Seven Swans a Swimming

15

2011-10-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday EmilyKate! My baby girl turned 15! Crazy how time is flying! I surely am not old enough to have a 15 year old. I love you MK! You are a beautiful lady!

Baseball

2011-10-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Jacob is very athletic, but we have not found a sports team that works out with him until now! We were introduced to the Challenger Little League this fall. Jacob is loving playing baseball! The organization is wonderful and the environment is so sweet to be around. These kids all go out and have a great time. Jacob is hitting the ball great, and he played 1st base last week! He loves to slide in to all the bases too! He has a buddy that stays with him throughout the game to encourage him on. Even EmilyKate has joined in on the action as a buddy for the team. We are so thankful to be a part of the Challenger team!

Jacob Turns 11!

2011-10-06T08:21:00.001-07:00

My Jacob is growing up! I cannot believe he is 11! He went to the Bucs game on his birthday with his daddy and they had a great time. Jake, you are a sweet blessing to our family!

Another School Year

2011-09-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

The summer has come to an end, according to the calendar anyway, and another year of school has begun. Along with that means alot of lunches to pack, homework to do, and alot of driving. We have kiddos in 4 schools this year! That means we load the car at 7am. That is way too early for me, but we are managing. EmilyKate started high school this year, crazy I know. We don't do things the easy way around here though, the neighborhood school 1 mile away was not good enough for my over-achiever daughter. She was accepted in the IB program (International Baccalaureate) because she likes the challenge of a large amount of work and still work out at the gym 4 hours every evening. Thats just how the Swan's roll. But, all joking aside, it was an honor to get into the program and we are so proud of her accomplishments.

Caroline is in 7th grade, the only one in middle school this year. She is doing well (even though she got speech as an elective.) She will be doing drama and glee classes this year, and also wants to play volleyball.

Jacob is in 4th grade. He thinks his teacher is cute. He scored the highest grade in the class on his reading assessment last week, so we are off to a good start.

Wyatt is in 3rd grade. He is doing great, but rather be home playing video games. He is gearing up for flag football to start in 2 more weeks!

Anabelle is in 1st grade! My baby loves school and her teacher. I feel sure she will be the teacher's pet. She is too cute (maybe I am a little partial, but I don't think so.) She is still doing great in gymnastics and her meet season starts in 2 more weeks!

So, that is the run down on the Swan kids going back to school! Happy '11-'12 school year :)

Drama Camp

2011-09-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Caroline attended a film camp and a drama camp over the summer. She really wants to act, doesn't really need any lessons in my opinion. She went with a friend and they had a blast! They are both very dramatic, and could probably have taught the program themselves. Not a joke. They put on a really cute performance. It should be a fun year for Caroline. She is enrolled in a performance theater class and Glee club class. She will have a holiday show and a production of Beauty and the Beast in the spring. She has already attended an audition workshop to prepare for the auditions in the fall. She may be famous :)

Summer Vacation

2011-07-26T05:40:00.001-07:00

***Lots of pictures in this post***

We headed out for a road trip for our summer vacation. We drove to Niagara Falls, Ontario! What a beautiful creation! It was truly amazing to see. We took a boat tour on the Maid of the Mist and went right up to the falls. The mist was so dense that you could not see!

Then we headed to upstate New York. It was so beautiful! We spent a few days hiking through state parks and taking in all the scenery. Before leaving, we ate the original buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY. YUM! Next stop was New York City. We ate pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge, and we actually braved the traffic. I felt like I was in a video game the whole time! I guess it is a good thing Steve likes to play those games after all. The girls loved shopping in Times Square! Caroline could not have been in a better place. The girl loves to shop :) We saw Carlos Bake Shop, but opted to not wait in the 3 hour line to get in. We considered it, but decided to see more of the city.

Upon entering the city, we realized that Jacob had outgrown his shoes since school got out. He immediately began complaining that his toe was hurting. As we are walking by the Hudson River, I could take no more of the whining so what do you do to fix the toe nail that is causing the problem? I tried to bite it, but no luck with that. Steve ended up biting the nail (just imagine the looks we were getting), when he still complained, Steve pulled out his pocket knife and just cut the tow of his shoe. Jacob immediately said it was all better! Quite a memorable moment I must say. He did fine the rest of the day!

The little ones loved Toys R Us, all 3 floors of it. The big girls loved Forever 21, all 4 levels. And all 6 levels of Abercrombie as well.

