Swim Season Starts Again.....

Swim Season started again in October and we had our first meets in December.  This year Katy, Steven, and Becca are swimming.  That does keep us moving.  Katy and Becca normally swim 4 days a week for 2 hours.  Steven does three days a week for two hours.  This year Katy is a 14 and under which is the oldest group in age group swimming.  Steven is swimming in the 10 and under and Becca is swimming in the 8 and under.  To keep me busy while I am at the pool, I run the teams Parents Association.

 Becca getting ready for her first race, she is the one touching her goggles.

 Becca after the meet watching Steven swim.

 Katy, cheering the boys on during there meet.

Steven relaxing during the meet.

What a BEAUTIFUL FALL!!!

I figured before Christmas that I should make sure to post pictures from the fall. This fall in Northeast Pennsylvania was very mild and the trees were able to give a full display of color. It was great. I didn't even turn on my heat till November. Love those heating bill!!!!

Before Halloween Mark, his girlfriend Amber, Becca, Steven, Luke my mom, and I went on a hayride to pick pumpkins.  I was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, what more could you ask for then that!?!

 Mark, Amber, and Becca

 Steven

 Luke

 Luke and Kathryn (Mom)

Becca and Steven with their pumpkins

Mark and his pumpkin

Love Amber's pumpkin

 View from the hay wagon. 

 It was a great weekend out, the next day Mom took the kids on a hike in the woods while I got some work done around the house.

 They went hiking to a park near our house.

 Mark

 Becca

 Steven

 Steven and Becca

 What a beautiful day!!!! 

 For Halloween Steven went as a magician and Becca went as a pioneer girl.



New Addition to the Family

In May Cody, our "old fart" cat. (He was 17) died.  The family has missed him bunches.  Not that we didn't have three other cats, a hamster, and a rabbit to keep us company.  In August Katy ask Daddy if she could have a kitten from her Great Grandma B's house.  The mother had 2 kittens very young and had stopped nursing them.  After many days of negotiations.  Since I had promised Karl we wouldn't get another cat until he was dead.  Karl and Katy came to an agreement about the kitten.  It is Katy's kitten and she had to pay for everything.  I have never seen a kid work so hard and she did it.  Katy paid for all the kittens vet visits as well as getting the kitten fixed and declawed.  I watched her work for Nana all day and then babysit in the evening.  Karl and I are really proud of her and her hard work.  Karl even gave her a bonus. . . She didn't have to pay back the last $10 she owed.  Now all she needs to do is cover the cost of vet bills. 

Katy named the Kitten Tika.  She weighed 2.7 pounds when we brought her home.  She is now just under 5 pounds.

 Tika

 I think Tika will stay nice and small.  She is just like a toddler, she runs around and bounces off the walls, she even chases her tail, and then she falls asleep.

 Tika with big brother Tobin who loves to bath her and snuggle her.

The other cats took to Tika right away.  I knew the first time they all ate together she was accepted as a Dymond Cat.

Drew - Who said he could grow up?!?

Where does the time go? I have been wanting to put these pictures up since June, but have not.  (Please refer to my earlier blogs on being busy.)  My Drew is now 19.  Again, where did the time go.  He is in his freshman year at Penn State and planning on going on a mission for our church next year.  I know we shouldn't be prideful, but I am a very proud mom of a great young man.  Here is Drew over the last year.

Senior Picture - taken June 2009

May 2010 - after senior project presentation was complete

Graduation - June 2010

 Graduation - 2010, What a happy young man

 The day Drew left for Scout Camp to work for the summer

Dropping "my baby" off for a fun summer working at scout camp. 

 A Sunday when he came back to visit from Scout Camp.

 Going to see camp with Grammie (my mom) on a Saturday Morning

 So, what do you think of the Beard?  Anyone jealous, I know his dad is!!!   Drew says that he wants to look like Santa by Christmas.  Who has ever seen a red bearded Santa?  Can't wait.

Starting School Again

Once again, I am back.  You would think that with the kids getting older I would have more time to "put pen to paper" but that is not the way of it.  The older the kids get, the busier I seem to be.  The kids have all started back to school and seem to be enjoying themselves.  I looked at last years pictures and compared them to this years pictures, the kids keep growing.  I have offered to pay them to stop that, but they keep growing anyways.  Since when do kids not want money?!?

Drew has started at Penn State University, he is at the local campus for the first two years of school and then he can transfer to Main Campus.  He is the fourth generation attending PSU.  My Grandfather went to PSU, both my parents went there, and Karl also graduated from Penn State.  So as you may have guess, we are BIG TIME Penn State Fans, okay at least I am.  Karl does not believe in football.

Mark is starting his Junior Year at school and is already looking forward to going to college, I reference you to Drew to guess where Mark wants to go.

Luke is doing well in his learning support classroom and keeping us busy with wanting to go to Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and McDonalds.  Yes, he is an "All American Kid."

 Katy is moving up in the world and starting middle school, why do they grow up so fast? 

Steven is going into 5th and keeping busy with his activities.

 And my caboose.  Becca is starting third grade and working at keeping up with the older kids.

As you can see we have not fallen off the map, and once again I will make my promise to keep up on my blogs.  I have such fun looking at everyone else's blog, you think that I could keep up on this blog.  Oh, well better luck next time.  Here's hoping.

More This and That

I was going through my sheet of numbers for pictures that I wanted to post and had a few picture groups here and there, so here are my "important" left overs.

Karl and Steven on the Father and Son campout.  Steven was the only one that went with Karl this year.  Drew said that he is working at Goose Pond Boy Scout Camp and would be camping all summer, Mark is "to cool" for camping, and the campout is to much for Lukie, so Karl and Steven went and had a great time.  They had a great time and as Steven says, "Daddy only lost me twice."

This is Steven, Katy, and Becca the first day of school in September.

And this is them on the last day of school, June 15, 2010.  Where does the time go?

Katy on the last day of school.  Next year she is in Seventh Grade and moving onto the Secondary Center, again, where does the time go?

The Dymond Family Fur Beasts love to snuggle.

In May our 17 year old cat Cody (Dakota Star Blanket) died.  He was active till the end and had lived a long life.  We miss him loads.  I think that even Karl misses him, though I doubt you could get him to admit it since Cody spent 17 years trying to kill Karl.  Trust me, Cody spent 17 years trying to trip Karl down stairs, when he had an arm load of stuff, or in the middle of the night when Karl would get up to go to the bathroom.  Cody must have known the end was near, because two days before he died he jumped in the shower while Karl was showering and tried to trip him. 

But, don't worry about the pet population in the Dymond household being to small we still have:

Cookie, Katy's hamster

Lionel, Mark's rabbit

Tobin

Kiva

Shayla