Another One....Really???

So it happened again.....I had another birthday.  They seem to come around every year at this time and I can't seem to get away from them.  Oh well....guess I just better enjoy them right?

And enjoy it I did.  In fact, I celebrated for a week and it was so fun.

My birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so I spent the day with my family....the whole family.  That doesn't seem to happen very much anymore, having all the kids together at once.  We went to church, I got to take an uninterrupted nap, and my sweet hubby made me dinner.  The kids helped....I think.  We had steaks and grilled pineapple with baked potatoes.  Was hoping for dessert of some kind, but.....

My hubby sent me flowers...he is always so good about that. And a friend dropped off some tulips for me too.  It was a very fragrant house for awhile.

A good friend spent a day with me to celebrate.  We went to HuHot for lunch and had a blast....see the fun "yellow" gift she gave me......

Then we spent the afternoon making something fun for our front porches.  What a great idea to make it together....but we do love to craft together so that was a no brainer.  Isn't it so cute!

I also got a night out with my hubby and another night out for ice cream (finally my dessert!)  AND another lunch out with several girlfriends to shoot the breeze and relax.

Then my mother in law invited us over for dinner to celebrate as well.  It was a great week full of fun times with friends and family.  I was able to talk to several friends and family members living far away on the phone and I got many birthday wishes on Facebook.  It was very nice.

But alas......no picture of me in the birthday hat.  For one, no gifts to open which is normally when the hat comes out of the closet and two, my family doesn't really think to get the camera out.  So this is the only picture I got of ME on my birthday this year.....

I had to tell K to take it for me.  I guess I will have to wait until Mother's Day to get a pix of me and my kids.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

OH......by the way.......my gift is coming and it is fantastic.  Can't wait...thanks honey!

Senior Stuff

These past several days AND nights have been filled with a ton of senior stuff for T....fun stuff!
Last weekend he went to Prom with his girlfriend.......they looked very nice and I heard they had a really good time (despite that M was sick the day before)

We took pictures at Palmer Park with some of his other friends before they went to dinner and the dance.

Then it was Senior Ditch Day.  A bunch of people went to Fox Run Park for the day to play and eat.  T was gone all day and came back dirty, smelling of campfire, and tired.....but happy!

The next day was the Senior Breakfast held at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort.  What a pretty place tucked out of sight from the main road....never even knew it was there.  It was a nice morning for my hubby and I to spend it with T.  After we ate, we had the "Capping Ceremony".  T picked his dad to cap him and it was very sweet what he had read about him to pay tribute to him.  I was very proud of myself as I held it all together and didn't cry.

On to the next night for the senior prank.  T had to work but headed over to the school afterwards to help with the various tasks at hand.  He told me of a few like stacking the chairs in the doorway so no one can get into the school the next day......V stairs with trash cans.....plastic forking the lawn.....plastic wrapping the scorpion out front.......

Putting "Seniors Rock" on the school sign out front......however, they spelled it wrong (senors).  Watch out world for these "excellent" students...:)  I heard there was a goat......can't wait to hear about that one.

And finally, T's graduation cards were made and sent out to family and friends.....

There is so much on the calendar from now until the end of school.....I will be totally ready for summer by then.  Such exciting times coming up!  Stay Tuned!

First Meet

Today was J's first ever track meet.  She was suppose to have one last week, but there ended up being a huge storm that rolled in, so it was cancelled.  It was nice to have this one at the high school next to our house....love those meets. 

Since J has never done track before, she decided to try a lot of the events to see what she was good at.  We thought for sure running would be part of it....however, when they started trying out each event, she found that she liked the field events instead.  We were shocked as she is so good at running.  She said she really liked shot put, discus and high jump.  I did high jump in junior high, so I was thrilled when she said that was one event the coach wanted her to compete in.

She did well clearing 3 feet 10 inches.......

Her other field event that she competed in today was the shot put.....taking after her mother again!  OK, so M too.  She did well by throwing 15 feet 10 3/4 inches.  She was very nervous and sad that she did not do as well as she did in practice, but we kept telling her she did awesome.  M was there to offer her some tips which helped.

Now, I said she wasn't going to do running.....wrong!  Her coach had her in 2 running events so we headed over to the bleachers to wait for her races.  We have never done this part of track before....always watched field and then went home.  We ended up having to stay for the whole thing as she ran the last race.

She ran the 400m and placed FIRST among the 7th grade girls......YOU ROCK J!

Then she ran the 4X400 relay, running the first leg.  They did not do as well since all the girls had run races earlier and they were all so tired.  AND J had spent the day at Palmer High School competing in a band competition.....so she was pretty tired from the whole day.

We are so thrilled with her efforts today and think that she has so much potential.....can't wait to see her compete next week!

Babies

So I posted this picture awhile ago.....

And this is now what is in the nest.......

I love spring!!

