WHEW! What a month it has been!

BRENDEN MICHAEL KIERNAN IS NOW 9!

MAY 29, 2009

Bubba wow, it is hard to believe you are nine!  You have matured so much this year, you have grown 4.5 inches in just this year and started wearing deodorant... you are smart and spirited and you were so lucky to get your daddy's funny sense of humor!  You always have a sparkle in your eye and a hop in your step!  You love anything that is a show, Wrestling, plays, rock stars... things so out of the ordinary!  You collect comic books and pokeman cards, you are still bugging us to take you to see Star Trek and Wolverine.  Your birthday list was great you wanted a world Atlas, church clothes, the Guinness Book of World Records, Comics, action figures, and Karate classes!  You can recite tag lines and sing just about any song, you hate the thought of being out and about but you love it when you are in the moment... you are a homebody just like your dad!  Your favorite ride at Disneyland this year was Tower of Terror go figure as you are immensely afraid of heights!  You rode the Matterhorn for the first time and hated every minute of it, but proud of you for giving it a try!  Star Wars and Indiana are on the tops of your list it makes me think you are a throw back kid from the 80's  and boy you LOVE video games and watching Chuck and Smallville with your B.O.P (buddy ole pal) Daddy!  You are always asking for your sleepovers with Grandma and Peepaw!  Great smile every day I look forward to it!  BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL....BEAUTIFUL BOY!
Here is Kaidyn STANDING around!
Kaidyn 9 mos today (pic taken May 14th)
YEAH FOR SOFTBALL!!! Camryn and Julia loved the season!
Devyn and her kitchen see that smile you can just tell how much she loves it!
Auntie Katie and CJ relaxing before the moment!

Look at that mulitasker she can do her job and carry my bouquet to!
Me and my first girl, she is my shadow and my special friend!

Clearly I am a little lax when it comes to keeping this baby up to date!  I always have great ideas but it is getting the pictures onto the computer and processed through photo shop that takes the time!  We have done so much this month it is hard to even keep track of it all!  We had Auntie Katie's Wedding this month! Woohoo!  What a blessed even that was, she married Uncle Brandon Munroe (who Bubba says "if he is my uncle how come I dont see the family resemblance???) I was the Matron of Honor and CJ was the flower girl and Katie was BEAUTIFUL!!

Camryn finished softball this month, it was a great run and she had a super fantastic time!  She showed a little bit of natural talent for the game and has decided she most definitely wants to do it again next year and play 8u which is kid pitch and everything!  I secretly think she really liked the pink socks her team wore this year!  Camryn starts her summer basketball league this Saturday, she is very excited!  

Kaidyn is STANDING!! All by herself!  What a little joy she has been!  She is pulling herself up on everything being a regular Grabby Gus, and now all of the doors have to be closed when she is on the prowl in the house...EVERYTHING GOES INTO HER MOUTH...EVERYTHING EWWWW how I hate that little baby habit! 

Devonator, Marley is out of town right now... her first time a WHOLE  week away from mommy!  She went with Grandma to San Jose to see Auntie Marie and brighten her world a little bit!  Auntie Marie is fighting Leukemia right now and Devyn really has a unique relationship with her!  My mom said when she got off the plane yesterday she ran yelling "AUNTIE OLGA" (my aunt's name is Maria Olga) and gave her a BIG OLE HUG! What a sweet thing!  So yeah I miss her already!

So Brenden turned 9 this month...NINE!  I still remember showing the peanut looking sonogram to Kevin when I found out I was pregnant with the little dude!  Who knew our life would be completely changed from that moment on!  As listed above all of the other stuff that guy is easy, but at the same time very difficult.... stubborn when wrong but so gracious to others, handsome without having a clue, and absolutely funny and smart!  How blessed were we NINE years ago!

On the Warrior news we are having a little reunion on June 18th yeah!  Get the info from me!

On the Monarch front we had 3 girls make the USA 16u team, they come home today!  They have been in Colorado for a couple of weeks practicing and will leave in August to go compete against other countries!  What an honor, what a reward, how amazing!

I have plenty more pics in the bank to post soon and some good upcoming thoughts... just thought I would throw together a quick up date!!!

