A wonderful Mother's Day

I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day today. It started off a little shaky, with Rachel being sick. I even got mad at her at one point in the morning because she had come downstairs instead of staying in bed. Turns out she came down to give me my present, which made me feel bad for being hard on her. The girls gave me a copy of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (I am current working my way through all of her books), and Greg gave me some beautiful flowers. The afternoon brought a wonderful dinner, a text message from Melissa (who was working and couldn't call) and a 40 minute call from Joe. It was wonderful to hear his voice! It probably was one of the best mother's day presents I have ever gotten. Although I know that his mission is a wonderful thing for him and our family, I do miss the ability to talk with him whenever I want. The emails are great, but being able to talk in real time and hear his laugh again was quite a treat. And since I had been able to get the day off of work, his call helped to wrap up an excellent day!

Festival of the Falls

Today Erin's middle school band competed at the Festival of the Falls. I had planned my day so I could attend. Usually I am always running behind schedule and rushing to get places on time. But today I actually left with plenty of time to spare. I got to Cy Ridge High School and parked about 15 minutes before her band was set to start warm ups. As I walked around the school looking for an unlocked door, I was thinking about how I would probably have to go to the front desk and ask for directions to the auditorium because I had never been in Cy Ridge. It then occurred to me that the Festival of the Falls is held at Cy Falls High School and not Cy Ridge. I couldn't believe I had gone to the wrong high school. So I hurried back to my car and headed over to Cy Falls. Once again I was rushing to be on time. But luckily, I started out on this brain lapse adventure early enough that even with my mistake I made it to the competition in plenty of time. So I was able to relax for a few minutes before Erin's band performed. They played 3 pieces and were absolutely amazing! It really was hard to believe they were a Middle School band. I was so glad I was able to attend!

A day in Austin

Melissa is finished with finals and planning to stay in Austin this summer, so I decided it was time for me to go spend the day with her. I caught a morning flight on Monday, and we had a great time eating and shopping. That evening Mellisa had her FHE group over for their last meeting of the school year. She has been the FHE Leader for 2 yrs now and has really enjoyed her calling. They sounded like a very fun group (I was in the bedroom reading while they met), so I can understand why.

After FHE wrapped up, Melissa and I went to the movie Baby Mama, which we both thought was pretty funny. I then spent the night and caught an early flight home on Tuesday. It was a really good visit. I can't believe she has been in school three years already and will graduate next year. Who knows where life will take her then. But where ever it does, I know she will be amazing! I love her and love spending time with her, and feel blessed that she is not only my daughter, but also my very good friend.

Band trip to Dallas

This weekend Rachel went on her band trip to Dallas. The work part of the trip was competing in the Lone Star Showcase of Music. All 3 Cy Creek bands won their division and the Symphonic Band (Rachel's) received Straight First Divisions, Best in Class for Varsity 5A bands, and Best Overall Band. Yea! After the competition part of the trip was over, the party began. They enjoyed an evening at Medieval Times (which was very entertaining even though Rachel had been there before), visited the JFK Museum (which was interesting for about 10 minutes), and then went to Six Flags in Arlington. It was a quick trip (so quick they didn't get to miss a day of school--a disappointment for all the band members), but it everyone had a lot of fun and came home very tired!

Rachel and her best friend Lauren










Medieval Times Show










With Chris at Six Flags

My silly dog

Let me start off that I love my dog. I really do. But some days I wonder what I was thinking when I wanted a puppy for Christmas in 2006. Dakota is a sweet dog, but she is a shredder. She loves to shred paper, socks, stuffed animals and has also been known to chew up pens and pencils. It is a habit we have tried to unsuccessfully break her of, and so we have had to resort to keeping the bedroom doors closed during the day. If we don't, she always seems to find something interesting to steal and shred. Well, this morning I apparently did not get my door shut tightly. I came walking through the living room to find Dakota playing on the stairs with a spool of yarn. She would throw it down the stairs, retrieve it and run back up the stairs and start again. It was so cute I decided to let her keep playing with it. The next time I walked by, I discovered that she had not been content with just tossing the yarn around. Instead, she had worked her way through the yarn and managed to shred the cardboard spool it was on. Such a naughty girl! I guess that will teach me not to let her keep things she has stolen!