It's D-Day!!!!!

First I must wish everyone a be-lated Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year, etc!

  It was wonderful for us, and as always better then I had hoped.....except between Christmas and New Year a lovely stomach bug attacked the Keenan house....all but Chad and Kaya got it, so that was fun.  Oh yeah, as we all felt better about week later a head cold set in to many of us, that's why I'm a little late on the "Happy New Year!"  But trust me I was thinking of the blog world, just couldn't stomach (he he) getting on the computer.

Alrighty what is D-Day, you ask???  We are going to Florida this morning!!!!

Brayden Brayden is playing in the World Championship 3v3 tournament in Disney this coming up weekend.  So we're making a family vacation out of it and doing the Disney thing!  Everyone is excited!!!

Our schedule:

  Today- going to the Pickney's house, staying with them tonight.  These are our friends who moved in the beginning of the summer so the kids (and us parents) are happy to see them soon.

Wednesday - driving to Orlando.  Having dinner at Bob Marley's restaurant...the whole family is so excited about this one.  We can't wait for Kaya Calamari.

Thursday -Disney Hollywood Studios.  All I have to say is they have a special Star Wars thing....anyone who knows us (me) closely knows I cannot wait for this...no worries I won't be dressed up like anyone, but I will know ALL the characters and story lines.

Friday - Magic Kingdom, everyone cannot wait to see Karstyn's face.  My kids really are the sweetest and most thoughtful.  We were telling the kids in the weeks leading up to Christmas we didn't think we'd be doing the "Disney" thing in Florida...money, etc.  (really we wanted them to be excited and understand the gift of Disney.)  The kids told Chad and I that they wanted to put their money together and buy Karstyn a ticket, 'because she needs to go see it."  I'm not sure who was going in the park with her, but she had to go.  So sweet, it was one of those moments where you're fighting back tears.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday - tournament days, playing in the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex!!!  Chad is so cute, he's having dreams/nightmare about the tournament.  Brayden plays on a U8 team, and the boys are all pretty small.  He dreamed the other night that their first opponents were boys bigger then Bryson,  from Russia, and had no birth certificates.  He's such a good Dad.  He's not a dreamer or at least doesn't remember them in the morning.  Except when the kids have something big coming up, then he has these vivid 'scary' dreams.  Poor guy.  

So our plan is to update the blog from Florida.  But my brother-in-law, who is the best at updating his blog, doesn't even do it on his trips to Florida/Disney....so I'm thinking we'll update when we get back.

Wish us luck!

Count Down Begins....



Okay so we have one day until Christmas….my favorite day!!!! I am like a little kid. I still want to be surprised, but more importantly I want to surprise my children, husband, and parents. I love it!!!!

 

But here’s an example of how I love it and the kids are starting to have their own idea of what‘s ‘fun‘. Since we’re lucky enough to have a large family my children do Secret Santa among themselves. A few weeks before Christmas they pick a name out of hat and be that person’s Santa. Of course no more then two days later most have figured out who everyone has…I get mad…Where’s the surprise??? But I remind myself this is their tradition and their FUN is figuring it out. Still so frustrating.

I should also say that there are times I feel like I suck the fun out of Christmas or any event. So I must apologize to my family. I have my ‘traditions’ and it has to go as planned or I get mad….so I’m sorry. I sometimes feel like I’m being Bree Van De Kamp from Desperate Housewives…everything's perfect (or for me attempt to be perfect).

 

Two more of our annual traditions:

1. Christmas cookies for Santa

2. Christmas morning cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.

Christmas Eve the kids decorate Santa Cookies….this year we’ve found natural dye food coloring (that’s another post) so we’re very excited. Mostly just because no one was looking forward to avocado flavored green icing. So this afternoon we’ll be decorating cookies for Santa. Karstyn demonstrated last night how Santa will hold the cookies up high so Marley can’t get any! She’s so cute. Kamden will not be here, he’s going to the Panthers game. Just another example of how big my children are getting (insert sad crying face). He was sweet when he figured out he wouldn’t be here, he was sad or at least looked sad for me 

Second big tradition….drum roll please…..homemade Christmas Cinnamon Rolls and Hot Chocolate also homemade (really homemade I chop the chocolate and put the vanilla bean sticks in). This is a two day process, the dough has to refrigerate for a several hours, then Christmas morning I wake up around 4ish to start the rolls. This way the kids wake up to fresh cinnamon rolls just coming out of the oven. This year Bryson wants me to wake him early so he can help….we call Bryson ‘Clark Griswold.’ He will definitely drain power one day decorating with Christmas lights, he loves his holidays! Anyway I’m looking forward to sharing it will him tomorrow morning.

Side note - I know we haven’t done pictures, to be honest we haven’t tried…but it’s days before Christmas we should get a pass. Fingers crossed we’ll get some up next week!

Hello Blog

I think I got it!!!  Yay for me!  Now I have to do pictures, but my goodness that could take FOREVER...all I have to say is thank goodness the cards that save pictures last a while because that is usually where they stay....no downloading in this family.  For two reasons.  1.  A little lazy and 2. when our fourth child was a baby we downloaded everything...then pushed delete.  You know we have to "save room on the card" that was a quote from my husband.  Well my lovely husband didn't back up the computer and wouldn't you know it....computer crashed.....pictures gone.  So my poor little boy has very few pictures of his first year (Boohoo).  We slowly find pictures of him and I get excited.  I will admit that I joked after my younger two girls were born by saying, 'we should dress them in Brayden's old clothes and take pictures.'  Don't worry I didn't, but the thought crossed my mind! 

Okay so now I'll do a proper introduction to our family.

Chad is the Dad...nice rhyme and fits him perfect.  He really is the best father and husband any family could ever ask for.

Rachel, that's me, I'm the mom/wife.

             Chad and I have been together since 1993 right after I graduated high school  so he's my almost high school sweetheart, we've been married since 1999.

Kamden is our oldest, he's 12.

Bryson  is next up, he's 10

Kaya is our first daughter, she's 9

Brayden is our picture-less baby, he's 7

Karstyn comes next, she's 3
Briella evened us up....both by 3 girls 3 boys but also by being #6, she's 1

So if you were paying attention our names go K, B, K, B, K, B....not planned that way until Brayden, and a big pain, but cute now so....thanks Chad for making us stick to it.

Oh yeah, I should mention we homeschool our bunch. 

Okay that's it for now....I think.....

What am I doing???

Okay, I can't figure this out.  I'll get it eventually, but right now it's taking way to much time.  I started this last night, but could figure out how to actually 'Post' something on the blog!!!!

This could be a long process.......

Okay I think I'm getting it, now let's see if it actually goes on the blog.