Until then...

Be happy and smile often!

Christine or Coach Collins 

xoxo 

KIDDIE TIME!!!

Devyn "Marley" showing me she is ready for a puppy!  ha ha!
Playing with the Mac Bubba is really into comic books and wanted to make a picture that looked like one... 
Gram!  The two bigs and one of the smalls ALWAYS fight about who is staying the night with Grandma!  Devyn "Marley" famous quote "mommy I not go with you!  I stay with Granma!"
Kaidyn sweet fairy princess #2 I like the her sweet face in this one but the picture itself is sort of blurry...
CJ!  I have been really practicing my manual focus... I think I am really getting it!
Marley.... So sweet so bad!
I love her eyes in this picture!  She has such a weird, hazel, green, yellow, brown color!

So a lot of people have been asking lately "how the heck are the kids!"  So I thought I would take some time and talk about them a bit.... Groan another mom pumping her children; oh well people, grin and bear it!  :0)

Brenden- is the man!  This guy has been on fire of late!  He is doing so good in school, and he has had quite a year, being in the school play (Wally Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as a head oompa loompa) and working hard mentoring some of the younger kids in his class(he is in a multi age class 1-3) He is really enjoying his new sunday school... had a great season of basketball (scored his first basket of the season yeah!) and is working REALLY hard on his swim strokes!  He has been BEGGING, BEGGING us to put him in martial arts and that will probably be his next activity!  Brenden's real passion is comic books and coming up with new characters the bubba man is really hoping that Wolverine is a lot less gruesome than Batman the Dark Knight was so he can actually see it!  We were talking about what he wants to do when he works for money and he looked me right in the face and said aw mom come one that is so simple I will be a wrestler for the WWE!  Yeah, Bubba all 4'7" 56lbs of you... that translate to an 18 year old 6'3 175 lbs ha ha!  I think that someone has been sneaking out to watch WWE with Daddy on Mondays!  DADDY!  One last thing Brenden is seriously addicted to his daddy!  He was crying yesterday because he thought he would not get to see him at all, they are twins those two they love staying home relaxing on the couch multi tasking between reading their books, watching the big screen, and snacking!  They have a common nickname for each other B.O.P  which means: Buddy Ole Pal.....

Camryn is my other half I turn around she is there!  She loves to be out and about!  She really does not like to spend any time in the house... I love it!  She is my sporty one so far!  She really likes to spend time on her sports she is always dragging me outside to help her practice dribbling, shooting, batting, throwing a ball!  She is also swimming and has scheduled HERSELF :0) for four different basketball camps this summer!  Her and I went and caught 17 Again on Friday it kills me she is growing so fast!  She tries so hard to be good at everything and is always asking me to help her practice something or learn something so she can be the best at it!  She has turned herself into one of the Queen of the Handball courts this year apparently according to her and Bubba it is the biggest activity at recess time so they both are always practicing in the backyard trying to get better!  As soon as she gets up in the morning there are always two phrases that come out of her mouth are "What is for breakfast"  this kid loves breakfast!  and "what are we doing today?"!!!  I can always count on her to be the one that really wants to hang out with mom going to watch games, seeing a movie, playing sports, or simply things like running errands!

Devyn- she would be our BEAST!  Her nickname is sort of becoming Marley after the movie Marley and Me not after the singer... I guess that pretty much says it in a nutshell!  She is crazy this one!  Her new favorite phrase "your killing me...." It just kills me when I hear that!  She is either making me die from laughter or die from frustration!  Her favorite activity right now is tormenting Bubba!  She is relentless on him, poking him, following him, copy him, staging sit ins in his room... Poor guy I keep telling him it is just because she really likes him but he is not really buying into that!  She loves Pet Shop and Pokeman of all things!  She is really into coloring, playing at the park and she really loves going to the arboretum and feeding the ducks!

