Family Day with Tyler

Tyler is doing soooooo wonderful. I am soooooooo proud of him. He got three awards. Two for scoring the highest at the school on tests and one for his dedication to staying focus and setting goals. On one of the awards the instructor wrote good job and then crossed it out and wrote GREAT job. He is also on the softball team and in the choir. We had a great day but I forgot to take pictures until the very end. Travis and Kailyn had driven separate from us so I didn't get any pictures with them. Bummer. Last time I didn't even bring the camera. =C. Kailyn baked Tyler cookies last night and he ate ALL of them (15-20) on the way back to the Academy from the mall. He also ate a Chick-fil-A meal and two pieces of pizza for lunch. They went on a field trip yesterday to Raleigh of all places and went to all the museums. He said he ate three bag lunches and bought snacks and soda as well. He may be in shock the rest of the week when he goes back to his regular diet. He has lost 20 pounds since he got there in July!!!!!!
He said after he graduates in December he is going to go to Wake Tech and then transfer to NC State for Vet school. He also plans to serve a mission. When we dropped him off I thanked one of the leaders for their hard work and asked if Tyler was doing okay. He said he was a great kid and was doing wonderfully. He gets to come home for a three day leave in October and wants to have a HUGE party. I think we can manage that.

Here we are heading to the mall. Notice the ear buds- that is the first thing he asked for when he got in the car (my ipod).
This is the ride back to the Academy. Tayler got a little tired. Tyler still had my Ipod.

Me and my boys!!!! Can't believe they are so grown up. Aren't they handsome??? Man I love these kids!!!!

Me and Ty (I look like a total dork in this picture but whatever)LOVE

Courtney, Taylor and Aleesa decided to come along. I think everyone had a great time. When we went in August Daniel and Alyssa came and it was fantastic as well. So glad Tyler has such AMAZING friends. He is getting lots and lots of letters and it has really helped him stay positive and focused.

Ty and Court

Ty and Tay

Ty and Aleesa

How Kailyn Does Summer

Kailyn has had a boy free summer and I think she could totally get used to being the only child. Besides for our fantastic trip to Florida she has been hanging out with friends, swimming in the pool and at the beach, going to movies, museums and baseball games, playing with Lily and also loads and loads of just general vegging out. We went and saw the dress rehearsal for The Sound of Music with some friends and had a blast. I hope we can make it to a few more over the course of the year. A West Side Story is playing in October. Kailyn really wants to get involved in plays/drama and I have been searching around trying to find a place for her to take inexpensive classes. So far I haven't found anything but the search continues. She was a huge help at band camp- she kept the hospitality director's grandson occupied wonderfully and did whatever else she was asked. We started our first week of homeschool Monday and things are going great. Anytime we are doing something that she would never be able to do in a regular classroom like eating ice cream during reading time or doodling on paper while I read to her or laying out on the the trampoline doing math problems she makes sure to point it out to me how much she loves it. She also tells me regularly she is quitting school but I guess there has to be opposition in all things. I wish I had taken more pictures of her this summer but I left the camera behind way too many times.
Travis and Kailyn at the Mudcats game.

Waiting for The Sound of Music to start.

Yeah that's a diaper!

Mudcats- can you see the drama in her eyes???

I'm going to miss

Laughing
Saying the same thing at the same time
Kitten rescuing
Saying the same thing at the same time as a reaction to saying the same thing at the same time
Threatening to beat our children but never doing it
Laughing
Lily
Owen
Your cat like reflexes
Making fun of Allias
Watching American Idol together (just kidding I like watching it by myself much better)
Listening to Lily and Kailyn play together for hours
Chilling at the Pool
Laughing
Shopping
Sleepovers
Not getting dressed until 2PM
Piles of dirty diapers on my front porch
Molly's smile
Being told how much Lily and Kailyn look alike
Swiss Rolls and Strawberry Poptarts
Flaring nostrils
Laughing
You

Future Daddy

Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo- How about you you you

Despite the HOT HOT temperatures (95 degrees with 100% humidity) Brittney, Jen and I ventured out to the zoo today with the kids. The babies were awesome and we all had a great time. One of the many great things about our zoo is the ABUNDANCE of shade.

Playing Catch Up

I have been terrible about keeping my blog updated the past couple months. Part of the problem is I have left my camera home on accident too many times to count. My kids have all been in different directions this summer so I will update one kid at a time. Allias has had a crazy busy summer. He went to scout camp, youth conference and two weeks of band camp then left for California and wont be back until the day before school starts. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures at band camp. I am on the hospitality committee so I was there most days serving dinner for 200. It really was a blast and I am excited for Allias to be involved in such a great program. He will march for the first time at the end of August and I promise not to forget my camera!



