spring is in the air...

Happy Spring everybody...it has been a fun couple of weeks and I have a few exciting updates...and a few crazy adventures to share too. I am actually writing this update blog from Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Sweet Baby Kyan started coming down with something last weekend and by Monday night he was one sick little man. After trying to fight it at home we had to bring him to the doctor and they sent us on the the hospital. Four days later we're still here.... getting ready to check out this afternoon. He had bronchitis and was really struggling to breath. He is such a trooper though...even when he was so sick he was all smiles and flirting with all of his nurses. They all come by our room just to play with him, he was the hit of the pediatric floor. Our sweet friends here took such good care of us, calling, praying, visiting, bringing dinners and making Easter baskets for the kids!!! Thank you guys for loving on us....you are a blessing to our family!

Last weekend we had a blast running our first family race. Josh and I ran the 10K and the kids each had their own race. I love that the kids are old enough to run with us...even the boys raced (Kyan in the jogger stroller). Both the girls won 2nd place in their races and Josh won the big door prize that afternoon....it was a free entry into the triathlon on Siesta Key next month....so now he has a huge race and 4 weeks to train for it...crazy!

Spring break was a blast, we went to the beach everyday and spent a few days at Disney with Aunt Lin and Uncle Derek. The girls had so much fun with them...riding all of the roller coasters over and over and over!!!

We found a new favorite hobby...kayaking! We go out to South Lido beach and put the kayaks in on the bay side. We love to explore through the mangrove caves when the tide is high...so beautiful...and the kids love it! We always see all kinds of amazing marine life, dolphins, crabs, sting rays, huge jellyfish, tons of birds and beautiful fish. We go as often as we can. We just love being at the water, and the weather has been perfect since Valentines Day...85 everyday and no humidity yet. The ocean is warm again too so we spend alot of time shelling and swimming.

A huge blessing fell into our laps last week...we found a home...with a yard and a pool..and a ton of outdoor space...and we are moving next weekend! The whole story is crazy but God just lined up all the details...we will rent it for the next several years...it is perfect for our family.

Six weeks left of school...that flew by! We are looking forward to our big road trip...first stop Chicago and then on to Colorado. Can't wait to see you all! We should be in Colorado around June 15th. We get to visit lots of friends and family along the way and then just relax with all of your for a few weeks...

Have a fabulous Easter weekend with your families....know that we miss you and love you!

Love, the Longenecker 6
Josh, Harmony, Addy, Aubrey, Gavin, and Kyan

sooo...merry christmas, happy new year, and happy valentine's day

Oh gee wiz...sorry I got so behind with blogging...I know I promised I would do better at keeping everyone updated...so here goes...

We survived our first Florida winter...no really they have winter down here too! It was about three or four weeks of high temps in the 50's (burrr) and even a few nights of frost. But now the temperature is rising again and we have enjoyed the last few weeks of 70's and 80's. We have come out of our very short hibernation (ok, 50's does really feel cold...must be the humidity) and we are back to enjoying all the beauty and adventure Florida has to offer. We bought family Disney passes for Christmas (that was our big gift to the kids and all the Grandma's and Grandpa's pitched in too) so we spent a long weekend in January at the parks...so incredible! I don't know who has more fun, the kids or Josh and I. We get to go again this weekend with the McGuires and in March for spring break with Lindley and Derek. We also enjoyed tons of company over the holidays...actually, when I think about it, we have had tons of company since we moved:

Mike, Sayeh, and Jacob Sparr (twice)
Harmony's Mom (twice)
Uncle Abe and Aunt Rachel (twice)
Harmony's Dad and Deb
Josh's Mom and Dad
Lindley (Thanksgiving)
Matt Julie, and Baby Addy Macha
Wes, Holly and Baby Carter Vance
Beth, Ali, and McKenna Young (just for the day)
Cory and Tristin Kitch (just for dinner)

and still to come...
Will, Marla and Ryan McGuire (a Disney weekend together)
Uncle Derek and Aunt Lindley (Spring Break)
Susan, Jessica, and Hayden Clayton (Spring Break)

We feel incredibly blessed that so many friends and family have made the trip...thank you for spending your time and money to come see us!!!

Quick update on the kids:

Addy and Aubrey are playing basketball, and they are loving it! Aubrey is the only girl on her team, and she plays against all boy teams...but man is she a "go getter". She has a smile on her face the entire game...she is having a ball! Addy has shown us a side of her we have never seen! When she hits the court she is aggressive and competitive...she is an incredible little player! We have had a ball watching these two this semester. They are both loving school and have really started to make some sweet little friendships!

