Here we go with all four of them and their updates....This is the 700th post of this blog Its amazing that I've stuck with it this long...i'm glad I have..... its amazing how quickly they have grown up, got bigger and became little adults....almost!!
These days, James is 14 years old. He is hovering right around the 6 foot mark and is going skyward I think. Of course Lyn thinks he's done growing but I've heard that since the 3rd grade so we will just have to see. Anyway, he is headed off to high school next year. I think he really enjoyed 8th grade, with friends and having the run of the place. Now he's the rookie again so to speak. So scary for us old people to think our kids are that old. He has been very excited about joining football and is going to all the camps. He never played in Pop Warner (thankfully) but he played flag football every year with Jacob so we'll just have to see what happens with contact. I don't think it will be a problem but its different for sure. He asked me to go outside and do some football practicing. Oh, to shake the rust of the shoulder and get some throws in. He can really whip that ball though...I think he'll do okay!!
He likes to play baseball still and his AAU team just finished last week in Jersey. He's had a very good year and he's pounding the crap out of the ball. Jimmy is enjoying his summer, spending some time with Charlie and sleeping late. Most of the time he stays up late and sleeps very late... That's good for him, but I remember the days of my staying up that late in the moring when I was his age....but its rare for these kids, mostly because its a very loud house!! Jack!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now Laura, what can we say about Laura. She's growing up...yes she is. Still a goofball though, thankfully!! She and I have this thing we do during her swim meets. When she gets up to the blocks to begin a race, she catches my eye and does this silly dance that looks like the hokey pokey. I do the same thing and we both laugh and she does her thing, usually KATN (kick ass and take names)....well, usually I find myself on the other side of the pool, in the crowd and was of course watching her. We will catch eyes and the next thing you know she does her silly dance and smiles.....She's still my little girl!!
She just finished sixth grade and her grades were once again wonderful. She's almost like an adult with how mature she is. She cooks most of the time for us and sometimes we forget that she is only in seventh grade (almost). She went away with Lizzie and I was happy to have her call me every day, at least once. I do miss them when they are away from me. I saw something that said how happy a parent was to just get away from the kids but as soon as they are they beginning missing them so much. I can relate to that. I had this thing with Laura when she would sleep over the cousin's house, I would tell her how I went into her room and ended up kissing her pillow goodnight and I was all upset. Of course I still say it to her but it doesn't have the same affect....they used to believe me. I still say things like that to Catherine though and she believes me...or pretends to. One big change for Laura is that she's got very tall. I swear it just happened all at once. One day I was sitting on a chair on the lawn and I saw her walking to the front door and I couldn't believe that was my baby girl...incredible....
Oh my Catherine....she really is the sweetest girl I know that Catherine gal. Its amazing what a sweet little girl she is. I known at some point she'll grow up and get past all this but she really is the sweetest most lovable thing on the planet. She is as sensitive as ever but she does show some signs of improvement. When she gets on the carpet and competes in gymnastics while everyone is watching and also when she gets out there and pitches during her softball games...both are very stressful and i'm so impressed with how well she does holding up, especially when things don't go so well. My little girl will be going into 5th grade this year, moving on up to middle school. That move created so much stress last year but she's seemed to have eased up a bit. One of her good friends is the principals daughter so knowing that he'll be there for her is very reassuring. She had fun during the summer, going to the swim club and also doing gymnastics. She's so sweet and is such a good sight to see at the end of the day.......
And then there's Jackie....Oh my Jackie.....he's such a funny kid. Keeps us all in stitches most of the time, and then at other times....oh my Jackie!!! He's actually very sweet but oh my goodness is he a handful. Friday is the day he comes to life. I've never seen anything like it. He will not stop, talking, moving, jumping running....I don't even think he stops to sleep...he must but I don't remember, until he crashes on Sunday night and the week starts all over. He can be hard to wake up but then that's just a tease because he's off like a race horse from there.
Jack will be heading into third grade this year so he's getting up there with the big kids. Its every exciting for him. He'll be the only one on the bus so he'll have me all to himelf for the morning tennis ball games. I'm going to cherish this last year of doing that because I know they wont be the only ones who will miss it........ He spent all summer playing baseball on his summer travel team and he did really well. There was usually something missing from his bag every game but that's par for the course I suppose. He played a lot of different positions but I really enjoyed watching him pitch. In the beginning he was kind of wild and would hit a lot of batters. Sometimes he just gave that look over like to say 'woops'....but he got a little more in control. There was one time he beaned someone and he swore it didn't count because the ball skipped on the ground before it took the leg off of the hitter...ouch!!!
All said, they are doing quite well for themselves. We are very proud of them because they are all good kids so i'm proud of them that way. They are getting older so i'm hoping they behave themselves and don't prematurely age me!!! They've already done a number on the hair....!!!!