Allias did great at scout camp- he did really well in the shotgun shooting, hitting 36 out of 50 pigeons. He also earned his Swimming, Fishing and Environmental Science merit badges and is now a Star Scout- he only needs one more merit badge to reach Life. Hopefully he will get his Eagle before he turns 16. I think his favorite part of scout camp was playing basketball with some kids from Lumberton.

I drove five teenage boys home from Youth Conference and it was wonderful. They talked the whole way home about how spiritual the experience was and of course how cute the girls were. It was the first time Allias was old enough to go and also his first time going to a church dance. He said he cried on the stand for the first time when he bore his testimony at the testimony meeting. He couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had for days!

He is having an amazing time in California- He went to a Giant's game has been water skiing, golfing, playing tennis and just hanging out on the beach. He had my cousin Galen with him the first week and now is just hanging out with my aunt and uncle in Tahoe. I doubt he will want to come home on Sunday. I know he took a million pictures and I will make sure to post some once he gets home.

Changing things up

Kailyn has been talking about dyeing her hair red and getting a mohawk so in order to avoid any further discussion (not that I would ever even indulge the idea of a nine year old with a red mohawk) I gave her a hair magazine and told her she could pick whatever hairstyle she would like within reason.
Here she is before
And after!

I also decided it was time for a change and decided to go back to my roots for awhile
Sorry you only get the finished product- it had been like twelve weeks since I had seen my hairdresser and I wasn't about to take a before shot. I like it a lot. We went with a super conditioning semi-permanent this time. I will get something more permanent in six weeks when I go back so I may end up with multi color hair again before too long.

Bright Eyes

My first born is almost an adult. I can't believe time has gone by so quickly and my little boy is almost a MAN.18 years ago I was heading down a dark and slippery slope. I was 16 years old- skipping school, breaking the law and spent most of my time under the influence of alcohol. Getting pregnant probably saved my life. As soon as I found out I was having a baby- I went back to school- quit drinking and tried to get my life back on track. The crowd I was hanging out with at the time have all either been in prison- addicted to drugs or worse. It wouldn't be the only time that having Tyler in my life was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

August 13 1992 at 2:13 AM after 13 hours and 13 minutes of labor I gave birth to Tyler Patrick he weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 21 inches long. His eyes were WIDE open when he came into the world and the doctor looked at him and said "well hello bright eyes!". The pediatrician said the same thing the first time he saw him. I wanted to name him Magic Buchanan but my mom talked me out of it. I didn't name him officially until 30 minutes before I was discharged from the hospital. Tyler loves that I almost named him Magic- he wishes I would have!
Tyler had pneumonia four times before he was two months old. We eventually found out that his trachea wasn't closing when he swallowed so he had to be tube fed. He was failure to thrive and hardly gained any weight the first eight months of his life. We spent much of his first year in the hospital. I remember the nurses always being in disbelief that he was such a sick baby because he was constantly laughing and smiling and jabbering. He made up for lost time and became quite the chunk by the time he was one- look at that belly!!

Despite his health issues he talked very early. He said his first three words at 9 months old. Daddy, Dog and No. He could speak fluently by 18 months old. He often used lines from movies against me. He kept everyone laughing with all his silly ways. He loved bugs- he had a pet ant named Jack for years (Jack even moved with us twice and once was across country)- he never needed training wheels on his bike he just got on it and rode- we didn't have to teach him how to read he was reading on his own by kindergarten. He started attending church with my in laws as soon as he was old enough to go in the nursery. When he was three and about to start primary he asked me to come to church with him. I went and was baptized six months later.

Tyler has had many struggles in his life but through everything he has never lost his testimony or devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has always been ready and willing to forgive me for my shortcomings and I am soooo proud to be his mother.

He loves to ride horses. He told a doctor once that the only time his mind stops racing is when he is on a horse.

Anytime we have been without a trampoline for one reason or the other he begs us to get a new one.

Here he is with his first band t-shirt! He still wears it and still loves Blink 182!

He loves anything high adventure. I can only imagine the things he is going to try as an adult. He loves to watch Man vs Wild and has aspirations to be a large animal vet- he would love to work on a wildlife preserve or in a zoo somewhere.

It will be several months before he is able to read this. Tyler is away at a school run by the National Guard. We got to see him last weekend and we couldn't be prouder of him. He is doing sooooo amazing and really making changes that will probably help him for the rest of his life. He talked about college, a mission, military service and marriage. He is looking forward to the future and taking steps to make it a bright one. I know that he may always struggle with bi-polar disorder but I also know that with the Lord's help he can overcome any obstacles that are put before him

If anyone would like to write to him while he is away please let me know and I will get you his address.

Happy 17th Birthday Tyler!!!!!