Cheer-a-licious

That's what Cassi calls herself. It makes me laugh every time I hear it.

I am playing catch-up here by posting this but I have the truest intentions of blurb-ing my blog by year starting someday soon, so I want to post a few things before I get back to our current events.

About 2 weeks ago, we headed out for a road trip to Anchorage. I guess it's not technically what one would envision for a road trip but when we head up north, we always make a party weekend out of it so it's what we call it.

Scott was out of town which always tears my girls up. They hate when he misses a special event. That in turn breaks my heart so I bare the weight (which I admittedly put on myself) of making it extra special.

We were very fortunate to be able to stay at the Norwood abode for which I am always grateful. Not only does is save us from having to stay at a hotel but more importantly, ALL of us never fail to arrive and depart their home feeling most loved! This visit was no exception.

It was horrid traveling- only due to the fact that I hit awful weather through the mountains and my wipers quit working!!! Talk about stress. Regardless, Holly and Rocky met me at the door with a Hornesby's. My favorite. I'm not a big drinker, but after that drive, whew, it was heavenly.

Even though we were spending the weekend there, the main event was only Saturday. We woke up very apprehensive. Well two of us. Cassi has been struggling a bit with owning her round-off, back-handspring, back-tuck. It has been essentially owning her. She is very nervous and can't being herself to throw it with out a spot. At this competition she really had to throw it and nothing less to even be slightly in the running. There were more tears in past weeks over this than I care to remember. She can do it, but talks herself out it. Than it takes days to get going again, it works for a couple days then we start the nervous-to-throw-it pattern all over again.

When we arrived at the competition Cassi was a mess. I was nervous for her, about finding parking, you name it. I had Cori walk her in while Cali and I parked. Cassi was in tears when she left me; I was very worried. Cali however promptly advised me she was very sure of herself and I needn't worry about her! I think she'd over heard too many conversations of "You can do it! Be confident!"

When we got inside Cassi was surrounded by her team and again she was in tears. Everyone wanted to pass on some inspiration and confidence. I could see she was struggling and she told me she wasn't going to throw her tuck. She wasn't even sure she was going to do her routine. I'm not sure whose advice finally pulled her through- mine was to tell everyone she had it. She was good to go, then make the decision as to what she wanted to do when she was backstage. Thereby not answering to anyone. Her coach finally explained to her she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Jen tells me Cassi's eyes lit up and she agreed. This made sense to her! So-if you have a literal child who often makes things more difficult than necessary, remember this simple piece of advice, it may save you some tears and struggle. :)

Super-awesome confidence-building coaches
Don't they just exude spirit and fun

So after this super long story, what I am trying to convey is how much I love my girls and their sorrows and struggles are very much my own. My heart feels their pains and heartaches in the depths of my soul.

When it came time for Cassi to compete individually I held my breathe, literally. And SHE THREW IT!! I actually turned to my friend Michelle and had to ask if she had really done it. I think I was looking through squinted eyes and wasn't positive. But she did! And it wasn't perfect, but she had nothing to lose. For the simple fact shes overcome her fear, IT WAS PERFECT!

Both her and Cali's team routines went off without a hitch and Cassi's team performed so tight that we were all in awe! They too have struggled a lot this season. To see them perform so well, let's just suffice it to say we were certain wed nailed first place. Finally! It was a long time coming. There is only one gym in our town and it is a small group that participates. We always lose to the big gym in Anchorage.

Cali with the mini team trophy

It was a River City sweep

Not so this time my friends! Both of the girls' teams won 1st place! And the crowd went wild! Not really, but we did! And the girls did! Oh, and Cassi took 7th place. By her reaction, you'd have thought it was 1st- it was just as good for us!

Confident (finally) and proud

After we competed, we had some down time so we walked to the nearby mall. It was a beautiful day and the walk was nice. The mall was great fun. We found a dress for Cassi to wear on her birthday; a tradition that is her own. It is sparkly and wonderful! Grandma had sent Valentine spending money knowing we were headed to Anchorage. Cali used hers to finally buy the coveted zhu-zhu pet. Who hoo!

