Olympic Day 2012

So glad I could take a few hours off work to spend Olympic Day with this cutie!

(I figure there are only so many more times she will actually WANT me to come, so I better grab the chance while I still have it!)

Frisbee throw...

Long jump...

(LOVE this picture!)

With one of her BFFs, Kelsey, for the 3-legged race

Rubber-chicken relay

Sack race...

Although it was HOT and there was NO SHADE, I still wouldn't have wanted to be anyplace else!

Love you, my sweet little athlete!  :)

Spring Band 2012

Time for the end-of-year concerts and celebrations! 
Yeah!!!  We've almost made it through another great year!

This year was Abby's first year of band, and she did a fabulous job!  She loves playing the flute and loves the friends she is making in band!

With Meemaw and Papa after the concert...

With mom and dad...

With good friends and fellow flautists Maddie and Allison...

With one of her band teachers, Lynn Wise

Eeek...another TEENAGER!!!

I cannot believe that I have another teenager!

It literally feels like she was just born, and now Abby is 13!!!

She wanted to have some girlfriends over for a sleepover. so we had five extra girls for the night.  They were so great, though, and had so much fun together that I would gladly do it again!

Her birthday was on Friday, April 27th this year--the day of the big Rose Parade.  We brought these four lovely girls home with us after school and they hung out for a little bit, then we headed to Chick-fil-a for some dinner and then went to the parade and street dance afterwards.  (The fifth friend was part of the Pavo "Royalty" on a float so she joined us after the parade.)

 Emily, Elena, Kaitlyn, Maddie, and Abby

Some of the girls couldn't resist the "hat lady" who always sells these fun hats to the parade crowds.

Presents back at home!

Her FAVORITE snack--pretzel m&m's--from Emily and Shelby.

(They were gone in less than a week!)

Some of the "loot" Abby got this year.

"Happy Birthday to Abby!"

These girls need to stop growing up so quickly!

I sure am a lucky mom to have Abby as my daughter!

Rose Bud 2012

This year's Rose Bud Parade was April 26th.

With no other marching commitments, all of the girls were able to walk (dance) with Dance Academy.

They looked so cute dancing down the street.  They were moving so fast, though, that it was hard to get very many good pictures.

The approach...(Shelby is in the front on the far left)

Shelby (obviously not knowing I was taking a picture) walking with her friend Amanda

I had told the girls all afternoon, "When you get to me, PLEASE look at me and smile so I can get at least one decent picture."  See Abby doing just what I asked BEHIND EMILY"S ARM?!? 

(I think maybe I'll just give up on trying to get parade pictures in the future and just have fun watching them be in the parade!)

A backside shot...Abby and Emily are the ones with cute pink ribbons in their ponytails.

Finally a shot of them all looking and smiling at me (in front of the Rose Show tent)!

A Joyful Noise

Emily had her piano recital this year on April 22nd. 

Once again she did such a great job on the two pieces she performed!

Emily and Mrs. Lisa Lewis, her amazing piano teacher

So glad Meemaw and Papa can come to these things!

Our happy family...with a proud mom and dad!

I am so glad that Emily loves playing so much!  It is never a struggle to get her to practice, and she is wanting to continue next year even though she is also planning to join the band. 
It will be another busy year ahead!

Trav turns 43!

What a way to start your birthday...sleeping in followed by a visit from these beauties!  :)

GIFTS!!!

A new Gator Columbia fishing shirt...

(it helps when you go to Bass Pro and get to choose your own gifts!)

Make a wish, birthday boy! 

We sure do love this man, and hope he has many more wonderful years ahead!

Easter Sunday

While we tried to fit all of the "fun" stuff into Saturday, the baskets didn't quite get done, so the girls did their usual basket search on Sunday morning before church.

Shelby's a little more ready to smile today!

Emily with her still-sleepy eyes

Abby and her basket full of goodies

Over spring break, the girls and I went shopping for new Easter dresses for them.  They were so good about choosing ones that were modest (getting harder and harder to find) and not too expensive. 

I think they all looked BEAUTIFUL!!!

Abby

Shelby

Emily

When I see them like this I realize that they are all growing up WAY TOO FAST!

Easter Saturday

This year we tried to break Easter up into two separate days--the day for "fun" and the day to remember why we truly celebrate Easter.

On Easter Saturday we had fun coloring eggs.

 (I was ready to give this up, but the girls insisted!)

Abby being silly

Emily with a colorful one!

Shelby being 15! (too cool for this)

Then we went outside for our egg hunt.

We didn't use any of the real ones for hunting...just for eating!  :)

We hid enough eggs for the girls to each find over 50 EACH!
That was a LOT of candy for Travis and me to hide inside each one!

Abby's ready to hunt!

Shelby finding one in the bushes.

With over 150 eggs, we ran out of hiding places and just put some on the ground covered with leaves.  Here's Emily finding one of those!  :)

The girls with their "special prize eggs"
(This year is was a coupon good for a souvenir when we go to Discovery Cove/Sea World later this month.)

We finished the day with a delicious steak dinner with mom and dad--

YUM!!!!!

So lucky to have such an amazing family!

The Other "P" Word...

From the time I met him, Travis has claimed to be lacking in the patience department.  I think over the 18 1/2 years we've been married and the three girls we have (two of whom are now teenagers), he has definitely been forced to work on being more patient!

However if he does lack patience (and I'm not saying he does), he certainly does not lack that other 'p' word...PERSISTENCE!  He will always finish what he starts, and that is an excellent quality to have in a husband!

A few weeks ago, he pulled out a puzzle I bought for him YEARS ago (like when we still lived in Naples).  It was a monster 1500 piece thing with lots of blue.  Well, bit by bit, it came together.  Everytime I saw him work on it, I would want to help, but knew I would get too frustrated.  He kept at it every evening, and pretty soon it was finished!

Here he is with his masterpiece!  (See that look of pride?!?)

A close-up...

It is now on the floor in the computer/piano room waiting for me to find a frame.  No way we are taking this apart and having to do it again!  :)