Kaidyn-  Our perfect baby! ha ha!  She is an amazing little bundle of joy!  She is such a smiley, laughing, kissie baby!  She crawls all over the place, likes to stick her finger in light sockets (wouldn't be a kiernan kid unless she was a little bit mischievous) loves to eat, play patty cake with CJ, be thrown in the air, bounced, twirled she is a daredevil!  She either has a super thresh hold for pain or is just super perfect, we found out last week when I woke up and was changing and cleaning her that she had pus coming out of her ear... took her to the doctor and she had an outer ear infection... the doctor could not believe she had been existing with it for that long without being fussy that is Kaidyn for you the perfect baby!

So we head into this weekend with a lot going on... softball games, bridal showers for auntie, a visit from the tooth fairy(cj lost two teeth this weekend and bubba lost one), sunday school, birthday dinner at grandmas for mommy... you know the typical kind of Kiernan life and really I would not have it any other way!  On the go and loving every part of it!  

I would rather see a sermon everyday than hear one!

Be happy, be positive, have smiles...

Christine or Coach Collins 

Holy toledo Warrior/Monarch fans has it been that long????

CJ & DJ ALWAYS HANGING OUT...
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAV'S! CJ , JJ, AND DIVA... THESE GIRLS HAVE A LOT OF FUN!
MY HANDSOME BOY AND HIS "BUBBA CUT"
LOOK AT THAT HITTERS STANCE!
KAIDYN SCOUT OUR FAIRY PRINCESS!
RAISE IT TO THE RAFTERS... OUR FIRST MD BANNER!
CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL SEASON.... CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL TEAM!!!

Once again, I hardly know where to begin... I am a knuckle head letting my blog posts lapse soooo long!  Well, I did just finish a nice two week spring break and am back in the saddle again! A lot has happened in a month, we won a CIF championship, we lost a State Regional championship, Camryn is playing softball and kicking a little butt at it too!  Brenden is swimming on the pre comp team getting those strokes down so he can start racing!  Devyn is just crazy, she is challenging us ALL on a daily basis but always being cute with her super Devyn smile!  Kaidyn is just growing, mastering new skills everyday!  She is crawling, growing teeth (she has 4 on the top 2 on the bottom) eating new foods, laughing, loving, living... we should all take notes from her!  She might quite possibly be the best baby ever, I hardly can believe it... I keep waiting for the bottom to drop out with her but she is just consistently pleasant and easy going!

On the Warrior news front, Katie Freeman is getting married May 23 YEAH!!!  Amanda Livingston just got home from Germany last week she had an awesome season playing pro ball overseas and we are looking forward to her coming in and knocking some heads together ha ha! Renee Wood who just finished playing two years of JC ball at Fullerton has signed a letter of intent to play basketball in Nebraska, what an accomplishment!  I will keep you posted on some more Warrior news soon!

On the Monarch news front, Kaleena Lewis made the Parade Magazine first team, that is incredible for a sophomore she was the youngest member selected to the team and the only california player to make the first team!  Kaleena, Jordan Adams and Alexyz Vaioletama have also been invited by USA basketball to tryout for the 16u team... What a HUGE honor and we are so excited for our babies to go out there and ball it up with the best!!!

So I am sort of overwhelmed by what all I should be writing about all the things that have happened in the last month and the activities we have participated in, but well yeah... I think I best just start over from this day on!  I promise, to do better; really, I do!

Be good, have smiles, be happy.... they are all choices and you are in control!

I would rather see a sermon everyday than hear one!

Christine or Coach Collins

OH YEAH BABY!!!!

PLAYER PROFILE TIME!  

JORDAN ADAMS FRESHMAN POINT GUARD 6'

Jordan is an unbelievable young player... she is composed, witty, and very aware of situations on the floor!  It is rare to have a point guard with her size and skills... WE ARE BLESSED!  I call her Jordi  she calls her self "the future" and the girls call her "J".... She is a great big sister, and incredibly fired up for big games!  Jordan's face during pre game speech is priceless; all wrapped in what you have to offer her, her body jittery and bouncing ready for the attack ahead!  A very cute girl, who should wear skirts more often because wow ha ha!  Jordan has been on fire as of late, soaring for rebounds, attacking the court for lay ups, tipping and deflecting, and Dishing.... 12 assists in our CIF championship game.  Only a freshman WOW what a future she has ahead!
Two of our super fans, Ms. Brooke Sassy Bonny (4) and Ms. Camryn Sassy Kiernan!  These two pretty much never miss a game!  Go Mini Monarchs!!!!!
Our 2 super sophs xyz and Ko regulating in the key.... 
Um that is Alexyz on her way DOWN she has some ups!
Ko barreling through this girl is hecka dominate!
BEAUTIFUL!  CRAZY BEAUTIFUL!!!

