Pictures of Vic's sister, Pam, and her family

Here are some pictures of Vic's sister, Pam, and her family. There is her husband, Keith, and her three boys, Shane, Brett, and Dylan. Shane is attending KU and doing some really interesting things, Brett is in 7th grade this year and very athletic, and Dylan is in 4th grade and as sweet as can be. Pam teaches 4th grade in Paola, KS. Keith works for UPS in KC.

Sissy Gets Braces

Tori got her braces on Monday. She was in pain for a couple of days, but she lucked out and we had snow days on Tues. and Wed. so she got to hang around the house. She still is figuring out how to talk with them and she currently has a nice noticeable lisp. Here are a few pictures she took of herself Thursday night at the game.

Random Facts

I was tagged today and had to come up with 25 random facts about myself. I actually enjoyed doing it and thought, "Why not share some of my 25 random facts with everyone on my blog?" So, here it goes...

1. I was born Mary Catherine Ney. When I was little everyone called me Mary Catherine. When I was in kindergarten and was learning to write my letters correctly they would make us write our names over and over again. One day I went home and told my parents that I was Mary from now on because I was sick of writing Mary Catherine. I can still tell when I see people that knew me when I was little because they call me Mary Catherine and everyone else calls me Mary.

2. I married my wonderful husband Vic Colvin in 1994. We were married two days after my 19th birthday. We are just about the only ones from the crowd of friends we had from 1994 that got married and are still married. Everyone else is divorced.

3. Vic and I have four children. Victoria Rae (14), Aubrey Leah (12), Brady Ney (10), and Megan Suzanne (8). I also have a step-son, Nolan (19). I will never forget the time that I had a student ask me what my kid’s names were. I rattled off Nolan, Tori, Aubrey, Brady & Megan. She looked at me funny and said what are their last names? I told her Colvin. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "All of them?" OMG! I about fell over. In her world everyone had different last names. Sad!

4. Growing up I lived in the same house my whole life. My parents moved there like four years before I was born. My dad still lives there. When they purchased it it was being remodeled because there had been a house fire on Christmas where someone had put a cigarette in with the wrapping paper and the fire killed a family of five people. Someone else had died in the house by falling down the basement stairs.

5. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church in Parsons, KS. We had hardly any youth though, so I went to Chi-Ro and CYF at the First Christian Church with my best friend growing up, Jennifer Baugher. Now that we have moved to Cherokee we have started going to the Pittsburg First Christian Church and we really enjoy it.

6. I had two brothers. My brother, Mike, was 11 years older than I was. He was tall and very skinny. He battled drug and alcohol addiction pretty much as long as I can remember. He died seven years ago in Austin, TX. I have another brother, James, which is five years older than I am. James was a computer nerd through high school. ;-) He was co-valedictorian of his class. He went to the US Air Force Academy and became a pilot. He currently is teaching pilots to be flight instructors in Texas. He also has other "jobs," but in his annual he is listed as "masked" which means they are classified and so we have no idea what else he is really doing.

7. I have a very loud laugh. When I get started I have a hard time stopping. I know it drives some people crazy, while it makes others die laughing with me. :-)

8. When I was a sophomore in HS my mom came home from parent teacher conferences very excited. She said it was the first year ever that my teacher had not said that I talked too much! LOL Hey, talking is what I love!

9. I am a reader. I love to read! I have always read. I still remember starting out on the Baby-Sitter Club books when I was in the fourth grade and collecting them all. I had advanced to VC Andrews books by the time I was in 6th grade. Today I read just about anything. I try and read children's books to keep up with what I do...TEACH! I love The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! It is a must read and a very fast one too. I enjoyed The City of Ember very much this year too. But, I was consumed by the Twilight books over Christmas! My favorite genre is definitely mystery. One of my favorite authors is Mary Kay Andrews. If you haven't read her books you need to! Just Fun Books To Read!

10. I've worn glasses since 5th grade. I know that my eyes got so bad because of all the reading I would do.

11. I was a Parsons High School Homecoming Queen.

12. My father was a principal and my mother was a teacher.

13. I'm thankful for my sisters-in-law. Pam and Kelly have always been very kind to include me. They have opened my eyes to a genre of movies that I never thought I would adjust to...Scary!

14. My mom died in 2001 of colon cancer. She was my best friend. Sometimes I sleep extra late in hopes of having a "Mom" dream.

15. I cut my own hair when I was in preschool. The best they could do to fix it was cut it like a little boy. This was two weeks before my dance recital. I told my mom it was because I was hot.

