This year M went to Homecoming...her first big high school dance. She was so excited to go with her 3 best friends......until the last minute that is. It was really weird how it all worked out.
First, they had set a day to go shopping for their dresses together and she was so excited, but then they all canceled out on that, so I took her and had a nice time just the two of us. Found a great dress on clearance at JCPenney....normally $90 and I got it for $25. The shrug was even on a good sale so it was wonderful.....and she looked so beautiful in it too.
Decided that she needed some awesome new jewelry to go with and had a great coupon and a sale for Kohl's.
Then her group was deciding what to do the day of the event......go to dinner, get ready together and go. Sounds good to me. One decided that she didn't want to go out and they would just order pizza and eat it at her house......boring. So the other girls went with her idea. M didn't want to do that and tried to convince them otherwise. Another group was getting together at Chick Fil A and she thought that sounded fun....besides the girls wanted to meet at 4 to get ready. Really....4 hours to eat and get ready? M is like, no way! So at the last minute she decided to meet the big group at the restaurant and go with them.....she had a blast! She met her other friends at the dance and she said it was the funnest time ever........I like the group kind of thing. Not ready for the date dance yet.
I am so behind in my postings that I have decided that today is the day to get caught up.....at least a little anyway!
J has been doing great in XC this year. It is her first year running and she is doing so well. She is on the B team and is usually in the top 3 for Horizon runners. She has gotten one ribbon for placing 24th and she was thrilled...of course that was on a day that I couldn't make the meet so I missed it. Now I just need to figure out a way to get the picture of the awards ceremony a friend took off my phone.
I love the following picture as it shows the determination on her face as she nears the finish line....she seriously wants to get in front of this other runner.
Here is another meet that her dad was able to come watch...this is the only race he has been able to see of her and so she was just thrilled beyond belief that he was there (she is of course, a daddy's girl). She wanted to do well for him and came in 26th. We thought that was awesome since towards the end of the course we yelled at her that she was 34th so pass 10 runners. She always pours it on in the final stretch to pass several runners.....she will do great in track this year! Anyway, she was in tears after as she wanted to be in the top 25.......they get ribbons, ok sometimes depending on the school hosting the event.
Awwwwwweeeee...look at that face she has.....only daddy could comfort her that day.
She is nearing the end of the season and she is really trying hard to get on the A team....one time she was only 30 seconds too slow to make the team. She was bummed, but is still having a great time. Keep up the good work J!!
I remember the events of the morning of Sept 11, 2001 like it was yesterday. We lived in Pueblo at the time. J was 2 and I was pregnant with K...... T was already in his 2nd grade class and I was walking M to the gate to start her morning Kindergarten class. We got up to the fence to get in line and her little friend asked if we had heard that a plane had crashed. His mom was not there to elaborate, so I just figured that he had heard something on the news that morning. He was pretty hyped up about it and so it got me curious. Once I said goodbye to M, I went home and turned on the TV and was shocked at what was happening before my eyes. My hubby was in the shower and so I went in to tell him about it. He hurried and finished and we watched together in horror. Was this really happening to our country? How could this be? Those poor people. We were in shock and seemed to watch the footage forever. That whole day, I couldn't stop thinking about it and feeling sad. Everything changed that day. My children will never know or understand what life was like before that dreadful day. I will forever remember that day and the courage and strength that America demonstrated to the world. I am so proud to be an American.
So T was in charge of the 9/11 ceremony at school this year since he is JROTC Group Commander. He got with his 4 other leaders and put together the video above to be broadcasted throughout the school last Friday. He did a fabulous job...............
Then that afternoon was the ceremony. He was dressed in his dress uniform.....they got berets and ascots to wear this time. I thought he looked very sharp. Even better when he wore his aviators (of course, I missed getting a pix of that)
He contacted the fire and police to see if they would show up and they did....Engine 17, Truck 10 and the Battalion Chief, plus 2 police cars. He asked the choir to sing and the band to play. The color guard lowered the flag and T even gave a speech. It was so awesome. He did a great job getting it organized and delievering his speech. I was able to get a video of it...the whole ceremony in fact, but it is 14 minutes long, so I will not bore you with it. I am so proud of him and the way he lead the program.
Afterwards, his Chief came up to me and told me that when he picks who will be what leadership position for the school year, he hopes that they will do a good job and he picked the right person. And he told me that T proves to him every day that he is in the right position. I knew that he would make a good Group Commander (I'm his mother, I know these things), but to have the Chief confirm that and seek me out to tell me that......that is saying something. It is a lot of work to lead the corp but I knew he could do it. Way to go T!!!
Labor Day weekend means BALLOONS here in Colorado Springs.