I am still on a victory high.... walking light and singing under my breath!  What a feeling I still remember it from the Troy days but wow the power of it fresh is AMAZING!  You can see it all wrapped up and pretty in the picture above... who would not work day after day to feel like that?  Really it is so much more than just the victory it is the spoils, the experiences that got you there, and to the point the people!  You will never meet or relate to people like you do in this time... During the season it is like time stands still and you think you have forever... you take your time and believe in people, leave yourself vulnerable, and if you do it right you give so much of yourself because you know the reward is ten fold!  Ask anyone who has been there ask anyone who has walked to road, Would you do it again?  and the answer for many would be "In a heartbeat"!  I have been told by many "Coach it is never the same once we leave, the journey is always different, and never as intense...."  So enjoy your young uninhibited moments and continue the climb....  and if you are past all of this find it again... develop it!  All it really is, is passion... Find YOUR passion!

I am in it to be a part of it, to grow it, and to grow.... I am in it to love it, to experience it, and to reach out.... I am in it because one day... maybe it has already come but really I am in it to make someone else's life a little better, a little brighter, a little more intense!  I love you girls PAST and PRESENT.... BE IN IT!

HAPPINESS AND SMILES

Christine 

Coach Collins

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS!!!!!

WE JUST GOT BRENDEN HIS MONTHLY HAIRCUT, EXCEPT IT WENT WAY BEYOND MONTHLY THIS TIME.... NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!  ANYWAY THIS IS THE WAY HE LIKES TO ROCK HIS HAIR, HE CALLS IT A BUBBA CUT A 1 ALL AROUND.... I KEEP BEGGING FOR SPIKES (IT LOOKS SO CUTE ON HIM) BUT HE HATES HAIR GEL AND LIKES TO KEEP IT SIMPLE... WELL AT LEAST HE CAN ROCK THE NO HAIR LOOK!
LOOKING THROUGH SOME PICS FROM DECEMBER AND COULD NOT RESIST THIS HAPPY FACE!  THIS IS KAIDYN PRETTY MUCH 90% OF THE TIME!  NOW ALL SHE NEEDS IS SOME PRETTY LONG HAIR!!!
BROOKE BONNY FOR ALL YOU WARRIOR FOLLOWERS SHE IS GETTING SO BIG SHE IS 4 NOW AND IN AS SHE SAYS "PRE - K"!  AND CUTIE DEVYN SHE LOVES BROOKIE A LOT!!
I HOPE FOR THIS MY WHOLE LIFE SISTERS WHO CAN LEAN ON EACH OTHER IN THE GOOD AND THE BAD, AND WHEN YOU JUST NEED A PLACE FOR YOUR HEAD!  

NOW YOU CAN SEE THAT COCO (THAT IS WHAT DEVYN CALLS HER) IS DEVYN'S FAVORITE!!
ELYSE BIECHELE  GUARD 5'11 SOPHOMORE

So I have been trying to decide which player I was going to highlight first and well, since today is Elyse's birthday it seemed only right!  Elyse is amazing, the type of girl you hope your young daughter becomes, she is mature, kind, and works incredibly hard!  In a nutshell on her own birthday Elyse brings cupcakes for the whole team, she decorated each of them special and each girl's cupcake had their name on it.... what a great kid!  I sort of nicknamed Elyse Bull, because when she plays she is like a bull in a china cabinet.... aggressive, going hard, breaking anything in her path!  I have already had quite a few former Troy players at our Mater Dei games and they have all said that Elyse is their favorite player on the team!  She is focused, supportive and into the game from warm ups to end buzzer!  Elyse stays after practice everyday, working on her game and is committed to being a better player everyday!  She is funny, sweet, and most of all ALWAYS HUNGRY! You will never see this girl wasting food and wont stand for others to do it either!  

