Road trip!!!!

T-36 hours and counting. We are in the final countdown for Disneyland. I think we are just as excited for the road trip as we are for the actual vacation. Ever since the girls were tiny babies, they have loved road trips. Sometimes we would just decide to take off, pack and leave, all within about 2 hours. Now, of course it takes lots of preplanning, since we have to deal with school and extra-curricular activities. One of these days we are just going to have to do a spur of the moment "we're outta here" trips.
Anyway, we hit the store, got the oil changed and have already spent way too much money on the pre-trip spending spree than I would like, but it doesn't count as vacation money spent until we actually pull out of the driveway, right?
See you all when we get back!!!!!!!

Looks can be deceiving

They look so innocent, don't they? Yeah, Bug and two of her teammates pretty much thought they ruled the show this weekend. The awards ceremony went for almost 2 hours on Saturday, and these three were down with the big girls, far enough away from us moms that they knew they could get away with murder and it would be okay... they were doing cartwheels, sasheying around, teasing the older girls (who were eating out of their tiny hands!) and generally having a blast together. Meanwhile, we moms are in the bleachers, watching, trying to make eye contact to tell them to sit still, and laughing our heads off at how unafraid these tiny chickies are!!!

Who's number 1 ?????

Crazygirl is!!!!! After graciously watching her sisters take queen last competition, she got first place this weekend with her solo routine, Yea! They all did fantastic! Also, she got Principal's Pride this week...looks like her 15 minutes of fame are here.
oh, the weight of it all.

Wii fun

As I was going through the summer clothes box in the spare bedroom, looking for Disneyland- worthy clothes to pack, Bug came in and found a pair of boots that were in between sizes of girls right now. "Alright!" she exclaimed, "I need a pair of rocker boots!" Ummm, excuse me? but of course I was on a mission to find vacation clothes, so didn't pay that much attention, until I heard the sound of "hit me with your best shot" coming from our loft....I left my task half done to find this...my six year old rocking out to Pat Benatar and Poison on Guitar Hero 3 with her sisters no where in sight. Needless to say, I never got back to my task, and I now have the 2nd and 3rd highest scores on "talk dirty to me" and "Mississippi queen" I'm so proud of Bug, only 6 and already knows that it's all about the right shoes!!!!!!!!!!

silly boys...soccer's for girls

Nothing beats a good soccer game when the weather is changing every 5 minutes. Yesterday was in the 80's.Today as the game was starting, I had to get a picture of the temperature. This is BEFORE the rain, hail snow and high winds. In fact, I think I even saw some locusts and plagues hanging out on the sidelines. Good times...good times!!!!
I think they could start a trend...cutesy tights under their uniforms can cause serious intimidation on the field. Are they girly girls, or just trying to keep warm anyway they can? The jury is still out. Judging from the way they played, my bet wouldn't be on calling them girly girls though!!!! Sidenote...oh to be 11 again and still have your legs look skinny while wearing horizontal striped tights!
yes, I like the warmth of my car...hey, I'm not the one who wanted to play the game! This is how we spent the first half hour...watching from the front windshield...can you see what's happening in the game? yeah, neither could I. That would be ICE on the windshield by the way
Here are two of the most supportive (and thrilled to be there) sisters on the planet. Don't let those big cheesy grins fool ya, they are just happy to support their sister! (and the fact that they cried the whole way home due to a little side effect called frostbite should probably be noted on their behalf!)

week in review...

Wow, it's been a whole week since I have been on here. We have been running around like crazy people. First of all...congrats to my incredible, wonderful fantastic bro and sis in law! They just had the most beautiful baby girl...yea!!!! Of course I have only gotten to see pictures of her, because our life won't slow down enough to let me make a 2 hour trip each way to see her, but bro in law put together the most beautiful slide show to music and sent it to us that night. Can't wait to love on that little piece of yummy!!!
Daddy left for St. Louis on Sunday, and comes home Friday. He started off fun, with getting to go to the Cardinals game and enjoying the sweet life of being in a suite with all you can eat, drink and be merry...and 70 degree weather to boot. Now he is holed up in his hotel room every spare chance he gets to study his materials in between workshops, and preparing his presentations. We can't wait for him to come home...life isn't as fun when he is gone.
We got to see our Colorado cousins on Sunday. They came down for conference weekend. The girls love playing together with all of their cousins, and we are really trying to figure out when we can make a family reunion happen. It is so fun to see all of the little girls everywhere you turn at grandpa and grandma's house. I loved holding my little CO. baby boy nephew...he's a whopping 6 months old now. Oh so fun!!!!
We are starting our countdown to Disneyland. Woohoo!! Roadtrip! We are ready to take a family vacation. Nothing says togetherness, like 10 straight hours in a car singing to High School Musical and Hairspray. Poor daddy!

Hitting the high notes

Tonight has been filled with lots and lots of music. Dancingqueen had her choir concert at school. They did a great job. Too bad I was annoyed at the family sitting next to me, who let their kids talk through the WHOLE thing. Everyone kept turning around and looking. they didn't even blink an eye. It even stated on the program to PLEASE remove your children if they are making noise. Now, it hasn't been that long since I have had noisy toddlers, and I have had, in the not so distant past pretty much every hall at church memorized from pacing with a cranky child. Just common curteousy. I can tell that I am going to be the cranky old lady at church in about 30 years. ANYWAY... Dancingqueen did great, she tried out for a solo and got the part (it actually turned out to be 5 of them singing together, so why they called it a solo...?) There were about 100 kids in the choir.
We then got to celebrate one of my best friend's birthday with her family and play American Idol pop star on the playstation. Yeah, there is a reason I am not in the ward choir, and everytime I get that little itch to go join (since Dancingqueen goes religiously every week) I need to see my score on this lovely little game to bring me back to reality! Good thing we were with friends who like us no matter how bad we sing!

Dance Wars...or....Competition season has begun

First competition was this last weekend and we are so tired! Solos were on Friday night. Crazygirl, who gave up dancing on a team this year to pursue her dream of having soccer balls kicked at her face at warp speeds as team goalie got 3rd (yea!!!!). Dancingqueen and Bug both got queen and qualified for nationals in May (yea!!!)
I'm not sure where Bug was in this picture, probably trying to lug her trophy around to anyone who would look at it. Notice the size of it in Dancingqueen's arms? The thing is 3/4's Bug's heighth! This picture is taken around 11:15 pm by the way. And yes, we had to be back by 9 am the next morning for the team competition. See the cute tiara? Bug wanted to wear it to church today. I vetoed that, since the 4 sisters were the musical number for sacrament meeting. :)
All I asked for was for Bug to say cheese for the camera, during a break between dances. I think she is a natural born ham.
Here's Bug with her participation trophy for the team events. She is actually more excited about the granola bar she got from her teacher, and wouldn't put it down for the picture.

The Cathedral

I got this story from a friend, I have no idea who wrote it, but I loved it immediately! This one is for all of the moms and dads out there!
The Cathedral
"It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible; 'The Invisible Mom.'Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, and she's gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride..I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder.. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women."

Happy Birthday Crazygirl!

You've been making us jump for joy, while turning our world upside down for 11 years now....and we wouldn't have it any other way! We love you Crazygirl!