how do i begin to catch up?? another long one...

i have received many e-mails lately wondering if i am ok and where have i been. i sat and thought to myself...i have been right here. then they say, we have missed reading your blog. WHAT, are you SERIOUS?? how could you be so interested in my blog of ramblings. anywho...thanks for missing me and i will try and do better. i just want to let you all know I am ok. it has just been a very busy start to december. like i said before...i think we need to go back to april so i can start preparing for december. don't have my tree up, decorations are not done, newsletter isn't written, christmas cards~nope, no picture was taken, work cards have been started, and please i do not want to hear any christmas music. i think i am truly a bauhumbug. i know these things need to be done for my children. then i think why do it if we won't even be here. it's hard cause we have to travel for christmas. let me tell ya...this is no fun at all. we have to leave a sign for santa, try and organize with two families (luckily my dad lives in PA or it would be 3) and try and make everyone happy. what about ME? isn't it if momma ain't happy, then nobody's happy. at christmas i feel like i have to hide my own thoughts and feelings for others. to make everyone else happy. i WILL do this for my kids and they are mY number one reason for mY liFe. though seriously...think about it...why do we celebrate christmas? what is the true meaning? are we going over board or do we truly remember? i guess i have ramble enough about this and i should not have allowed all of you in on my little tantrum i am having about christmas. i guess i better get my tree up today or my little miss bug-a-boo is gonna put me in timeout! maybe posting this picture of my dad back in PA last year will help me get into the mood. only wish i could of seen him riding around town on his motorcycle in a santa suit. anywho...let's move on...

austin you know turned 17 almost two weeks ago and had the bEst birthday EVER! his dad arranged for him to go to lunch with daddy and two of daddy's friends (Mark & Clay). lunch was about an hour away and to get there it would only be 20 minutes in an AIRPLANE!! yes, you read that right an airplane. here are some pictures of his amaZing ride to get to lunch.

we then attended his brother's wrestling match where oma took a picture of us. it is such a good picture. i usually don't have an pictures of me with my kiddos cause i am always taking them. it is also a tradition in our familY that on your birthday you get to choose where we go for dinner. austin chose eva's right here in town. it is the best yuMmY mexican/american food in snowflake (in my opinion). i was totally excited for dinner, cause i could live on mexican food and i would be a happy girL. my parents were in town and joined us as well. the owner was there and brought austin out fried ice cream with a candle. we sang happy birthday and their tradition there is to put some whip topping on your nose. yep, austin got it...

austin's birthday was fun for all this year and i can't even begin to think that next year....i'm not even gonna say it.

dallin has been wrestling and has been second string. right before thanksgiving he had a wrestle off for first string. as he was up on points and was beating the first string he pick him up and slammed him down really hard. he really hurt him, bad! when he would come back from thanksgiving he would find out the results for both...making first string and how the other boy was. well, dallin made it! the other boy will be on crutches for 4-6 weeks. i felt so bad as we have know the other boy since t-ball. we have coached him and the boys are pretty good friends. this put dallin in the position for regionals. WHAT??!!! he only had two matched before regionals and they were against the two best schools. he tried his hardest and did his best and still lost. yesterday was regionals 20 minutes away. it was 34 degrees when we left in the morning and 11 hours later it was 34 degrees coming home. it was snowing and yet we were all inside watching wrestling matches all day!! it was a very long day for all of us. we were so excited for his first match. it was against a kid he had wrestled for fun while on second string. guess what...he pinned him in 1:15. we were all so excited!!!! this is all we asked of dallin. go out and do your best and have fun. the next match was not fun. he had to wrestle the first guy he had wrestled his first time as a first stringer. he didn't get pinned...but lost. the mom of the other boy said to me, "he is really strong". i was so happy that he held him. he lost 5-0. now he has one loss and it's double elimination. next kid just thrashed dallin. smacked him hard into the mat. he had a hard time even concentrating on the rest of the match as his head was killing him. we thought it was his mouth where he just got the rest of his braces put on. he has a huge bruise on his right shoulder as part of the take down. he lost that match as well. we are so proud of him for sticking it out. he never got pinned and that was just awesome! we bought him a sweatshirt as it was the white mountain regionals. on the back we added a screen. i picked it out and this is what it says...it's not the SIZE of the DOG in the FIGHT, but the SIZE of the FIGHT in the DOG. this is my dallin!! way to go D, i am so proud of you. you didn't even want to wrestle and yet you didn't quit.

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now do you question where i have been for the last couple of weeks. with mY life i realize that it will never slow down. but, i can promise you that mY kids are my liFe and i wouldn't change a thing!! i love taking them to and attending all of their events whatever it may be...soccer, marching band, choir, ffa, football, wrestling, baseball, concerts, parades, softball and the list goes on... i will alwaYs be their biggest fan!