Go Out. Be Great.

I'm not one to to normally share my feelings or show my emotions (unless I'm watching a sappy movie). My sister told me this story of a family who lost their little boy in a tragic accident at the lake. I was immediately heart broken and my eyes well up with tears every time I think of this little boy and his family. I think about them often. I don't know them, but I cannot imagine what they are going through and I find myself praying for them everyday. They have shown incredible faith and strength and have touched the hearts of so many. The story surfaced all of my worst fears and my heart aches. I read their blog and facebook page and the family's quest to share Nate's story and I'm inspired to be a better person, not take the little things for granted and to be the best wife, mother and friend I can possibly be. Their motto is simple: Go Out. Be Great. (Great words to live by) If you are able, pls read their story and make a contribution to the playground they are builidng at his elementary school in Nate's memory. http://nathanchrisbaker.wordpress.com/

1st Day of School & 1st Tooth!

We celebrated a lot of "firsts" this month. Carson is still in the Goddard School, but started a new class and was super excited for the first day of school. Colin started 1st grade at Rockburn Elementary and has Ms. Barker as a teacher. The first time getting on the bus is the hardest for him, but he seems to be adjusting well. Ms. Corynne finally got her first tooth @ 13 months!

Happy Swiss Independence Day!

We celebrated Switzerland's Independence Day on Aug. 1st. I came home and the kids were festive in their swiss flag shirts and Ms. Anita made a delicious swiss meal and it came complete with swiss napkins, placemats and swiss flag candle holders. The set-up was so cute and the whole thing was a pleasant surprise by Ms. Anita.

Swim Test

We are so proud of Carson for passing the swim test at our pool this summer. He had to swim the entire length of the pool and then tread water for 1 minute. The lifeguards said he was the first 3 year-old to attempt and pass the test. He had a lot of people cheering him on and he was so excited to be able to go off the diving board and sliding board like his big brother.

Corynne's 1st Birthday

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet baby Corynne!! Where has the year gone? She's getting too big, too fast..(sniff sniff), but there is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for this little blessing in our lives. She's absoultely amazing and I tell her every day how beautiful she is. She is a ray of sunshine and we all adore her to pieces. We were supposed to have her birthday party at our swim club, but the rain had us change it last minute to our house. Corynne turned one without a single tooth and she started walking at about 11 months. She is pure sweetness and loves to cuddle. She is always able to find a nook just for her in John's arms. Corynne is very outspoken and tells us how she feels. The boys anxiously await for her to wake up every morning and climb into her crib at the first noise they hear from her. It's these little moments that I feel so blessed to have such amazing children.

Sandra Vists

We couldn't go on vacation without somebody coming to watch our kids for a week.. so, we are lucky enough that Sandra wanted to come. Between Sandra and Ms. Anita they had the routine down to a science. Made lunches for school, made 3 meals a day, got baths done, got the kids to school, took them to the pool, went for walks, played outside, build-a-bear, shopping, made cookies, had Madi and Ave spend the night, the list goes on and on... exhausting! We can't thank them enough as John and I don't trust many people with the kids, but all went well and the kids hardly missed us ;-)Some candid shots from their week.

Happy 10yr Anniversary

John and I celebrated our 10yr wedding anniversary in June!! We took a delayed trip (July) to Punta Cana and stayed at an awesome (adult only!) all inclusive resort... and it was AWESOME!! The food was great, the staff was great and we met a lot of great people. It was definatley a R&R type of vacation and we did absoultely NOTHING!!! We didn't do any excursions and stayed at the beach most of the day, visited the pool bar, had a nice massage and ate great food. Just what we have been needing. It was hard leaving the kids, but with technology these days, we were able to see them and talk to them every night via Face Time/Skype. Can't wait for what the next 10yrs bring! Happy Anniversary!!

4th of July

Corynne and Ms. Anita's 1st US 4th of July! Thank you Mr. Haynes for taking us out on the boat and a tour of the Baltimore harbour. It was a great night and the fireworks were spectacular! Carson and Corynne were not big fans of the loud fireworks. God Bless America!

Corynne's Baptism

We were so blessed to have so many people be part of Corynne's Baptism. It really meant a lot to us to have her godparents there all the way from Colorado.

OBX 2012

The whole gang together again for our annual OBX trip. Always great memories and too many pictures to post in the blog. The house we had was awesome and the pool/view was spectacular. So good to see the cousins from Colorado and have the kids together for memories that last a lifetime. We are so fortunate that we are able to do this every year. This was Corynne's first OBX trip and she was great. We can't wait to go again next summer... let the countdown begin!

