Emmalee Got Her Ears Pierced!

Emmalee has been telling us off and on for the last year that she wants her ears pierced.  While in the mall in Colorado Springs we walked by a Claires.  We saw a big sign on the window about ear piercing and we asked Emma if she wanted her ears pierced.  She said yes!  She went in and picked out the pair she wanted just like a big girl!  She chose a pair with flowers on it but they wernt 14kt gold, and due to allergies we wanted her to have the 14 kt gold pair.  She then proceded to pick her birth stone which just so happens to be purple.  She was all set.  I didnt want to be there because I was afraid she would cry.  Justin, stood right next to her the whole time.  I figured I might as well be by her side as well.  They were able to peirce both of her ears at the same time, and despite my fears that she would cry she didn't.  She didnt make a sound and hardly winced.  She is a big girl now and she would be happy to tell you all about it!    

Our Quick Colorado Trip

     A few months ago I learned that my sister Erica, would be singing at the Air Force Academy with the NMMI Choir.  We decided that it would be a great weekend trip to take the kids on, and watch her sing.      Despite all of our vehicle problems, (which is another story entirely) we went ahead and made the trip to Colorado Springs this past weekend.  We made it to my parents house Friday evening and then made the rest of the trip into the Springs on Saturday morning. 

    

     We were hoping for a beautiful sunny day on Saturday but instead got rain.  With outdoor activities out of the questions, we decided that the kids could spend the afternoon in the swimming pool.  Of course the pool was a hit and the kids spent almost all afternoon swimming.  The boys enjoyed the fact that the pool was half indoors and half out doors, and that they could swim under the wall and outdoors when they wanted to.  They were swimming outdoors in the rain half the time and didn't seem to mind that it was cold outside.  There was much anticipation that afternoon following the kids swim, as we were waiting for Erica's bus to get to the hotel.  We were all happy to see Erica, when they finally made it to the hotel.  We later went out to dinner at the Flying W Ranch, where we had a good meal and enjoyed the entertainment.  

   

     Sunday brought the long awaited day of the concert choirs performance.  The weather was great and after some morning fog the day was bright and sunny.  The choir sang during the 9:30 protestant service at the AFA cadet chapel.  We were met at the chapel by my parents who also made the journey to hear the choir sing.  The service was very nice and was made amazing by the beautiful sound of the NMMI choir.  The whole experience was breathtaking, being in the cadet chapel is amazing by itself, but when adding the beautiful preformance in that setting, it made it truly amazing. 

    

     We had learned Saturday that the choir would be preforming in Denver at the 16th street mall following the AFA preformance and decided since we were already in Colorado Springs we might as well make the trip to Denver.  We left the AFA  and made our way to Denver and got a special treat by being able to eat lunch with Poppy, Luke, and Jared, before we made our way out to the 16th street mall.  We all enjoyed the visit even if it was a short visit.  Luke made lunch for us and of course, Justin, was put to work for a short time :). 

 

     When we did make it out to the mall we waited awhile for the NMMI cadets to get there and get set up.  It was well worth the wait.  They sang outside in a courtyard and it was very interesting to see the reactions of the people who walked by.  It seemed to give everyone a smile.  The choir probably has a little over thirty cadets who participate in it.  Within that group Erica, is a member of a sextet.  The sextet is a vocal ensemble that sings othere songs.   Erica, sang a beautiful solo.  The choir and the ensemble sounded great, they sang various songs from the Beattles catalog.

    

     Following the performance we were all sad the weekend was coming to a close.  We made the long 6 1/2 hour trip home as soon as the choir was done singing at the mall.  We couldnt have asked for a better weeked!  Hope we have another weekend soon where we get to see so many family members and have so much fun!          

Emmalee and Lisa

Okay so Emma stays with Lisa (my most awesome sister-in-law!), off and on when I am working and when Emma goes to gymnastics. Emma loves her Aunt Essa! She is such a little poser so naturally Emma is the subject of several of Lisa's photo sessions. Last week Lisa decided to photograph her on the roof of the office. These are just a few of the pictures that were taken. Lisa's influence has rubbed off on Emma in big ways and she acts so similair! I always enjoy seeing the new photos Lisa has taken of Emma. Usually they say the youngest child has the fewest photos made of them, but thanks to Lisa, that is simply not the case in this family! These photos are just some examples of her personality that screams I am a Diva!

Seed in Spring, Weed in Summer

Well Spring has come again and it is time to plant the garden. Most people think that would be a simple process. Well it is sorta..unless you involve the aid of Justin. When Justin does anything, he feels the need to map it out on paper! He could never dive head first into a project without his minds eye version of what it should look like. Good trait...right? Yes, unless you have to live up to those expectations of how things should be done. Somehow so far he has had patience with me, despite my shortcomings. As of today we have nearly half the garden planted, it is going slowly but it is going. The garden this year is even larger than last years garden. We are hoping for our garden to produce enough extra so that I might be able to take excess to the Farmers Market. That is our plan but who knows if it will work out. Anyway we definitely have our work cut out for us, because a garden of 80 x 100 will not weed itself :).

I decided to try my hand at blogging and I will see how it goes. As a family we have been staying very busy and my fear is that it will not slow down just because summer is approaching. Got a call last night that the boys will be starting baseball practice tonight. Will, just finished up his basketball season last week so we are jumping head first into baseball season!! Anyway, Will and Nick, will be on seperate teams this year. That makes for crazyiness, but at least we found out there practices will all be back to back on the same days and games will also be on the same day. First game will be April 23rd in Stratford. We were surprised that there first game was so early this year. We were told though that they decided to start the season earlier so that it would end much sooner than last year. Hooray for that! An April 23rd game though already poses a problem for our busy schedules, because Justin and I are supposed to be at a confrence on that Friday, in Amarillo. Somehow with the help of family we hope to manage this situation. The season is just getting started and it is already proving difficult to juggle schedules. It wont get any easier but I know we will manage!