Gavin has grown up before my eyes the last 6 months. He is just my best little bud! We have fun swimming, playing at the beach, taking long walks and and playing ball. He loves soccer, baseball and basketball. He is such a good sport and is always up for whatever crazy thing I want to do! He has made some neat friends down here too. At Josh's school the kids all go crazy over him, he has a crowd of 5th graders following him all around the school...he eats it up!

Kyan tried baby cereal tonight for the first time...he ended up with more on him then in him, but he loved it. He is the sweetest little man I've ever met. He loves to be with his family and is so laid back. He loves to sit in his bumpo seat while I cook and we just chat...he is such a happy baby!

Josh and I celebrated our 11th anniversary right before Christmas...amazing how fast that went by. We are loving our new "slower pace" down here. We have so much more family time...I feel like we have found the simple, quiet life we were looking for.

We miss our Colorado gang so much and can't wait to see you all in June! We will be out for a few weeks starting June 17th. We hope to get some time with everybody and maybe even a big 4th of July party again (minus the ridiculous rain and bear sightings) We will head back though Chicago and visit all my family there. We look forward to seeing lots of friends and family during this fun roadtrip.

I added a bunch of new photo albums on facebook recently, so take a look...fun pictures from New Years and Disney.

Love you all and miss you like crazy!
Love, The Longenecker 6
Josh, Harmony, Addy, Aubrey, Gavin, and Kyan

happy thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...wow...do we ever feel blessed to have all of you in our lives...we really have an amazing group of friends and family! You have made our life so rich and so sweet...we are very thankful for you!!! I hope you all had a relaxing, family-filled weekend with your loved ones! Our Thanksgiving break was full of new traditions and fun memories. It was so sunny and beautiful all week we decided we wanted to move our feast from the dinner table to the beach. So we came up with a menu and packed a picnic. We had steaks on the grill and ceaser salad (a tradition we stole from our cousins in Arizona). We also added a few "traditional" favorites, like sweet potato casserole, green beans, and pumpkin pie. We woke up that morning and took a long walk...laughing the whole time that is was warm enough to be outside on Thanksgiving. Then we packed up and headed to the beach. We had the most relaxing holiday of our lives. Our cousin Lindley came out for the week, we enjoyed the time with her so much. She is a professional beach bum just like us!

We decorated for Christmas last night, and then went to the pool. It is a little funny to be hearing songs like "Its Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas" or "Im Dreaming of A White Christmas" with the windows open and shorts and tank tops on. I have yet to wear anything but flip flops this winter. I talked to my mom and she said it was snowing in Colorado last night.... and for a moment I think I might have actually missed the snow and cold...but then I woke up this morning and took the boys on a walk....oh I love the weather here!

Our little man is 2 months old now...and such a sweetheart. He is smiling and laughing at the kids. He looks so much like his dad...except the blue eyes, those are mine! Gavin is loving all the time outside, swimming, bike riding, playing ball, sword fighting and building sand castles. He is such a good big brother to Kyan. We laugh everyday at something new he says. Aubrey is doing so good in school, she has "a million" friends and loves reading and writing stories....she has grown up so much since we moved. Addy just completed her first science fair project, I was so proud of her, she worked really hard on it. She researched which "natural" laundry detergent works best...we had fun with it.

We are excited for our first Christmas down here, my mom and Abram and Rachel will be here for the week. we have enjoyed a ton of fun company since Kyan arrived...first my mom, then Abe and Rach, then Grandma Candy and Grandpa Kevin, then Mike and Sayeh and Lindley. We are so excited about the friends coming down to visit these next few months...we love the time with you!

Have a precious Christmas season....and stop to enjoy the simple quiet moments with your family...don't get caught up in the business....slow down...and live in the moment!!!!

We love you!!!
The Longenecker 6
Josh, Harmony, Addison, Aubrey, Gavin and Kyan

P.S. I added 2 photo albums on Facebook this weekend...tons of new pictures of the kids...you can see how big Kyan is getting!

kyan joshua longenecker

Our little man is finally here! He arrived last night at 11:13 p.m. Kyan Joshua was 7 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long. He looks so much like his big sisters and brother, only he has a full head of dark hair. He is an angel baby, I still have not heard him cry. He just makes sweet little squeaking sounds. We decided the girls could be there for his birth since he is our last one. They were so excited to see their little brother take his first breath. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 p.m. and had a fun night with the girls telling stories, playing games and cuddling together. When it was time for baby the girls stood at my shoulders (as to not see too much) and saw the miracle of their little brother coming into this world. It was such a beautiful experience to share with our sweet girls!!!! They enjoyed holding him and giving him a million kisses. It is a night they will never forget.

