My Mommy

My Mom is the person I want to be.  She's not perfect, but I have no doubt that one day she will be. 
My Mom is constantly trying to improve herself.  She doesn't settle with anything,  She keeps working on something until its complete and up to standard, or else it does not leave the to do list.
My Mom is supportive.  She is always the one cheering at sport games or applauding at performances.  Often she persuades others to do the same.
My Mom fills our home with music.  I love listening to her play piano, although it doesn't happen much anymore.  Instead a lot of her time is spent helping us kids develop our talents.
My Mom exudes life.  Our garden is now blossoming due to her love for nature.  And she loves seeing the bunnies hop around our yard.
My Mom is my hero.  She is the glue that holds my family together and the glue that holds me together.  I don't know how many times she's helped me through friendless, stressful, and exhausting experiences.  She drove me and Tucker and my friends to EFY in Idaho, just so we could have that experience.  She encourages me and my Siblings to try out for new things and when I was given a part in the musical she came to multiple showings of it.  I love seeing her smile and knowing that she's proud of me, and that's probably one of biggest reasons why I try to become better too. 

 (These pictures are pretty random, so I apologize, but I really love them)

I love you Mommy! :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Some of the Things My Dad Taught Me:

(in no particular order)

Money doesn’t grow on trees
The harder you work for something the more you appreciate it
Never waste money
Early to bed, early to rise
Live simply
An old out dated cell phone is good enough
Learn to do things yourself, but don’t be afraid to call in the experts
Appreciate music
You don’t have to be the best singer to sing out loud
Eat right and exercise
Love your family
Not everything in life can always be fun
Wipe out the bathroom sink every morning
Attend the temple regularly
Take care of your car/ Maintenance
Fill up the car with gas way before the needle is close to empty
Enjoy each day- life really does fly by
A little Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy is a good way to unwind
Study your scriptures daily and have FHE
Set goals
Work hard
Marry wisely
Love your spouse

Keep a nice yard

Fulfill your callings and responsibilities

Love your family

Thank you for your amazing example, Dad!  There is no way to adequately put into words the love and respect I have for you.  I am lucky to be one of your daughters.  ~Happy Birthday~

Ilah's Guitar Recital

Spring Break @ Devil's Den, Arkansas & St. Louis, Missouri

Better Late Than Never Christmas Pics

Joplin Snowpocalypse 2011

Back in February we were treated to another "winter break" after mother nature decided to dump 18+ inches of snow followed by sub zero temperatures then dump another 7 or 8 a few days later followed by more freezing temperatures.  We were out of school for 9 school days... 

How did we spend our time???

Bundling up to play in the snow, preparing mentally for the frigid temperatures, and formulating the perfect plan to dominate the snow ball fight...

 

(This smile was short lived... Tears will be freezing on his face in a matter of time.)

Just waking up, but ready for some fun!

Who needs a coat anyway?

Play time...

10 minutes later...

 

 10 minutes after that...

Baby, it's cold outside!

Out Wit, Out Play, Out Last

 Besides playing in the snow, we also roasted marshmallows in our fireplace and made smores,

 watched A LOT of Netflix

Henry and best buddy Ian playing computer games

 spent A LOT of time on the computer (Henry playing games; Taysom, Tucker and Mom on Facebook; Daddy doing homework; Ilah, Mom, and Taysom checking email; 

Mom working on her website~

made delicious goodies

 read

 read some more

 painted

painted some more

And ventured outside now and then...

(Roads were awful!  Our road never did get plowed. Thankfully we didn't lose power.  I think our biggest mishap was the bumper getting ripped off of the Cruiser.)

December Performances 2010

For the past two years Ilah has participated in the Joplin All City Singers.  The All City Singers' Concert has been the place where I first start feeling the Christmas spirit.  Thankfully, Henry made the cut this year so we were able to kick off the 2010 Christmas season correctly!  The concert was beautiful and included two of my favorites from previous years, "Bethlehem Boy" and "Winter Fantasy"  Henry is always very entertaining to watch plus there were about five of my 5th graders participating as well. 

Henry is the second row from the top third from the right

Mike, Taysom and Henry

Henry and his buddy Michael

 We also got to attend Ilah's beginning band Christmas concert at North Middle School before rushing off to Taysom's "Touch of Class" concert over at the highschool.  Ilah is really enjoying the flute thus far!

Ilah is the gorgeous one front and center!

At Taysom's "Touch of Class" concert it was Senior night - meaning that any senior who participates in choir walks across the stage with their parents while their names are read.  Then the senior receives a rose and has a photo taken.  Luckily both Mike and I had a lot of former students out in the audience or in other choirs, and they cheered loudly as we walked across the stage with Taysom.   This is Taysom's first year doing choir.  Previously, she always participated in orchestra, but at the end of her junior year she decided to try out for show choir.  She made the all girls group called "Touch of Class".  When they first got their dresses Taysom was very concerned with how low cut they were.  We were going to get her a flesh colored body suit to wear with it, but ran out of time so Taysom decided to wear a black cami instead.  Slowly all of the girls stated wearing black camis undear their dresses.  I just wish more of them had done so when they came to our elementary school to perform before Christmas break.  Yikes!  Before their last two competitions the director made it a costume requirement.  Way to go Taysom for setting the modesty trend:)

Ole'  (Tucker was too lazy to come with us!)

I was able to go to her final competition about a month ago, and they were phenomenal!  Even though I couldn't stay all day, I was able to watch several schools perform.  Some of them went all out with several costume changes and a fog machine and extensive props.  I felt like I was watching a performance from Glee.  Touch of Class definitely had the best blending vocals and harmonies.  Their mixed choir group called "Sound Dimension" also did a great job.  At their final competition Touch of Class got second in their division and received "best vocals" out of ALL divisions (over 24 schools).