It's almost been a year....

Since I went MIA! It's been a crazy one at that with no shortage of blogging material, I just really didn't have a lot of extra time or didn't feel like it. This year has probably been the most challenging with too many things to account for and changes in our family. In a nutshell, both kids started school full-time, I went back to school and work, Brandon had a collapsed lung that required surgery, Cadence had a minor surgery, we got a dog- and that is just the beginning. It's been quite the adjustment, so I hope with summer approaching (maybe...we've hardly even seen signs of spring), we can slow down a bit and get back to "normal" (whatever that is!).

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

It's Been Awhile...

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. There actually has been no shortage of blogging material, so I'm not sure why I've neglected it for so long. In fact, March, April & May have been our busiet months, so maybe that was it!

In March, the kids and I headed to Iowa for my Mom's 60th birthday party which was actually a surprise! We had been planning for a few months & the timing worked out great because the kids had 2 weeks off of school for Spring Break. Brandon had work commitments & we were taking another vacation at the end of April, so unfortunately, he stayed back. I drove to Iowa myself with the kids, which was not too bad. Thank God for the DVD player! Anyway, my Mom ended up being VERY surprised, which we can't believe we were able to pull off since she is kind of nosey (sorry, Mom!). We had a great turn out & it was like a family reunion. The day after the party, we headed up to my sister, Angela's house near Minneaolpis/St. Paul, MN. We spent a few days relaxing & hanging out & even took a much anticipated trip to the Mall of America! Boy was Skyler in heaven! All in all, it was a very nice trip and I ended logging about 36 hours of driving which I am not ready to do anytime soon. We did hit a blizzard on our way back, about 45 minutes from home, so the home stretch took almost 2 hours. Not fun, but we ended up making it home safely.

While we were in Iowa, a new addition to the DeYoung family was born here in Colorado! Aiden Alexander Kley (nephew #6) was born to Brandon's sister, Stacy & her husband Ben. He is a sweet little guy & Cadence is just in love with him! He is so fascinated by the baby and is very curious and gentle & loves to stroke his soft head. It is too precious! (and no, Cadence will not be getting his own baby to adore! LOL)

April was no boring month, either. We finished up our competition season for dance & Brandon & I celebrated our 10th wedding Anniversary on April 10th. We celebrated by taking a vacation to Cozumel, Mexico. We flew my mom out to stay with the kids & spent 5 wonderful days in Mexico. We almost had to change our destination, as the outbreak and scare of the Swine Flu reared it's ugly head just as we were about to leave :( After lots of research & phone calls, we decided to forge ahead with our plans to Mexico. There had been no reports of Swine Flu at all in Cozumel or in the Yucatan region. Considering that Mexico has over 100 million people, we felt our odds were pretty good of not getting it. To be safe, we washed our hands alot & brought hand sanitizer. The funny thing was that you would have never known the Swine Flu was even happening unless you turned on an American TV station (a little overblown I do think).
After a few weeks of researching for the perfect place (one of my favs things to do!), we decided on the Wyndham Sabor Cozumel (adults only!!). It was really beautiful & just what we were looking for. On the second day of our trip, we came back to our room after breakfast with a note on our door saying we could upgrade(at no extra cost) to the Aura , which was the sister resort next door & even more spectacular. After a tour, we decided to to move over to the Aura. All I can say is "WOW". The food, service, amenities were outstanding! It definitely added to our vacation. Brandon was very pleased with the scuba diving~ Cozumel has the 2nd largest coral reef in the world. The snorkeling off the beach was great too. We saw many different sizes & colors of fish, huge lobsters & even saw 2 large stingrays! I've snorkeled a half dozen times & have never seen a stingray, so this was a first for me. We had an amazing time & needless to say, came home Swine Flue free :)

