A Year Really?!

I decided that I wanted to post about Mckenna getting her drivers license so I opened up the family blog and bam! it smacks me in the face that I have failed as a historian for the past year... This is so unlike me. I don't usually go more than 3 months without updating the family blog so what has happened in the last year that I have neglected it?  Facebook, Twitter, math, British  Lit, Imprints, Activity Days and... you get the idea.

I need to get a grip on my time and keep the blog going. So here goes:
Blog entry #1 for 2012


Mckenna has been 16 for just a little under a month. (no, I can't believe it either!) I want her to still be this age. To be honest, I want to be this age again also:

 

 

Today I took her to take the driver's test!  Seriously, I still remember getting my Driver's License. How is she old enough?

 

Kenna left with the examiner and I watched out the window to see her drive around the corner like I had 3 years previously with Kyler. She never turned. I waited, and waited and she didn't come back in so that was a good sign. I can't believe how nervous I was even though she wasn't. I guess that is one of those mom moments when your anxiety gets the better of you and yet your teenager is ready to jump off the cliff so to speak and bungy jump into adulthood.

After about 20 minutes she came back with this huge smile on her face. I said, "well?"  she said, "I did it."  The examiner smiled and went back into his office. I high-fived her and we went to do all the paper work. Her is her experience from my iphones point of view:

 

 

Welcome to Motor Vehicle

 

 

                       And she is off to take her test                                        -Smile-

                                                                                                  you know this picture

                                                                                             will stay with you til 2020

 

 

 

                         Here it is the DL                                         I'm in the Green club now
                                                                                        This is what they call the "real" DL
                                                                                                           because
                                                                                        the bar at top is green and not yellow.


Congrats Mckenna for becoming a driver!  Beware Ocala, my daughter is on the road. Let's keep her safe!  The only draw back to Mckenna driving is that I have to share a car with her until we get me a new one. I don't see that happening anytime soon what with our Devin getting married this summer... Oh, yeah. that's another entry.

 



 

 

 

 





Back To School 2011

This is a post I found in the "saved" section sorry, it's a late one!

So, a first has happened- two of my kids are attending High School together. I am not sure how Kyler feels about it, but Mckenna is ecstatic!  We started out with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. with lots of yummy cereal. The room as you can see was decorated with sentamental memories of Kyler and Kenna together when they were little. They showered, backed their bags and drove off in Kyler's truck!  Then about 2 hours later, I left for school and then 15 min later I returned home because my Algebra teacher didn't hold class the first day!  geez.

  

Oh, Harry Potter- how Kiara loves you!

Time for our next Halloween adventure!  This one was a fun time in the making for 10 years. I have wanted to do a Harry Potter party since the books came out. And my dear friend Jackie helped me convince Matt that this was the year! Our friends looked awesome. Some even exceeded my expectation like Chuck Brill as Hagrid who looked EXACTLY like him!  Here are a few of the pictures from that night. Kira loves Harry Potter so Rich had to be Harry even though he would've been anyway since I think he vaguely looks like him.  :P  no, really Rich looks was a great Harry!

We built towers, searched for Horcruxs', had a potion lesson and testing, played Wizard Chess.  and tried to kill Voldemort, but at the end of the day the Death Eaters won the night. Us Aura's need to find a better way to save the world- which means we need to join together and build a strong army. Dumbledore in our world does not die and his is good and kind like Richard Harris. Voldemort lived to see another day.

 

       

 

 

 

 

The Murder of Peter "P" Pumpkin

He started out residing in a large cardboard surrounded crate. Mr. Peter "P" Pumpkin it was said was the largest and toughest in pumpkin suburbia's town of Pumpkinia where he ruled the community as mayor with a heavy fist.

Mr. P rode the fine line of justice, being so powerful he crossed over into a world of crime and it was decided by the ruling mob boss that he was to be taken down- Along with his partner Sassy Sal they plotted for hours on how Mr. P would be put to rest. The menacing mob boss, studied maps; designing angles, looked at blogs that showed graphics of other mob plans and finally made a decision on the best operation for take down.

With the help of Sassy Sal and his trusty knife "Gouger Gan" Plan "Blackout" came to fruition. Mr. P unsuspectingly ran into Sassy Sal at a meade house in Pumpkinia and with a little coercion from "Gouger Gan" Mr. P was led out of the mead house and into a yellow Chevrolet bursting out with loud violin music so strong it was deafening to the ears. Sassy Sal and the menacing mob boss knew all about "sound warfare" and used it at every crime they committed. I guess you could say it was their calling card.

Mr. P, put on the hot seat, surrounded by ogling eyes was dis-embowled, given a new face and became a hollow shadow of himself; he was released on the instructions that he would go back to doing good for the community of Pumpkinia by lighting the pathway for hundreds of Pumpkinian children on October 31st and into November.