Next stop, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches in Philly. This was on the way to Washington, DC. The first day in DC was pleasant. Hot, but bearable. The big girls got to see their friend that had moved there the year before, so they were super happy. We even did pretty well with a few museums and monuments. The next day, not so pleasant. After the Museum of Natural History, some of our party was "done" with museums. Note to self, do not take small children into the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art. We lasted approximately 6 minutes before the little people set off 2 alarms and ran through the place like it was an obstacle course. We promptly left the museum to let them run on the lawn outside, where they sat in the grass like statues. Fun times. We managed to see a little more of the sites and decided it was time to move on.

Next stop was North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This was a beautiful beach. We had fun building sand castles and playing in the waves. Lots of fun, until one child decides to wander down the beach to play ball with another family. Again, fun times. So after collecting everyone, we go to play mini-golf. The game is more exciting for some than others. At the first hole, Jacob got so excited he left a trail of urine on the tee. Again fun times.

We did make it back home, all of us. It was a trip we will all remember.

Surfs Up!

2011-07-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

To continue the summer of fun, which many things were left out (Gator camp, water parks, etc.), the Swan crew headed to Cocoa Beach for surf lessons. Everyone did great! I opted to sit with Jacob. However, he found lots of "ladies" to entertain on the beach. The surfers all got up and rode the waves to the beach. We have lots of video, but here are a few pictures of the gang.

18th Anniversary

2011-07-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Steve and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on June 19th this year. We went to NYC for the weekend. It was so fun! We had never been so it was quite the experience. We did all the "city" stuff. We rode the bus, subway, stayed in Times Square, saw Phantom of the Opera, toured the city, and the list goes on! It is truly the city that never sleeps! There were as many people walking around at 1 am as there were at 1 pm.

Not sure why some of these pictures are sideways, they weren't like that when I uploaded them.

8th Grade Dance

2011-07-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

My baby girl finished middle school this year. Not sure how that happened, I surely am not old enough to have a child in high school! They celebrated with a dance at the end of the year. She looked beautiful! I am so not ready for this....why can't they just stay babies?

Mother's Day

2011-07-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am one blessed mommy! These are true joys! Somehow they are not so little anymore...I must be shrinking :)

Scientist of the Week

2011-07-25T19:07:00.001-07:00

Anabelle was the scientist of the week in her kindergarten class in May. She performed an experiment for the class, and of course had to dress for the occasion!

Soccer Season

2011-07-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

This spring, Wyatt and Anabelle played soccer. It was fun to watch them learn throughout the season. Wyatt is quite the player, and Anabelle was the toughest one on her team! They ususally played their games at the same time, so we had to shuffle between the 2 star players to try not to miss too much.

January 2011

2011-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we started the year off running and have not stopped yet! We spent New Years weekend camping in our new travel trailer. Lots of fun family time! Hiking, game-playing, story-telling, cooking and eating, etc. I think we will have lots of fun making family memories with the RV! We have always tent camped, but after last summer's storms in the Keys, I managed to put all the tents in the dumpster and announced that we were officially done with tents. So there you have it, we purchased the RV!

Now we have entered optional season for gymnastics. We are booked through April with gymnastics meets. EmilyKate is competing level 7 this year. A big jump in competition! She is doing great so far, with 2 meets already done. The sport does get more challenging at the higher levels and growing 6 inches this past year! She is learning everyday how her body changes affect her performance. She has a lot more to swing over the bars than last year!

Caroline is still swimming at the moment, but with cooler temps, she is struggling with it still being a "fun" sport.

Both boys are still into wrestling, with matches that take place daily. Jacob's teachers have even noticed his work behavior improves as it gets closer to Friday night smackdown! Yes, bribery does work for him.

Anabelle has moved to level 3 in gymnastics. She is full of energy ALL of the time.

I will post new pictures as soon as I figure out where they are on the computer. My technical man has moved everything around, so I may need some tutoring to find things again!

This is a quick run down of the past few weeks. I will try to post more often!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T07:52:00.001-08:00

Well, for the 1st time in forever, we did not get a Christmas picture/card sent out this year. Maybe next year, right? So, enjoy these photos from our Christmas fun! We spent Christmas Eve at Hollywood Studios in Disney. It was a blast! After a full day of roller coasters, American Idol, and Disney magic, we had a lovely dinner at the China 1! Not fancy, but pretty tasty after a long day :)

Christmas Day was a fun, relaxing day with the family. After the morning chaos of gift opening, we had a big breakfast followed by lots of video game playing! Jacob went on a safari and found stuff with all his gear. Wyatt played video games ALL day long, and the big girls played with their new itouches ALL day as well. Anabelle sported her skinny jeans as she took a spin on her new bike. She did have her phone in her back pocket which is a challenge in the skinny jeans. We finished the day with a big Christmas dinner and family games. By the way, Jenga is pretty intense with the competitive spirit in our home!

