Recital Time

Introducing....

Sammy! Meet our newest addition to our family! Sammy is a 10 week old Lab-Australian Shepherd mix that we adopted today.

We didn't have any clue when we got up this morning that our day would end this way. But we did plan to go to PetsMart...we go on Saturdays as often as possible to visit the dogs. We've talked about getting another dog-a real DOG-as opposed to the 14 year old Pomeranian who doesn't know she's a dog-dog. So...one thing led to another, and before we knew it, we were signing papers and buying a crate and dog bed and toys!

He is a sweetheart! He is a little shy, and very well behaved. He seems to be really smart and will hopefully be very easy to train.

Abby, the Pom, thinks we are nuts. Maybe we are. She is doing her best to ignore him, which he doesn't understand. He would like to play, but she says NO. Overall, though, they are both adjusting pretty well. So far. We'll see how much sleep we get tonight!
From what we understand, he's been growing like a weed, so I don't think he'll be this small for long. Also...look closely...HE HAS NO TAIL!!! Isn't that a hoot?? Isn't he a doll?
Here he is meeting Abby. As you can see, Abby wasn't really interested in making his acquaintance. We will keep everyone posted on our doggie progress!

I Have Officially Joined the Club

The American Idol Club. For years, I have listened to everyone else (and I mean EVERYONE) talk about Idol. And for years, I have been left out of the conversation. To be honest, I thought it was just another groupie show. But my interest and curiosity finally got the best of me. I promised Junebug that I would at least watch ONE episode this year. Just to see what everyone was talking about. I would at least try it. Well, we watched one, then another, and we (well, Kat and Banana and I) were hooked! (Kearsdad kind of got bored with it. He watched it with us but didn't get nearly as excited about it.)

So tonight, I am an official American Idol Junkie! I sat on the edge of my seat, clapping (yes clapping...like I was there...like they could hear me) for stars old and new. I sat on the floor in front of the tv with my hands clenched waiting for Ryan to open the stupid envelope. I jumped up screaming with the girls, and I almost cried! Isn't that pathetic?? I also sent the fastest text message EVAH to Junebug who is in the car somewhere between Tallahassee and Orlando.

It was really good! I think I'll watch again next year. Yes, I think I will.

A Blue Ribbon Day!

Kat won her first Blue Ribbon today! She placed first in Showmanship. Showmanship is where you walk your horse into the ring and to the judge. You are judged on how well you present your horse. In her first show, she made a big mistake and did not place at all-or was very last. Two shows later, she places first! She has learned a lot in a couple of months...it helped that "Jo" is home for the summer. "Jo" is the worlds smartest horse person and best coach. So between her and her mom, how could we go wrong???

Kat also had a cool new pink hat and a new shirt today, so in addition to her growing skills, she looked really cute! The hat was a gift from Jo's cousin.

This is Kat during showmanship. See how nicely she and Hickory are standing? Except, if you look closely, Hickory has his left hind leg cocked. We don't know why he does that, but he isn't supposed to when he is "set up". Oh well...when Kat saw this picture she said, "Oh, I look cute!" Yes, she does! We were also very happy to have a new judge today. One who knew what he was doing. It didn't hurt that Kat, The Thinker and cousin placed in the top three most of the day! He was obviously a very smart judge.

This horse show thing has turned out to be a really fun thing for all of us...if it just weren't so early in the morning...and so far away...I don't like getting up at 6 am on Saturday morning. At least it is lots of fun, and the company is wonderful!

Enjoying Today

My two best friends have both expressed anxiety in the last couple of weeks about the passage of time. They have caused me to stop and think about how I deal with the same issue. I am not a hugely emotional person...I have my moments, but they are few and far between. I love life, I laugh and hug and cry. But I am not generally a "softy". But still, I have been wondering how some of the very same issues can cause us to react so differently. We are all three facing major life changes in our children's lives. How is it that 3 people who are so close and share so much can react so differently?

