pictures:

So proud...

I know, I hate it when parent's go on and on AND on about their kids too...but I figured it's my blog and so I can toot Kyler's horn a little bit because I really am so proud of him and the hard work he's put into swimming this Summer. :)

When Kyler first started swim team at the beginning of the Summer, he knew all his strokes, was what I would call a "swimmer" but was definitely still a beginner. The first couple of weeks of swim team practice, he definitely improved but was only racing his teammates from Ventana Ranch and was holding his own. His first meet against other kids in the city was a real eye opener for him. For one, it was a brand new experience actually doing a meet and racing in all the different events. He ended up coming in 5th, 6th and 7th in all his events and left feeling pretty discouraged in himself. We told him that this was all brand new and now he knew more of what to expect and what to work towards.

Work he did! He worked his tail end off this Summer. He jogged with me almost every morning 2 1/5 miles, swam in jeans and a shirt at practices, did everything his coaches asked him to and didn't miss one practice or meet....and he didn't complain once. Well, not about anything that had to do with swimming anyway. ;) It was so cool to watch him improve every week at meets and go from 5th, 6th and 7th place, to 3rd and 4th to 2nd to 1st place in his events. BUT, my very favorite thing was the fact that he was excited about his ribbons, but he was way more interested and focused on his TIMES and beating HIMSELF every week. THAT is probably what impressed me the most about our little man.

We went to District yesterday to try to qualify for the City meet and again, it was a whole new experience with official times, places and rules. If everything isn't done correctly, you get disqualified. Kyler's first and favorite event was the IM and he got disqualified because they thought his kick in his breast stroke looked like a dolphin kick. He wasn't doing a dolphin kick but it resembles one when you're looking from across the pool. He came in 2nd and would have made city in that event but got scratched. He was very upset and was fighting tears out of disappointment and frustration but within a few minutes was over it and focused on his next event which was another favorite of his, the backstroke. He won 1st but got disqualified AGAIN for touching the wall on his side, instead of his back. His coaches didn't even know it was an illegal touch. They disputed the call because it's legal in high school but the call still held and he was scratched again. I have to say, he has the BEST team and coaches in the world because when he got disqualified AGAIN after coming in FIRST his team surrounded him and I think were more upset about it than he was and he was pretty upset. But again, within a few minutes he was okay and focusing on his next event, the butterfly. He came in 3rd in his heat and 4th overall and qualified for city. His next event was the freestyle and he came in 1st in his heat and 4th overall and qualified in that one too. His last event was the breaststroke and we were worried because that's what he got disqualified from in the IM. He was 1st in his heat and the judge came and talked to him after he swam and we thought he got disqualified again but the judge just told him to kick his legs out more so it doesn't LOOK like a dolphin kick...so he didn't get scratched and qualified for city in that event as well. Whew! So, he'll be doing 2 relays and 3 personal events next week at city.

I'm just so proud of his hard work and how he handled being disqualified. Sometimes I think it's easier to not have made it than to know you made it and not be able to compete. But life throws things like that at you all the time and it's nice to know he was disappointed but didn't fall apart or hold onto it so it ruined the rest of his day and events. Sometimes as parents, we get so discouraged and worried if we're giving them all the life skills they'll need to go out in the world and to not only live up to all their potential but hopefully make their own mark on the world. So moments like this make my heart smile to see that he's already gaining some of those skills that we're working so hard to instill in him....and see that he IS listening to us, at least some of the time. ;)

Okay...all finished....thanks for letting me toot Kyler's horn a little bit. Getting to share these fun little highlights in our lives really does make them all the more special! Thanks guys! :)

I don't think they know who they're dealing with...

There are times where my older two not only don't give the little one enough credit, they don't even see him coming and it's almost comical because 9 times out of 10, they have it coming. ;)

Kyler and Mikaela both wake up happy and ready to go. I have no idea where they get it because Kamden is like his Mom and Dad and wakes up a little grumpy and it's about half an hour before he's ready to socialize. He just likes the quiet and wants to be left alone. Kyler is going through a stage where he literally loves nothing more than to aggravate the other two and he's learned that the best time to aggravate Kamden is first thing in the morning.

The other day, Kamden was coming downstairs and I could hear Kyler bugging him and all I heard in response was Kamden's ear piercing scream to "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!" To give us all peace, I told Kyler to go outside in the back yard and pick up dog poop before swim team practice. Kamden heard the word outside and said he wanted to go outside too. Kyler ran to the back door, opened it and told Kamden to come on. When Kamden got to the door, Kyler slammed it in his face. I automatically braced myself for his scream, but Kamden just reached up and locked the door and let out the most villainous little laugh. You should have seen Kyler's dumbfounded look. Kyler had it coming too...little toot. I wouldn't unlock it for him either...I made him ask his little brother to let him in...and he did...but not without some much deserved groveling.

