Moments to Remember

Colten and Sports

2011-12-28T20:56:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows my sweet, caring, laid back Colten will have a hard time believing this is the same kid. When it comes to sports Colten is intense.

I'M NOT GOING TO LIE THIS FACE SCARES ME

With all that intensity comes lots of emotion. Colten played coach pitch baseball in the fall. Jeff and I tried to warn him that he might strike out, and it happened (I know your schocked). Colten was devastated. He was so mad at himself he sat behind the dug out and cried. He then got in the van and lost it, I mean total emotional break down not even ice cream consolable LOST IT! I know parenting is hard but this line I'm trying to walk between try hard, do your best, be a good sport, it's just a game, have fun, etc is seeming very skinny. I struggle because he his so hard on himself. I'm proud of the fact that he wants to do his best but I want him to know that his best isn't always going to be the best, and that is ok (and crying behind the dug out is never ok). Anyway after a few rough games he got his first hit.

COLTEN RAN STRAIGHT FOR JEFF TO CELEBRATE

THIS FACE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS

Photos courtesy of soccer mom, Shannon

Big thanks to her for capturing these memories

DeeDee's Birthday

2011-12-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

I love making traditions. For the past few years we have been celebrating Dianne's Birthday by going to the movies. This year we saw The Muppets. When Jeff was little he and his parents (I'm not sure if Drew was around yet) watched the Muppets together every Saturday night. How cool to share a part of Jeff's childhood with our kids. I will be honest the Muppets were not my favorite, I was a total Smurf girl. Maybe over Christmas break The Smurf movie will be on at the dollar theatre.

PRE MOVIE DINNER AT SOHI

I highly recommend the loaded fries!

Look what Colten drew on the chalkboard wall, ahhhhh.

THE PRINCESS THEATRES IN OXFORD, OH

We had the whole theatre to ourselves!

The movie put the kids in the mood to perform.

Jeff's Birthday

2011-12-10T13:38:00.001-05:00

Jeff recently turned 34! His parents got him a UK Olympic Sports pass, http://www.ukathletics.com/tickets/tickets-olympic-sports.html. We used it for the first time to watch the girls UK versus LSU volleyball game.

JEFF, KEEGYN, JORDAN, AND COLTEN

LSU

KEEGYN WAS NOT HAPPY THAT HER PURPLE (LSU) TEAM WAS LOOSING

COLTEN LOVED THAT UK WON

WE COULDN'T LEAVE WITHOUT AUTOGRAPHS

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-08T15:22:00.001-05:00

KEEGYN'S THANKSGIVING BOOK

COLTEN'S THANKSGIVING BOOK

Thanksgiving Day

The Pilgrims lived in England. They didn't get to worship God in their own way.

They sailed from England to worship God in their own way.

Then when they got to the new world they began building homes.

Then friendly indians taught them how to plant.

Then when fall was here their harvest was ready.

The End

Thanksgiving Runners

2011-11-28T14:33:00.001-05:00

Jordan, Mom, Colten and I got up Thanksgiving morning to participate in the Thoroughbred Classic 5k at Keeneland. Colten ran the whole thing without stopping! He was most excited about the snacks at the end (rolls and hot chocolate). Hopefully Keegs and Jeff will join us next year.

Early Christmas Present

2011-11-21T19:41:00.001-05:00

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth

Done

Keegyn's two front teeth were (and still are) fake, read more here. She recently lost one of them at daycare. Keegyn was a trooper and after a couple trips to the dentist and impressions she now has her teeth back.

Oops

2011-11-21T19:29:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when you forget to take Keegyn's glasses off prior to taking her shirt off.

Jeff learned this Sunday while getting Keegyn ready for church.

Life at 90?

2011-11-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

August 23 we celebrated my grandmother's 90th Birthday.........

with pedicures.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T20:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween!

What are we?

Getting in character

Woody and Jessie with their seamstress

We passed out treats to the residents at Cedar Ridge.

Jordan, McKenzie, Brenda, GrandGammy (my favorite resident), Keegyn, Jeff, Raymond and Colten

Keegyn and Jeff

Nancy, Granny, Raymond and Brenda

Jordan's Summer

2011-08-22T23:02:00.000-04:00

Highlights of Jordan's summer:

1. Jordan passed the driving test on her first attempt. She took a week long driving class in Lexington that was awesome. They drove a car with special back wheels that mimicked a skid. The kids experienced how it felt to skid and learned to control the vehicle through it. Anyone with kids around that age click here for more information, I would highly recommend it.

2. Jordan received her score on the AP World History test...........4! What does this mean for Jordan? She will NOT have to take World History in college. What does this mean for Jeff and I? One college class paid for!

3. The Legacy program provides high school students the opportunity to gain medical experience by volunteering on the ambulance. Jordan applied, interviewed and was selected! She completed the first aid and CPR training this summer and I think will be starting soon. She will be required to work/ride a minimum number of shifts per month.

4. First day of Jordan's junior year and she is at the orthodontist getting her braces off. One of my first blog post was when she got her braces put on, if you missed it click here.

Jordan's beautiful smile,

Priceless

Flashback - August 16, 2003

2011-08-16T15:58:00.000-04:00

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband,

today Jeff and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.
Thanks Jeff for all your love, patience and support!

I'm not sure if we are getting "better or worse"?

Bathroom Redo

2011-08-12T15:26:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Casey and I'm a home project addict.

My latest project has been Jordan's bathroom. I painted, installed a new light fixture, tiled the frame around the mirror and hung the mirror. I'm a little nervous about the mirror falling off the wall but am happy to report that after almost a week it is still up. My original plan was to tile the whole wall but then I discovered how much tile cost. This is my bang for my buck version. I still need to install an exhaust fan, update the faucet and do some decorating but as you can tell Jordan has already taken over.

To put it nicely Jeff isn't a big fan of my "projects". His comment regarding this project was, "I like it, it doesn't look like you did it".............i'm going to take that as a compliment?

Blog Break

2011-08-12T14:40:00.000-04:00

You will be very suprised to know that I've managed to overschedule life! In October I'm scheduled to take my Professional Engineering exam and run in the Bourbon Chase. This is in addition to the everyday Wife, Mother, Mom, Mama, Maid, Taxi, and Career duties. That being said the blog will probably get neglected. Be back in November!

First Day of School

2011-08-12T14:31:00.002-04:00

2011-2012 School Year

Keegyn, Kindergarten - Jordan, Junior - Colten, 1st Grade

Bed Time Story

2011-08-12T14:20:00.000-04:00

The neglected 3rd child, Keegyn

I felt guilty about her reading herself her bedtime story

and then I noticed how small her hand-me-down PJs are

Little Miss and Mister

2011-07-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

One time when Jordan was little I did the unthinkable..........put her in the county Little Miss Pageant. This is totally not my personality and I have no idea what I was thinking. Impulse decisions are a lot like impulse buys, not good. Of course Jordan did perfect and was hands down the cutest kid but the bribed judges named some other child Little Miss. It was all fun and games till she didn't win. Well I may still be a little bitter but I did learn my lesson, forgo the pageant and go straight for the sash! Lucky for me I know the seamstress, aka my crafty mom who makes sashes for some of the local county fair pageants. Between work and packing for Hawaii she somehow managed to make Colten and Keegyn their own sashes. The kids were so excited, Keegyn even were hers to church Sunday.

Pre-Hawaii

2011-07-18T15:31:00.000-04:00

Mom, Dad and both my grandmothers are getting ready to go on a Hawaiian vacation. Colten and I got to spend the day with Mom helping her run errands to get ready for vacation.