Sweet Music

Another band concert was on the calendar this past week.......J performed with the high school orchestra and wind ensemble.  It is always fun to have them join the older group.....actually I just like being able to sit in the cushy chairs to listen :) 

They did a great job but they only played 2 songs....was hoping for more.  But she did awesome and it was fun to sit with 2 other families from our ward.

One more concert to go before the end of the year....J will be happy about that.  She is tired of practicing....or should I say me naggin her to practice!

On the Wall

M has been taking art classes at school the last couple of years....this year she has 2......Painting and 3D art.  She is enjoying them both but has really had fun in her painting class.  Our pantry door is covered in her creations.  This year her teacher selected one of her pieces to be in the art display at the library downtown for the past couple of weeks.  It was a contest (however she did not win) but it looked so great up on the wall. 

There were so many to look at ranging from kindergrten all the way up to 12th grade.  I was very impressed at how even some of the 1st graders were so artistic.  There was some great art......it was fun to have M's included in that.  Way to go!  Can't wait to get it home so we can hang it with pride on the pantry door

Volume Three

So just the other day FedEx delivered by new blog book........

I love it.  This is the 3rd book I have published and I am just as excited for this one as I have been for the other two.  I love seeing my posts in a nice hard-bound book. 

It is hard work to get it just right......I am picky when it comes to placement of pictures, font and size and everything that goes in to making a page.  So it really takes me a couple of months to get it completed.   And I always love the way it turns out.

I was surprised to see that it wasn't any bigger than last year....then realized that we really didn't go on many vacations last year. 

But I always feel a sense of relief when I have it in my possession as it is my journaling these days.  So I can breathe a sigh and sit back and enjoy my book.

Easter 2012

Easter came in April this year....I really don't like it when it is in March.....the week after general conference.  It was a nice day.....we enjoyed some great talks in church, good lessons too.  We had my mother-in-law over for the traditional dinner of ham.  We read the Easter Story and watched the DVD on faith in Christ.  We are so grateful for our Savior and his atoning sacrifice for us.  And this is why we celebrate Easter.

But we also love to color eggs.  This year we had the whole family plus one.  T's girlfriend joined us and we all had a great time.  I love eating them just as much as decorating them. 

Hiding of Easter baskets is tradition too....they were in the dryer this year.......and confetti eggs this year, so quite the mess on the floor.

K wanted an egg hunt, but we decided to have one the next day instead.  We didn't have one last year I don't think....so she really wanted to have one.  So while she was at school, I hid 50 eggs for her and J in the house....I hope that was enough!

They had so much fun that they decided to hide all 50 again themselves and make me and their dad find them.....what crazy girls.

And of course, our traditional family picture....our last one with the whole family!

Happy Easter Everyone!

This and That!

I wanted to post a picture of the snow day we had from school only 2 days back after a 2 week spring break........

Look at all the snow that fell over night causing them to cancel school.  If you look at the thermometer on the pillar, you can see that it is very cold, but really?  Are the roads that bad and treacherous that school had to be cancelled?  Gotta love our school district.

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This past weekend I was able to go to the temple with the youth to do baptisms. 

It was J's first time and she has been waiting patiently since last June when she turned 12.  Her dad was going to go too, but he had a nasty cough, so he stayed home with K.  T had to work, so I drove and me and the girls played afterwards with some friends....we shopped at the mall and other stores.....we had to hit IKEA for chocolate cake and meatballs.....and we didn't get back until 8pm, just in time to color Easter eggs with the family.  But while we were gone, K was so bored that this is what she did.....

Can you see it?  Can you see the blood red nails on this dog?  She saw that her friend's dog had polish on HER nails and thought Duke needed a pedicure too.  I didn't notice them at first and then I thought he was bleeding.  She could have picked a different color, but at least they stand out, right?  She was so proud of herself and I was proud that she was able to do it without getting it all over him, her and the carpet! 
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Spring is coming and I am so happy about that (although we need so much more moisture).  I was sitting on the couch the other day and could hear birds chirping.....very loudly.  So I checked outside and noticed this......

For years, we had a bird nest on the base of our satellite dish, but one year a few years back they quit using it.  I think a cat got to it or something and they decided to build elsewhere.  So this is the first year back in a long time that we will have baby birds.  How fun is that!

An Athlete....AND a scholar!

This first full week of April has been packed with lots of events and three of those were for M.  She is amazing....just saying!

They finally held the basketball banquet for last season....it was held at the high school.  Last year it was at Fargo's Pizza and so we were bummed to find out that it was only going to be at the school until......they brought in the bags and bags of Olive Garden food.  SO YUM!.....breadsticks, salad with their wonderful dressing to boot, spaghetti, and chicken alfredo,  I haven't eaten there in forever so it tasted mighty fine.  And of course, cake for dessert before heading into the auditorium for awards.

We went through  the normal introductions, calling each girl up to the stage telling them how great they did this season and what their strong points are and so on.  And of course, M was fabulous in every way....ok, that is just me saying that, but the coach loves M and told everyone how excited she was to have her play again this year and how she has a soft spot in her heart for M.  M really likes her too and was happy to know that she going to be her coach again.  She said she was happy for the way M hustles out on the court and how hard she works at all times during practice and games.