Never a dull moment with three kids in the house...never. ;)

Possible changes ahead....

So, there might be changes on the horizon for the Glade's. If you know us well, you know that none of us really like change. In fact, I think Mikaela is the only one of us that goes with the flow pretty easily. We've had some recent changes in our lives and with the kids getting older and with the ages they are, we decided to put our house on the market and see what happens. We've lived here for almost 10 years so this is a big deal for us. We're stepping out of our box a little, testing the waters a bit, taking it as it comes and seeing where it may lead us. Any one of those things are hard for us, you put them all together and whew! We're a little nervous but no one's had a panic attack yet so I think we're doing pretty good so far. I know some people can change and move easily but unfortunately, we AREN'T one of those lucky people. ;o) We're also not desperate to move and buyers are in the mindset that all sellers are so we might end up staying put and that's okay too.

It's been hard for this "type A" girl to let strangers tromp through our house without us here but it's starting to get a little easier as it's shown more and more. Being "type A" I like a clean house but it's hard to keep it in a state that it can be "show ready" with 15 minutes notice...especially with 3 kids and the youngest having toy tornado abilities and talents. You should see his work! I will go upstairs to just do a quick check and in that short period of time he would have toys all over the just picked up downstairs AND backyard. I swear, he would win gold medals if it was an olympic event! ;o)

It's been fun to look at houses every weekend. We've found a few that we like which is good to have in our pocket in case we get a good offer on ours. The hard part has been deciding if we want to keep the kids in the same schools they are now or branching out into the unknown. We've been here so long that we're now a part of a small town in a big town so it would be hard to leave.

But we will see how it goes and just take things as they come to us and go from there. We will definitely keep you posted! Wish us luck and more importantly, sanity. :O)

THAT she hears!

The other day we were heading out the door and the kids were getting their shoes on and I was doing a few last minute things around the house before we left. Kyler came running back in the house to "inform" me of the most recent of Mikaela's transgressions.

Kyler: "Mommy, Mikaela told Kamden he wasn't smart!"

Mikaela: "I DID NOT!"

Me: *Sigh* (I find that I sigh a lot) "Mikaela did you tell Kamden that?"

Mikaela: "No!...I said he was dumb"

**I guess if she's going down, she's going down being quoted correctly**

Kyler cutting in: "You can't say that anyway because he has a brain and so that means he's not dumb. And actually, everyone has a brain and so no one is dumb."

Mikaela: "That's not true! Mommy says people don't have brains and aren't smart ALL THE TIME!"

Of course she hears THAT....she never hears me ask her to pick something up or clean her room but THAT she hears!

And before you judge me...you know the people I'm talking about when I say that. I can't be the only one who sees all those crazy people out there. ;)

Kamden, the quick witted....

I shared this on facebook the day it happened but I love it so much, I had to share it again.

Kamden asked for a hot dog for lunch so I made him one. When I gave it to him, he said he wanted soup. I reminded him that he had asked for a hot dog to which he told me Spiderman wanted the hot dog but he was Peter Parker and wanted soup. I think my 3 year old is too smart for his own good....but he still had to eat the hot dog. ;o)

Mikaela growing up so fast....

She really is! She's starting to talk so grown up. Sometimes I think she talks like she's 17 instead of just the 7 she is.

We were at ballroom practice one day and all the kids were sitting down in a group having a little talk before class started. There is a boy in their class who is about 14 years old and so polite and already comfortable in his own skin. The kids started getting up to practice and he held out his hand to Mikaela to help her up. No boy had ever done that to her before and so she had no idea what he was doing, so she stood up and THEN handed him her hand. He's so good natured, he kinda laughed and then caught up with the group to start dancing.

I was a little surprised she didn't know that he was trying to help her up. I mean, come on, this is Mikaela we're talking about. She LOVES stuff like that. She's always all over being helped and doted on.

After class, Mikaela came and sat down next to me.

Me: When Raphael held out his hand to you, he was trying to help you up.

Mikaela (smiling to herself): Ohhhhhhhh. Yeah, I SO didn't get that!

Me: I'm kinda surprised. That seems like something that would be right up your alley.

Mikaela (laughing a little and shaking her head): Yeah, you'd think!

Yes, growing up so fast....