My pretty Mom's Hawaii haircut

and Colten's faux hawk

Colten's "cool look"

Proud Mom Moment

2011-06-23T11:23:00.001-04:00

I tend to share (vent) Jordan's teenage girl attitude issues so I have to also share how proud of her I am. Check out her sophmore year grade report. The best part is the A's aren't in cooking they are in Honors/AP classes and she took an extra early morning class.

AWESOME WORK

Hidden Picture

2011-06-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

Below is the June picture on my work calendar. I took it on our vacation to Michigan last year and love it except for one rock, can you find it?

Mother's Day

2011-06-15T15:11:00.000-04:00

We added a little twist to our Mother's Day celebration this year and had a photographer come take pictures of just us girls. Check them out, http://richiephoto.com/Richie_Photography_Online/The_Studio_Galleries/Pages/Spring.html. Below are some Susan took.

JORDAN, MOM, AND KEEGYN

KEEGYN

MOM- YOU ARE THE BEST!

what is my dad doing in my girl picture?

While we were hamming it up, Jeff, Colten, Jerry and Dianne were seeing Stomp. Jeff was a little skeptical at first but I think they all ended up having a good time.

COLTEN, DEE DEE, AND GROVER

Summer Cuts

2011-06-15T13:29:00.000-04:00

Colten and Keegyn were long overdue for hair cuts so I finally broke down and took them last night. In the past Jordan has tried to spike Colten's hair up and he has wanted nothing to do with it, well times have changed and he was very proud of his styled faux hawk. He kept asking me, "Mom is my hair messed up?" Keegyn traded in her "Stringiness" for the "Velma" cut. Her best friend, Maggie has her hair cut like Velma (from Scooby) and Keegyn wanted to match. I know you just looked at her pic and thought really Velma and the answer to Keegyn is yes identical. Even Jeff got his hair cut but dodged the photos.

After hair cuts we ate on the patio at BD's Mongolian Grill http://www.gomongo.com/ and listened to a band. Weather was great and so were the kids. Only thing missing was Jordan who was at work.

SUMMER HERE WE COME

School Pics

2011-06-09T16:17:00.000-04:00

I know I've been horrible about blogging, time to catch up. Below are the kids 2010-2011 school pictures.

Preschooler Keegyn

Kindergartner Colten

Sophomore Jordan

Guess Who's 6?

2011-05-01T18:38:00.000-04:00

Keegyn turned 4 in February which left Colten anxiously waiting for his April birthday. He has been consumed with marking days off the calendar and making party plans.

Celebrating Colten's Birthday

MOONY, NANCY, GRANNY, MOM, GAMMY, JORDAN, KEEGYN, JEFF AND COLTEN

Colten's birthday fell on a Friday this year. I took a half day off work and Colten and I went to see the movie HOP. In lieu of cake he chose GiGi's cupcakes, http://gigiscupcakesusa.com/ for everyone.

Colten turned 6 on Friday and Grover turned 60 on Saturday

BIRTHDAY BUDDIES

Jerry and Dianne treated us to a wet and wild Birthday Retreat in West Lafayette. It was perfect! The kids played, Jeff and I relaxed and we got to see Drew, Kat and Abby.

KEEGYN AND DEE DEE ENSURING EVERYONE GETS WET
who do you think is having more fun?

No trip is complete without a little Keegyn drama........Jeff, Jerry and Keegyn took Jordan to get a Purdue shirt. While in the store Keegyn accidentally broke a $250 engraved sandstone statue!

JEFF, COLTEN, JORDAN, JERRY, KEEGYN, AND DIANNE

(notice Jordan's new jacket, fortunately for Jeff we don't also own a new statue)

THANKS DEE DEE AND GROVER!

Box Tops

2011-04-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

Colten's school recently held a contest to see which classroom could collect the most box tops. The winning class would be rewarded with a pizza party. Colten was so excited (and determined to win) he ask friends and family for all their box tops. Jeff's mom and grandmother sent box tops, Nora sent in box tops and The University of Louisville sent box tops (Amanda told her friends about Colten and they all pitched in and helped)!

There was a total of 8,731 Box tops turned in

The classroom winner was Mrs. Pierce AM Kindergarten with 926 (this is Colten's room)!

Thanks everyone for all the help.

Light Fixtures

2011-04-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

This summer will make 8 years that Jeff and I have lived in our house. We bought the house new but didn't pick out any of the finishes. One thing that annoys me is the many "boob lights" that are installed in our house. I've managed to switch out 2 so far, check them out. The upstairs bathroom is next on the list.

BOOB LIGHT

They are all identical

Light fixture I installed in Jordan's room

Light fixture I installed in our guest bedroom

Kite Flying

2011-04-04T14:26:00.000-04:00

Susan and Tim brought kites to my Mom's on Sunday, can you say GENIUS! I had kites growing up but never actually flew them, I ran around the yard with the kite bouncing on the ground behind me. I'm not sure what Susan and Tim told Colten and Keegyn but they picked right up on it. It was a perfect day for kite flying. I'm thinking this may be a fun thing to do while in Michigan this summer.

I try not to compare the kids but do enjoy their unique personalities. Notice Colten's intense concentration, as with everything Colten does he was a hardcore kite flyer.................

ok, now to my other unique personality (Jordan was out getting "driving time" in with my mom). Notice the picture on the right, Susan watching the kite while Keegyn flys the kite while watching the dog. At one point I looked at Keegyn and with one hand she is flying the kite while sitting on the ground fixing her shoe with the other hand. Not much bothers Keegyn but when it does like when the tail of her kite got stuck in the tree, watch out. I get so much joy from both but sometimes it is hard to believe they are even related.

I pray I take more time to enjoy these important things in life.

I am truely very blessed.

Final Four Basketball Games

2011-04-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

We all loaded in the mini van Saturday and headed to Huntington, WV (Marshall) to watch the the Final Four Basketball games with Ashley and her boyfriend Peter. Mom bought (she actually made Colten and Keegyn's shirts-check them out) us all Final Four UK shirts. Prior to tip off we went to a really cool park and played. The winner of the girls vs. boys soccer game was the.............GIRLS! Colten still isn't happy. After the park we picked up some pizzas and chips/salsa to go with the cookies Susan made and piled in Peter's room to watch the games. Hopefully we will get to spend more time with these two over the summer. My goal is to get our backyard in entertaining shape early this spring and then relax and enjoy it the rest of the season. Any volunteers to help with the work?

JORDAN AND ASHLEY

COLTEN

check out the shirt, LOVE IT!

JORDAN
cool swing but not comfy

KEEGYN TAKING A RIDE ON THE ZIP LINE

ASHLEY AND KEEGYN

Love Keegyn's face in this one

COLTEN

COLTEN, JEFF, PETER, JORDAN, ASHLEY AND KEEGYN

Thanks Peter and Ashley for inviting us, even though UK lost we had a great time.

Monkey Joe's

2011-02-02T09:31:00.000-05:00

I somehow managed to schedule Colten's eye doctor appointment for 9:30 am and Keegyn's for 2:00 pm, on the same day. There was only one thing to do.............take the whole day off work. The day of the appointments just so happened to coincide with a snow day. Between eye appointments, the little ones chose to go to Monkey Joe's, http://www.monkeyjoes.com/lexington-ky. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was lots of fun. Fortunately we went on a week day and there were only a few other kids there. After Keegyn's appointment, Jordan chose to go to The Boot Store to exchange a Christmas present. When we got there both little ones were asleep. Keegyn woke up but I carried Colten in and lied him on a wooden bench, where he slept until it was time to go.

