Getting Back To This Blogging and Some updates ~It's Been Awhile!

Halloween just passed and I can't believe I have not written anything since May!! So warning this maybe get long...but if you want some updates on our family...enjoy!

Where shall I start? It's been a whirlwind like always!

celebrating at Applebees end of year

end of quarter awards

I guess I will start out with school ending in June 2013! We finished up 3rd and 1st grade with ease! Another year has gone by at HES. They had wonderful school year with great teachers. Now onto 2nd and 4th...Really??? Jordan finished up preschool in the 3's class. I am sad to say that he will not return to preschool and I have conflicting thoughts on this, but I wish to keep my baby home one last year before he goes off to everyday kindergarten. It may be selfish but we do alot of things at home and socially, the kid thinks he is 8. He enjoys being home with mom and we are so busy that he was never at home to play like 3-4 year old should. He has to chase his brother's around to different after school activities.  I am sure he will be just fine starting Kindergarten in July...wait did I just say that! Amazing how time flies by. I want to treasure this last year because it just goes by to fast. I am realizing this as they keep getting older. I want to hold onto these young stages...
We had a great summer break. It was short but just long enough for the boys.

June included a visit from my parents for a week. We had a little excitement on their last evening as we had a really bad storm which took down the biggest tree on our property taking out two power lines with it and many other trees in the area. We were without power for about four days. Luckily, a neighbor came over and gave us a small generator to keep our deep freeze and other fridges working. I have now learned how to flush toilets when you are on a well and your power goes out! ICK!! Let's just say that was not a pleasant smell!  Otherwise, we had a wonderful visit when they were here. It just goes by too fast!

they are here

celebrating Jordan turning 4

fallen tree

a really big tree
 

Very Proud!

Cooper had a fun experience in June playing in the North Carolina State Powerade Games in Charlotte, NC. He played on a U8 Hockey team.  They participated in the Parade of Athletes which was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It was a fun time and it was the first time playing on a full sheet of ice. The RYHA program he was in at the Jr. Hurricanes followed the ADM model which is cross ice games for U8 level. So the kids were wore out! They did wonderful and we were all very proud of them. There were 5 teams. They were all travel teams that normally play full ice except us and one other RYHA team. We placed 3rd. They all received a 3rd place bronze medal. They all played their hearts out. I think he wore it to bed when we got home.

Checker's mascot

Awe!!

Very Happy Third Place Team!

 

Parade of Athletes

We won!

We then went to South Dakota in July for a trip back to see Charlie's family. We had not been back in three years. It was so different flying this year then the last time we were on a airplane or going through security! We have passed the diaper bag stage, stroller stage, car seats to haul, and any other "baby" items...It was amazing! They all did wonderful! We were there over the 4th of July and it was great to be back. We enjoyed the time back in SD being with his family and friends. It is a slow country way of life! I like it! We also got to go up to his family's place at the lake and the boys had so much fun tubing, fishing and just playing with their cousins. We got to see his grandpa who bless his heart is 97 and still is quick witted! It went by too quick and it was hard leaving as always. It's true what they say "home is where the heart is" because half of Charlie's is in SD and the other here.

Farm Boy

A boy and his fishing pole

cousins and their toys at the lake

Braedyn and Cooper on tube for the first time, they loved it!!

and Jordan's first time!
 

4th and 2nd graders

Then school started in July. We have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader! So far so good! The first 9 weeks flew by all getting perfect attendance and a end of quarter awards. I also had the privilege of chaperoning the 4th grade field trip to the outer banks. A trip we won't forget! It was wonderful memories made with Braedyn! What an experience! I didn't have anything like this growing up! I didn't even see an ocean until I was almost 16! I will detail that in another post. It was a weekend trip leaving on a friday morning at 5 am on 2 charter buses with 80 4th graders and chaperones from Walmart parking lot and returning Saturday at midnight. We were exhausted!