Woot-Woot, its a zhu-zhu

Walking to the mall

Relaxing with friends

Silliness; much needed

Still in cheer mode

Cheer friends

Cori mostly tagged along but was proud for her sisters. She was a dutiful big sister that day. She was the brick when Cassi needed her to be, the super fan for Cali when she was so excited she could barely contain herself. She was helpful to her momma when there were too many directions to turn. She pulled through in a time of teenage angst when pulling through isn't always the easiest thing to do.

The drive home was fairly uneventful. The weather, although not perfect was bearable with no wipers and we made it home safely to put the truck in the shop-getting it ready for the next road trip.

This is a wonderful picture at an awful angle! uggg!

Grandpa's Finally Gets His Christmas Present

My Dad was in Florida for his birthday this year. While he was gone, I planned on getting his Christmas present completed finally. Turns out it couldn't be done until he got home but at least it's finally done!
Doesn't his little sports car look awesome with tinted windows. All the young guys are jealous!

Wordless Wedneday 02-24

Change for a Cure-Pink Night at the basketball game.

Showing some cheerleader support.

This is what I heard today...

...from Cali.
She said "We need to give a loving baby a loving home because the big eathquake shook them out of their Mommy's arms."
Love sounds a bit like this, don't you think?

amongst friends #16

The Letter M

Hey Look, we have a new player. Welcome Jocelyn. This week was a busy week for everyone involved. My girls were unable to get any M pictures. Actually I believe they took them but I can't find them at the moment. I had fun taking my pictures once I decided what I wanted to do. And good gosh, Kelly went way out to think of hers! I'm impressed. I am certain Frank and Jenny enjoyed taking theirs as well. Happy 40th birthday Jenny. What a great place to spend this milestone. It's a great reminder to stay young at heart! In fact, that's what this picture challenge is about. Staying busy and being creative which in the end keeps us all young! Wouldn't you agree? If so, go look around. Find a way to photograph N and send your picture to me. I will add it to the collage next week. I hope you do!

*Edit-
Frank- Minnie Mouse
Jenny- Micky Mouse
Kelly-Memories
Jocelyn-Mommy
Christie-Mister(Scott's nickname) Man

The Momma in Me

I think LOVE looks and feels a lot like this!
The Momma in me feels this everyday. Do you?

Wordless Wednesday

Thinking ahead: I am sure this skirt should be Cassi's. Maybe for her birthday?

amongst friends Today

I have begun a new journey with friends. It's called amongst friends. Come on by, check it out- who knows you may want to join in.

All Grown Up

It's been a while since you've seen these guys. They are all grown up.

Amber D- My little sister

AJ- My baby brother

AJ and Lil' Rachel (his girlfriend)

AJ and Lil' Rachel ( I had to put both of these up because they were so cute, I couldn't choose just one!)

And Barry Rocco (The grown up son I never had)

Amazing and Wonderful adults they have turned out to be!

Happy Valentine's Day

With Love

Throw Me a Life Vest...

...'Cause I feel like the tide is carrying me away!

I can not believe it's been almost a week since I've been able to post. It's been really crazy 'round these parts!

The girls and I put a lot of work into Valentine's for school this year. We saw some amazing ideas around the internet and took a couple of them and made them work for us.

Several weeks ago I spotted these darling crafted sheep at The Inadvertent Farmer.
Cassi and I giggled for days about how we could attach a tag that said "Happy V-a-a-a-lentine's Day!" Every time I said it to her, I would crack up and it would send her into her own fit of giggles.


So guess what, we made a bit of an assembly line and went for it! We made over 25 of them over the course of many days. It was a bit more than we would usually do but so worth it! They are CUTE!