My Little Girls are Growing Up

2010-12-15T09:17:00.001-08:00

My baby girls are turning into beautiful young ladies! No more princess movies and tea parties, now its all about fashion and social events! It just doesn't seem possible that they are now 14 and 12 years old. Crazy how time flies by. They are still my sweet girls and I am still crazy about them!

Caroline Turns 12

2010-12-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Caroline turned 12 in November. She got her ears pierced to mark the occasion. EmilyKate had to be 12 for her ear piercing, so Caroline followed suit. She also had a slumber party with a group of sweet little girls! These are before and after pics but they are out of order. I am such a computer wizard, not sure how that happened :)

All Wyatt Wants for Christmas...

2010-12-13T18:05:00.001-08:00

Need I say more?

Long time, no post!

2010-12-12T12:30:00.001-08:00

We are still here! There is just not enough time in the day lately! Let me back track a little bit. We had a great summer with traveling as a family to the Dominican Republic, camped in the keys of Florida, went to Busch Gardens, celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, and visited with friends and family. It was fun-filled to say the least!

Then everyone started back to school in August. I now have 2 in middle school, and the others are all in elementary. Babybelle started kindergarten as well, so it was quite the year! She was so excited and ready for school, I didn't really have a chance to be sad! I have never seen a child so ready to go to school!

Caroline started swimming again after a little break and is doing great. It was like she never took the break!

Anabelle moved to level 2 in gymnastics, so now we have 2 competitive gymnasts in the house! (Competing in different seasons may I add, so now our season goes from August until April.) She did great competing her 1st year, and she is the Florida State Beam Champion! I guess the balance beam runs in the family.

Wyatt played his 1st season of soccer and loved it! He improved so much over the season and even scored goals!

Jacob broke his hand on the playground at school, so we dealt with a cast for 5 weeks which went from his elbow to his fingertips on his right hand. That was fun. Do I need say more? No, I do not.

That is a quick rundown on the last few months. I will post a few pictures and try to update more often. I know I left out way too much, but this is a busy household! I tried to give the highlights.

5th Grade Graduation

2010-07-09T21:35:00.001-07:00

Caroline finished elementary school this year! Am I really going to have 2 middle-schoolers in the fall? That is crazy...I am way to young for this! They had a sweet graduation ceremony and many festivities. What will high school graduation be like? There were parties, breakfasts, and many other activities. Caroline is such a sweet girl and will do great as a 6th grader next year!

Foster Visit at Downtown Disney

2010-07-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

We had a fun visit with Dennis, Lori, Allyson, and Parker at Downtown Disney. They were in Orlando for vacation, so we met up with them one day for a visit and lunch. We ate at the T-Rex restaurant, played at the Lego store, and walked around in the extreme heat! It was so good to see family that we don't see very often. We hope they decide to come again soon!

Beach Day

2010-07-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

One day when everyone else had something to do, Jacob and Anabelle and mommy decided to hit the beach for awhile. Anabelle worked on her tan and did a few poses, while Jacob did his own poses. It was a fun afternoon spent with these two wild ones.

Great American Scholar/ Gymnastics Banquet

2010-07-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

Wyatt participated in the Great American Scholar program at school this year. He turned in a project every month to learn about our country and patriotism. Personally, I thought he was the cutest little scholar there, but I may be a little prejudiced.

EmilyKate and Emily attended the annual gymnastics banquet to be recognized for their undefeated season. They are great friends and team mates, and they have a lot of fun together.

Memorial Day Fun

2010-07-06T20:30:00.001-07:00

We spent Memorial Day just relaxing and building pyramids at Meme and Pap's house. This is an example of the stunts performed that day.

Duke TIP Recognition

2010-07-06T20:04:00.001-07:00

EmilyKate was recognized for scoring in the top 1/3 in the state on her SAT at a service in Sarasota, FL. Because of her high FCAT scores, she is in the Duke Talent Identification Program. Duke will follow her through middle and high school giving options for different classes and enrichment programs. She took the SAT as a 7th grader and scored in the top 1/3 of all those taking the test (including high school seniors), without even having had Algebra yet. By participating in this program, she will have more opportunities to take the SAT and ACT, improving scores each year. Pretty impressive, huh? At the service, we were so proud of her, but her baby sister was really proud to have her picture made with the scholar!

Rainbow Springs

2010-07-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, am I way behind on the Swan events! In May, we took a family camping trip to Rainbow Springs. We slept in tents, sat around the campfire, tubed on the river, and ate yummy food. Everyone was a trooper and had a great time roughing it outdoors. Well, not completely roughing it. We did have electricity for the coffee pot!