Monkey Joe's

Colten

Keegyn

White Coat Ceremony

2011-01-13T16:44:00.001-05:00

My Mom, Colten, Keegyn and I were honored to attend Jordan's White Coat Ceremony last week.

White Coat: The "white coat" or lab coat is the distinctive dress of the biomedical scientist. It is worn not only for protection in the laboratory, but also to distinguish one as a member of the scientific and medical community. Receiving and wearing the coat denotes that the wearer is not only deserving of respect for her profession, but also an ethical, learned person of science.

The Biomedical Sciences students here at Elkhorn Crossing School, having displayed knowledge, ability, and aptitude in the area of biomedical science, are hereby awarded a white coat and the respect accorded it.

JORDAN SPORTING HER NEW WHITE COAT

KEEGYN, JORDAN AND COLTEN

AWWW.......ISN'T SHE PRETTY

THIS IS A MOMENT I WILL CHOOSE TO STORE IN MEMORY

(in lieu of the moment last week when she refused to do what Jeff asked and then got mad and threw a bowl of cereal at him, IN THE LIVING ROOM)

Harlem Globetrotters

2011-01-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

Susan and Tim gave our family tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters for Christmas! The seats were awesome and we all had a great time. We ate supper at Dewey's Pizza at Newport on the Levee then walked across the river to the US Bank Arena.

DID I MENTION HOW AWESOME THE SEATS WERE?

KEEGYN CRACKING UP OVER THE GLOBETROTTERS

SUSAN CRACKING UP OVER KEEGYN'S REACTION

COLTEN
This is the same facial expression he makes when he is playing basketball

WHAT IS MY HUSBAND'S ONE OBSESSION (other then me)?

AUTOGRAPHS!

ME AND LANCE

I think he looks like he is having fun

KEEGYN, JEFF, JORDAN, COLTEN, LANCE AND ME
Lance might be over the fun

THANKS- TIM AND SUSAN

Dee Dee's Birthday

2010-12-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

Jeff, the kids and I recently went to Jerry and Dianne's house to celebrate Dianne's birthday. We had lots of fun sleeping over, making cookies and going to see Tangled. Hope you enjoy the pics.

KEEGYN
I love how she is concentrating so hard on decorating her cookie.

She obviously made sure the icing taste good.

JEFF AND COLTEN
Colten decorated this cookie for Jeff.

JORDAN'S DECORATING STATION
While we were there Dianne introduced Jordan to broccoli with lemon pepper and peach salsa. These are now some of her new favorite treats.

COLTEN, JORDAN, JEFF, KEEGYN, JERRY, AND DIANNE
Happy Birthday Dee Dee!

Gingerbread House Decorating

2010-12-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

My friends and I got together with our kids for our 2nd Annual Gingerbread House decorating party! We had lots of fun and the gingerbread houses turned out adorable.

CARRIE BETH, ME, AMANDA, AND TONI

(Emily was sick and couldn't make it)

COLTEN SHOWING OFF HIS HOUSE

KEEGYN DECORATING GINGERBREAD COOKIES

When I opened Keegyn's gingerbread house it was broken, beyond repair. Thanks Tigges crew for sharing your cookies with Keegyn. Kudos to Keegyn for not having a major meltdown.

AMANDA, CARRIE BETH AND JORDAN

Jordan was a big help with the little ones. I had to bribe her with my friend's good cooking to get her to skip gymnastics.

FINISHED PRODUCTS................

I love Colten's name on his.

Below is the recipe for the Tortellini Soup I fixed. Thanks Amy for the recipe, it was super EASY and GOOD.

Tortellini Soup

Chicken broth (48 oz + 14 oz. cans)
Buitoni mixed cheese tortellini (they are refrigerated not frozen)
Diced tomatoes (28 oz)
4 green onions - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 small can of V8 juice (not the minis)
2+ tsp. fresh basil or 1-2 tsp. dried basil
garnish: shredded Parmesan cheese

Bring chicken broth to a boil in large pot over med-high heat. Add tortellini and rest of ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

You can add mini meatballs, spinach, or slices of cooked Italian sausage
Garnish each bowl with shredded Parmesan cheese

Prancer

2010-12-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

My employeer, Lexington Fayette Urban County Government hosted a free night for their employees at the Kentucky Theatre. Festivities were santa, cookies and the movie, Prancer. I will be honest the thought of working all day in Lexington, driving back to Georgetown to get the kids and then driving back to Lexington wasn't my idea of a "fun" night. But I put my Good Mommy pants on and went for it. Actually I made the mistake of mentioning the possibility of this to Colten and he was so excited there was no way I could tell him no.

KEEGYN AND COLTEN BEFORE WE LEFT

TELLING SANTA WHAT THEY WANTED

SMILING FOR MOM

I wish I could continue with how great the evening was but truthfully Keegyn struggled to make it through the last 30 minutes of the movie and then had a complete meltdown on the way to the car. Visually picture me holding Colten's hand and in my other hand dragging a screaming Keegyn by her hood down the sidewalk. Did I mention that Jeff was working late and it was extremely cold out? After I wrestled Keegyn into her carseat she waited until I got in my seat to unbuckle herself. A few times through this cycle and I had a complete meltdown. First I told Keegyn I was going to drop her off at the police station. I was obviously despearate for her to stay in her carseat. Not only did it not work, it upset Colten to the point of crying. My next tactic was to tell Keegyn, "she couldn't come with me anymore until she could listen better". To this Colten replied, "I guess I can't go either because I don't want to go without Keegyn". Are you kidding me? We picked Jordan up at gymnastics and she had also had a rought night and her and Keegyn cried most of the way home. As a mother I went to bed that night upset about the evening, not because of the way the kids acted but because of the way I handled it. Crossing my fingers and praying for more patience.

Thought the kids might enjoy this......Santa came to see me at work

Cincinnati Cyclones

2010-12-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

Big THANKS to Susan and Tim who took our family to a Cincinnati Cyclones game this weekend. We all had a really good time. Jeff and I have decided we need to build our own penalty box for when the kids get in fights. When checking out the pics notice the kids cool t-shirts.

KEEGYN AND SUSAN

JORDAN HAD LOTS OF FUN, TOO

TOUGH BOY- COLTEN, TIM AND SUAN

KEEPING WARM

LOTS OF FUN DANCING AND CHEERING

Keegyn's Perspective

2010-11-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

A recent conversation in our house.................
Jeff looked at me and said, "you're hot"
Keegyn then looked at Jeff and said, "Dad am I hot?"
Jeff said, "no"
Keegyn then walks over to Jeff and says, "BUT DAD, feel me I'm burning up"

World Equestrian Games 2010

2010-11-01T13:11:00.000-04:00

I won 2 tickets to the Dresage competition at the World Equestrian Games. Susan and I were both able to take off work and go enjoy the experience. I don't think I have ever been to a horse competition before and wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed it. It was amazing to watch these huge powerful animals perform these beautiful delicate dance steps. I enjoyed the experience of being surrounded by people from all around the world. Thanks Susan for going with me and sharing this once in a life time experience!

Susan and I parked at the Horse Park. The Dresage competition we had tickets for was first thing in the morning. As we got out of the car I said wait, "Do we know where we parked?'. My sister said "sure, by the trees" and off we went. 8 hours later..........where is the van? The field we parked in looked totally different. There were lots of cars AND trees.

VIEW OF THE MAIN STADIUM

SUSAN

SISTERS

DRESAGE

Blue Licks State Park

2010-11-01T12:45:00.000-04:00

My Mom's Mom, Granny treated us to lunch at Blue Licks State Park. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and great food, thanks Granny.

