OK, OK, I know it has been a long time!!!!

Ok, so I know it has been over a month since I blogged last. I should be folding laundry and scrubbing my bathrooms but instead, here I sit updating my blog site. I am afraid no one will lurk anymore if I don't get on the ball! Thngs here at the Banta home have been crazy as ever. I swear May is every bit as busy as December anymore! Here are some pics to prove the insanity! We have had induction ceremonies for cheer, National Jr. Honor Society, Jr. High Awards Night, piano recital, dance competitions (we took first again :)) and dance recital on Saturday. Not to mention fieldtrips, work, cleaning and church stuff. And in the spare time we Ken is trying to work on the yard to get ready for grass. We finish school on Friday and 23rd and then we board a plane for Georgia to visit Ken's sister. Then the fun actually begins! We are going to a Brave's game on Memorial Day and then we are off to Savannah for a couple of days to play at the beach. It will be way fun and pictures will be coming! Well, that's it in a paragraph about our crazy month!!!! Have a great day!

Kaitlyn

Here are a few of the pictures I took when Kate made cheer on Thursday. I decided to do a quick blog about my oldest daughter, Kaitlyn. Most of you know her but for those of you that don't...here's a bit of info:) Kaitlyn was born on Nov. 12, 1993. She is 14 and in the 8th grade at Sandridge Jr. High. She is a very outgoing and friendly girl! She started talking at the age of 9 months and hasn't stopped since! Kaitlyn loves to dance and has been dancing since she was 2 1/2. She is currently on the Show Team with Studio 48 Dance. Kaitlyn loves her cell phone, texting, Dr. Pepper, Jamba Juice, strawberries, reading, hanging out with friends and watching movies. She does not like germs, roller coasters or sloppy joes. Kaitlyn is a great student and loves school. We lover her very much and we are so proud of her!!!

Gold, Brown, White...Scorpions Let's Fight!!

Ok, just a quick note...Kaitlyn made cheer! Yeah!!! Man what a stressful day! I was a mess. She was fine but I was SO nervous for her! We had to wait outside the school (no parents or friends were allowed in the school) until all of the scores were added. They brought all of the girls into the big gym and handed them an envelope that said whether they made it or not. She came out of the gym and ripped it open. I had wanted to take pictures but thought I would jinx it if I had a camera in her face. When she saw the "congratualtions" across the top of the paper she started screaming and jumping up and down. I was so relieved! 12 girls out of 21 made it. The current cheerleaders took them to dinner at Chili's and made the new girls stand out on Riverdale Road doing cheers until 30 people honked. It was SO fun to watch! I am so proud of her. I will post some pictures tonight...I left my camera at home and I am at work right now...so I need to go!!! Thanks for all the suport and well wishes!!

It's Been Awhile!

Ok, so I know that it has been almost 2 months since I last made an entry. It has been really crazy around our house, not really an excuse to not blog, but my free time has been pretty much eaten up with construction, family, and running kids to their various activities. Lets just give a brief update, and I will add pics later! The basement is about 80% finished. All we have left to do is put door knobs on the doors, paint and put on the sliding closet doors, grout the tile in the bathroom and set the finish. The marble guy will finish the counter tops and window sills next week sometime and then Ken can set finish and have the shower glass doors installed. Oh, and the rock guy needs to rock the fireplace. Whew, it seems like a lot left but compared to the beginning, it isn't really that much left. Kaitlyn was in the school play the last week of February. She did and AWESOME job and in my opinion, stole the show! She has been busy this week with cheer clinics and tomorrow is try-outs for 9th grade cheerleader! Good luck Kate! I kept busy this past few weeks getting things ready for Ken's parents 50th wedding anniversary dinner. We had a family dinner last Friday at Maddox, complete with a DVD of family pictures that I did. It was A LOT of work but it was worth it! I got to see lots of pictures that I have never seen before. We had Easter dinner with all of the Banta family at our house and enjoyed seeing my nephew Cameron who just returned from his mission to Birmingham England. So that is a quick update...I will add pics later and let you all know the results of the cheer tryouts!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone! It has been a busy few days with Ken gone to Colorado. The kids and I spent the evening eating heart-shaped pizza and watching movies with a friend of mine who is here from Washington for a few months doing and internship. Ken sent me a boquet of beautiful red roses and some chocolates! I sure have missed him. I am so grateful for all that he does to help around the house and with the kids! I realize more everyday that I can't live without him! Lexi woke up on Thursday running a fever and coughing so she had to miss her Valentine's Day party at school! She still isn't feeling well tonight. I sure hope she gets better soon. I am so grateful for my kids! They bring so much joy to our lives. I have posted just a few pics for fun. I love my little munchkins! (and the big one too:)

It's February Already!

Ok, I can't believe that it is almost the middle of February already. Things are so crazy around here lately that time is just flying by. The sheetrock guy finished the walls this weekend and Ken started hanging doors tonight! He is going goose hunting (with his business partner Jeff and a salesman that they work with) in Colorado on Wednesday so the construction in the basement will have to wait for a week. McKay has been busy playing basketball and his team is 5-0 for the season so far...go Destroyers!! Lexi and Kaitlyn are getting ready for the dance competitions to begin next month and Kaitlyn is getting ready for "Footloose" starting the 25th. She has been working very hard for this so everyone will have to come and see her! She is also performing for the district solo and ensemble competition on th 26th. She is singing a duet with her friend Fallon. Whew!!! Needless to say it has been a busy month for us. I love it though. It is fun to see the kids so involved in activities and I love to watch. I guess you could say that I am a pretty proud mom!

Still New at the "Blogging"

Ok, so I am not good at this blogging! It is much easier for me to work with "real" paper on my scrapbook pages and make it look cute...I can't figure out much but I will keep playing with this. I am determined to make mine look as good as some of the other ones I have seen! (Well, maybe not that cute but at least I am trying, right??!) I haven't taken very many pictures lately so these are the most current ones of the kids that I have taken that weren't just snap shots. The basement is coming along nicely. The sheetrock was delivered today and the guy is supposed to start hanging it tomorrow!!!! I am hopeful that we will be done by the end of March! We had fun this morning watching Kaitlyn and Lexi on Fox 13 news. Their dance team was on the morning news with "Big Buddah", he is a reporter that travels around and does different spots each morning from different events. I think they were doing it to promote So You Think You Can Dance that airs next week?? Who knows! Both girls were on and had their moment of fame. We have had parent teacher conferences this week and have been busy with that. Well, I'm off to run again...hopefully I can play around with this and do better.