Nearly 5 Years Later

After almost five years I found the first blog I ever tried in 2009.  The pictures almost brought me to tears.  

Darrin is 15 and a freshman in high school.  Emily is a 12 year old sixth grader who can't wait to start  junior high.  We have had an adopted dog name Rosie for almost two years now.  

Dan and I struggle with the pace of life and how quickly the kids are growing up.  We seem so busy at times it is maddening.  Most nights we are not all home together before 8 or 9 pm.  Our days start crazy early and end when it is dark.

We have fallen in love with skiing.  In less than two weeks we will make our second trip to Breckenridge, CO to ski for a week over spring break.  Dan, Darrin and Emily will ski the highest peaks with ease.  I may stay at a lower altitude just to be safe.

So...it is my hope to keep this alive on occasion now that technology makes it so simple to blog and connect from anywhere.  I can't imagine what the world and our lives will be like if it is another 5 years before I come back to this blog.

LB

A Mid Summer Update

How do months get away from me and I never even get back to this silly thing. I am not even sure who checks it but here it goes...since our last post...

• Darrin played what seems like a million baseball games.
• Emily has asked what seems like a million questions.
• Dan has put far less than a million hours on his boat.
• Lisa has been given a one in a million chance to be a principal, finally!

So I am stealing an idea from my friend, Julie, who may be the only one who actually reads this silly thing...but it has been too long since the last post. As is typical, everyone else is asleep and I am up thinking about how I only have a few hours to sleep if I want to actually get any sleep. All our other posts have been big moments...this one is dedicated to our day to day life. The moments that just happen without much song and dance. So here it is...

• 5:00 am/ish...the alarm by my head goes off and I try not to hit the snooze. It may not wake Dan but Emily will hear it across the house.
• 5:20 I am in the car most morning to someone else's house to work out or out the door for a run. Emily moves into my warm spot in bed and "cuddles" with her dad.
• 6:30 I am home and in the shower. Darrin is up, dressed, eats breakfast, starts Em's breakfast and feeds the dog often before I am out of the shower. Most recently he is turning on Sports Center from the night before.
• 7:00 I am dressed and ready and wake up Dan. Some days it drives me crazy that he gets to sleep so late, but since he isn't much of a morning person it is probably best that he stays in bed. When he starts to move, I get out of the way and head down to breakfast...1 cup of Kashi Go Lean and 1/2 a cup of skim milk.
• 7:30 Em and Darrin are in the car and usually end up waiting for me for 10 minutes.
• 7:45 Arrive at school. Em takes down chairs, Darrin writes up lunch count and the madness of the day really gets underway. I usually answer emails and send out a few to start the day.
• 8:20 Kids head out to the playground and I take one last look at how I hope the day will go.
• 8:40 Students arrive and I am suddenly in charge of 25 other people's kids for the next 7hours and 4minutes.
• 3:44 The bell rings and we hit the door running.
• Anyone who knows the Bergman's well knows that we eat EARLY. If we all eat together the dishes will be done by 5:30...long before most families begin to even prepare dinner.
• I always pack lunches right after dinner. If I wait until later I can easily eat a whole other meal while I snack my way through packing. Best to get it done when I am still satisfied from dinner.
• With spring in the air our evenings either include baseball practice or a game of catch. The trampoline is up so Dan and the kids usually give it a workout while I do laundry and hide the piles around the house. I hate the trampoline so much that I would rather sort stinky socks.
• With early dinners come bedtime snacks. Darrin and Emily have had a 7:30 snack almost every night of their lives. Popcorn, bagel and cream cheese, toast, fruits and veggies...ice cream if I'm not home.
• Emily goes to bed at 8:30. I usually lay with her and force myself to not worry about all the stuff that still needs to get done. Darrin and Dan will turn on some kind of sporting event and seem to become glued to the couch.
• 9:00, on the dot, Darrin picks out a "buddy" to sleep with and hops in bed. He never argues or complains as long as we both kiss him goodnight in his bed.
• Dan will read, read, read and I will finally start to think about what needs to still happen before I can get to bed.
• I iron my clothes for the next day, lay out my workout clothes (lately I just put them on and sleep in them). Some laundry, work stuff and a quick check of Facebook...before I know it it's after 10.

Like tonight, Dan is asleep and I have my second wind. It is 11:30 and I am wide awake. Which is amazing considering this crazy day began at 5am, included a meeting until 6pm, a trip to Meijer, dinner with my parents, two loads of laundry and too much time wasted online looking up articles to read for work.

Maybe next time I can write about the fun stuff like weekends in Boyne City. It's no wonder I can sleep like a baby when I am up north. Until next time...think spring!

Cancun

Dan and I just returned from three full days in Cancun with a trip through Dan's work. It was the trip of a lifetime...even if it was only three days long. We are both sun tanned like no other time in our lives. We keep telling people thank you in Spanish and they look at us like we are nuts.

We met the most incredible people on our trip. Both couples are from the Grand Rapids area and we hit it off right away. I couldn't figure out why my ribs and abs hurt...it was from constantly laughing!

For three full days we did NOTHING but lay by the pool, drink slushy drinks and eat until we were sick. The food at the resort was wonderful. Our room overlooked the ocean (and a Mexican Navel ship). We slept every night with the door wide open and woke up every morning to the sound of the waves.

We can not wait to go back!

A Rare Night

It is one of those rare nights when we are all home...the kids are asleep...and I am actually sitting in the living room. We have had our new furniture for almost a year and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I have sat and actually relaxed on the furniture. I just never seem to sit down because when I do I fall asleep.