I tend to live in "today". I plan for the future...I am fairly organized, I like to have a schedule and know what is coming next. I bug people to death (ask my boss or Funandone) about giving me specific details so I can know what to expect. But once I know what is coming, I'm fine. I go on about my business with a "cross that bridge when I come to it" mentality. I also treasure the past (at least the past that is worth treasuring...the rest I just "chunk" into the forgetfulness part of my brain). But I treasure it in it's proper place. That is why I scrapbook, and maybe why I started blogging...so I can have a place to record important events, thoughts, moments, etc. I save some stuff, but not alot. I periodically go through my "stuff"-big and small-and throw stuff away or give it away. I guess I do the same with my memories and emotions. I sift through them, and try not to hang onto the stuff that clutters my life or weighs me down.

So, how does this apply to my children? I think I have said on this blog before that I have thoroughly enjoyed EVERY stage of their lives. I can remember when they were babies making the conscious decision to take in every moment and treasure it. As they move from one stage to the next, I put the past in it's place in my mind (treasured memory or trash bin) and keep going. I try not to spend too much time thinking about what is coming next year (once I have figured out the basic plan). I really do try to enjoy one day, one week, one month at a time. That way I don't feel like I have missed anything, and I am ready for the next adventure.

Every once in a great while, I will catch a glimpse of a baby picture and feel a twinge of "missing" that moment. And occassionally I have days where I feel like the future is coming at me full steam ahead. But generally, I just enjoy where we are today. I wonder what that says about me?

My Happy Mother's Day

My mother's day gift from Kearsdad was to strip the wallpaper off the kitchen walls and paint. Now, I LOVE this kind of stuff! I get really excited over a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot, so don't go thinking I got ripped off. I get giddy pulling the lid off a new can of paint. So we spent Saturday afternoon stripping wallpaper. Kat and Banana had fun with that part! This is an idea of what my kitchen looked like "before". See the wallpaper in the background?


I really liked the plaid wallpaper when we put it up. And I have enjoyed it for years. But it's time had passed. It was time to move on... Here is my kitchen in progress...wallpaper almost gone...bare walls exposed. It was so sad and boring looking...
And here is my new yellow kitchen! Isn't it happy looking? It is so bright and cheerful and fresh! I am very happy with my Mother's Day present. I think for Father's Day we should do the greatroom and hall. I don't think Kearsdad agrees with me. I will have to work on him. But for now, I am very happy with his gift to me.

In Honor of Barry Gibb Night...

Tragedy
When the feelings gone and you can't go on
It's tragedy
When the morning cries and you don't know why
It's hard to bear
With no one to love you and your going nowhere
Tragedy.


I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I want to feel you in my arms again
And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love then you softly leave
And its me you need to show
How deep is your love?



Blaming it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin' them love songs,Singin' them straight to the heart songs.
Blamin' it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin' them sweet sounds
To that crazy, crazy town.




I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
But I didn’t see that the joke was on me, oh no.
I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing,
Oh, if I’d only seen that the joke was on me.
I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I’d said.
Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if I’d only seen that the joke was on me.
I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that I’d said.
’til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if I’d only seen that the joke was on me.


In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Tied up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
You know that there'll be nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight
Goodnight

I could go on and on...but I think I'll just go off and hum these to myself...probably drive Kearsdad crazy...I gotta go buy another BeeGee's CD...

Tagged

My friend Suzanne tagged me...So she wants to know why I started blogging.

Basically, I succumbed to peer pressure. See, Junebug is really pushy...and she just kept telling me I needed to. So I did. Besides, I had gotten hooked on Junebug's blog, and then SouthernUtahGirl's Ramblings. I found myself using their blogs to express my ideas, so I figured I may as well create my own.

I don't use this as a way of keeping up with family. In fact, none of my family even knows I have a blog. It's just a place to brag on my kids and express my occasional deep thoughts. Most of the few people who read my blog already know most everything about me and Kearsdad and our girls, but I share the stuff anyway. I wonder if it is very interesting to any of you. But it does give me a creative way to keep up with our daily living. No, Kearsdad, NOT more "Created Memories" as you call them, but just a "journal" of sorts.

So there, that's why I blog.

I tag Manders and SouthernUtahGirl and bb.