Wow the summer is flying by.....AHHH!

Ok its not Aug....This was a post that I was obviously trying to get out before the summer ended but ....it didn't happen because I am now looking at getting Mj Halloween costume ready...haha. YES the summer did fly by...bye bye. Just thought it was funny that I never got back to this post.

So here is some highlights of the past 5 months.

Bo turned 2. What a big day for him. He loves to play with his trucks and loves people he is so friendly where ever we go he says HI and smiles and when we leave he does the same thing with "BYE". I think his hair is getting REDDER every day. He has cute little freckles all over his cheeks. Its not a surprise that people just want to eat him up when we go out. hahaa.

I performed a solo on pointe for the Idaho Falls School of Ballet end of the year show. I am still not at my ideal weight for being on pointe but I wanted to increase my workout in class so I started training again after my last child Bo. What a really fun experience. It the first time I've performed on stage alone in a long time. I have loved being apart of this school. I have more opportunities then I have had in the past with other studios. I believe this school is one of the best schools in Idaho Falls for training and education of Classical Ballet. I am very thankful for being able to teach and learn at this school.

Didn't have very many pictures but here is one of the pictures from the performance. If I can upload the performance I will try My man recorded it for me. as much as he LOVES going.

Mj graduated from Preschool! Yes I know it doesn't seem possible the she could sit long enough to get her diploma but she did in her own little way. She stole the show among 40 kids she kept making the audience laugh. I tried to catch some of the funny things she was doing but it was so dark in the theatre that they didn't turn out all that great. I will post a video if I can get to to upload. Her Nana and grandpa came in from Boise. Nana got a kick out of her for sure.

Barney/Dixion

Empy reunion

Went to some family reunions as always this summer this one was the first for me in a long time. I use to go this side of the families reunions every year up until I was about 14. Our family was the there the last year it ran. They just started meeting for a potluck lunch again a few years back. It was nice to see how many people I didn't even know that I was related to. hahaha. I'd pass them right on the street and never think twice.

My Mare Sassy had a BABY! She is way bigger now and already weened from her mommy but "Gigi" is super cute and very curious about people. I'll be posting more about her I am sure as she continues to grow up.

Lots of fun at parks and playing outside. I posted a few of the fun places we went to all summer.

Jamie came in! Mj loved it. As always when Jamie comes or goes there are always tears evolved. But mj talks about her all the time and love to play with her. Bo talks about her too and shows everyone the bracelets she made for them.




We went to meet my bestee at the Rose Garden in Utah. She got us in with her and her kids. It was well worth the drive there and we are so glad she had planned to do that with her kids that day. My kids loved seeing all the beautiful flowers and hiking. It was a nice break from the norm "shopping".

Mj and I sitting next to a Flower BED...hahaha...get it.

We went to Lagoon. Mj and Bo loved it. My niece came with us to help with the kiddos she had fun playing in the park on her time off from helping. D and I played with the kids until afternoon while my niece rode the rides. We took the kiddos back to my sister in laws house. The kids played with my niece while my Man and I went back on a little date. It was a nice get away.

Bo got to ride more rides this year! He loved them. Its so fun to she your kids learn things in this world. How they are so fascinated by the small things. I've forgotten how special the small things really are as I get roughed around in this harsh world. Kids help you remember JOY in the simplicity of life.



The OTHER amazing thing we did is go to the Katy Perry concert that weekend. We were so excited we got the tickets way back in April. It was an amazing show of course....it is Katy Perry. She is super fun and I think D fell in LOVE. That is all he talked about for weeks after. Still to this day if he sees anything on her he totally stops and looks at it. hahaha.

Why not she totally super cute!!

In August I had a chance to be apart of a Photographing Shoot with 40 + Photographers. It was a great experience. I had so much fun and it was really cool to have so many of them working with you at the same time. We had Professional hair and makeup done for the shoot. There were only 5 models and they were all younger then me by at lest 8 years. So I felt a bit old. But guess what! My photo Won!!! Talk about a nice ego boost right before my 31st birthday. LOVE the one above. The photo of me that won is below. Same photographer as above.