16. We had a Gran Torino when I was little with the arm rest that folded down in the middle of the front seat, and I ALWAYS got to sit on the arm rest. Now you won't find me in a vehicle without a seat belt. Funny how things change.

17. I love Christmas!

18. My first teaching job was teaching LA to sixth graders at Royster Middle School in Chanute. Ashley Lopez was one of my favorite students and little Corey Kepley always told everyone he was the teacher's pet. I would love to know whatever happened to my favorite pathological liar and my entertainment, Josh Conine!

19. I love watching my husband coach baseball. He has such a way with the kids that it mesmerizes me. He just relates with them so well and he is a true teacher of the game. Never does he claim to know it all and listens to everyone’s ideas. He amazes me!

20. I wish I could lose a lot of weight...Vic can say he wants to lose weight and drops 10 pounds like that. I can say it and struggle for 6 months and finally give up because my three pound loss doesn't seem worth the effort.

21. Both of my maternal grandparents died of cancer. (One pancreas and the other lung.) My paternal granddad died of cancer. (Brain) My paternal grandmother died of heart disease. I'm not thinking things are looking too good on the heredity front.

22. I enjoy working on my our family tree. I've done a lot of research and have a lot filled in. Last I looked I had over 1300 people in my tree. Most of this wouldn't have been possible without the terrific memory of Vic's Grandma, Grandma Walls.

23. My cat's name is Millie. We call her Millie Cat and Milsbie. We all love her very much! (Truth be known when the kids found her she weighed one pound. I told the kids they couldn't keep her, and when they persisted to pester me I told them to ask their dad knowing he would say no. Ha Joke was on me. He told them yes, and thank goodness he did!)

24. I have my bachelor's degree in elementary education and my master's in history. I would like to go back and get my master's in library media when I can afford it.

25. My family is my joy in life. My children keep me young and I love my husband more and more everyday.

Brady's Field Trip

As most of you know, Brady is in my class 1/2 of a day. Well, on Tuesday we took the 4th and 5th grades to Greenbush. I was fortunate enough to get to stay with Brady's class for the whole day. They particpated in Greenbush's International Space Station simulation. I always enjoy this day, and the kids do too!

They spend 1/2 of their day inside the building, also known as Mission Control, and the other 1/2 of the day in a small trailer, also known as the ISS. The kids are paired up and they perform different experiments just as real astronauts would do. The technology is really cool. They have screens and headphones where Mission Control can talk to the ISS and they recieve their directions by using a small handheld device.

I'm attaching some pictures of Brady from his trip to Greenbush!

There goes my rest...Busy season begins!

Well, I have had a few weeks off from most of the kids activities. But, that all ends tomorrow.

This week Tori starts cheering for boys basketball. They have two games a week. Then, we try and make most of the high school games which adds another two games a week. Aubrey has dance on Mondays and Saturdays. Tori has dance on Saturdays. Megan & Brady have basketball on Saturdays. To top it all off this Saturday Brady is going to a baseball clinic at Pitt State.

Happy Times!

(When I was typing the title I typed Busty season begins!) I thought that was funny...

Saylah

Here are some new pictures of our sweet Saylah Rea. We don't get to see her much anymore, so when I get my hands on some cute pictures I love to share! She couldn't be cuter!!!!

For those of you that don't know Saylah, she is Jesse's little girl. When Vic and I moved into our house on Appleton in Parsons almost 11 years ago the Rea family lived a few houses down. Their oldest son, Jesse, and Vic quickly found the "baseball bond." That baseball bond continued until they were great friends. I can assure you that there is not anything that Vic would not have done for Jesse. He looked at him as a younger, much loved brother. (Hence, Saylah is part of "ourcolvinfamily") I can honestly say that not only did Vic love Jesse, but our whole family did. He used to take Nolan to mow lawns, he was a hero to all of the kids, and I was very fond of him myself. I was always telling Vic how much I enjoyed Jesse and what a good guy he was.

Jesse is one of the reasons that we are in Cherokee. He is the person that encouraged Vic to apply for the Southeast HS baseball job. Unfortunately Jesse was taken from us in a fatal car accident during Vic's first season. I still remember hearing the boys chant "Jesse" as they broke hands at their next game. It was a rough time for all of us in the Colvin household. There were many sleepless nights with discussions of why and so many more tears. We all mourned Jesse's death together.

Jesse was a blessing to all of us! We still feel the loss of his beautiful big eyes and wonderful chuckle.

While we miss Jesse very much, he left the world with another wonderful smile, Miss Saylah Rea. His little girl! She was his pride and joy and in the few months from her birth, she already had him wrapped around her little finger. She is growing into such a beautiful little dandy! We all love watching her change and grow!