Today Grandma Joy and Gavin came to meet Kyan. Gavin is so in love with his little brother. I have never seen him be so gentle and sweet. He kissed that baby and rubbed his little head all afternoon. He kept saying "Kyan is here, my baby brother." The kids spent the afternoon at the hospital with us and later we enjoyed lots of visits from friends.

Thank you for your prayers, phone calls, cards and of course, the most amazing baby showers ever!!!! We feel so blessed!

I posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook too!

We love you all and can't wait for you to meet Kyan
(pronounced like "Ryan", but with a "K")

Love, The Longenecker 6
Josh, Harmony, Addison, Aubrey, Gavin, and Kyan

gavin's birthday weekend

It is hard to believe our little man is 3 years old! We had a ball this weekend celebrating together. First we took him on a train ride...he had been waiting "patiently" since we moved here to go on the train...he loved it. Then we went to the aquarium on Sunday. It was great, we saw dolphins, manatees, sea turtles and all kinds of exotic sea creatures. The only weird thing is...we see these guys all the time in the ocean now. We decided not to get a family pass because we prefer to see these wild creatures in the wild, not at an aquarium. Every time we are at the beach I feel like we are on Discovery Channel. We are constantly amazed at the things we see and the creatures we find. When we went boating we had dolphins coming up close enough to touch and jumping out of the water for us, like a show at Sea World. Josh found live sea urchins, blue-claw crabs, huge tulip snails, star fish, sand dollars, even a gorgeous sea turtle. On Monday, Gavin's actual birthday, he and I spent the afternoon at the beach, building sand castles and chasing the "big waves". I feel so blessed to have this little boy in my life, he is such a joy!


Now we are waiting for the arrival of our next little man. Hard to believe Gavin will have a little brother in a few days! We are finishing all the unpacking and hoping baby gives us one more week to get settled. We are so excited to meet him and see what he looks like. Will he have the curls like Gavin, will he have the kids brown eyes or his mom's blue eyes. Gavin prays every night for his little brother and kisses mom's tummy "good-night". The girls are so excited they are about to burst! They insist I will not have to change a single diaper or even pick him up when he cries, they are going to do it all they say! This baby will be blessed with three moms to care for him and love on him. Josh's staff at school surprised him with a baby shower yesterday and blessed us enormously! What incredible people he works with...


We will post again when we have some baby pictures to share!



Love, The Longenecker Gang

Josh, Harmony, Addy, Aubrey, Gavin...and baby

just getting started...

So this is it...our families first attempt at blogging. Sorry it took so long to get up and running but we have been enjoying our new home and some down time together. The move went great....thanks to all of you who helped clean, pack, and load that crazy huge moving truck. When we arrived we had two weeks to set up and explore our new town before Josh started training at his new school. We have fallen in love with Sarasota, it just fits us. It is very laid back here and the weather is awesome! Our first home was a little cottage five minutes from Siesta Key, we spent almost everyday at the beach that first few weeks. Finally, it was time to clean the sand out of our shoes and dig our backpacks out of storage...school puts such a damper on our beach days. Now Gavin and I sneak to the beach in the mornings to play in the sand and hunt for sea shells. Saturdays are still devoted to the ocean, the girls say it is their favorite place on earth!

We move this week into our new place, we are excited to unpack all of our things and truly feel "at home" here! Gavin turns three at the end of the month and has entered big boy world, we potty trained when the girls went back to school, he did awesome! Our new little man is due in two weeks...we can not wait to meet him! What a special little blessing he will be to our family!

We miss our friends and family deeply, we talk about you all the time and share stories of our Colorado friends with our new Florida friends. You are precious to us and we have LOVED doing life with you the last 7 years! We will keep in touch...promise! The plan is to come to Colorado for a month this summer, probably in July, we will let you know as soon as we know!
Have a great fall...if it gets too cold just come on down and see the Longenecker's in Florida!

P.S. Just wanted to let you know our phone numbers are the same and so is our email address, we will not change those.