5K

My friend and I did the app Couch-to-5K and started training in March to run our first 5K. I was very motivated to accomplish this goal and would run after working long hours and putting the kids to bed, but I was determined... and I thank my husband for pushing me to do it. So, in June, I ran my first 5K. I would love to run a 10K next, but I actually haven't run since then :-(

Grandmother

Grandmother/Great-Mother passed away peacefully in her sleep on Memorial Day. She was 91 years old and was married for over 70 years. We miss her dearly. My mom said it best in the eulogy that you haven't lived until you have lived a love story like my grandparents. My grandparents were the foundation of our family and we have so many special memories and traditions to tell our kids. Great-Mother was a big part of my life growing up and I'm so happy my 3 kids were blessed to meet her. Baby Corynne will carry on her name. We love you Grandmother.

Kindergarten Graduation

I cannot believe Colin already completed Kindergarten. (sniff sniff..) His school had some very special activities for graduation and Colin will miss his teachers and all his new friends. Colin had a great year and gained a new level of confidence. He wore his glasses everyday and we got most of his homework done timely..! He showed improvement in his Math skills and is reading Level C books. His music and art teachers would like to see more participation and focus. We are very proud of Colin's first year in elementary school and look forward to what 1st grade brings.

Hershey Park 2012

Our 3rd annual trip to Hershey Park was a blast. The group keeps getting bigger and as the kids get older they want to ride more of the bigger rides. It was a nice change for me not having to walk around the park 8 months pregnant in the heat. Colin/Madi & Ave were super brave, but Carson was still a little scared. All the little babies were troopers and Gatzi enjoyed her first trip to Hershey. We all had to make a last-minute dash to the cars before a big storm hit and we made it with seconds to spare!

Ocean City, MD

Slowly, but shorly I will catch up the blog...In May, we took a long weekend trip to Ocean City. I probably haven't been there since senior week in high school which was a long time ago ;-) We stayed at the Carousel Hotel and had a really nice ocean front room. This was Corynne's first time to the beach and of course the boys had fun. The hotel had a heated pool which was nice because it was kind of chilly outstide. We walked the boardwalk and of course bought the kids candy from Candy Kitchen. We had a great time and will probably make it an annual trip for the family! Forgot to mention it was car week and it was VERY noisy with lots of old cars cruising up and down the trip day and night.

Cinco de Mayo Camping

Our first camping adventure with the family in Harpers Ferry, WV was a success. We went with the Coesntino's and had a great time. So much to do there with the kids and the boys couldn't wait to go to bed and sleep in the tent. Corynne did really well too and slept in her pack n' play. We are already planning our next camping trip in August.

Corynne 9months

Colin's Birthday

Colin turned 6 on April 30th and we celeberated at the YMCA with a pool party. Of course he wanted a John Deere/Camo themed party. I think he has had a John Deere cake almost every birthday. Happy Birthday to my future farmer!!

Rynne - Rynnie - The Rynnester!! (nicknames)

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter and the kids had a great day. After Church, we had our Easter egg hunt at Courtney's house and Grandma had lunch. The weather was beautiful and we did some hula hooping and nobody was able to beat Madi. Colin LOVES hanging out in the country for the day. Gotta say.. I LOVE dressing Corynne in dresses! I didn't want to take her Easter dress off. Can't wait for summer clothes!

College Roomies Visit

Deanna and Kelly came to MD for the weekend and we had a fantastic time catching up. We had everybody over Friday night for crab cakes AND Layla finally held Corynne for the first time. She was sweating, but she did it! It only took her 8 months! (I can't flip the picture for some reason). Sat. night, Grandma watched all 3 kiddos while we enjoyed a night on the town. I took off Monday and hung out with Kelly and had a fun girl day - shopping and pedicures! Kelly is off to Switzerland for 6 months of traveling. Miss the girls already and I'm ready to plan our next reunion!

Future Clemson Tiger

Carson Fun Facts:
*Thinks potty (bad) words can only be said on the potty.
*Changes clothes at least 3 times a day
*Sometimes wets the bed and will change himself and sleep on the other side of the bed or the floor instead of waking us up.
*Finished Basketball at the YMCA and is almost done with soccer and would like to try Karate next.
*He is in swim lessons and is almost swimming by himself.
*Is impossible to wake up for school in the morning.
*Likes to help his brother with his homework
*Mr. Independent
*Has a healthy breakfast appetite. Eats immediately when he finally wakes up, followed by a drop off snack, followed by a 9am school snack.

Massanutten 2012

My goal is to get my blog back up to date. So, we are going to go back in time to February. Our 2nd annual trip to Massunutten with the Ueltschy's and Ms. Anita. We spent the first day at the water park and all the kids had a great time and Corynne liked the water. Carson was probably 1 inch shy from being allowed to ride all the slides, but he was a trooper about it and I even got to join the fun this year because I wasn't pregnant. Day 2 we were off to the slopes on a mild February day. We had Ms. Anita from the Swiss Alps there to help guide the kids down the mountain(hill!). They actually all didn't pretty good with a few falls and some crying, but memories to last a life time. Day 3 on our way back, we stopped at Luray Caverns and the boys really enjoyed that. We asked both boys what they liked the best and Colin said the Caverns and Carson said "Not Skiing". Better Luck next year with skiing as we really want to take them out to Colorado.