For Cori's V-Day surprise we made this adorable little owls. I can't remember where I saw these but I do remember there was a little tute for wrapping the yarn around three or four fingers. That is the method we used. It worked great.


Being the clever girls we are, we decided to use a tag that said "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?" In the event you are way younger than me, this is based on an old commercial that recently surfaced again. My girls saw it and thought it was really old fashioned. (Yeah, it makes me feel old too!)

Anyway, Cori loved the little owls we spotted on the internet, thought she was completely clever with the tootsie roll idea and decided this would be her treat!

Evidently, they were a HUGE hit! We had to make 25 of these as well.

I think I was going for the Super Mom award this week. How did I do? :)

*Edit- Dina over at 4 Lettre Words had a great idea for the owls. You could turn them into chicks for Easter. I think that would be soooo cute! And for that matter, the sheep would even work as well. Oh, the possibilities! :)

amongst friends #15

The Letter L

It's been quite the trying weekend however I am super excited about amongst friends. One of the gals participating mentioned how much fun this has become for her. And that is what makes it worth it. It truly has inspired creativity for all of us that participate. Consider joining us. Who knows, you might find yourself having fun with the challenge too!
Next week is the letter M.

*Cori- There is a funny story that goes with this but ultimately Cori was showing what a loser looks like. :)
Christie- Lowes- Scott works for them sometimes.
Cali- She wanted someone to take a picture of her with her LIPS sucker!
Cassi-She is wearing her lightning bolt from her cheer competition.
Ann-Legos
Kelly-Laundry-this made me giggle. I could never photograph mine, there is too much!
Jenny- Just like Jenny to photograph LOVE!

Wordless Wedneday 02-10

Fun Valentine Mess

*Doesn't this picture remind you a bit of a heart?

amonst friends #14

The Letter K

I think this might possibly be my favorite group of submissions yet. I am struggling a little with making the collage where you can tell what everyone's photo is. The more pictures there are the smaller some contributions are going to be. So, if we continue to have many people or add more I may divvy them up into 4's and make more than one collage. It is my truest hope that eventually we move towards posting each picture individually. We'll see.

In the mean time, can you figure out all the submissions? I bet you can and I bet you are thinking about what you might have photographed yourself. Quit thinking about and do it. We hope you will join us. Next week is The letter L.

Edit*
Cassi-Kick
Cori-Kayley
Frank-Kneading bread
Christie-Road KILLS
Jenny- Sign language K
Ann-Kanteen
Kelly-Krispie Kreme
Cali-Kiwi Bear book


Be sure to click on the picture to see each photo a little better.

Lookin' out for Sister

Cassi has been a bit under the weather. She has a horrid cough and she can barely speak with out being in pain. We've stuck fairly close to the house in order to let her relax and feel better.

Yesterday, out of the blue, Cali found these little individual heart pans. (Digging through the cupboards always reaps rewards!) She filled one of them with teddy grahams and carried them around a bit. Then she declared she was going to make a pie! I however wasn't sure how this was all going to come about.

She was adamant that I had to help her make a pie and that it would be for Cassi. To help her feel better. How sweet is that. So this is what we came up with.


We crushed those teddy grahams in a baggie. I gave her a rolling pin but she wanted a potato masher!


We added a little butter and smooshed it into the pan.



Being that I knew quick gratification was in order, we went with yogurt instead of pudding. And then, we figured out if we froze it, it would also soothe Cassi's throat! Genius!!


We let it freeze about a half hour. We put a little whip cream on it and Cali served it to Cassi.

This is everything I want my girls to be. Loving, kind, giving and helpful. Love looks a lot like this to me- what does it look like to you?

Silent Saturday 02-06

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL lying in the Alaskan winter snow?

Happy 'Heart' Day

I would love to tell you that I did this project for Valentine's day but...well I really did it because I think they are simply darling!

I have truly come to love creating things from nature. It seems the simpler, more organic and natural the more it appeals to me.

