PATHETIC

pa·thet·ic/pəˈTHetik/ Adjective: Arousing pity, esp. through vulnerability or sadness. Miserably inadequate. So let's go with the latter "Miserably inadequate" and that would be how I would describe my blogging for 2012. I would like to commit to "I'm Back." However, let's take it one blog at a time. Where to begin? Let's go with our most recent trip - Ohio. We went to Ohio under the premise of a family reunion. Hamilton (Rusty's Maternal) to be exact. So the Hamiltons traditionally have a reunion over Thanksgiving. It was Rusty's grandmother's, Rose Adaline (aka Lovey, Adaline was given to Shea) request that her children (grandchildren, etc) gather at least once a year. They have honored her request for longer than I have been in the family (20+ years). Each of the living siblings takes a turn hosting in their area. For us, this makes for an awesome vacation/family reunion! Every 4 years, we have the opportunity to visit: Ohio, DC, Ft. Lauderdale, or GA ;). Needless to say, our children have been given some pretty awesome trips in addition to making great memories with cousins. I present to you Ohio 2012!

Day 1 was spent with cousin, Aidan touring Mentor/Cleveland. What a spunky tour guide/photographer/life guard...:) We went by the cemetery where grandparents were buried, then to Lake Eerie, the Zoo, and finished the day with a wonderful dinner with cousins on the Speidel Side.

Day 2 in Kirtland, then visiting the homes of Rusty's grandparents, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and sundae bar with more awesome cousins!

Kentucky Farms (Rusty's Maternal Grandparents' homestead)

Day 3 we took a drive through Amish Country, Kidron, stopping by Lehmans, on our way to Columbus for Thanksgiving Day!

Day 4 & 5 was spent with the Hamilton Clan running a 2 mile race, catching up, eating good food, visiting, playing games, and making memories! We were treated like royalty and feel blessed to have spent time with so many members of our awesome extended family!

SHAME ON ME!

In the busy-ness of end of school, we also had a birthday in our family, li'l ms. I! She's our mascot, our teddy bear, our sweet cheeks...She's got personality and can be quite outgoing hence our mascot. She's still funsize for ALL of us to cuddle so I call her a teddy bear. And since the day she joined SpyTribe, she has had the most kissable, sweet cheeks! Even when she takes matters into her own hands (scissors), we can't get too mad at her.

She campaigned for a birthday party and won us over (Rett says we're spoiling her. He doesn't help :D) The #6 came with Friends and Fun (and Barbies)! We're so blessed to have her a part of our tribe!

20 YEARS AND STILL HONEYMOONING!

We recently celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss! Months ago we began the preparations, just like a wedding. We started with passports. We weren't sure where we would go, but we wanted to be prepared to leave the country should the opportunity present itself. Rusty's went through without a 'hitch' (pardon the pun). Mine, after much trial and tribulation, came just days before our departure. Hence, we opted for a cruise.
The main requisite for the cruise: diving! Dive we did in Grand Cayman thanks to Don Foster formerly Parrots Landing. Our dive was so great! Our dive instructor, Sergio, promised us the "second best experience" of our life. With 4 births of amazing little spirits and marriage to one of the greatest men in history, that would be quite the feat. However, I would have to say this dive ranked up there with some of the highlights of my life.
Next stop was Cozumel where we took a ferry to Playa Del Carmen so we could see the ancient Mayan city of Tulum. It was magnificent and the beaches were like a dream.

We LOVED the Yucatan and hope to return for more diving and fun!

TIME FOR A CHANGE...

A couple of years ago, Rusty and I got the feeling he should return to school for an MBA. However, he was already very busy with work, life, calling in the bishopric. So when he was released from the bishopric last fall, it seemed time to return to school. He had investigated a program through Auburn that required minimal campus time, more online learning. It was the #1 online MBA program in the nation, but only 1/3 of the applicants got in. In January, Rusty set his goals for the 2011, one was to start his MBA (with Auburn being his first choice). He studied, tested and scored well, but he was especially thrilled to get 6 of 6 for the writing portion. This week he recieved his letter of acceptance to Auburn. War Eagle!

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Then there are the younger 3 Speidels: Shea, Asa, & Ivy. Shea and Asa will be attending the new Cherokee Charter Academy while Ivy have been redistricted to an Elementary School just around the corner!

Big academic changes for the Speidels this fall!