May has come and gone now with the kids finishing up school. I can't believe I will have a 5th grader & a Kindergartener! Cadence will be going to summer school for a few weeks this summer to keep up on his skills for K. He will be going all day, Monday thru Thursday. We are excited that he *might* have his own para ALL DAY (pending approval right now). Regardless, he will have one most of the day to help keep him on task :) And I can't forget to mention that Skyler finished her 4th grade year with an AMAZING report card. They don't get letter grades yet, but almost all of her subjects had an "A" for Advanced. Her test scores also showed Advanced & she is reading at an 8th grade level! I am so happy that she loves to read :)

Also in May, we added another addition to the DeYoung family. Brandon's sister Tricia gave birth to a baby girl, Ashlyn Rose, on May 21st. Skyler is excited to have another girl in the family~ she has been the only granddaughter on the DeYoung side for the last 10 years! LOL

Whew! That's about it for now! Will try to do better with all the summer fun we'll be having soon :)

HAPPY EASTER~ HE IS RISEN!

It's been awhile! I will be updating with lots of pictures this week! Stay tuned...

DANCE!

I suppose it's about time I mention the thing we do A LOT of and spend A LOT of time doing~ dance. This is something that Skyler & I enjoy very much and are lucky enough to get to do it together. I have to admit~ sometimes being Skyler's instructor can be challenging, especially when we are working one on one and I ask her to try something and she says she can't~ something I know she wouldn't do if I was not her mother! Not only that, I am probably hardest on her than any other student in the class and sometimes end up feeling very guilty for that. But, I have to say, Skyler takes it in stride & is one tough cookie. I think that experience has made her stronger. She also has a drive to succeed that I don't remember having at her age. It's so neat to see.

This past weekend, we had a competition here in Colorado Springs where Skyler got to compete her solo for the first time this season, as well as 5 other group numbers. Her solo scored a"Top First" and she also got 5th place in the photogenic category! (thanks, Carmen for taking those beautiful pics!).

We are so proud of Skyler & it makes me excited to see what the future holds for her in dance & all she decides to do!

(Oh, BTW, Skyler did a hip hop solo to "Boyz" by M.I.A.)

A New Year....January Happenings

I can't believe January is almost over and this is my first post of the year! January has been very busy for us. We started off the New Year with a big party with family and friends. It was a fun night and good way to kick off the New Year!
Skyler has been busy with basketball & dance. Unfortunately, she developed an infection in her foot & it took several weeks, many doses of antibiotics and an MRI to tell us that. The doctors thought she may have had an infection in the bone, but the MRI revealed it had not gotten into the bone, thankfully. She was able to dance this past weekend after being off of it for over 3 weeks. She was so happy to be back on her foot and running, jumping & dancing again.
Cadence started Hippotherapy today. Hippotherapy is a form of therapy that done upon a horse. The word comes from the Greek word "hippos" which means horse. Riding horses can improve core strength and movement that can improve balance, posture, behavior & cognitive functions. Cadence was very eager to get on his horse, Taan-Taan today & was not afraid at all! I was able to get a few shots, but tried to be sneaky & quick so he wouldn't see me! The Pikes Peak Therapuetic Riding Center is out in Black Forest and only a few minutes away from our house, so that is a plus. I am looking forward to adding hippotherapy to our schedule for some time to come.
Skyler also started cooking classes today as an after school program. She was very excited when I picked her up today and said it was pretty cool. They made "spiced chicken" and she ate it before we got home. I am hoping this will help her to try new things as she is our "picky" eater! It actually works out great that she is in this class because Cade's hippotherapy is at 3:30 and she gets out of school at 3:30, so I would have had to take her out of school early to get to Black Forest on time, so this works out wonderfully. She will head to the cooking class right after school and is finished at 4:45. Cade gets done at 4:30, so with the drive back to Falcon, it is perfect!

Although we had a good week here in Colorado that was unseasonably warm (60's or so), we've also had some cold days & nights! Brandon likes to start a fire in the fireplace. I love having a woodburning fireplace and the kids like toasting marshmallows and making s'mores as a special treat!

A DeYoung Family Christmas

Our attempt at a family picture! Skyler & Cadence playing "Gone Fishin"

Cadence loves his new books!

Skyler got a new memoboard!

Cadence'e 2 favorite things- Elmo & Dinosaurs!