This is from a photographer out of Twin Falls Travis Gadsby. (another one of my favorites) He was the first one to send me photos from the shoot. I have to say I was impressed with the photographers that where quick to post pictures for the models to see their work. It just goes to show who the professionals are that show some grace to the people they work with.


(The Above) Is Not one of my husbands favorites he thinks I look frumpy and like a druggy. haha. When I model it seems you do have to know your angles hahhaa. I have to say I need to make sure this doesn't happen too often. I haven't modeled in a long time I really want to get better at it. Any shoot where I can get the photographer to work with my angles is awesome for my training.

This one is from a photographer out of Idaho Falls. All of the costume was my stuff. (usually not worn this way...hahaha) but I brought a tote or two for the shoot. Just told the host to pick whatever she wanted for her shoot. I was happy that she picked such a rockin' outfit. I love to create Art in any Medium its so fun to be someone else for a day.

Mj started school! We signed her up for the charter school and she won in the lottery! She loves it, well I think I love it more then her. It works with her personality and they really take a personal interest in each child. Their standard of excellence for each student so personalized to each child. I couldn't have picked a better place for her to be.

Mj was having a difficult time adjusting to going to Kindergarten. So we changed up her positive reinforcement at home to get her to stay forced in school. It worked! So the first thing she asked for was to go to the Hoogle Zoo in Utah so she could she the Elephants and Lions. She loved the trip and we had alot of fun too playing with our friends. We staying a hotel one of the nights. The kids loved the pool and I have to say I enjoyed it too. It was a great last trip before the winter. Gotta love Idaho winters.....NOT!

This was one of her favorites.

Don't feel like it.

You know when you just don't feel like postin. You know you should because you have to post about other things that have just happened. Well that's what this is . I needed to post on Easter. It was super fun for my kids I am sure But I really didn't have that great of a time in my personal life during Easter this year. The trip and family time was fun. But every time I think about posting Easter I get a knot in my stomach. I am just getting on with it and posting a few pictures that I liked that I didn't up load on to FB.


Super cute faces and there looks of total wonderment.

Here is our family photo
(thanks to my little niece. Love you!)

We had a really great Easter was really busy but got to see all of my mans fam. Not much time of much else. I wanted to post these because I am going to be doing a new post on 2nd chance prom. So have to play catch up....hahahahaaa.

My name is Con and these are my shoes!

My little girl has pretty much decided from the get go that she is not going to be feminine AT all. So I have let go of my dream of a little girl following in my footsteps as a dancer. Realizing, I may be on the side lines of sports games instead. Sports is something I barley tolerated in school. what can you say when your daughter runs with boys plays with boys dresses like a boy. Something I learned from my mother is "Pick your battles". I want her to be who she wants to be not what I predisposed her to be when she was a glimmer in my eye.

The Soccer Mom life began this year when D had her sign up for local Soccer. She loves it. When I mean "loves it" - she asks me everyday if she has practice or a game. We have learned to not tell her when its game or practice day because she would ask about it so often I felt like I was taking CRAZY PILLS. She has LOTS of energyand she has a very aggressive "Take No" personality. All things that will help her when she gets on the field to play. If she can just stay focus long enough....hahaha.

Here are some shots from the last two games she played. When she walks out to get onto the field she has this really masculine strut. I think I laugh at EVERY single time she does it. Hilarious, by far one of my favorite things about her. I LOVE that she is just knows who she wants to be even at age 5.

Daddy keeping Bo entertained thats a hard job for sure!

Mj and her coach

My lit'le soccer player is cold!

Super excited because she finally scored a goal!

Here is some video of her in action! They're pretty funny to watch.

Found a few things to share!

