i'm exhausted. letting her spread her wings, makes me feel this way.

 my first born turned 14 YEARS OLD over the long weekend. it was a busy weekend. which is why i feel exhausted. but another reason is my constant stress this past week of letting my first born fly to DC with 25 classmates. to discover another part of the world. to learn. to be free out there. OUT THERE!! out there is that part that scares me. making brooke realize you can't trust everyone. (which is sad) she was so sick of me saying some of these things. but i feel they are important, when your girl gets thrown in a different part of the world.

1. don't talk to anyone you don't know (even if they look normal or nice)
2. don't go to the bathroom or anywhere in pairs, go in groups!
3. don't set your purse down
4. be alert
5. be smart
6. call home.

"yup got it mom!"

i hope she gets it.

 kendall and brooke at 5:00 am this morning ready to fly and ready for freedom.

 brooke looking at me on the way to security. giving me the "everything-will-be-alright-look, mom"

brooke and kendall waiting to go through security by strangers. her getting wings and spreading them more is exhausting to me.

~the long weekend plans....

tomorrow afternoon we will head to denver for the long weekend. my niece destiny is graduating from high school on saturday, and we are so excited for her. she's such a sweet girl. a girl who grew up way to fast.

on sunday my daughter will be celebrating her 14TH BIRTHDAY! so we are getting a hotel to have a little POOL TIME FUN, SHOPPING, AND RELAXATION TIME. my mom will be here and is flying the skies as i type. it is good timing for my mom to be with us, since monday will be a year since my dad passed away.(a year. can't believe it.) i missed my daughter's13 birthday last year as i was in maine at the time so this year we'll make it extra special for her.

tuesday before we head home i will be dropping brooke off at the airport in denver. she is heading out to DC with her classmates for the rest of the week, to get educated. (i'm a nervous wreck about sending her too) my husband says i need to let them (our kids) go at some point to explore the world, but i'd like to tell him-UH, NO. NO I DON'T. even though i know he's right. i can't protect them from EVERYTHING! (some of my anxiety about how i deal with my kids when they are gone away like this, probably was caused from my last post) or maybe it's because i'm a mom and that's what moms do. worry about their kids. whatever the reason, i will say i am excited for her to have this experience and chance to go. i hope she has a blast!

can't wait to start into this long weekend of fun with family. hope your weekend is the same.



~the night angels were with my boy...

ran across this the other day when i was cleaning. it's been nearly 10 years and i still remember this day like it was yesterday. i still get that lump in my throat when i read this. my son was 2-1/2 actually when he wondered out of a hotel room in the middle of the night. i rec'd the call at 8:30 a.m. that they found him and he was placed in a shelter the rest the evening as they didn't know who he belonged too.
i still picture him wondering around in his diaper in the pitch black on the highway while i was sleeping through the whole thing, not even knowing he was out there.
the truck driver that found my son almost hit him. later after talking to the man he said
 "he thought it was a wolf in the road and hit his breaks so hard it stalled his semi truck"
THANK GOD IT STALLED HIS SEMI TRUCK!
THANK GOD HE REALIZED IT WAS A BOY AND JUMPED OUT OF HIS TRUCK
TO RESCUE MY BABY BOY!
the truck driver said he made eye contact with brady when he stepped out of his truck and brady took off running in the field
he chased him and brought him to safety that night.
the only thing brady ended up with is stickers all through his feet from running through the field.
THANK GOD
AND THE ANGELS HE SENT THAT NIGHT TO BE WITH MY BOY!

~lake pictures i came acoss on facebook lake page....the waters getting deeper!

 in 2009(photo from beth fricke)

in 2011(u can see the difference in water levels in just the two years.)

(last 3 photos from roselyn williams)

“Dancing almost always turns out to be a good idea.” ~- Anne Lamott

so again we are wrapping up another end to this years dance season

which brings lots of fun, family, costumes, hair, make-up, photos, time, trophies and tutus.

did i forget money. yes it takes some money too.

this is brooke's 10TH YEAR of dance

yes that's right her 10TH! which means she started at age 3!

(i'm still breathe less when i think of how fast she is growing. i mean next tuesday she is going to DC on a plane in the air with her classmates without her momma!!)

anyway, before i get all emotional on you here are few photo's from the weekend!



brooke front left





brooke after recital with smiles, rose, and trophy.



brady showing big sis some lovin'

headed home.

i literally took pictures from the time we left the house, throughout the dance recital and all the way home(we only live two blocks, but still.) of her because she was so darn cute in the tutu.

i mean how many more years will she be able to pull off wearing a tutu?

~his pad~

 haven't update you on otis lately, so i thought i'd take the time.

• he's growing
• he's getting a little darker on top and on the ears
• he's still naughty at times
• he understands the word NO and will stop doing the bad thing only for a minute when he hears it.
• he's super cute
• super soft
• stolen all our hearts
• IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!!
• loves his momma (a.k.a me) follows me around everywhere.
• hardly barks, but when he does it's so adorable
• he's spoiled rotten
• when he runs, his butt usually gets left behind (because of his length)
• he likes to carry his water dish around with water in it. (this is probably where he learned the word NO!
• he loves movie night and popcorn with the family
• can't jump up on the couch yet but gives it all he has to try.
• wakes up too early on a saturday morning (he hasn't got the memo that this is the day we like to sleep in)
• he loves throwing around his tire rope
• he likes biting toes or fingers
• stealing laundry from the hamper  out of our hands.
• loves the kids stuffed animals he finds in their closets. (they just sit back and let him grab them and run out of room with them) i think it's a game the kids and the dog have. they probably say "just let him take it and mom will yell at him for awhile and not us:)
• he is loved. and so much fun.

to jump or not to jump?

lately his favorite place to hang out is on our ledge??