BIG GAME TOMORROW NIGHT SEMI FINALS AT OCEANVIEW 730P COME OUT AND MEET ELYSE AND THE REST OF THE LADY MONARCHS!!!

Teamwork - No one gets ahead, no one falls behind.... We are ALL rewarded!!

Be Happy- Have Smiles

Christine or Coach Collins

HOLA!!! PICTURES TO FOLLOW MAYBE TOMORROW :0)

Sorry party people I am lame!  I kept putting off my blog because I have had no time to up load pics from the camera and all those little time sucking things that make me procrastinate to no end!  Well here we are the team is in the PLAYOFFS!!!  We just finished quarter finals last night and that victory put us into a semi final clash against the Spartans of Villa Park on Saturday night at OceanView high school in Huntington Beach at 7:30p for all of you loyal followers that want to come cheer us on!!  There is history in the game 1. Being the head coaches at Villa Park are near and dear friends Johnny and Kim Torres both worked and coached at Troy with us... plus it was not that long ago that our Troy and Villa Park teams were battling for a CIF title.. whoa!  I do have to throw a shout out congrats to the Torres family on their super cute new addition Huston Torres big brother Kole is pumped I am sure! Anyway last night's battle was against the Laguna Hills Hawks... we pretty much overwhelmed them with our speed, intensity, depth, and over all pressure!  Freshman Jordan Adams was not much of a freshman last night!  Adams racked up 18pts 9 rebounds and 6 assists.... we love freshies that can do that!  Kaleena Lewis the super soph threw down 15 pts and 7 rebounds in about 2 quarters of play because of a head butt to her left eye... she still knocked down some deep threes after the incident... keep aiming for the basket in the middle!  So I thought I would start doing a player highlight everyday until the playoffs are over so that way you guys get to know the girls a little better !

My kiddies are amazing!  Brenden just finished his basketball season, the poor guys lost the championship game on Sunday but they did a great job all year, the shots were just not falling... we are proud of Bubba for his hard work and how much better he got this year!  Last week when they won the game that got them in the championship we were "hey bubba you are playing for the championship on Sunday!"  his reply "yes, but we are playing Norwalk and they are a formidable opponent!"  Wow he is 8 and talks like regularly!  That is my boy!  Camryn also finished her season last Saturday she is a little bummed she really enjoys the sport, she had a great year and finished in first place for her division in the tri star competition and made some really good friends... now it is off to swimming for the both of them and softball for Camryn and Bubba is making us sign him up for Karate!  Devyn is crazy!  She is so into Pokeman right now it is hilarious!  What three old girl likes Pokeman, only my crazy cracker!  She loves Jiggly Puff and goes around singing her little tune!  She went to Disneyland on Tuesday and had a blast, thanks Christina!  So I have had a great chance to see a few former players play the last couple of weeks, Renee, Olivas, Jenna, and Sam in FJC vs OCC match up went out to dinner with Kath and the Bonnys and then headed over to OCC to catch the game... they have all gotten better and should be ready to move onto the next level!  Saw Lauren Sims play at LBSU she is still nailing threes and taking names!  Not to mention she made the ESPN all academic team 4.0 biology major heck yes!  CJ Bubba, Kaidyn and I caught Jaclyn Blieds game on Tuesday at Vanguard, she is still doing all the little things that won us championships at Troy, hitting huge threes, grabbing boards, d'ing people up....LOVED IT!

KAIDYN  is growing to fast before my very eyes!  I will post some more recent pics of her this Saturday.... she has two very prominent teeth on the bottom and two more trying to fight their way through!  She is sitting up so good on her own and rolling all over the place to get to and from!  She is a laughter, a smiler, an all around great baby YEAH!  Well, the bell is about to ring and I got to head to practice, just wanted to throw a little bit out there because it has been to dang long!  

Everyday, every action, word, and expression is scrutinized... studied, learned... all that we as parents put out there on a daily basis is exactly what we get back from those little guys that live with us.. little eyes are always watching make it a movie worth repeating!!!  

I WOULD RATHER SEE A SERMON EVERYDAY THAN HEAR ONE!

Love and Smiles,

Christine

WHAT A WEEK!