So I have been looking for these to two books for, lets just say.... while!!! They were lost, one my friend switched me for her suggested book and the other I loaned to a friend, it took a while for her to find it. I loved these book and I try to read them once a year. I am a BIG reader of self help books. Reading about something or an idea that gives me a whole new out look on life is fascinating to me. These are some good reads for sure! I talk about what I think they help with but really they are just good books. They where recommended to me through people I trust like almost anything I pick up to read.



This book is a short book you could read this in like 4 hours. I can not tell who much this book helped me to understand people. So have you ever left a conversion or a situation with someone and felt hurt or frustrated but couldn't put your finger on why you felt bad? Girls can relate to this because in high school its how girls interact with each other....."You wear that so well...I mean I would NEVER wear that but you wear it SO well". Hahaa. Yah I am sure we have ALL had out share of that. But this book teaches you how to deal with people who are this way and how to stop feeling hurt by them.
Side note* If you work in the work place this is a MUST read for you.



This is a book that come out a counciling sessions I had earlier in my marriage. I would have to say is one of the books that changed how I proseved my life and my husband. I think sometimes we wait TOO long before we reach out for help. The time is now for you to understand your spouse. Men love there women to read this book just because of the title. But It really does work! I mean you still have to TALK but a lot less....hahaha. This has some worksheets in it for you to do even so really get down and dirty with learning it completely. Love hands on stuff like that. If your spouse leaves u alone a lot or just always seems to "checkout" or even if you find yourself saying the SAME things over and over....this book is for you!

**GO TO MY BOOK SHELF ON MY SIDE BAR TO BUY THEM FOR YOURSELF!**

Would you like Jell-o with that?

I had forgotten how yummy this childhood treat is! Recently, I decided to go on this "No sugar" Diet for a few weeks to see what I could trim off my arms, waist and inner thy before my Ballet performance in May. It was funny how your mind talks you into how much you NEED sugar. I replaced my naughty treats for more natural one like fruit and honey. The jello was in place of desserts after meals. It was hard and sadly, really didnt see any changes on the scale after a full two weeks. I felt trimmer. On a side note we celibrated with a FREE day were we ended up spending close to 50 dollars on CRAP because we had soooo many treats we had wanted to eat. So the lesson I am taking from this is....Low sugar is a better way to go. I think part of me just wanted to see if I could do it. I like challenges. So now my next quest is to try the low sugar and add a "low carb" diet for a week to see what that does. Its been interesting to try to think of ways to eat things I like more healthy like; tacos and sandwiches ect. I won't see dramatic results in one week but I think I will get down into the twenties. This is where I was before I had my second baby. I'm just looking to firm up some of the last parts of my body that "yes" seem weird for me to be complaining about. I have been told I am ALREADY thin. But I DO have to see myself in a leotard every other day in wall to wall mirrors and every pound I have extra I carry in every leap and bound across the floor. Haaa. The joys for being in love with a demanding art form. So to the average women I seem careless and OC. I would invite my accusers to stand in my stead and see if you don't want to knock a few pounds off for good measure. I knew that Ballet was in my soul and blood at a very young age. Its been a love hate relationship, one that I will never be happy with until I mastered my body and mind. Created a world within it for myself. A space I could be a peace with. This is why I am in my 30s and still dancing. I hope to be dancing when I am 80. The child within me will never die if I feed it and play....bottoms up to the childish treat of Jell-O. jiggle jiggle