There is a blog I LOVE, The Magic Onions- that makes me happy when I visit for these very reasons. Its there that I found this post about making ornaments out of beeswax. Her directions were perfect.

I didn't document my steps because Cassi was quite involved in this first time experience for us. I didn't want to take risks without being confident in how it would work.

It's funny because it wasn't complicated, just something Id never done. Now that I have, I have a few more ideas to pursue. I'll let you know how goes.

In the meantime, this is what I did with our hearts. And I love it. I used a little empty spice glass and wrapped the top with jute. I thought about using ribbon...and am still considering changing it.

I would love to get some new twigs but there is so much snow I am limited to what I can find at the moment. Regardless, it still makes my heart swell. Don'tcha love it?
*I'm linking up to The Magic Onions- Friday's Nature Table. It's a naturally beautiful list of people sharing there. It's worth a look.

***I'm also linking this project up with Ramblings of a Crazy Woman- We Made it- Friday Showcase. There are always great ideas shared there. Go check it out!

This Smile is For Daddy

Cali went to the dentist today. Before leaving the house she insisted I remember the camera so I could take pictures of her getting her teeth cleaned. I mean after all, if he were here he wouldn't miss it. Right? Yeah, right!


She has really handled this dental thing like a big kid. I am quite amazed actually. I wasn't sure the office would want me taking pictures but the hygienist was really great about it and had me taking far more pictures than the one I expected to take!


She went to bed so late last night that I thought she might actually go to sleep in the chair but that never happened.


The first pair of Hollywood glasses weren't dark enough so she switched them out for the rockstar version.



Her favorite part (aside from all the goodie bag supplies Ms. Linda gave her) was the suction hose. I am pretty sure every kid loves that thing.


I am hoping she ends up with some beautiful teeth since the first two are cleaning out the bank already!

We've got a good start; Look at THAT grin!

Wordless Wednesday 2-1

Does anyone else ever have this problem? Where in the heck do all the bowls go?

The Simple Woman's Daybook 02-01

FOR TODAY 2010-02-01

Outside my window... It' dark, it's late and it's been a very busy day.

I am thinking...about my friends. One is struggling with a teenager, one is dying, one is on life support, one is turning 40...I long for their happiness and contentment, I pray for their journeys, I worry for them.

I am thankful for...my children, my husband, our health, our happiness and our faith and all the little things I don't want to forget.

From the learning rooms...Cali is still making all the right moves towards becoming a courageous and fun loving kindergartner. I have no worries that she is ready.

From the kitchen...We tried a new little treat tonight. Frozen sweetened strawberries with a dash of lemonade blended in the blender to a slush with a dollop of whip cream. Yum! Try it, you will like it.

I am wearing...jeans and a simple yellow cap sleeve t-shirt with a light green tank top underneath. Thinking Spring!

I am creating...things with sticks. It seems as though I go through spurts and right now its sticks.

I am going...to help in Cassi's class on Wednesday. I love to be in the classroom with the kids.

I am reading...Sarah Palin's book but I got sidetracked. Maybe I will get going on it again, soon.

I am praying for...Bev's family, they have hard decisions ahead. Bobbi and Kelly and their kids. Their journey is a hard one right now and I pray the Lord comforts their hearts.

I am hearing...Cori's new speakers. LOUD!

Around the house...My kitchen counters have been clean for a couple days running. Unheard of!

One of my favorite things...when Scott calls. I miss him.

A few plans for the rest of the week...finding more sticks. I have two projects I want to complete.
Making pizzas at school. A mid week meeting, cheer practices- lots of them!

A photo for sharing...


I love this picture. A mothers love- A child's grin. Doesn't he have the same look you've seen on your 5 year old? Can't you just hear the "aww shucks mom" going on in his mind. Love it!

To read more daybook's take a look here.

I wish I could still do this

I probably still could but there might be complications and I certainly wouldn't look near as cute doing it!