GRANNY, KEEGYN, GAMMY, MOONY, NANCY

HERBBIE, SUSAN, CHARLENE, BRENDA, JORDAN AND RAYMOND

the boys skipped out on the picture; Lance, Jeff, Tim, and Colten

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER

HERBBIE AND GRANNY

JORDAN, KEEGYN, GAMMY, DAD AND COLTEN

LANCE AND GRANNY

JORDAN AND COLTEN

I've tried to discourage the gun thing but it just isn't working.

High Speed Chase

2010-11-01T09:09:00.000-04:00

Mom, Jordan and I loaded the kids up Monday evening and headed to Frankfort to shop for material for Halloween costumes. We were maybe a mile from the house when plans changed............the police were in the middle of a high speed chase and we got in the way. YES, two 15 year old boys that had went missing from a foster home the night before decided to steele a car and while running from the police hit me. Fortunately everyone was fine. Colten was crying because he was worried he wasn't going to get his costume. We knew my Dad was in Georgetown so when Jordan called him he said, "you mean the white car the DOT was chasing?". Ok, next time maybe he could call a girl and give her a heads up. We did end up going to Frankfort Tuesday evening and getting everything for "Tinkerbell" and "Batman".

Trick Or Treat 2010

2010-11-01T08:43:00.000-04:00

For the past 15 Halloweens our family has gathered at my grandmother's (Gammy) house for supper and Trick or Treating. Since last year Gammy has fallen and broken her neck! She is now living in an assisted living facility. This year we got together at her new "home" and wished her new friends a Happy Halloween.

TRICK OR TREATERS

COLTEN, BRENDA, JORDAN, GAMMY, RAYMOND, KEEGYN AND JEFF

BASKET FULL OF TREATS TO BE DELIVERED

I love how Gammy and Keegyn are holding hands.

JORDAN AND GAMMY

TINKERBELL, aka Keegyn

I forgot Tinkerbell's wings. She looked at me and said, "Mom, now I can't fly!"

BATMAN, aka Colten

BATMAN IN ACTION

Michigan

2010-09-29T10:06:00.000-04:00

Our family's 2010 summer vacation destination was Michigan. We visited Harbor Springs, Petosky and stayed in Traverse City. We saw the cabin where Jeff vacationed to as a kid and where my grandmother, Gammy vacationed with her brother and sister in law.

Colten and Keegyn checking it out.

I even got in the water and played on this. Jordan and I were trying to do handstands on it. The water was cold at first but even I got used to it.

Notice my new necklace. Jordan and I each got one at a bead shop in Harbor Springs, MI.

The beach in Harbor Springs, MI had waves that the kids loved.

Keegyn spent lots of time running up to the wash station to rinse the sand off her feet. Colten looked at me one time and said, "you know her feet are just going to get sandy again when she walks back?". For the record, yes I knew that.

Colten climbing up on the trampoline.

The family going out for supper.

My girls, loving Jordan's necklace from the bead shop.

The week before we left Colten ran into a concrete wall during his first basketball game. A trip to the ER for some superglue and he was good to go.

Supper at Lake Leland, a fishing town.

Colten with his new puppy, Anchor

Me and Keegs

As you can tell part of vacation for me was not fixing my hair.

Can't wait till next year!

We Are........Marshall

2010-09-29T09:50:00.000-04:00

My niece, Ashley started her freshman year at Marshall! The kids were so excited to find packages in the mail yesterday from their Aunt Susan and Uncle Tim. The kids all wore their new gear to school today.

Jordan

Colten

Keegyn just wanted to go to school and show her friend Maggie and then come back home.

Wild and Wonderful

2010-08-25T09:09:00.000-04:00

My sister, Susan and her family got a cabin in West Virginia this summer. We tagged along for a long weekend and had a great time. Here are the pics.

KIDS LOVED THE HOT TUB

ME, MOM AND SUSAN

KEEGYN AND HER BUDDY LANCE

BEAUTIFUL!

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

First day of school for Scott County! The Shuttle Drive line up is...............

Senior, Kaitlyn Oliver

Sophomore, Jordan Spring

and Kindergartner, Colten Kaucher

I think they are holding back their excitement

Students getting on the bus

Keegyn wishing them well, we missed Amanda

MeMe came to see Colten

Keegyn's Glasses

2010-08-10T12:59:00.000-04:00

Keegyn got a new fashion accessory, glasses. She isn't a fan yet but hopefully in time she will at least cooperate and wear them. We picked them up last night and both her teachers at school today skipped their usual contacts and wore glasses to match Keegyn! I can't wait to find out if they had any luck getting Keegyn to wear hers.

Cool design on the side

Careful What I Say

2010-07-15T08:41:00.000-04:00

I was running late for work this morning, shocker huh? As I was carrying a no shoed, troll doll haired Keegyn into daycare I looked at her and said, "Mommy is pooped", Keegyn then looked at me and said, "in your pants?". Totally cracked me up. I am now imagining the look on her daycare teacher's face when Keegyn tells her how her mommy pooped her pants! Got to love em...........

GELC Graduate

2010-07-07T16:23:00.001-04:00

I am a proud parent of a 2010 Grace Early Learning Center graduate. Colten's grandparents and practice grandparents attended the celebration. I actually think it is crazy to have preschool graduation but Colten was excited so that is all that matters and of course I'm always looking for a reason to get together with family and friends. I can't say enough wonderful things about Grace, the kids love it and so do I.

COLTEN IS OFFICIALLY READY FOR KINDERGARTEN

Colten's Eye Surgery

2010-07-07T15:47:00.001-04:00

Colten recently had his eyes "fixed" (technically it was surgery but I thought fixed sounded better when talking to Colten). Colten has been going to the eye doctor every six months to track his vision with the plan to do surgery before he started school. In my mind this was a long time away or last month. He did great and his eyes are adjusting well to the procedure. If anyone needs a pediatric opthamologist let me know.

Ms Amanda let Colten borrow her puppy for the day. Colten took it into surgery with him.

Colten's birthday buddy, "Jeanne" from my work got him these cool stickers. It entertained him before surgery.

Colten's 5th Birthday

2010-06-22T15:57:00.000-04:00

Catching up.............The last couple of months have been crazy in the Kaucher house. I've forgotten some and blocked some out but I will give you the overview in the next couple of post. As far as I remember this was the beginning of the storm.

APRIL 16, 2010 THE DAY AFTER JEFF'S KNEE SURGERY

APRIL 16, 2010 COLTEN TURNED 5!!!!!!!

BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST, THANKS McDONALD"S

Colten picked a cookie dough Blizzard Ice Cream Cake from Dairy Queen

MAKE A WISH

GROVER AND COLTEN (love this pic)

REFLECTING ON THE PAST FIVE YEARS

Let me start off by saying Colten is the best little boy anyone could ever wish for. Mine and Colten's plan of spending a "special day" together for his birthday hit a little snafu when we found out Jeff had to have knee surgery, the day before. (Jeff tore his ACL playing basketball and then put off going to the doctor until he fell in the yard AND tore his meniscus, lesson learned) Colten still got to skip school on his birthday we just tweaked our plans a bit. We still spent time together which is the reason for the "special day" to begin with.

Things I love about Colten........

1. It was bedtime and Keegyn was in my bedroom floor crying, Colten got up and came and helped her up and then held her hand as they walked back to the couch together to go to bed. This is just one of many times he uses his sweet, loving and compassionate personality to help others.

