I Can't Believe My Eyes!

Yes, the title tells the truth. We are still alive and well, although we seem to have fallen off the face of the blog world in recent months (well, really many months). We are giving this a trial run again. So much has happened in the past nine months. Here's a brief synopsis of what is going on:
Jake
Jake has graduated from 5th grade, turned 12, and started middle school. He made it through his first season playing tennis. Last week he tried out for the 6th grade basketball team at his school. Over 40 kids tried out and the team was cut to 12. He made the cut! You can look forward to seeing some pictures and updates on the basketball season.
Syd
Sydney started 5th grade, her last year in her current elementary school. She is currently on the newspaper staff, serving on student council (and campaigning for president at this moment-- we'll keep you posted), involved in math club, and Girl Scouts. Mom and Dad are currently trying to persuade her to take up either basketball or volleyball, due to the fact that she is 5'3" and the tallest kid in her school. Did we also mention that she probably also has the biggest feet? She currently wears a size 10 in women's!
Owen
Owen graduated from kindergarten. He was nervous about moving to 1st grade because "1st grade work is too hard". Over the summer, he turned 6. Needless to say, school started and he reluctantly started 1st grade. He is doing very well and now claims the work is "too easy". he has had 100% on all of his weekly spelling and reading tests and on both of his two math unit tests. Owen still loves to run around outside like a mad man and climb like a monkey. He is really beginning to love reading, as he can read many books by himself. He loves reading to his little sister. He can't wait for basketball to start in a month and wants to play soccer in the spring.
Kenna
The baby officially started public school this year. We were fortunate enough to be able to send Kenna to the elementary school she will go to for a brand new morning preschool program. She is kind of like a guinea pig. Hopefully the program takes off and they will be able to offer a morning and afternoon session next year. She thinks she is a big girl going to school everyday with Mommy, Syd, and Owen. Kenna has also developed into a little fashionista, so be careful. the girl can SHOP! Everything has to coordinate. She refuses to wear certain items in her wardrobe because "that's ugly" or "that's not cute". She has started taking ballet class once a week and acts like a prima ballerina. She has yet to decide if she will participate in the spring recital.
We promise to do a better job with keeping everyone up to date. Mom got a new Nikon camera and is really getting into photography. She has tons of pictures she has taken and will post some this week for your enjoyment. Thanks for hanging in there and being patient with us. We promise it will be worth the wait!