 I LOVE THIS PICTURE OF LITTLE KAIDYN! BEST BABY ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE IS HELD!

ME AND MY BABY GIRL HANGING OUT, WE BOTH LIKE TO SPORT THE COLOR PINK!

THESE THREE ARE PRETTY TIGHT!  DEVYN PRETTY MUCH THINKS HER BIG BRO AND SIS ARE THE COOLEST THING EVER!

THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME SMILE!  DOPE BENCH!  THIS IS WHERE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS ARE MADE, AND WHY OTHER PEOPLE ROOT FOR YOU, WHEN YOU HAVE GIRLS LIKE THESE!!!

This might be my favorite picture of the year!  That is why I love that guy all that passion, fire, and commitment, he brings it every day!  The other highlight of this picture is that amazing girl on the bottom Elyse B. she is pretty much a fan favorite and you can see she has that same passion, fire, and commitment... every day!

So yeah we had quite a week! As mentioned in the last post I really felt that the girls were in a rut... so we started a new tradition had a great talk about finding the joy in what you do, and seriously I think a lot of it had to do with the girls seeing the end is near and fearing it at the same time, well the girls took off!  We had senior night on Tuesday vs Santa Margarita and the girls were all over the place!  Jordan was throwing full court dimes, Ko was being Ko, we were trapping and sliding, high fiving, and the team threw in 12 threes!  everyone was on fire!  On Fire the most though, was our bench!  They were amazing and everyone in the stands saw it!  Shout out to our super fan, Dana Vasquez, and our great spirit Anamativa Grey for coming to see us... it was a great night and I am super sad to be know how close were are to the journey coming to an end with Lyndsay, Megan, Mya and Haugie!!!  Friday we had our anticipated showdown with Cajon from San Bernandino,  probably have the best senior in California on their team and they were very pumped to come into our house and pull off a victory!  Not to be had by them this time around though!  It was a great opportunity for the girls to see regardless of our talent we have a little ways to go to reach our goals for the end of this season! Shout out to my best friend and college teammate Stephanie Townsed for coming to the game, Dana and her papa Mr. Vasquez, the Fonger and his girls (who cheered the whole game with CJ),  Geri C. and not to be forgotten the NEABORS CLAN was in the house on pappas birthday no less thanks guys it was awesome seeing you! Highlights.... well Ko exerting her will in the second half and scoring 21 points, Rocky straight up D-ing that girl though she scored 28pts I really think only 6 of those were on Rock!  Jordan again throwing those beautiful long for lay up passes and giving you the finger point when you lay it in, Alexyz off the bench and igniting for points, steals, and rebounds right away, and Haugen knocking down threes and communicating every step of the way, and Mya who was probably the best player out there the first six minutes of the game!  So we didn't blow them out like we should have but we did some good things and learned some things as well!

The kids have been doing good, the little girls have been battling a bad cough and fever.... Devyn thinks she is a beautiful princess "mommy I am not ugly I am beautiful... and a princess" oh brother where did this girl come from???  Kaidyn has two solid teethies broken in and her favorite thing is to dance, she loves to be sung to and swung around!  Camryn is starting softball practice this week she is so excited and in her words" mom, I am really working on my three pointer and left hand"  ha ha she is 7 can she even reach the three point line?  Brenden has been an amazing helper and has been doing a good job of learning to be my muscle, carrying bags in and of the house to and from the car, helping with the little girls, holding doors for us as he would say "ladies first..." we will get an amazing gentleman from him yet!  Our favorite show as a family... American Idol, the kids love to watch Malcolm in the Middle with daddy, their favorite song "Emotions" from the Mamma Mia sound track mine is "You will go far" by Offspring.

Is anyone out there watching Lost?  Oh my!!  

So here is my thought for the day... mommys and daddys you get these little guys for such a short time my thinking is God gave them to you pretty perfect, an image of him my only job is TO DO NO HARM and to love them, be their parent, teach them discipline, and to know that it is their journey and their life and you are just a background guide teaching them to walk on their own two feet!  

I would rather see a sermon everyday then hear one!

 BE HAPPY, HAVE SMILES

CHRISTINE