Every year we go see the hot air balloons at Memorial Park. It took us several years to start going as we have been spoiled with going to the giant Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque for more years than we can count. That event has a thousand balloons participating every year as this one has less than 75 (probably way less than that). We loved going down there and have really missed it since my sister moved away. So I have decided that even a few balloons is better than nothing so I go every year and try and drag a few others with me each time. Normally it is my girls that go....can't seem to get the whole family. Although this year, I somehow got everyone to go to the Balloon Glo....I called it FHE so they felt they had to come :) It was nice but T did mention that it was a disappointment from the glo in NM. (I should find those photos and post them for all to see the difference) Five balloons blew up for the Glo while maybe 10 others or so just burned their flames. It was fun to be together as a family as these times seem to have faded away with T so busy working and things. So I will take what I can get and this was a nice evening....
Then this morning we gathered some friends and went back to the park to watch the Mass Ascension at 7:00AM. Only J and K were willing to get up so early to go. The friends were an incentive, but I think breakfast out afterwards was the real kicker!
It is always fun to get right in the middle of the balloons as they are blowing up and then be right there as they lift off.
Then we love to go to the lake to watch them dip into the water and float away.......in the air that is, not the water!
The kids tend to lose interest after awhile and end up playing in the dirt. But we have a great time every year.
OK, I promise not to post pictures of every game from M's softball season. Yes, I do take pictures at every game I get to go too, but I weed a lot of them out after I get them on the computer. But I am just so proud of my kids accomplishments that I have to post.
She had a game today that last 2 1/2 hours.....it was long. And the wind was blowing for most of it and it was a bit chilly I must say (I feel fall coming), but the sun was out and by the time the game was over, we were burnt......that's what happens when the game falls right in the middle of the day. M did great at 1st base and even had a run into home. But they lost the game 10-15 to La Junta. Next time girls!
Finally after 3 years this is what we have growing in our back yard.......
We have grapes........and more grapes.......and tons of grapes........it is fabulous!
K goes out every night and picks bunches of them. We have nursed those plants and finally have something to show for it. We lost one plant the first year but then part of it came back. The birds have eaten them and so we have had to build a protection for them. They have grown crazy-like and so we have had to train them to go certain ways to try and keep them a bit tame. Now they are having to compete for space with the raspberries, so we will see how that goes. But we are so excited to have this year be the one where we finally get some grapes to eat. YUM!
It is that time of year again when the Academic Lettering Ceremony takes place at the high school. There is one twice a year to recognize those students who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The one at the end of the school year is always during a school assembly in the gym. This one is so much fun as we can be a part of the high school spirit during the school day. This one is for the 1st semester of that school year. The one in the fall takes place in the evening with a special invitation to come participate and is held in the auditorium. This one is for the 2nd semester of the last school year. So this is the one that we went to this last week. (it fell on the same day that J had her first XC meet and M had a softball game...it was a crazy night)
Each time you get an academic letter, you move up a level. So T was awarded Level 6 this time as he has gotten one every semester since he has been in high school. What a great accomplishment T! One more to go! M got one for her Freshman year, so she was awarded Level 2. Certificates are awarded for each level. At Level 3, you get an actual letter for your Letterman's Jacket and then every level after that you get a gold bar to put on that letter. So M can get that letter on this semester's good grades. Keep it up M! You can do it!
*M had just finished her softball game so she is still dressed in her uniform as she went on stage and T had to work, so he wasn't even there.
We feel blessed to have such good kids that care enough about school and their grades to do their best. The two of them are both so different in their study habits and their level of determination. But in the end, they both succeed and their grades show it.....and these certificates show it too. (Notice T's gold bar at the top left of this pix)
So J came up to us the day after her open house at school and said she wanted to run cross country this year. This is after the fact that she told us that she wanted to wait until next year to run. We had told her that she ought to run this year to get a head start.....I guess she followed our advise. (wow, children do listen to their parents sometimes)
She had her first meet this last Tuesday in Woodland Park. I was able to go up with a friend whose son is also running to watch them. She ran on the B team for this race and did well for her very first time ever running XC. She loves to sprint, but the long distances are not her favorite. But she ran it without stopping in a very hilly course on a hot day.
*She took off like a shot....way to go!
*She ended up first when they narrowed down to head up the trail....good job!
*by the time she came around the trail, she was not first any more? She said her coach had told her to start fast and then slow to your pace. When she did that, all these girls just passed her right up. That's OK though J. You did awesome!
*Here she is at the finish line....she was so glad it was over!
She came in 64th (she was happy there were several girls behind her) and was very tired afterwards. But I was thrilled I was able to take some pictures and be there to cheer her on. I am not able to be at all her meets this year so I was happy that I could be at this one. She is not sure she likes it, but we have told her that it will get easier the more she does it. It helps that T is running too, so they can go together and be a motivator for each other.
You did a great job J and we are proud of your accomplishment this meet. The next one will be easier....I promise!