First day of school year 2013-14

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse with Bradyn on feild trip to Outer Banks

Wright Brothers Memorial in Nags Head

Braedyn has decided he didn't want to play fall baseball and he wanted to take a break this year which was fine with me as Cooper was getting started with his new travel hockey team this year I knew we would be busy. Jordan is still playing hockey too. Braedyn and Jordan do the "Learn to Play" on Sunday nights together which has worked great. Cooper has hockey practice once a week and then games or practices on Saturdays/Sundays. So the weeknights have been rather nice around here for a change. Yes, travel hockey is a little stressful but so far this program has worked better for us with the scheduling and location of it. Cooper loves it. He is now playing for the Carolina Stars which is a U10 travel team out of Raleigh. He is always playing tough as nails and with a heart of gold! It's a new team and so far he has learned a lot from the coach and he really likes it. Our travel season is getting ready to start shortly and we will have games every weekend now til at least February! I do enjoy watching all three of them out there on the rink together when they go play for fun! They love it!

Rink Rats!

Cooper A Carolina Star!

I ran another 1/2 marathon in October. It was the Bull City Race Fest in Durham, NC. It was exactly the same course as I ran last October and I was able to get a PR beating my previous time by 5 whole minutes. I ran it in 1 hour and 51 minutes. I felt great and it was a nice cool fall day. I was worried because my training had been slim with the kids fall break but I rarely took days off. I would just get it some shorter runs when they could go with me. I ran again with my girlfriend Amy. She did wonderful considering she couldn't train until a couple weeks before the marathon because she had a cast on most of August and September because she had a broken arm. She was a trooper! I can officially say I am not running anything longer than maybe a 4 mile race until April of 2015 as I have my eyes set on the Nashville Music City Rock n Roll Marathon. I will finally have time to train as all of the kiddos will be in school! My body needs a break! I need the break.

Getting ready for the race to start ~it was a little chilly...notice my sweatshirt my warm up from H.S.!

I have been busy helping with Cooper's hockey team doing hockey mom stuff! Jordan and I do a preschool curriculum at home and that has given me enjoyment seeing him learn and grow. I have patience to do this but appreciate those homeschool moms! I don't know how they do it! I have not done anything with my music lately because our schedules have not allowed that. At some point, I will get back to it. I'm going to be an auntie again as my sister and her husband are having another child in early 2014. Hopefully I will get to see him or her before they start kindergarten!

Charlie has been busy with work and very happy at Cree. It has been a wonderful move and a wonderful company to work for. He still hasn't quite figured out how to come home early but at least he doesn't have to work on weekends and I finally was able to talk him into getting a lawn service! Now that he has it, he loves it and has commented how he doesn't know he got that all done by himself when they bring about 4-5 guys and it's done in an hour tops. It would take him a whole Saturday and Sunday! We also got a vacuum for the pool so it seems his job as pool boy and lawn boy have been replaced. It is better spent with us! I told him he works too hard during the week to come home and then work all weekend long. The boys sports are also preventing that from happening. That will only get worse. They love throwing around the football or baseball with dad!

Our fall break found us again in Gainseville, FL! We drove down to University of Florida again for a football weekend! They played Tennessee! It was a lot of fun and tailgating to the extremes! They won the game so that is always great. We took in the Museum of Natural Science as well that was located on campus. It wasn't as hot as last year and it was a late afternoon game which was great. Braedyn also met someone who he was excited to see by surprise walking in the hotel...

Coach Donovan ~the UF Men's basketball coach. While there we met up with Charlie's advisor from grad school and went to dinner. He and his wife are Korean so they chose a Korean restaurant. That was an experience! The boys shocked me as they tried everything and ate a lot of the food! Who knew! It's always great to see them too!

Gator Basketball!!

Football game!



Bull Gator at Ben Hill Griffen stadium

We also stayed in Savannah again on the way home for a couple of nights. This time we surprised the boys with a fishing charter trip! We got up at 6 am and told them we had a surprise. Not sure they liked the waking up part! They were excited and so thrilled to go fishing, we could have caught anything I knew they would be happy! They have been wanting to go fishing for a long time. So instead of just taking them around here~dad spoiled them and got a charter on the Savannah river. Which is a beautiful place! They caught all sorts of hammerhead sharks and stingrays that we had to toss back but we also caught about 10 trout we were able to keep and bring home. That was 4 hours they won't forget! We enjoy going out to eat on the riverfront and watching the big merchant marine ships coming into port.

Cooper's first catch

Hammerhead

just heading out, it was beautiful

Trouble x 3

e have some exciting things coming on our way in the next few months so hoping to keep up with this, so stay tuned for more fun Jacobson excursions!
The hockey mommy will be on the road!
With Love,
Allie