(maybe he's losing his patience with us, as we do with him sometimes.)

but it's super cute when i cook in the kitchen (<--where else would i cook) he goes to the ledge and sits.

his favorite chew toy that is actually OK to chew.

~date night...with my boys~

 we have a new BBQ place in town. it is wonderful!

i could barely handle my loaded bake potato with rib meat.

it was overflowing with goodness. 

 and my hubby could hardly handle his 3 meat BBQ plate

the meat is so tasty here!

you'll have to excuse him.....i think he's getting a text from his girlfriend.

~her last day of middle school in photos....

~this kid~

high school er!

today is the last day of school here. when the clock strikes 11:30 the final middle school bell will ring for my daughter. middle school is tough for these kids. girls ex specially. so many things going on that you need to protect them from. I HOPE we protect her from. she at least hated us some days, so i think we were on track. for example- the days we wouldn't let her go hang out at the carnival to all hours of the night riding rides. she went with us and left with us. (while her friends where allow to go alone and stay til midnight.) it wasn't fair. live wasn't fair. and we hated her, she thought. (but she's realizing now, it's the complete opposite)

 or when she wanted to go to the movies with a group of girls to watch friday the 13th :) at 9:00(the late show) and then walk home in the dark to get the scary feeling......we again said NO!  We said maybe if you go at 7 and we pick you up inside and you pick a more decent movie. she declined and stayed home (mad)

so today i'm not excited at all that my first born is going to be a FRESHMAN, but i am happy to know we did make in out of middle school still smiling and more grown up then when we started.

~i've been planting these.....

1. and attending graduation parties (we were invited to 9 of them this year) one more to attend in denver in a few weeks.
2. wrapping up kid programs at school. since they only have one more full day....can you believe it? i'm trying to wrap my head around the fact my first born will be in high school.
3. mowing and watering the lawn. yes it's that time again already.
4. packing here and there. while we wait for the house to sell. more about the move here.
5. work has been stressful and causing me to go crazy at times.
6. getting ready for brooke (my firstborn) to go to DC in a few weeks with her class. which is also causing me to go crazy. (why do mom's worry so much, or is it just me?)
7. getting ready for my mom to come for a couple of weeks. can you believe it's been a year since i was last in maine. more about my trip here. can you believe it's been a year almost that my dad has been gone from us.
8. trying to stay caught up on laundry, house work, which is never ending.
9. training otis. i will say i think he is potty trained but trying to work on the chewing habit.
10. trying in the mess and madness of my life to be thankful. thankful for my family to cook and clean for. thank you for kid programs that cause us to laugh and take a moment to watch how much our babies are growing. thankful for beauty of flowers/lawn to mow. trying to be thankful for everything!

~healing rain~

this morning on my way to work i heard this song . while the wind shield wipers were going and the rain was pouring down all around me.

it was a beautiful thing!
wherever you may be broken i pray for healing rain.
for your heart, soul, body or mind.

~how teenagers make their momma's feel special.....

today as i was getting ready for work, my daughter comes in the bathroom and says:

"is it nerd day at your work too"

i gave her THE LOOK (the one every momma has that says you better watch yourself)

and she just gave me the come-on-mom-you-know-i'm-funny smile.

 anywho...here are the real nerds, on nerd day at school today

~your family will love you, cheesecake~

as some of you may know my hubby does NOT like chocolate.....i know weird, right?

he does however heart cheesecake

especially this one

raspberry cheesecake

(or use strawberries if it makes you happy)

1 stick of oleo or butter-melted

1 cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

 mix and put in a 9x13 pan bake at 350 for 15 min.

2-8 oz packs cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

mix these two together. after mixed add 1 small cool whip. spread over the pecan mixture after it has cooled.

1 large box of red jello mix (raspberry) mixed with 2 cups hot water.

stir into jello 1 pint frozen raspberries

spread over cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture.

put in refrigerator until it sets up.

~why she gets a day~

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY ALL YOU MOTHERS!

~if u know me at all~

you'd know my favorite dessert is brownies. soft brownies. warm brownies. brownie a la mode. or these KNOCK YOU NAKED BROWNIES

:)

(i think these would knock me fat not naked)

may 2011 choir/show choir concert~

 is it really may already?? last concerts??



brooke and brady walking to their final choir concert this year
(maybe their final one in this town. house is for sale and headed east a few miles)




b&b
out front before concert.
(i had to beg for this picture of them together)




brooke during show choir show
lion king musical



another show choir shot of brooke

brady a.k.a mr. handsome
can you believe this kid is taller then his momma and older sister?

6th, 7th, 8th grade b&b together (but yet so far away) on stage.

a road trip to ATF...(me & five teens & a bottle of ibuprofen)~



trenton & brady looking cool



mckenna, brooke, alica enjoying their french vanilla goodness.

 lots of traveling and car boredom. but found several ways to entertain


read my lips



      



enjoying cake pops

    
   

sweet niblets

ihop!!

enjoyed tasty drinks

worship

brooke getting ready for the big night.

arriving at the room
are we the only family that the first thing we do in a hotel room is jump on the beds??

alica says "look i'm eating brooke" ???
waiting for doors to open.

swim time

this means war.

brady and trenton and more car boredom.