basketball and visits with Santa

Another busy weekend is in the books! Of course we started the weekend with ball games, C had 1 on Friday Night (resulted in a tie after 2 overtimes!) and 2 games on Saturday in which they won both!  Successful weekend for the Lady Bearcats!! Nothing like giving it your all and playing your heart out when sick too, poor C started feeling bad Friday evening but stayed tough and stuck to it, If you have never seen a kid with heart, she's the one to watch!  I love seeing her work so hard and I know she is going to accomplish big things in life!  Z had his final intramural game as well and that kid absolutely loved his first year of basketball, I think its safe to say that its one sport he might stick with for the long haul!!

Saturday night we also had our annual Firehouse Christmas party.  It's always a wonderful time filled with food and great people and of course the main man in red...SANTA! All the kiddos love getting to visit with the best Santa in northern KY!  As always the day was busy setting up but the night filled with Laughs and good times. Another Successful event!

I cannot believe that Christmas is 6 (ish) days away.... once again I am NOT ready and have declared it another year of being the worst gift giver possible!!! How am I this bad at ideas for gifts!?!?!? The kids and I however, are more than ready for winter break from school!!

Holy moly Christmas is literally around the corner and I feel no where near close to being ready for it... but that is  normal for me.  I am the type who is honestly just counting down for it to be over :/ Christmas just feels like so much pressure and with all the social media out there it feels like such a competition to me... I never feel like what I am able to do will be good enough or compare to others. In today's world it's so hard not to see what everyone is doing and feel like just maybe you aren't doing enough.  As long as my kids are happy and enjoying life I know something is going okay, but its hard to know if they feel left out or not when they get back with their friends after the holidays. :(

This weekend was about our "Norm" filled with basketball, but we were lucky to welcome the newest addition to our family Friday! We now have a new niece to spoil! C's team won Friday night where she made her first "in game" basket.  Saturday they went 1-1 so all in all not too bad! They are still young and learning a lot!! Z's game was cancelled due to the first "snowfall" of the season.  We didn't get too much snow but it turned to ice and slick roads fast!

We have another full week of work, school, sports etc ahead for us this week, thank goodness! This time of year is so depressing I have to stay busy! tomorrow marks 1 year without dad and I have no idea how this could feel easier.... just keep swimming I guess.....

Basketball, Holidays, Awards

Once again I am falling behind on posting.  I have been in a constant state of worry and anxiety lately and trying to battle through.  The holidays have quickly smacked me in the face and not holding back, the kids are in full swing of basketball, and its been a year since we placed my dad in hospice and lost him.... So needless to say I'm just a big blob of blah right now.  I'm doing my best to function for my little ones and trying to not ruin the joy for them.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the kids and I went to the KY horsepark for their drive-thru light show and festivities with my sister's family and friends.  They put on a cute little setup and we got there just as they opened at dark so luckily was one of the firsts in line.  (we tried to go a few years back and the line was literally backed up to the interstate, so its a very popular event, get there early!)  The kids go to ride a camel and visit a petting zoo while we were there.

The kiddos were so excited  to get to decorate and put up their christmas tree.  We typically do a "live" tree but decided against it this year.  We got a spare from my sister and tried to put it up but it was way too large for our small space, luckily we had a small one in our storage unit from our old house.. its not the prettiest or biggest but the kids love it and decorated it and  that's the only thing that matters!

Z is almost finished with his intramural basketball through school and is loving it! The high school varsity teams help with the coaching and instruction and make it fun for all the little kiddos running around. He also got to celebrate the end of flag football with his teammates at their little awards ceremony.  C has began games with her traveling AAU team, they play in 2 different leagues and currently 2-0 in one and 0-1 in the other.  This is her first year playing and is improving and learning so much already.  I hope she loves it as much as I did growing up.  She's already a beast at defense now to make her offense stronger and she'll be unstoppable! (like her momma wink wink)

Weekends go by so fast

Its Monday again... this weekend was fairly laid back.  Saturday was opening day of "rifle" deer season and it was the first time in several years that the Hubs was actually off work and able to get in the woods.  unfortunately he had no luck (hopefully there were be some deer goetta and jerky in the freezer soon) Other than that Basketball season has begun and in full swing.  Z plays intramurals through our elementary school and C  is a few weeks into practices for her AAU traveling team.  Dinner was enjoyed at my sisters house full of laughs and kids playing!



Sunday the camper had to be winterized :( Which makes it official that camping is over until springtime, so sad!


It's almost Thanksgiving but I think everyone seems to be skipping over it and trying to head straight for Christmas... there's been decor and music in local stores since the week of Halloween :( I am NOT a big fan of Christmas... for some reason it has caused soooo much stress and anxiety for me that I just cannot enjoy it.  Stop rushing it people, enjoy the Turkey!! ;)

Here's to another week, hopefully less anxiety and more enjoyment.

Halloween camping 2017

Well thank you Monday for sneaking up on us so quickly #ugh! This past weekend we were able to enjoy taking our new camper out for our annual friends and family Halloween camp out!



This year we stayed at General Butler State Park in Carrollton, KY. Our "group" reserved an entire "Loop" in the back of the campground.  I believe we had around 11 give or take separate sites reserved and counting all the kids/adults over 50 people in our group! Boy was it cold out!!! We like to set up a "community" area for our group each year and with this years freezing cold weather and rain we all moved picnic tables to the cul de sac and pieced together a giant "compound" (several easy ups/canopies with walls and heaters) for shelter, cooking, and our group hangout location!

Friday night was cold and rainy so most the evening was spent in the "compound" eating dinner, enjoying some beverages and great company! The kids all got to play together as well.  Saturday we all chipped in to a breakfast buffet of all buffets (we sure know how to eat good) followed by the annual pumpkin carving and decorating of our compound for the later trick or treaters! Trick or Treat of the campground began at 4:30 pm which we all set up together for the men to pass out candy while the "moms" typically take the kiddos trick or treating.  The kids always love this adventure and its funny how so many strangers in a campground can feel like friends and family.  After trick or treat each family carried several crock pots into the compound for a delicious pot luck dinner! There were chili's, soups, stews, coneys, grilled cheese, dessert etc  Let's just say if you go to bed hungry its your own fault!  With lack of sleep and overload on sweets my little guy of course became quite the bear and handful so he and I spent some 1 on 1 quiet time in the camper after dinner to cool off (warm up ;) ) and calm down.  When you have some of the youngest kids in the group its hard not to get upset when they misbehave :( but it is what it is, no use trying to hide the breakdowns-We are human!
Sunday is always the sad, departure day... we woke up to our final group breakfast buffet and the take-down/cleanup had to commence!!

The pumpkins and a glimpse of the "Compound" 

My Camper theme Jack-O-Lantern

The weekend flew as usual but was such an awesome time cold weather or not!  Halloween weekends are extremely popular, It is recommended to book a year in advance to ensure the chance at getting a site.  We booked for 2018 about a week and a half ago or so and both Halloween weekends are already filled up!  Looking forward to the fun adventure next year will bring!

Trying to get back into the swing of things...

Ok, Clearly I have been completely MIA for several months now.  Lets just "blur" these past several months out and start over! I am going to attempt to add more entries in an attempt to keep my head together and minimize the constant anxiety and my crazy forgetful mind!!!!

TGIF is all I can say right now! Work and home has been extremely busy lately and its a much needed weekend before my favorite time of year....HALLOWEEN!  We will be attending our annual Halloween Campground tradition and staying in our own camper for the very first time! (a couple months ago we invested in our own travel trailer and are pumped about making so many fun family memories that the husband and I have been blessed to have over the years!)