And, have you ever seen a cuter Oompa Loomap?

Sissy Turns 14 "Look Out!"

Well, today is Tori's 14th birthday! I can't hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday that Vic would call me to hurry up and get home because he couldn't get her to stop crying! LOL We passed her stuttering stage when she was about five, even though it drove me crazy. It would take her forever to say something. Grandma, Grandma, Grandma Waalllls. We passed her "secret" stage. She used to tell people, "I tell you a secret." Then, she would whisper in their ear, "You wanna comea to my birthday party?" It was too funny. She would do this to people that she would barely even know. I still remember driving home from Wal Mart one day, she was clear in the back seat of the van and she tells Vic, "I have to tell you a secret." Well, she wiggles up to the front and leaned in his ear and whispered (loudly), "You wanna comea to my birthday party?" So funny! We've survived her "blond" moments like when she got a cell phone and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't charge...She explained to me that she was plugging the cord into her phone. Well, I finally looked at her and said, "You know you have to plug the other end into the wall don't you." Huh...She hadn't thought of that one. Even though I know, there are many more of these "blond" moments to come, and I can't wait. (I don't know where she gets these...Do you?)

Her big excitement is that she is studying to take her driving exam so that she can get her permit to drive with an adult. Look Out World!

Tori is dedicated to her dance. Every Saturday morning she gets herself up and ready to go for dance. (She sets her own alarm even.) She doesn't complain when she has to miss something with her friends, because she knows that dance is where her heart is and that it takes dedication. She is a cheerleader this year for the Southeast Jr. High, and a very good one at that I might add. She cheers for football and boys basketball. She played volleyball and basketball this year. She plans on doing track come spring. She can't wait for softball to begin this spring also. On top of all of this her social life is thriving! She is constantly texting, talking on the computer, or doing something with her friends. As you can see her schedule is jam packed full, therefore making my schedule very crazy!

All in all I could not be more proud of her. She is beautiful inside and out.

WE LOVE YOU SISSY!

Happy Birthday!!!!

I've Been Bitten

My creative friend Lou Stine sent me this picture that she altered. It is the Twilight version of me! :-) How cool!!!!!

Group Titanic Picture

Here is a fun picture of the whole crew from our Titanic trip. :-)

Included is my friend Debbie, her four children, her dad, my five children, and me.

Back row: Jake, Ken, Josh, Debbie, Tori, Aubrey, Mary, & Nolan
Front row: Brady, Caleb, Anna, & Megan

They really had a grand staircase at the museum, however we took the picture in front of a blue screen and they put in the background of the grand staircase.

Again, the day was such a fun trip!

More Christmas Pictures

A typical "Kelly" shot. HaHa (We were all giving her a hard time at Christmas that she is frowning in all of the pictures everyone has. Her reply was that we always catch her off gaurd.)

The "boys" - Brady, Vic, & Nolan

Tori & Carol

Bo

Heather, Rachel, & Tori

Alan (Heather's "long-time" boyfriend) & Heather
Can I put a plug in here about how Vic and I have both listend to each other say several times over the years, "We sure do like Alan. He takes very good care of Heather."

Tori & Megan

One of Tori's new pairs of shoes...(Remember I said she got a camera and takes some strange pictures? HaHa)

Aubrey getting ready to hand out the presents and Millie Cat. (Our cat would spend most of her time lying under the tree this Christmas. Apparently she thought she was a present...)

Tori, Rylie, and Aubrey

Me holding Lily while Pam is handing out presents at Carol's house.

Tori forcing Brett to pose for a picture.

Megan

Megan with my dad on Christmas Eve after church.

Titanic Trip

Monday (12/29) we took a fun trip to Branson to see the Titanic museum. We took two vehicles. My friend Debbie, her four children, her dad, my five children, and myself made for quite a group. It was a wonderful time! It was relaxed and a whenever we get there type day. First we went to the Titanic! So cool! I would like to go again with no kids rushing me through sometime, but it was a lot of fun to share it with them and see their faces. They learned a lot of fun historical facts about the Titanic. Next we decided to head to the Landing and see a quick fire and light fountain display. We had seen it in the daylight before, but this was trully amazing! Check out video Aubrey took on her camera...

Finally, we went to Lambert's to eat. Home of the Throwed Rolls! It was a blast. They would chunk rolls at you from clear across the room. (You were holding up your hands to try and catch one of course...They didn't just throw them at random people.) The thrower was a darn good shot! He could throw them clear across the room and hit your hand. The place was huge and packed! We all had a great time! :-)

Carol's Big Christmas Present