Wow! I cannot believe it has been over a year since I posted. The funny thing is that I compose posts all the time in my head yet never seem to get them put down here. I went through my blog the other day looking for an old picture to use for #TBT (Throw back Thursday) on Instagram and spent some time reading through a bunch of the posts. The sad thing to me is how cool it was that I had those memories from the previous years and yet nothing for the last year. Another thing struck me, especially when it comes to Meghan, that some things never change. *sigh*

Its been a crazy year with a bunch of ups and downs, great moments and sad ones.  I brought some new friends into my life, said goodbye to a bunch of old (Unnecessary) ones, welcomed new members to the family (Hello John!) and, sadly, said goodbye to some (RIP Grandma Sue).

How do you sum up a year? I don't think I can so I will do some bullet point high lights/low points and throw in a few pics for good measure!

• January 2013 made me officially the mother of a Teenager!!! Ack! When did Caden get so old while I stayed so young?
• I began another long term sub in January at Marlowe for Tricia Warren. It was an ok assignment, definitely not my favorite, but I was able to make HUGE strides in Candy Crush.
• The Reed/Cirrintano family welcomed its newest addition of Alyssa January (Dan and Erica)
• Bridget made her First Communion.
• Caden completed his usual round of athletics...Rec basketball, Heineman Track, LITH Baseball
• Branden started playing travel baseball with Bryan as the coach, even though I banned him from being a head coach anymore. See how much pull I have??
• Caden started 8th grade, Meghan 7th and Branden 4th
• Jordan Petryniec asked me to be her confirmation sponsor. I was so honored. Love that kid!
• 2013 was the year of electronics for the Reed family with the addition of Branden's new Ipod Touch, 2 Ipads, and my newest love, a Canon Mark III! Thank Bryan's Frequent Funder program at work!
• The Reed family took its first ever Family Road Trip to Florida. McDance was performing at Disney so we traveled with the Dick and Lackovic families down to Florida with a one day pit stop in Nashville. An awesome time was had as long as we weren't at any Disney parks. We weren't such a fan of those as a whole.
• Shannon met a new boy, Dan. He's really nice and we think he might stick around permanently...as long as we don't manage to scare him off. He's won Meghan over so that definitely helps! LOL
• Speaking of relationships, Bryan and I were invited to The Jeff's wedding, a swanky affair downtonwn. It was our first and probably best ever gay wedding! So happy to have been there for them!
• Branden's Thunder team finished 2nd in the conference with a couple impressive tournament wins!
• Meghan left dance for the first half of the school year. Too much drama and bitchiness. We needed a break. So while she wasn't dancing...
• Meghan made the Heineman volleyball team! She had a great season and I was so impressed with how much better she was by the end considering she had never played organized volleyball in her life!
• In March/April/May we were dealing with Mom getting pretty sick and ending up with her need a colon resection due to a massive abscess she had. Way too much time in the hospital and being sick in general. Thankfully she has made a full recovery and is feeling much better.
• Dad finally retired in June. He seems much happier since he's moved back to Crown Point permanently and has even gotten himself a new doggie to take care of!
• Mark and Jenn welcomed the newest addition to their family, a little Pit puppy named Seamus. He is totally adorable.
• Eileen and Joe welcomed their first human baby, John in September. He's an absolute doll and we love him to pieces.
• Branden played another losing season of Mustang football. Don't know if he will play next year or not. He really hates to lose.
• Bryan won a free overnight at The Abbey in Lake Geneva so we took the kids for a fun sleepover. Thankfully the weather was beautiful and everyone got along!
• Bryan and I got to go to my first ever Bon Jovi concert thanks to Colleen! It was awesome!
• Sadly, in November, I officially entered middle age as I turned 40. I think this is when I composed the most blogs in my head. I had a super tough time with it but the anticipation was worse than the actual event. Bryan threw me a party and all my friends and family came over to celebrate and get me drunk! I'm (mostly) over it now.
• By Christmas, the Casey family was celebrating 3 new engagements! Michael Cellini and Samantha got engaged on her 30th bday in Nashville, followed by Jim Cichon and Abbey and last but not least, Melissa Casey and Dave. They also announced they are expecting in May! Jim and Abbey will the the first married in August 2014 in Marco Island. Another trip to Florida for me!! :)

I'll try and match up a couple of pictures from the above events and that should catch us up! In no particular order:

 Meghan playing Heineman Volleyball

 Pictures at The Abbey - Lake Geneva

 Branden gets his first Ipod for his birthday

 Bridget makes her First Communion

 Caden playing 7th grade basketball

 The engaged guys (Jimmy, Dave, Michael)

 The future brides (Melissa, Abbey, Samantha)

 My 40th Birthday

 First day of school (Caden 8, Meghan 7, Branden 4)

 Meghan playing Rec Basketball

 Meghan and Grandma Moe

 Bryan and I at the Jeff's wedding

 Jordan and I at her confirmation

 Friday Night Lights for Branden

 Grandpa Gerry's retirement party

 Best day ever in Florida!

 Caden's track season

 Bridget's formal First Communion portraits

 Fabulous Feet 2013 - Hip Hop

 Fabulous Feet 2013 - Tap

 Baby John

 Branden and Dad after their first tournament win this season!

 My new baby

 My bestie at the Jeff's wedding

 The Jeff's ceremony - obviously a Japanese Theme

 My girls

 All the kids on South Daytona Beach

 Me, Bryan, Rob and Colleen at the Bon Jovi Concert

Baby John on his first day on earth!

Well that about does it. I promise to myself I will be better this year! Both here and on my business blog. I need to be!!!  Fingers crossed it happens.