So we listened to the rest of JV come up and get their certificates and then came the awards.  These awards are picked by the girls themselves, not the coach, so it really is a big honor when you get one since it was voted on by your team.  So they go through one award by telling us about this person and how great they were for this award and blah blah blah.......then comes the next award and the coach goes on to say why this person deserves this award.....how she was so glad that the team could see how hard she works on the court and that the coaches agreed with this choice.....how she sacrifices her body for the good of the team and the play.....how she is scrappy and gets in there to disrupt a play so that it can be slowed down and taken out of bounds....and on she goes.  My mind was wondering by the time she announces the name for Defensive Player of the Year.......so I was surprised when M's name was said.  And so was M.

She actually was talking to the girl next to her and wasn't sure she heard the coach right when her name was announced.  I wish I would have had the camera ready to get her reaction of pure surprise......she was so happy though and thrilled beyond belief.  It was nice to see that all her hard work pays off and when she thinks that no one appreciates her, she sees that they really do.  And to think she was not sure if she really wanted to play this year.  Way to go M!

And if that is not enough, the next night she was awarded her Academic Letter for the 3rd semester in a row.  Finally she gets that letter to go on her jacket and I know she will add many gold bars to that letter as her high school years progress.  She had straight A's.....again.  I fully expect her to go all the way to Level 7 and get that recognition for academics every semester possible. 

She works so hard to get those A's and really pushes herself.  It helps that all her best friends are good students too and are standing up there right along with her at each award ceremony.  Wouldn't that be something if she ends up being valedictorian her senior year.....keep it up my well rounded beautiful daughter!

And the third thing that she excelled in this week is at her track meet.....she threw her PR's in both events on Friday during the Sand Creek Invitational.  In fact, she placed 7th in discus with a throw of 91-2.

She keeps getting better and better....you go girl!.........what's next?  :)

STOP IT!

Since I love General Conference AND Pinterest, I have to post something that combines both!

There were so many great talks during conference this past weekend.  And there were several quotes that really stood out to me and thankfully I have Pinterest to make them all so creative.....saves me the trouble.  So this is what was so wonderful about President Uchtdorf's talk....simply Stop It!

ONE ZERO!

My baby turned 10 last week.....

K has been so excited for her birthday to finally get here.  We have counted down the days and thank goodness it didn't take any longer (she would have probably died)

Since this is an EVEN year, she was able to have a friend party.  Last time 2 years ago, only one friend came to her party, but she was okay with that as it was her best friend. I should have learned from that experience since her birthday falls during Spring Break.  But we decided to hold her birthday a week before her actual day, still during Spring Break, but we figured it would be okay.  WRONG.....you will never guess......ONE person showed up again this year.  Her closest friends didn't even come, but we were just glad that a new friend did come.  K has such a good attitude about it and they sure had a great time playing.  J even got in on the activities.

It was a WILD Animal Party and K sure had a great time helping me decorate.....I didn't realize that my girls had so many stuffed animals.  (I take that back....I knew they did but to see them all lined up and in every nook and corner of the family room and living room made it all too real)

K spent some time on the computer printing out wild animal pictures to put in their foam frames they made.  We found some cute animal foam shapes to make and put on clothes pins. 

There was animal bongo and Just Dance......

We had lion cupcakes for dessert.....

And after all that fun, one of her closet friends came over and picked her up for some friend time (since she was still in school during the party time).  She thought that was so cool....and even better, she got to stay over after and play for awhile.  I really don't think she cared that more people didn't show up after all of that.

Then the day before her birthday, we went out to dinner as a family.  T had to work and M had to babysit on her actual birthday, so we did dinner at Chuck E Cheese.  We had a blast as usual playing the games and earning tickets.  I think we earned the most we ever have in the past.  K and J got some fun things and we filled up on pizza and salad.

And as we did last year, our normal family picture at CEC....

Have you ever tried to get 6 people in that shot....it is not easy and T said he doesn't want to go over the top anymore (he says he is getting too old for that)

The next day....finally her birthday.....we went to the dollar movie and saw "We Bought a Zoo".  We had popcorn, soda and Slurpee's and really liked the movie.....it had a bear in it!  Since we already went out for her bday dinner, I let her pick something to make.  She picked breakfast casserole.  Afterwards, we opened presents and had ice cream.  It was weird to not have T and M with us as we took the picture of the birthday girl with everyone (except mom of course)

She got 2 bear necklaces...one from her Granny and the Panda bear from us.....she loves them both but we told her she had to be really careful with the silver one cuz the arms and legs really move.....she said she would never wear it to school just to be safe....probably a good idea.

I think she had a good week celebrating her birthday.   She helped me make sugar cookies for her class and took them on her first day back to school from break.  She was thrilled when her teacher gave her a National Geographic magazine that had the main article and cover picture of bears....her teacher is so sweet and knows her so well.

Happy Birthday my sweet Guck!  I love you!