HEY CHICKADEES!

"I'm coming to steal your eggs!" calls out the 5 year old. Thanks to Rusty, the masterful builder, we now have the ChickMahal closer to the house for the kiddos (and mom) to care for and play with the girls! I feel soooo loved that my city slicker guy would perform such a 'labor' of love. :)

THIS IS...

This is the Babe who helped me figure out what I want to be when I grow up...A Mom!

This is the Toddler who screamed at swim lessons and vaccuums

This is the little boy who asked to go to the zoo. We promised him a trip to the National zoo, but forgot to inform him it would be a 10 hour drive.
This is the brother who wanted "10 plus 6 siblings" to hug and kiss.
This is the boy who's heart constantly yearns for truth and righteousness



This is the young man who can now drive our cars (with assistance)



Happy Birthday Rett!

I'M GONNA MISS THIS

That's what they tell me and I have come to believe it. Especially when I taxi my kids around for 100+ miles in a day. I'm totally not kidding. Yesterday, Saturday, we ran Rett to his church basketball game at the stake center (Cobb County), then I took him from there to his swim certification for scout camp this summer. After that, we headed back up to Cherokee County. We had to stop by the sporting store to get Rett some bigger, more coverage, Lacrosse gloves. Not cheap, but considering he used his last pair for 4 years, I felt confident we'd get our monies worth. Hopefully at least they'll last him through high school. From there, we swung by the house to convert from basketball player/swimmer to Offensive Attack (Lacrosse). Coach has him trying a new position. Off to Lacrosse practice, thankfully just down the road so I could return to home intermittently 'til pickup. So all this running around made me thankful for time with Rett. In less than 2 weeks, he gets his learner's permit. We are excited to give him that independence. Yes, I said excited! So I'm relishing in this last year of time with him. When he gets his license, we'll try to see to it that he has a designated set of wheels to get himself around and help mom/dad with chaufferring. I have had some of THE BEST conversations with him, when in the car...hence, I'm Gonna Miss those times when I get to lean on his ear or we have a really personal conversations I could have never imagined occurring.

SNOW DAY?

Actually it was an entire week! Here are a few pics from day 1.
When push comes to shove....

Asa getting ready, set, to go:

I'm with Ivy. I like to eat it ("stay away from the yellow")



I think snow is my favorite backdrop for taking pictures of my kiddos. Something about the lighting.

HEAD & SHOULDERS

Asaism alert!

After Dad, the Barber, finished cutting Asa's hair, the Barber sent Asa to the showers for a clean up/rinse with Head & Shoulders. Asa says to Rusty, "Do I wash my shoulders too." BAWHAHAHAHAHAHAH....

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND part 2

So part 2 of our birthday weekend was Rusty's birthday joy...Blue Angels. He LOVES them and they just happened to be in the ATL for our celebratory weekend. We wanted to share this with the kids and our good friends. It was great!

THE BIG 4-0

I survived, actually loved every minute, of turning the big 4-0! Yes, I am 40, FORTY, 4x10, 5x8...And proud of it. Why?

Well, since January, I've been working to look like a Fabulous at 40! Rusty took me shopping for my birthday and it, lets just say, exceeded my expectations. I have surpassed (or underpassed) my goal clothing size and my goal waist. Woohoo!

A few days before my birthday, a friend advertised concert tickets to....(drum roll)...EAGLES! Whom I LOVE! I've been to one concert (David Lee Roth) in my entire life and I've not really hankered to spend the money to go to another. But I've thought, "If I were to go to a concert, I would want to go to the Eagles." They are classic. So another dream come true...Eagles at Piedmont Park. Yes there were LOT of older fans because they have been around F-o-r-e-v-e-r, but they are soooo good. As they were singing and talking about a couple of songs, I realized how fitting it was to be at this concert. The Eagles have been making music my ENTIRE life. Rusty wasn't anxious because of the age groupies, but he was more than supportive. We had a great time, which brings me to my next loving every minute of it birthday...