2. I got up in the middle of the night and found Colten laying on the hardwood living room floor sleeping, he looked up at me and when I asked what he was doing he say well "Jesus slept on the floor". He has an amazing love and faith for Christ.

3. He frequently tells me I'm the most beautiful and best mommy ever (I'm sure during the teenage years I will need to remind him of this)! Evidence that he is very intellectually gifted.

Easter

2010-06-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Easter with the family.......................

WE DYED EGGS!!!!!!!

BREAKFAST AND HUNTING AT CHURCH

LANCE, JORDAN AND ASHLEY CLEANING UP AFTER LUNCH!

FAMILY TIME
aka-stealing the kids candy

GRANNY

KEEGYN, BLUE AND DAD

POOF! KEEGYN TURNED INTO A DOG

Family Pictures

2010-06-01T15:18:00.000-04:00

We had our annual family pics taken! Follow the link below, scroll down to the Kaucher gallery and use the password, family. It is so much work to find clothes and get ready but always worth it in the end. Lisa Collins has been taking our pics for probably the last four years and I love them. Jordan has always been pretty/cute but I didn't realize she had changed to BEAUTIFUL. Colten was running around playing when it wasn't his turn hence the wet sweaty hair. I see Keegyn everyday so I know she has red (orange) hair but I was still amazed by the uniqueness when I saw it in these pics. Let me know what everyone thinks??????????
Lisa Collins Photography

Gatlinburg MVP

2010-04-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

Jordan had a gymnastic meet in Gatlinburg, TN. Jeff's parents and our crew made a mini vacation out of it. I spent lots of time researching cabins and picked out the perfect one, check it out: http://www.yourcabin.com/705TheSummit.aspx. Unfortunately a small ice storm kept us from actually staying there. After trying to drive to the cabin with no luck, we ended up in a hotel. It had an indoor pool so the little ones were happy and Jordan got to spend one night with her friends so she was happy. While there Colten swam all by himself (no floaties or life jacket) for the first time!!!!!!!!

MVP of the weekend vacation goes to......

Grover Kaucher (aka Jerry), Congratulations!

Not only was he an expert ice mountain driver, he managed to get a VIP pass to the Hard Rock Cafe. This enabled us to walk right in and get a table with no wait, great service, and a souveigner to boot. Great anytime but with hungry kids, definite MVP AWESOME!

JORDAN DEALING WITH THE UNEXPECTED

IN BED, EATING PIZZA, AND WATCHING TV

I believe this was the calm before Keegyn fell into the nightstand, see post Keegyn's New Smile.

ME AND MY KIDS-LOVE THIS

COLTEN-

He is on a motorcycle like MooMoo and driving like Grover!

KEEGYN

Silly Putty Removal

2010-04-07T10:24:00.001-04:00

While waiting in the drive thru at Fazolis last night Keegyn starts screaming. I ask what the problem is and she tells me her (actually Jordan's) silly putty is stuck in her hair. I explain to her no big deal I will pull over and fix it, yea right. I quickly realize that's not happening. As Keegyn is crying the rest of the way home Colten ask, "Keegyn why did you put silly putty in your hair?" With a facial expression that said, what else would I be doing? she says, "I was making my hair". I'm sure her Aunt Charlene is proud because she and Keegyn were having lots of fun on Easter making different silly putty imprints.

I used ice to get most of it and then put her in the bath tub and used conditioner and a fine tooth comb to get the rest.

Keegyn's New Smile

2010-04-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

Keegyn kept turning a lamp on and off while on vacation. Jeff asked her to stop, of course she then proceeded to run as fast as she could to do it again. She tripped and smashed into a bedside table. The next morning she woke up and told Jeff, "my teeth feel better where you made me hurt them". Obviously this wasn't true but its funny how kids interpret things (Jeff felt awful). About a week later the tooth turned gray and....................

KEEGYN MINUS THE HURT TEETH

Keegyn was awesome at the dentist! She had impressions taken and two teeth removed with no tears! Afterwards while riding the carousel in the waiting room she got excited and the piece of gauze that was in her mouth fell out revealing blood. This very much upset her. When we got in the van she informed me she wasn't riding the carousel anymore because it made her mouth bleed.

Results from our most recent trip to the dentist

Keegyn kept asking me if her new teeth would look like mine,

even better then that her new teeth look just like her old ones (before the injury).

Sunshine

2010-04-01T15:35:00.001-04:00

Enjoying the sunshine at the Arboretum

Big Cuz In The Kaucher House

2010-03-23T10:05:00.001-04:00

Check out the kids "sizing up" Big Cuz!

Keegyn's explaintion of how he got so big...........
"he ate lots of vegtables"

Jordan striking the Big Cuz pose

State Meet-Beam

2010-03-22T08:35:00.004-04:00

Jordan was bummed she fell on her flight.

State Meet-Bars

2010-03-22T08:16:00.004-04:00

Jordan connected her board mount and bail!

Birthday Parties

2010-03-16T15:43:00.000-04:00

My family has spent the last month eating birthday cake and ice cream. Check out the party highlights below.

Happy Birthday to.....................

Charlene-February 26

Nancy-February 29

Granny-March 6

Dad-March 9

COLTEN, DAD AND KEEGYN-

PUTTING TOGETHER DAD'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT, A MODEL MOTORCYCLE (still not done)

MICHELE AND POP PLAYING WII BOWLING

MOONEY AND KEEGYN-LOVING LIFE

NANCY AND POP

MEME AND KEEGYN TAKING GRANNY HER CAKE

POP PLAYING CHECKERS WITH COLTEN AND KEEGYN

JORDAN AND MOONEY

My "Cats In The Hats"

2010-03-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

Colten and Keegyn's daycare celebrated Dr. Seuss's, The Cat In The Hat birthday.

Denistry For Children

2010-03-08T09:47:00.000-05:00

Keegyn's first trip to the dentist, teeth cleaned and x-rays taken. She was awesome! If you have children and are looking for a pediatric dentist check out Denistry for Children, http://www.dentistryforchildrenky.com/.

Multi Tasking

2010-03-04T10:32:00.001-05:00

Friday Colten and Keegyn both had doctor appointments in Northern Kentucky. With the new job and limited time off work I was trying to get as much done in one day as possible. Susan and Tim met us to watch one kid while the other was in the doctor and then switch. This was a BIG help and the kids loved it, thanks! Colten got an A+ at the cardiologist and Keegyn got an A+ at the ear doctor. Between appointments we met at the mall. Colten got his hair cut, Keegyn played in the play area and Susan and I shopped (Tim and Jeff??????). I ate lunch from Currito in the food court and loved it. If you like mexican food I would definitely recommend it, Jeff like it better then Qdoba!

KEEGYN AND COLTEN WAITING IN LINE FOR THE CAROUSEL

KEEGYN RIDING HER FAVORITE ANIMAL

COLTEN GROWLING LIKE A TIGER

ICE CREAM BREAK

Keegs turns 3

2010-03-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

Friday, February 12 my baby turned 3! I took off work so we could spend the day together. She loves to help me cook which is good because I had lots to do to get ready for our weekend trip to Gatlinburg. First we made jello shots (no calls to social services they were non alcoholic) for Colten's V-day party, then we made a casserole for our trip. Keegyn chose to have lunch with my Mom in Cynthiana. I have to be honest, Keegyn woke up in a cranky mood and stayed that way most of the day. I told my mom this and she informed me that birthdays do the same thing to her. Check the day out in pics-

LEONO'S PIZZA

TINKERBELL SHOES AND ICE CREAM

WE WENT TO WAL-MART FOR KEEGYN TO PICK OUT HER BIRTHDAY CAKE.............