Within

Here is one of my new pieces of art work. In the past few weeks I have been battling a few things. "Within"is obviously a picture of myself; it reflects me as Adult with ADHD. Also a mother who has started to see signs of this in her daughter. ADHD was horrible to me in the public school system and socially. I felt helpless to peoples judgments at my in ability to control my focus and my actions. Reticule and abandonment was often too much the response I received from my family members, peers and teachers. People just could figure me out, who could blame them, I couldn't even figure me out. At a very young age I began to know it also was a gift. A wonderful gift of the ability to create, think outside of the box; do things differently then everyone else. My mind could create things some people could only watch in movies or read in books. I began to use different forms of Art as a way to step out of the world and into my own safe place. I found safe places to stand so I could breath in my own skin with out being scared to stand tall. Another gift was the being able to love people so much; I would cry if they cried, feel their sorrow and see them for them for who they really are. In so many words to "Love Much". Over the years of people hurting me and taking advantage of this in me I lost it. I am now seeking to find this beautiful child that I lost so many years ago to this hard world. I feel this represents this battle, one I hope I can help my daughter through without loosing her beautiful wings.

(I will be posting some more art work later of the other thoughts I have been processing in my life lately.)

Meme

Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes a few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

In the past two weeks since my best friends returned from her trip to Cali I have really wanted to go and see her. Its weird how you just know when you need a curtain friends championship. So I began talking with her about going to see her and when would be a good time. We came to the conculition that it may be too difficult at this time with my kids and her schedule to get something going. Plus My Man wasn't too hott on the idea of being alone all weekend. But again the feeling came this past weekend and I can't really explain why I just feel this aching to go. I decided to ride down on the shuttle that my aunt works at because its a good deal and I can relax for most of the trip. I began the process of finding the sitters to watch my kids for the first of the week so that I could stay long enough to make the trip worth going. With no avail I hit a road block and was looking at not being able to go with out dumping my beautiful children on already over whelmed friends and family. I kept thing "I guess you really don't have to go...it is just a spur of the moment trip." I listed under the fact I had not seen her in a few months. I now know that it is something more then that. I have often went several months without seeing her and never really thought to much about the time duration between our visits. Almost as if knowing "I will see her soon..." But this time is different. This morning I received a call for her mother. Urgently asking me to call her back when I got her message. As I said "hello", she began to tell me to not worry about a thing and that she would watch the kids so that I could go see her daughter. Floored because her mother is always busy. This is a women who works most of the time until 2 am in the morning to make sure everything is squared away with business and even takes business on vacations with her to get it done. I gladly excepted. Beaming I called my bestee to tell her (part of me knew she was behind it) she told me over the phone..."I can tell in your voice that you need to come stay with me". She is a childhood friend that has known me through so many different periods of times in my life. They sometimes can see and hear things you have chosen not to listen to. It tugged at my hearts strings and I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. Pausing for a moment feeling that warmth. Its hard to explain the love I have always had for Meme. She is always amazed me with her quick wit, strength to bare her trials and find herself through self reflection. Many things that most people do not do at all or not very gracefully she does all the time. Her "Because life is hard and then you die" attitude has helped me realize its always going to be hard. Life is just hard but you can let yourself be molded when you are tested or let it make you hard. She has became so much more then what I thought she would be when we where in high school. Although I loved her and knew she was strong I feared for her testimony going into the harsh world. She blows me away every time I talk with her about her ideas and thoughts on life. Teaching me through simple things how to manage through the crap life can dish out. I can not wait to spend time just paling around, having 2 hours talks about just one idea.....to a man that sounds HORRIBLE! To a girl that is how we cope, learn and heal. I love my friends and think of them all often. I hold my friends dear and cultivate my friendships as much as I can, with out my husband saying "OK I am here too!"...Hahahaha. Below are a few pictures of my creative and talented close friend.

Meme is a spectacular Jazz and Hip Hop dancer/teacher. She started taking Ballet with me when she lived closer and was improving so much that we took the same classes and she had no problem keeping up. She always pushes herself to be the best at whatever she tries.

In one of my older posts I have a section where I talk about going to see her perform this summer with her new band. She has a beautiful voice, we sung together throughout high school and after. Just recently she decided she was going to learn how to play the acoustic and electric guitar. She is doing so good that she keeps up with the other girls in her band that have been playing longer. She has even started giving me a run for my money on playing with her too. I have had to start practicing more trying to get up so we can play together when we see each other.