Dan and Emily went to their fifth Daddy/Daughter date night last week. Emily plans for that one night the entire year. Dan got her flowers which she pinned to the purse she was taking. She had shopped for a special tie to match her dress. They had dinner by the fireplace at Mt. Town then headed off to dance the night away...at least for two hours! The hits of the night were the chocolate fountain and the "cootie" catcher craft that she is still using on us every day.

Darrin had yet another incredible report card. He is doing great job in school and doesn't seem to working that hard at it. He decided to take a time out from sports which has been such a welcome relief. It seems even without practice and games there is precious little time to just play. He LOVES the surf machine at Avalanche Bay. Others watch while he throws the board, splashes the crowd and makes it look so easy! Dan tries to keep up but usually seems to end the day with a new injury.

Dan and Lisa are counting the days until their long weekend in Cancun. Dan has earned a trip through work which includes four days of absolutely nothing to do but sit in the sun. With temps rarely reaching 10 degrees above zero in Michigan our bodies may just go into shock. We have been going to the tanner but if the weather is good we still hope to come home with wonderful sunburns. We also have been working out in the hopes that we can eat ourselves back into our holiday bodies in four short days! It's good to have goals.

Well, I have reached my limit for sitting still...maybe I will get the pics off the camera before the seasons change. Another good goal...think warm thoughts...we need them!

An Update Has Been Requested

The holidays are over and I had good intentions of updating this blog...realizing as I started that all my holiday pics are still on the camera. Words will need to paint the pictures. Our holiday break began early with a huge snow storm. It was one of those days that the kids were actually upset to have a snow day...they missed their school parties. We made the most of it with sledding at Deerfield Park. Four wheel drive can take you anywhere! We celebrated our friend Dawn's 40th birthday with a surprise party at Mt. Town. Saturday we went to see our favorite singer, Mye Rise, in Ovid. Sunday we got together with all the families from our former church. Our holidays were off to a quick, food filled start.

We celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Cavalieri on the Monday before Christmas. It seems so much more relaxed when we celebrate holidays on any other day than the actual holiday. They had wonderful treats and a room full of presents for the kids. Darrin got a red Hummer H2, even if it was remote control.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Bergman. Another snow storm kept us inside for a day long Wii tournament. Emily sang Hannah Montana all day while Darrin played pro football.

Christmas morning was full of excitement. The four of us were home, alone, together. Everyone was healthy! Dan made pancakes on his new griddle. Emily loved her ice skates and snowboard. Darrin immediately made his bed with his new Michigan bedding. Later in the day we hosted grandparents and Uncle Nate for dinner. Christmas night again found us home alone, together.

We headed up north a few days later for a week in Boyne City. Dan, Darrin and Emily hit the water park almost every day. We went sledding with friends Maggie and Abby. Lisa had made the promise of no projects the entire week and did a pretty good job keeping her word. New Years Eve was a blast for the kids. We went to a progressive house party with lots of kids similar in age. Everyone made it until midnight, but by 12:01 we were heading home.

Both Darrin and Emily are blessed to have incredible teachers this year. They were excited to get home to Mt. Pleasant, get back to school and see their teachers and friends. Emily is reading and writing like a pro. Darrin is very much into his buddies and ESPN...just like his dad.

We have started making summer camping and boating reservations. We always say that we survive our Michigan winters by planning our upcoming summer. Next weekend will find us in Chicago for the boat show...Dan needs to be able to dream. And before we know it the snow will be melting and we will be putting the first coats of wax on the boat.

The Snow Is Falling!

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since we posted. We had big hopes of posting more often but it seems life has decided otherwise.

We have spent many fun filled afternoons at Avalanche Bay at Boyne Mountain. The indoor water park is less that five miles from our house in Boyne City. Darrin has become an expert in the wave machine. People stop just to watch him and are amazed at how easy he makes it look. Most don't realize that he has had lots of practice...unlike the poor kids at the park for only one day who get thrown around by the waves.

Emily swims like a mermaid. It is fun to watch her dive and play in the water. She is actually quite graceful underwater. The park just put in a large, floating tree log that she has spent hours climbing on and falling off.

We spent Thanksgiving in Niagara on the Lake in Ontario, Canada. Both of my brothers and their families joined us for the long holiday weekend in a beautiful home my parents had rented. Darrin, Emily, Sophia and Abrahm were inseparable. Flo taught Emily to crochet. She took to it naturally. Darrin hung on Uncle Nate's every word. We spent much of our time eating, going for walks in the wonderful downtown area, eating, walking Baxter, eating, relaxing, eating...you get the picture. On Thanksgiving some were still arriving so we postponed the turkey for a chili and baked potato dinner. Grandma and Grandpa made a wonderful turkey dinner on Friday. Saturday Nate made the most incredible turkey soup which we polished off as if we had never eaten before. And of course with every meal and into each night came the wine! How lucky we were to have three full days together without the interruptions of day to day life.

We have been lucky to travel to our home in Boyne City often this fall. Our last trip was like no other since snow was on the ground...not just any snow either! Our little yellow summer home was covered...buried...completely white. The kids were able to make a snow fort in the back yard simply by digging a hole in the snow on the ground. We spent much of our time fussing with house stuff. Lisa decided to take down the wallpaper in the kitchen which turned out to be a HUGE project. Needless to say Dan is not thrilled! A promise has been made to finish this "little mess" and not start another.

Our first real snowday of the year was today. We have almost a foot of snow on the ground in Mt. Pleasant. Dan had used the snowblower twice today alone. The kids and Lisa made good use of their time. They made 15 loaves of pumpkin bread, finished up some crafts for holiday gifts and still found time to go sledding at Deerfield Park. The snow plow has just made it's way down the road as this is typed so it looks like it will be back to school tomorrow!