KEEGYN AND I THOUGHT IT WAS TINKERBELL, COLTEN TOOK ONE LOOK AT IT AND INFORMED US IT WAS THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (of course he was right)

DON'T WANT TO LET ANY OF THE ICING GO TO WASTE

PREVIEW OF KEEGYN'S "TEENAGE ATTITUDE"

I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I GET THE SAME LOOK FROM JORDAN

JORDAN HELPING CELEBRATE

Keegyn's New Do

2010-02-07T17:06:00.015-05:00

Keegyn's hair is an extension of her personality. It can be super cute when pulled up but can also be very unmanageable. With the new morning schedule I haven't had the time and Keegyn has not had the patience to do her hair. In an effort to make life easier Keegyn got a hair cut (it is actually her third cut). She was excited and did great, check out he results.

KEEGYN SHOWING OFF HER NEW DO

Pizza Night

2010-02-07T16:45:00.026-05:00

Jeff went to a UK basketball game one night last week and Jordan was at gymnastics (surprise, surprise, surprise) so Colten, Keegyn and I made Chef Boyardee pizzas. Recently my cousin Herbie had mentioned how much his family loves them. I figured we had to try it.

THE FAMILY SIZE BOX MADE 2 PIZZAS

COLTEN AND KEEGYN EACH MADE THEIR OWN

CHECK OUT KEEGYN'S PEPPERONI PLACEMENT- SHE WAS VERY PARTICULAR

(MAKE A MENTAL NOTE OF HER HAIR FOR THE NEXT POST)

CAN YOU BELIEVE HOW OLD HE LOOKS?

VOILA!
THE SMILES SAY IT ALL- DEFINITE REPEAT

Hide And Sleep

2010-01-31T18:12:00.007-05:00

While at Mom's Sunday, she brought it to my attention that nobody had seen or heard from Keegyn in a while. This is what I found when I went looking for her.

Luckily I heard her snoring and pulled the blankets back to find this-

Coach's Spectacular Beam

2010-01-20T05:43:00.004-05:00

Coaches Spectacular-Bars

2010-01-19T20:41:00.015-05:00

Check out Jordan's bar routine from her gymnastics meet last weekend.

Jeff's Baby

2010-01-12T21:11:00.014-05:00

It finally arrived.............................

CHECK OUT JEFF'S NEW TV

We put our Christmas money together with Jeff's TV/Blow Money envelope (Dave Ramsey) to purchase a new updated TV. I'm proud to say we set a budget, stuck to it and paid cash (kind of, we ordered online so it will be on credit card temporarily). The timing was perfect, it was delivered Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening the Purdue basketball game (notice the screen) was on at 7:00 then UK basketball at 9:00! I foresee many conflicts between Jeff and Colten over who gets to watch their show. I have to give thanks to Jeff's friend, Brad who gave lots of good advice on which TV to choose and also shopped around to find out where to get the best deal.

First Snow 2010

2010-01-07T19:20:00.022-05:00

The kids (especially Colten) were so excited about the recent snow. We had had a few other light snows this winter but by the time we got home from daycare/work the snow would be melted, this time was different. As soon as the kids and I got home we put on our snowsuits and stayed out till dark. Colten helped me shovel the whole driveway. Then I pulled the two of them around in their sled. My favorite part was the cup of hot chocolate we had to have in order to warm up!

KEEGYN

COLTEN

DO KIDS EVER GET COLD?

Associate Traffic Engineer

2010-01-07T19:20:00.018-05:00

It is official, I have started my new job as an Associate Traffic Engineer with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government. I'm working downtown Lexington in the Phoenix building. Due to the economy, the amount of work at my previous job had declined so I needed to find something else. I was there 4 1/2 years and had gotten very spoiled with my flexibility. Next to the people, I most miss being able to run home at lunch and put something in the crock pot, pick up the house or do laundry. It is going to take a while for our household to adjust and find a new normal. If anybody has any suggestions let me know.

On the positive side I'm really enjoying the new work. I knew I had learned lots at Thoroughbred buy everyday I'm pleasantly surprised by something else that I'm able to say yeh I know that or I've done that before. Obviously there is still lots for me to learn but I am very thankful for the knowledge/experience I got at Thoroughbred.

DeeDee's Birthday

2010-01-01T14:21:00.012-05:00

Jeff's Mom, Dianne aka DeeDee celebrated her birthday on December 18. We started the celebration day by surprising her at church. After church we grabbed some lunch and then all went to see The Princess And The Frog. The movie was great! I did think there were a few parts that were a little scary but Colten explained to me "it was just a movie". Keegyn is not a huge TV girl so she took the opportunity to take a quick nap.

JEFF AND COLTEN WAITING ON JERRY AND DIANNE TO ARRIVE AT CHURCH

KEEGYN (DEFINITELY NEEDED THE NAP)

SNOW BALL FIGHT!

I THINK COLTEN LOST

NOT TO WORRY IT WAS NOTHING
A CUP OF HOT CHOCOLATE COULDN'T FIX

JEFF, COLTEN, JERRY, DIANNE AND KEEGYN

(WE MISSED JORDAN, SHE WAS IN WA)

Christmas in Vancouver

2010-01-01T13:31:00.011-05:00

Jordan spent Christmas with her friend Kenzie in Washington! Both girls chose this as their Christmas in lieu of presents. They had not seen each other since Kenzie moved in August. Jordan spent 8 days with Kenzie and her family (she would have loved to stay another 8). She flew all by herself! I have to admit this seemed like a good idea when we got the ticket but the closer it came to leaving I did get a little nervous. Of course everything went great and Jordan had a wonderful time. I think the thing she was most impressed with was the fact that when they went shopping in Portland, OR there was no sales tax (She bought Uggs). Colten and Keegyn were very sad when she left.

BIG BROTHER CARRIED HER SUIT CASE

COLTEN AND JORDAN

(UNFORTUNATELY NOT OUR CAR)

I WAS ABLE TO GET A PASS AND TAKE JORDAN BACK TO THE GATE

THERE SHE GOES

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-31T21:42:00.009-05:00

My friends and our kids got together for our first annual Gingerbread decorating party. Jordan was not thrilled about going, but in the end even she had fun. I'm sure it helped that we had delicious food, thanks CB for hosting. I can't wait to do it again next year.

THE FINISHED PRODUCTS....

JORDAN'S TREE-check out the fire

COLTEN AND KEEGYN'S HOUSE

JORDAN AND KEEGYN ADDING THE FINISHING TOUCHES

CARRIE BETH, AMANDA, AND COOPER
JORDAN, KEEGYN, ME AND COLTEN
KEEGYN, COLTEN AND GRIFFIN
AMANDA AND EMILY

TAG TEAMING EMILY'S BARN
GRIFFIN AND CADEN

Build A Bear Workshop

2009-12-31T21:15:00.012-05:00

While Christmas shopping with Jeff and I, Colten and Keegyn walked through Build a Bear and wanted one VERY much. They didn't get one for Christmas but they each got $20 from their Grandma Mary (Jeff's Dad's Mother) and you can guess where they chose to spend it. I'm amazed how much Colten and Keegyn's bears match their personalities.

KEEGYN AND HER UNIQUE, OUTGOING BEAR

COLTEN AND HIS SWEET CUDDLY BEAR

Christmas at The Castle

2009-12-07T15:39:00.016-05:00

Sunday my Mom, Aunt Charlene and Grandmother took a tour of the Castle, www.thecastlepost.com in Versailles. We met after church, ate lunch at the Beaumont Bar and Grill and then off to the Castle.