After his stint of path lighting Mr. P returned to his evil ways. The Menacing mob boss sensing the dirt and stench of such a man living uncontrolled in Pumpkinia made the decision that the large hollow pumpkin man had to be taken down for good.

Mr. P was found in the landfill weeks later shriveled, moldy green and decomposing. To this day, no other Pumpkinian knows who committed the crime.

The case was closed due to community disinterest in finding the killer.

Blueberry Muffins by Missy Marie

Mckenna decided that she wanted to bake something since she was a little bored. While rummaging through the pantry she saw the Blueberry Mix.  For her she thought that this was the greatest thing ever and off she went mixing and baking to her little hearts content!

They turned out yummy looking right?  I don't like Blueberry Muffins... so take someone elses word for it...

Kenna said they were delish!

Matt and Maximus

  

Matt has himself a new brother- he is built like a stallion, black and shiny.

For some reason he has named his brother Maximus. I think it is because we don't have a dog for him to give that name and he loves the name.  It actually might fit the trucks name since the truck is quit regal.

Pay off for the Pool House!

So, our Pool house has really pulled it's weight with the kids!  Tonight Kyler has 2 buddies over for a sleepover and in the last week he has had tons of friends come over and play Nerf Wars in the upstairs section of the house and today many, many rounds of  table pool. I have seen his friends and him dancing and doing the Whop, whop, whop moves and Kyler's made up move of the "journey" in the pool (which, I think they are crazy, because it is freezing in there right now.)

   

Kenna wanted to have a sleepover, but she ended up going over to Brianna Griffis house near The Villages and sleeping over there after hanging out at the square for a while.

 I am jealous of  the freedom. My dear friend Jackie is overdue on her beautiful baby Charlotte, (who is child #5,) coming into the world so no fun for us right now. But, I would like to do some kind of game night when Charlotte is old enough to come and play... we could do it before, but the Roetger's make it too much fun that we would miss out on them too much! 

Military Ball 2011 or wow Kyler received some great awards day!

Tonight Kyler was inducted into the Kitty Hawk Air Society. Here is what that entails. I am so proud of him:
The purpose of the Kitty Hawk Air Society (KHAS) is to promote and recognize academic achievement of AFJROTC cadets not only in Aerospace Science but in all high school subjects as well.  Other objectives include service to the high school and the community, support of airpower in its role in National Security, and development of patriotism and good citizenship.
To be eligible, cadets must earn an “A” grade in Aerospace Science for two semesters and must have a 3.0 GPA (Cumulative) in all subjects with no failing grades to merit selection. The cadet must also exhibit exemplary bearing, behavior, and appearance in accordance with AFJROTC requirements.
Eligible cadets will be invited to join the KHAS, and those deserving to become members will go through a pledge program lasting one academic year.  Cadets who successfully complete the requirements of the pledge program will be inducted into the KHAS at an appropriate time and place, in a dignified manner.
KHAS membership will be an important item for cadet promotion consideration.
Kyler, also received a certificate for completing 50 hours of Community Service (they are high into this- one kid had over 200 hours!
And a leadership award, with medal for which I don’t know what it is called since he has the certificate.
We are so proud of him. We wanted to recognize him also, so Kenna made a sign with a ton of Cosmic Brownies placed on it: This is what it looks like:

Here are a few of the pictures from the day. I have to tell you really fast about the tradition that they have of the GROG- some of the Sr. Cadets choose really gross ingredients (such as pickle juice with relish, cranberry juice, cheese sauce, a special secret ingredient and a few others we couldn’t hear the names of.) to add to the “clean” toilet bowl that deserving other Cadets have to drink if they have been caught doing an infraction- Col. Baranowski decides who these cadets are. So a few of these pictures are of the cadets who had to drink from the GROG.

So they are to raise their glass, toast to the Mess, drink the drink in one swig and never leaving their lips off the glass, then place the empty glass upside down on their head!

poor Lindzi didn’t want to smell the drink so she plugged her nose, still had a hard time drinking it and unfortunately spilled a little on the white part of her dress.

This poor cadet (a sr.) gagged the whole time drinking. The picture below is a picture of what he looks like. He is as a very funny kid. Great sense of humor!

Sgt, Fletcher, his daughter Audrey (who was V.P. of the Corp,) Col. B and Sgt. Elder.

Alex and Joe Roos (Joe works for the City.) We have a grand time together, him and his wife Sharon…

The MIA table. This presentation is steeped in Tradition and is so moving that I was tearing up the whole time.

Kyler and his friend Kendall 

Kyler’s friend Mel and his date- Danielle (she is in the leopard print.)

all the way to the center back of this picture is Kyler standing up being inducted with 10 other kids into the Kitty Hawk Air Society.

Kyler receiving his leadership award from The Kingdom of the Sun and medal from an upperclass man that is now at UF AFROTC.

Kyler and the other cadets who receive their certificate for 50 hours of Community Service.