Broderick's Super Fast Visit

 

Broderick and his team had been down in the keys training and on their way back up north to Virginia Beach, decided to crash at our house. Literally they didn't arrive until 2 am and then left around 9 am. It was a VERY fast visit, but we love anytime we can get with Broderick. Unfortunately, Trevor was gone, so didn't get to see him, but the rest of us enjoyed our minutes with him. 

Keri's 44th Birthday

I had the best birthday this year! We celebrated as a family by trying a new Greek Restaurant in town and then going back to the house for cake and presents. Kaylee made me my favorite banana bread cake with chocolate chips and peanut butter frosting. It was delicious as usual. Then the kids gave me their gifts. They were super excited to give me their gift, as they all went in on it together. They bought me a coffee frother and beautiful glass mugs. The gift was inspired by Dawn Marsh. She was the best hostess to us in Michigan and had a brother, the kids new I loved. It was a very thoughtful gift.

The following day, we spent the day in Miami with Stacie, Patrick and their friends, Mike and Heidi Trotter. The Trotter's are friends from Cedar Rapids who now live in Melbourne and work for Collins. The trip was inspired by the Cubs vs Marlins game. Of course, baseball is not my favorite, but I knew Trevor would love it and I always enjoy spending time with Stacie and Patrick. 

The day ended up better than I had envisioned, as we were able to tour the Wynwood Walls District in Miami. It is a place known for its graffiti art. We toured the museum there and really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we headed out for some good cuban food and then to the game. I was thrilled to find that the baseball field was indoors and air conditioned. A dream come true! It was a great birthday weekend spent with some of my favorite people!

 

Kianna's 15th Birthday

 

For the first time ever, Kianna had to go to school on her birthday. Regardless, I think she had a pretty good day! For starters, I took her to get her driving permit and boba tea right after school. She had her first driving lesson that night. She was very nervous and drove very slowly around our neighborhood. It was a good start.

We celebrated her birthday with her good friends: Courtney, Lauren and Marianna, over the weekend. Kianna requested her favorite food and decided to go bowling with her friends. I made them a lemonade bar, which the girls enjoyed and buster bar for dessert. 

Kianna loves her bearded dragon, Rex, probably more than most people. She has some good friends, but is pretty content hanging out in her room. She loves watching Netflix, playing soccer and basketball, and cuddling with Rex. She also loves doing nails and has gotten quite good at them. She can do dip or gel nails and sometimes even gets paid to do her friend's nails. Kianna is a very talented young lady. We're confident she will succeed at whatever she sets her mind to. We love you Kianna. 

First Day of School

Once again the first day of school led the girls to a new place. This time, Jupiter High School. Since living in Jupiter for three years, we have heard lots of good things about the A rated public schools here. The main thing that led us away from them early on was the size. JHS is huge with 3200 students or 800 kids per grade. However, things change, mainly we're tired of paying full time tuition at Jupiter Christian; second, the sports at JCS are going downhill, which means the basketball team will be terrible this year and for the foreseeable future; third, JHS has more AP and Duel Enrollment options available; fourth, sports are more competitive at JHS. So, when given the choice of continuing to take two classes at Jupiter Christian and taking the rest online with Florida Virtual School or going full time at Jupiter High School, they both chose the full time option. 

The decision made perfect sense for Kianna since she is starting her freshman year and all her peers will be new too. She applied for one of the academies called JERFSA or Jupiter Environmental Research and Field Studies and got accepted.  This is a great opportunity for her and brings her class size from 800 to 80 kids, as she will be taking her classes with her academy, which makes her peer group a little less overwhelming. She already knows some girls from her Rise FC Soccer Team and her Jupiter Jaguars Basketball Team, as well as, some neighborhood friends: Lauren, Marianna and Jordan. I'm sure she'll do great there!

For Kaylee, the decision was tougher being that she's a junior. However, she opted for the harder classes and more competitive basketball program. She already knows some kids from her Jupiter Jaguars Basketball team and considers a couple friends. She started off the year with AP Chemistry in hopes of seeing if she might enjoy being a pharmacist and AP US History. She also signed up for two Duel Enrollment classes through Palm Beach State College. This semester she is taking English I and Psychology I. Next semester she plans on taking English II and Art History. She's really rising to the challenge.

Trace is in 7th grade this year and in his second year at JMS. He's still in the Technology Academy, which isn't his favorite, but this year they do coding, so he's hoping to enjoy it more. He has made new friends in the neighborhood from riding the bus, so should have a great year.

Change is hard and my heart is with my kids. I'm hoping and praying this will be a good year for all of them and a good change for the girls. Hoping for no more school changes in the future!

Kaylee's First Solo Flight

 

Kaylee decided she wanted to go to Camp Table Rock with the youth group from Oakland Church and fly there by herself. She bought her own plane ticket and everything. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. For starters her flight was delayed in West Palm, so much that she feared she may miss her connecting flight in Chicago. Her old teammate, Anna and her family were in West Palm waiting for the same flight to Chicago. It gave us peace of mind knowing she wasn't alone as she waited. When she finally arrived in Chicago, she discovered that her connecting flight to Cedar Rapids was also delayed. Unfortunately, it kept getting delayed until it was finally cancelled leaving Kaylee all alone in Chicago at night. Trevor was able to book her a hotel at the Hilton attached to the airport. We talked to her on speaker phone as she walked to the hotel. However, it was a bit scary, as she had trouble getting to the hotel and had to walk outside the airport to reach it. Along the way, she began talking to a man and was joking around with him as they walked together to the hotel. Our sweet and innocent daughter, had no "stranger danger" and was completely trusting in this man, who reported he was with the Los Angelos Police Department. Who knows if he really was, but regardless, she arrived safely in her hotel room, where she promptly was instructed to lock the door and call us in the morning when she had to walk back to the airport. Thankfully, her flights the following day were uneventful.

Kaylee arrived in Cedar Rapids a couple days before her camp and stayed a couple days after. This gave her time to spend time with Grandma Becki, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne and her BFF Brittney. Camp Table Rock was also a success. She had a great time with her good friends, Lily and Chloe, and the rest of the youth group. Her faith was challenged in a good way. Thankfully, Kaylee's flight home was uneventful, making her trip a success.

New Convertible

 

Trevor decided to get a Mercedes Benz convertible once his Volvo's lease was up. Florida is the perfect place for a convertible and we are loving it!

Madeira Beach

Trace, Kianna and I drove over to Madeira Beach to spend a couple days with my mom, John, Rylan, Bree, Aliyah, and Matt. It was good seeing them, but the weather did not cooperate. The weather was very stormy and the beaches were full of red tide, making being outside not much of an option. We still enjoyed time shopping at John's Pass. We also went to the local aquarium to see Winter, the dolphin the movie "Dolphin Tale" was made about. It was cool seeing him, but otherwise the aquarium was very underwhelming. We had a nice meal at Ford's Garage with Matt's family. All in all, the trip was a success.