Rusty! We took the weekend off (from kids) for our celebratory birthdays (his is 6 days later). We have dear friends who helped us pull this off (thanks Nick & Laura). I just LOVE spending time with Rusty! We laugh lots, talk, and are best friends. We LOVE our kids. They are great, amazing, fun, and enrich our lives tremendously. However, we are preparing them to, ultimately, find a wonderful person and leave us. What will remain will be just Rusty and I. So we invest in us. Some may think we invest too much, but we truly adore one another. ;)

Wee Bit behind

with featuring our latest birthday boy, Asa! He's still so fun, 9 years later! He had a great birthday hauling in with some electronic snapits, skateboard, and of course some moolah. He wants to spend it on books. Who's kid is this? A first in our family that he is so excited to buy books at the book fair. He recently had the opportunity to go in an airplane ride because he had all As. He couldn't stop talking about it. Then last night, he had his 3rd grade annual performance, of which, he had a solo part. It was a line from Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious and He did AWESOME!

FAVORITEST DAY OF THE YEAR

Second to Christmas...We LOVE INPO's (Rusty's Employer) Family Fun day!

This year: Stone Mountain Park! We hadn't been in years (Asa and Ivy don't remember it AT ALL). So our first item of business was the Sky Hike. You're never too old to "wait your turn." Air Asa 36 Feet Up
We were there for hours (more than half the time). Ivy gettin' cooled off while waiting for the sky hikers.
Lots of waiting, but it was still fun! Next...Sky Ride! Aaaawww Shucks! The wonderful overcast, cloudy, slightly rainy, some thunder, some lightening day all of sudden became our nemesis. Sky Ride was off limits when there is lightening within 20 miles. "Hey kids, lets go putt putt and hold a metal wedge"...lol...After we cool down with a 20 minute synopsis of Journey to the Center of the Earth in 4D! One of the better 4D experiences, but a bit too wet.
Rett did a little experiment...smooshed a penny on the train track.
Nooowwwww to go play with those lightening conductors....then dinner, bounce house, relays, AND Asa doin' the hula contest! Shea in line at the relay
Oh what family fun! Thank You Institute of Nuclear Power Operations!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2010-2011

This was not a day I was looking forward to because:
1. I love to 'play' (hike, swim...) with my kids.
2. I don't like homework...for me. :)
3. I have a Freshman and I know it'll be just a time warp before he's off on his mission, college, etc. Asa (3rd), Shea (6th), Rett (9th)
4. My baby, Ivy, goes to Kindergarten Ivy & her friend, EmaLee, off to find B Hall.
Back Home! Kindergarten is exhausting for student...and mom!
5. Summer went by too fast. That's the downside of having a great school schedule. I do love our school schedule because we get a week at a time off (besides spring break). We get a weeklong fall break in September, a weeklong winter break in February, and the entire week of Thanksgiving off. It makes the summer short but helps planning trips.

After a few days of mourning, I'm optimistic about the future. I'll be more independent, explore new hobbies, further delve into pre-existing endeavors, reclaim my home (hopefully). ;)

DISNEY! AND THEN SOME

For our Family Summer Vacation this year, we combined it with a wedding and took the crew to DisneyWorld + the beach + Ripley's Believe it or Not +++ All culmunating in a fun filled Vacation! Buried Boy @ Cocoa Beach!
Our first character: Lilo! Ivy's first roller coaster with Rett. Mateys waitin' to meet Jack Sparrow! Ivy gettin' cooled on a smeltering day at Disney! Asa & Mom still smilin' at the end of a long, hot, fun day!

Asa summed it up best when he said 2 of his 3 summer favorites were 1. Wedding Dinner in Orlando and 2. Disney!

BOSTON!

Rusty and I have been dreaming of the day we could run away to Boston! Our dream came true and we had an amazing time!
We love mass transit ie. Subways. Did you know Boston had THE first rail system? They now affectionately refer to it as the "T". So that was our main mode of transportation along with our own two feet. We were able to fully ingest Boston to the T.

Day 1: We did the Freedom Trail which showcases 17 landmarks of the Revolutionary period of our great nation.

Kathleen at the site of the Boston Massacre. A good bit has changed since 1770.
Day 2: Mapparium, Govenor Brewer Protest, Anthony's at Pier 4 with good friends, The Kelleys, from GA

Day 3: More park strolling, Cheers, Mike's Bakery, Chinatown
Nobody knew my name. :)
Day 4: We moved up to Cambridge, AWESOME lunch at Tavern in the Square, rented a car, drove up the coast to Salem/Marblehead, Boston Temple.

Rusty at Red's Sandwich Shop. They said they've been operating since the revolutionary period.
Kathleen at Salem's Witch Memorial

Rusty at Marblehead

Great Memories!