CHARLENE, MOM, GAMMY AND ME

(MY HOUSE BEFORE WE LEFT)

MOM, GAMMY AND CHARLENE IN THE LIBRARY
LOVE THE PAINT COLOR IN THIS ROOM

VIEW WHILE SITTING ON THE COMMODE IN THE ROYAL TURRET SUITE

ME AND MY GAMMY

15 Years Ago

2009-11-30T15:17:00.020-05:00

Look what I gave my Mom for her birthday 15 years ago.............

JORDAN

ME ME AND JORDAN

I took off work to spend Jordan's Birthday with her. We started the day at her favorite place, gymnastics. She took Red Velvet Cupcakes to share with her friends. I got a chance to sit and watch her without distractions from the little ones, that was lots of fun. We ate lunch at i Ching and then did a little shopping. That evening the whole family got together for supper in celebration of Jordan and Mom's day.

JORDAN AFTER LUNCH

THE GIRLS AND THEIR CAKES

HOW MANY CANDLES?

JORDAN AND HER ME ME

DO YOU THINK SHE'S SPOILED?

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T14:56:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving at Jeff's parents on Saturday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

COLTEN PLAYING THE WII

KEEGYN PLAYING THE WII

JORDAN SUPERVISING

Berenstain Bears

2009-11-23T11:36:00.015-05:00

The kids and I went to see the Berenstain Bears! Author, Mike Berenstain read the new Thanksgiving book and gave a demonstation on drawing the characters. We had some Berenstain Bears books at home so Colten and Keegyn each took one and got it signed.

MIKE BERENSTAIN

SACK LUNCH AND STORY TIME

KEEGYN GETTING HER BOOK SIGNED
KEEGYN AND COLTEN WITH THEIR SIGNED BOOKS

OBVIOUSLY WE HAD LOTS OF FUN, THEY ARE WORN OUT...........................

68 Years.............

2009-11-23T10:48:00.018-05:00

My Grandparents recently celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary, that's amazing!

THE NEWLYWEDS

MR. AND MRS. HAMM

68 YEARS LATER

THE FAMILY GATHERED TO CELEBRATE

(my family does not celebrate anything without food)

MY MOM WITH HER PARENTS

ME AND MY GRANDPARENTS

Happy Halloween

2009-11-16T15:39:00.018-05:00

My mother is an absolute genius when it comes to sewing/crafts! She always makes the grand kids Halloween Costumes and they just keep getting better. Our tradition is supper (usually pizza) at Grand-Gammy's house then trick or treating around her neighborhood. This year was extra fun because Halloween fell on a Saturday, Jeff's parents were able to come down and spend the day with us.

DEE DEE, KEEGYN, AND JORDAN DECORATING HALLOWEEN COOKIES
COLTEN CREATING A GREEN GHOST

JORDAN'S MASTERPIECE

GRAND-GAMMY AND MRS. EUGENIA READY TO HAND OUT CANDY

FIRE CHIEF COLTEN

FIRE PUPPY KEEGYN

KEEGYN'S PUPPY DOG FACE

BLAST FROM THE PAST...........................
CANDY CORN (COLTEN 2005)

LION (COLTEN 2006)

EGG (KEEGYN 2008)

Mall Play Area Warning

2009-11-13T13:57:00.006-05:00

The kids wanted to go to the playground last night but it was already dark and cold so the "super mom" that I am took them to the play area at the mall. We were there all of 5 minutes when Keegyn jumped off a platform onto another child and busted her lip. Colten was a super big brother and helped me carry our stuff to the car so I could tend to Keegyn (mouths bleed a lot!). I'm not sure what the other kid looked like this morning but check poor Keegyn out.

View In The Rear View Mirror

2009-11-09T15:56:00.006-05:00

This is what I saw in my rear view mirror on the way to work this morning........notice the sunglasses are upside down and mashing her ears.

Soccer Banquet

2009-10-30T15:52:00.012-04:00

Check out my "Big Boy". This is him receiving his trophy at his Soccer Banquet. He was so excited, when he woke up the next morning the first words out of his mouth were, "Mom, I better go check on my trophy".

COLTEN ON STAGE!

COLTEN AND THE TROPHY

JORDAN CHEERING HER BROTHER ON
THE ACTUAL PRESENTATION

Crafts with the Higley's

2009-10-30T15:31:00.017-04:00

I'm trying so hard to schedule play time with the kids. I know it is sad but if I don't schedule it other things end up taking precedence. I don't want my kids to think laundry and cleaning is more important then them (that sounded good didn't it?). This particular day I took the kids to Amy's house and we did crafts. Before we left, Keegyn was having a melt down (big surprise) so I told her Ava wouldn't play with her if she was crying. This wasn't the best parenting strategy, Keegyn was worried all the way to Cincinnati and ask me MULTIPLE times if Ava was going to play with her. Of course she did. Here are some pics of the kids having fun-

COLTEN, AVA AND KEEGYN

JACOB WAS NAPPING

AVA AND COLTEN TRYING TO WATCH TV..........

KEEGYN TRYING TO DISTRACT THEM

JACOB STILL NAPPING, BUT I'M SURE NOT FOR LONG

Girl's Night

2009-10-30T15:21:00.030-04:00

Supper at Galvins! The last time we got together was July 28! Since then, Toni has had her beautiful baby girl, Greenlee and is already back to work. Toni brought Greenlee with her to supper. I had so much fun holding her while Toni ate, but I think she gave me something......................that evening I came down with the baby bug! Needless to say after Jeff had been home with both little kids and drove to Lexington to get Jordan from gymnastics he was NOT feeling the same way. I had lots of fun as always and can't wait till next time.

TONI, AMANDA, CARRIE, AND EMILY

Buffalo Trace Halloween

2009-10-30T10:47:00.015-04:00

We went to my Aunt Charlene's house for supper and to visit with my cousin Chris, who was in from San Diego. Charlene fixed a traditional chili and a white chili (see recipe below). I tried the white chili (only because I was late, the traditional was all gone, and Charlene insisted) and to my surprise I loved it. After supper, we all loaded up and went to Buffalo Trace's "Haunting of the Distillery". First cool part, it was FREE! There were multiple haunted houses/trails set up. Each was geared toward a specific age group. The kids had lots of fun and it was cool to spend time with Chris and Danny.

FAMILY PIC BEFORE WE LEFT:

LANCE, COLTEN, JEFF, KEEGYN, DANNY, CHRIS, GRAND-GAMMY, MOM, DAD AND JORDAN

DANNY AND CHRIS

KEEGYN, CHARLENE, AND COLTEN READY TO FIND CANDY

KEEGYN WANTED LANCE TO CARRY HER

White Christmas Chili

8 boneless, skinned chicken breast halves

2 medium onions, chopped

2 -14 1/2 oz cans chicken broth

1 t. salt

1 t. ground cumin

1/8 t. ground cloves

4 - 15oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained*

1 - 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and mashed*

*5 - 15 oz cans great northern beans may be substituted

1 T. vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 - 4.5 oz cans chopped green chilies

3/4 t dried oregano

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/8 t ground red pepper

Toppings: sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Saute chicken, onion and garlic in hot oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in broth and 5-15 oz cans beans (prepared as directed), green chilies, salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, cloves, and red pepper; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with toppings. Yield 10 cups.

