Sunday, August 31, 2008
FIRST NAME BASIS
More and more are becoming aware now that YES, my daughter Kylee calls me CHERYL. At least 50% of the time I am referred to as CHERYL not Mom. This has been going on for over a year now and I guess I've just become used to. When I stop and think about it, it is pretty crazy and I have no idea how it began or why it started but that's Kylee for you. Oh and don't worry Dad is Skylar or even Sky half the time as well. However, I"ve begun to notice it more lately as I've had others point it out more frequently. A Random laugh from someone passing in the hall at church when they hear from my little 4 year old..."Cheryl, you've gotta see this.'' or my siblings that brought it to my attention again as we were all together at the reunion and they heard it constantly. They just couldn't get enough of it and thought it was the funniest thing. I often hear from friends, "Did she really just call you Cheryl" with a chuckle in their voice and I assure them...yup we are on a first name basis apparently. When we are around people for the first time I do hesitate for a moment and wonder what they are thinking but it has become a great conversational piece at times. (ie: preschool parents) What's crazy is I don't think she has any clue that it's odd or unusual. With no hesitation at all it just comes out. I tried explaining once to her that she was the lucky one that got to call me Mom which sounded cool at the moment but it obviously didn't stick. It really doesn't bother me and I still get called Mom plenty during the day. I guess it mixes it up a little bit since I'm addressed more times than I can count in one day. She loves to chat and has me involved in every move she makes as many of you know. I promise I didn't teach her or ask her to do it. One of Kylee's little quirks that for now we will continue to let go and get some great laughs out of. Who knows maybe it's a phase that she will one day grow out of or maybe she will be that kid whose 8 years old and calling her mother by her first name. By then I think I will definitely have to kill the habit.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
1st Official Hockenjos Reunion
My parents pulled it off! We just returned from a family reunion from the Outer Banks in NC and had an absolute blast. It had been almost 2 years since we had all been together under one roof. My parents rented a gorgeous beach house for the week and all my siblings with their families from different states traveled in. Together we may have set a new record for the amount of pictures taken on one trip. Cameras were constantly clicking and now we are all awaiting each others results. What will we do with them all? Good question, but hopefully we will remember every great memory and all the laughs. Nothing much sweeter than being together as family at the BEACH! You all know how much we love it there. This area was full of childhood memories as we vacationed there a lot growing up and haven't been back for years. So here are a few highlights. I narrowed my 100 pictures down for now.
How High can they go? We had perfect swimming conditions most of the week and Kylee couldn't get enough of the ocean. The cousins went back and forth among grandparents and aunts and uncles arms swimming as much as they could.
Uncle Taylor was a definite highlight as he was always full of energy and ready to tease us all. The older ones had a blast burrying him while some of the younger ones were a little concerned. We finally made it through without too much sand in his eyes. They all had a blast building sand castles, catching jelly fish and we can't forget bachi ball. Skylar and I will still claim being the paddleball champs!
Sky and Lexi hanging out in our own personal hot tub! Lexi finally warmed up to the crew by the end of the week!
We successfully pulled off crabbing. Grandpa took the grandkids crabbing and after waiting "patiently" for a short while they began pintching and enjoying those chicken necks. We caught quite a few and of course Kylee wasn't shy to hold one at all. She even helped put them to sleep by rubbing them between the eyes. We didn't lose any kids in the water but there was plenty of jumping in to fetch lost nets, scissors, and rope!!!
The sand dunes were a ton of fun. I was worried Kylee may get worn out but I was definitely wrong. She absolutely loved running up and down them and even Lexi did great! This sure put me down memory lane as I remember running up and down the same ones when I was a kid. It was crazy being back in the same area with now my own family creating new memories with our kids.
My parents willingly kept the grandkids one evening for all of us to head out for dinner. It was awesome to sit around a table with my siblings and their spouses eating and chatting. We racked up one fun bill that night as you all know how much this crew loves food!
We splurged towards the end of the week and took Kylee out for her first waverunner ride. We had a great time out on the Bay and Kylee sure warmed up to the event as she quickly moved to the driver seat.
Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids! Pretty sweet! Even if they aren't all looking which is close to impossible. We did attempt the dreaded family pictures on the beach including every pose you can think of. My brothers camera probably has close to 1000 attempts among all of us so we will see what results we have later. The kids were absolutely done but we pulled out all kinds of tricks to get as many looks as we could at the camera.
How High can they go? We had perfect swimming conditions most of the week and Kylee couldn't get enough of the ocean. The cousins went back and forth among grandparents and aunts and uncles arms swimming as much as they could.Uncle Taylor was a definite highlight as he was always full of energy and ready to tease us all. The older ones had a blast burrying him while some of the younger ones were a little concerned. We finally made it through without too much sand in his eyes. They all had a blast building sand castles, catching jelly fish and we can't forget bachi ball. Skylar and I will still claim being the paddleball champs! Sky and Lexi hanging out in our own personal hot tub! Lexi finally warmed up to the crew by the end of the week! We successfully pulled off crabbing. Grandpa took the grandkids crabbing and after waiting "patiently" for a short while they began pintching and enjoying those chicken necks. We caught quite a few and of course Kylee wasn't shy to hold one at all. She even helped put them to sleep by rubbing them between the eyes. We didn't lose any kids in the water but there was plenty of jumping in to fetch lost nets, scissors, and rope!!!The sand dunes were a ton of fun. I was worried Kylee may get worn out but I was definitely wrong. She absolutely loved running up and down them and even Lexi did great! This sure put me down memory lane as I remember running up and down the same ones when I was a kid. It was crazy being back in the same area with now my own family creating new memories with our kids.My parents willingly kept the grandkids one evening for all of us to head out for dinner. It was awesome to sit around a table with my siblings and their spouses eating and chatting. We racked up one fun bill that night as you all know how much this crew loves food!We splurged towards the end of the week and took Kylee out for her first waverunner ride. We had a great time out on the Bay and Kylee sure warmed up to the event as she quickly moved to the driver seat.
Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids! Pretty sweet! Even if they aren't all looking which is close to impossible. We did attempt the dreaded family pictures on the beach including every pose you can think of. My brothers camera probably has close to 1000 attempts among all of us so we will see what results we have later. The kids were absolutely done but we pulled out all kinds of tricks to get as many looks as we could at the camera. All in all it was an amazing trip and I definitely want to say thanks Mom and Dad for making it possible. Despite the elephants pounding above my head at night we loved every minute of it. Kylee was off in her world the entire week playing with her cousins and is still talking about them daily.
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