Ashley #23

2009-10-29T21:51:00.005-04:00

We got to go watch my niece, Ashley play in the regional final soccer game against Bourbon Co.! Jordan skipped gymnastics so she could go too (that's big). Congratulations Ashley and the HC Fillies on an awesome season.

PRETTY GIRLS

COLTEN, JORDAN, ASHLEY AND KEEGYN

Sleepover/Slumber Party

2009-10-19T20:30:00.014-04:00

The kids spent the night with DeeDee and Grover Friday night. If you are talking to Jordan or Keegyn they had a "slumber party" but Colten had a "sleepover" (duh.....boys don't have slumber parties). Jeff and I stayed close by at a hotel, just in case anybody changed their mind. I was so looking forward to sleeping in as late as I wanted but of course since I could, I couldn't. I woke up at 7:15 and couldn't fall back asleep.

JORDAN PAINTING HER PUMPKIN

JORDAN'S MASTERPIECE

COLTEN AND JORDAN

KEEGYN

Jordan's Protege

2009-10-04T19:10:00.004-04:00

Jordan has lots of fun sharing her passion for gymnastics with Keegyn. Here is a picture of Keegyn showing off her splits.

Half Bath Makeover

2009-10-04T14:52:00.020-04:00

I know the pics don't look like much but I put a lot of work into this bathroom. The mirror was glued to the wall with super, non removal, black tar. I got the mirror off the wall but some of the drywall came with it. Removing the tank from the back of the commode to paint was no problem, putting it back on without leaks was a different story. The bathroom has two switches, the switch closest to door operated the fan and the other the light. This always drove me crazy because I thought it should have been reversed. While installing a new snazzy light switch I took the opportunity to fix it. I'm very happy with the results and even better was the cost!

MIRROR TAPED AND READY TO COME DOWN

JEFF LET ME BORROW HIS SAFETY GLASSES BUT WOULDN'T LET ME USE HIS GLOVES

SINCE THIS PIC I HAVE CHANGED THE GLOBES ON THE LIGHT FIXTURE

HOPEFULLY I WILL GET A NEW FAUCET SOON
NEW LIGHT SWITCH,

STOLE THE IDEA FROM AMY'S HOUSE

2 New Kauchers

2009-10-03T20:55:00.011-04:00

Meet Oscar and Scat Kaucher! We are fostering to adopt these kittens from the Woodford Human Society. Technically we can't adopt them till they are neutered and that can't be done until they weigh 2 pounds. Keegyn tends to be a little rough with them and has to be reminded frequently not to carry them upside down or by their necks. She loves pushing them in her babydoll stroller but if they try to jump out she pushes faster (you can imagine how that ends). The kittens are so cute and the kids are having lots of fun playing with them.

JORDAN AND SCAT DOING HOMEWORK

JORDAN AND OSCAR

KEEGYN AND SCAT

HC Class of 94 Reunion

2009-09-29T14:18:00.013-04:00

Last weekend was my 15 year high school reunion! I can't believe it has been that long. We didn't have as good of a turnout as hoped but maybe next time. For anybody who didn't go they missed out on a lots of fun. I hope Jordan makes as good of friends in high school as I did.

ME AND JEFF

ME, STACY, AND AMY

(OLD CHEERLEADING TEAMMATES)
TONI AND STACY

ME AND GREG

Born to Run

2009-09-14T10:49:00.036-04:00

We participated in Cynthiana's twelfth annual Born To Run 5k Saturday. After the race, we went to Mom's for breakfast.

JORDAN, ASHLEY, AND LAUREN

DO YOU THINK WE SMELL THAT BAD?

JEFF IS KEEPING HIS DISTANCE FOR SOME REASON

ORDER OF FINISHLAUREN (JORDAN'S FRIEND)-22 MIN, 2ND FEMALE OVERALL!!!!!!!

JORDAN-25 MIN, 1ST IN HER AGE GROUP(TECHNICALLY LAUREN WAS FIRST, BUT SHE WAS NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE SHE PLACED IN THE OVERALL FEMALE CATEGORY)

ASHLEY-29 MIN, FIRST IN HER AGE GROUP

JEFF-28 MIN, 3RD IN HIS ARE GROUP

ME-35 MIN

MICHELE-37 MIN

MICHELE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE FASTEST RUNNER BUT SHE DEFINITELY HAS THE FASTEST CAR!

First College Visit

2009-09-05T22:17:00.016-04:00

We went to visit Amanda at the University of Louisville. The kids were so excited to see her. Their favorite part was climbing on her bed and jumping off. After we ate, Amanda took us on a tour of campus.

KEEGYN, JEFF, JORDAN, AMANDA, AND COLTEN

AMANDA AND KEEGYN

COLTEN SHOWING OFF AMANDA'S SEASON FOOTBALL TICKETS

JORDAN AND AMANDA TOP 10

Tyketown Soccer

2009-09-05T21:22:00.011-04:00

Colten had his first soccer game last night and he loved it! He got to play goalie for the first quarter. He dove after the ball every chance he got. After the game he kept saying, "hey mom, I think I had a pretty good game don't you".

COLTEN

COLTEN RUNNING TO GIVE JEFF A HUG AND KISS (DURING THE GAME)

COLTEN PRACTICING

Grace Christian Early Learning Center

2009-08-24T15:44:00.010-04:00

The little ones started their new daycare/preschool this morning, Grace Christian Early Learning Center. Colten was excited but got a little nervous on the way and said he missed his Ms. Amanda. Keegyn cried a little. I discovered that Colten was supposed to have immunizations at his four year check up. I'm sure he would have got them, if I had taken him for his 4 year check up (in April). I have scheduled an appointment for Tuesday September 1. I haven't told him yet so if you see him shhhhhhhhh.

COLTEN

KEEGYN

I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO MISS EACH OTHER

TRYING TO GET KEEGYN TO LOOK AT THE CAMERA

JORDAN AND KEEGYN

Gammy's Birthday Party

2009-08-24T15:29:00.007-04:00

My grandmother, Gammy (Dad's mom) turned 88 years old on Sunday. We had a party at my mom's house. I fixed homemade Butter Pecan ice cream and it was DELICIOUS.

Fun Friday #12

2009-08-24T10:08:00.005-04:00

I had two choices for Fun Friday #12, clean the garage.................

or meet my friends for lunch at Calistoga. Seriously?

Colten had grilled cheese, Keegyn had PB&J, and I had the chicken salad sandwich. I thought the food was really good. My total came to $17 for the 3 of us so I didn't think that was too bad. Best of all I got to spend time with Amanda, Emily, Toni and best of all Greenlee!

University of Louisville

2009-08-22T11:41:00.014-04:00

Amanda left for college this morning. She is going to be a freshman at the University of Louisville. I'm so excited for her but she will definitely be missed. I can't wait to visit! If anyone needs a sitter in the Louisville area let me know.

KEEGYN, AMANDA, AND COLTEN

I THINK COLTEN IS CONFUSED ABOUT WHO IS LEAVING

LOADING LAST MINUTE ITEMS

Fun Friday #11

2009-08-22T11:06:00.011-04:00

Jeff took off Fun Friday #11 and we held a yard sale. Colten and Keegyn sold juice and doughnuts to raise money for the Scott County Animal Shelter. Over the summer, Amanda has taken the kids to visit the shelter on several occasions. She also took them shopping to buy toys for the animals with the money they made. They then took the toys to the animals.

TASTE TESTING THE DOUGHNUTS AND JUICE

COLTEN SNUGGLING WITH ONE OF THE YARD SALE TOYS
(FOR SOME REASON IT DID NOT SALE)

WALKER - $5
KEEGYN - PRICELESS