The Dancing Girls!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Comments

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Your girls are looking so grown up. Where does the time go??
Suzanne; September 10, 2008 at 1:12 PM
Beckie said...: i know. They just won't stop it!; September 11, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Is seeing Twilight 3 times a little excesive??
I loved the pics you sent me from Thanksgiving . I looked at them and the next day got booted off my email. Could you send them to my new email add.
I can't believe how old Abbigail looks in the pic of the two of you. I think it is positioning too. She looks so big angled in front of you.; December 4, 2008 at 7:49 AM

Hip Hop

Well, I decided to become healthier. I have started an Adult Hip Hop class through the kids dance studio and last night was my first time. Let me just say it about killed me! I had been out of town for three days, just gotten back and hadn't eaten dinner. Needless to say, i will now be eatting before class. Exercising like that w/o eating is noooooo good. I about passed out. Of course, on top of that I am really out of shape. I have been trying to just make better choices but it is so hard when I loveeee food so much. I say "i think I can" a lot. :)
The girls school is going great! They love their teachers and we are back in full swing of things. We have dance M-Th which is an adjustment. Girl Scouts starts next month, choir starts sometime soon and Abbigail wants to do Orchestra now. WOW - I am going to have to learn to say NO. I just love all of the activities that they want to do. Nutcracker practices start this Saturday and run every Saturday until December when the performance is. So, let's see - we have Friday's. Sunday's is church which I work at every Sunday and then we will have puppet practice on Sunday evenings for Abbigail and then choir right after for both of them. Wow, I am always ready for school but then when it starts, I think "Oh My"

Updating

I am finally getting around to updating the blog site. I have a hard time keeping up with it for some reason. However, I encourage you to open a facebook account as I update very regulary on there and post more photos. If you open an account, just request me to be your friend on there and then you can see everything.

We have been very busy since the last time I was on here. We had vacation in Omaha where we went to the College World Series, the Zoo, and then a drive through zoo and museum. It was a lot of fun. The girls then went to church camp for four days. They had a ball, five girls from church went together. This summer the girls have also been doing some camps during the day at Unique Creations - which is a pottery style store that lets them make things. Then we have VBS this week. Samantha has been playing softball also this summer. She LOVES the sports. This weekend Sam and I have a floating and camping trip. It never slows down.

Dance, Dance, and more Dance

Today was dance recital photos. This is always a big day because we have five dances and so five photos. Only four changes! Only 4 b/c Dad's dance is the fifth dance and the girls can wear one of the costumes from the other dances. Samantha does Ballet and Tap and Abbs does Jazz and Ballet. This is Abbigail's fifth year of dance and Samantha's second. We love the dance studio and the people there. Next weekend is Nutcracker try-outs and we are anxious to see what parts they get. Sam and I will once again grace the stage in the Nutcracker as well.

Weekend here I come

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us. We have finally gotten the rock set outside to outline our "flower bed" that is minus any flowers. We have four bushes and will need to buy more. Sam has worked hard on it and I truly love him for it. I hate lifting and let's face it, rock is heavy. I have added some new pictures from the Magic of Chemistry Girl Scout day. I have a new blog for our girl scout troop (located on the blogs of interest on here). I also added pictures from the Blues game we went to. Our friends from Omaha came down. We have started going to the end of the season games with them each year. This year Sam surprised me with seats that weren't all the way up. In fact, we went up and I turned to Sam to ask where our seats were and he handed me the ticket. When I looked I realized, they were downstairs. He laughed b/c I would never have suspected.

We are heading up to KC on Saturday this weekend. We are going to look at cars for me. I am very excited! Graduation present time and I am having a great time looking. I really am hoping to find a car up there and just come home with it but reality will probably set in and that won't happen. HA.

One long week

It is finally Wednesday and I couldn't be happier. That means just two more days to the weekend. It has been a long week at work. Really, work has been pretty stressful for a while now and next week will be another week like this. So, I cherish the times when I am not at work. Since I am now completely finished with school, the house projects have started. We have painted Samantha's room and I am now completing touch ups. Sam has painted her furniture and we will hopefully get the room back together. We are also starting on the yard now. Slowly making changes. Sam has been laughing because all of the sudden there is less stress and things have been more peaceful. He couldn't figure out what changed and then we both laughed and realized, school is done for me. The girls are excited about Easter this weekend however, it will be a hard one. We have a memorial service to go to which promises to be difficult for all of us. Then we will spend the day with my brother and sister-in-law in Columbia. I am looking forward to that. I enjoy getting to spend time with them.

Thursday night we will be going to church and my dad is singing. I always enjoy getting to hear him sing. For those of you who have heard him sing, you understand. Last weekend we went to Hope, MO (never had heard of it before that) and heard him sing (solo) at a church. It was beautiful.

Friday we are heading to a Blue's game with our friends from Omaha. I am really looking forward to this. Off work at noon and then an early start to a fun weekend. Every year we go to a Blue's game with our friends from Omaha. We are going to head to Omaha this summer for about 4 days. We love going up there.

It's official

It's official, I have finished my Masters program! YEAH! It has been a crazy 2 1/2 years of hard work but well worth it. It is just now sinking in. Things have been extremely stressful this last month with dealing with crazyness at work (or I should just say more of that) and then dealing with loss in our family. The news of passing my test and the completion was just what I needed. It took me a good week to feel excited about it and I have started celebrating. Last weekend with a fun lunch with family, then out Tuesday night with friends from work. Get ready b/c in May, we will be having a get together to celebrate!

Friday

Thank goodness Friday is over. I am very happy we made it through. Friday was extremely busy for us. I had my comps. I am glad they are done and I feel good about them. Abbigail had Battle of the Books. She had gotten first place from her school (only 2 4th graders made it on). She went to the Battle on Friday and this was the competition for teams from each school to battle against each other. Abbs' team did very well but didn't place. She had a ball and wants to do it again next year. We were very proud of her. Sam got to go as did Nana and Papa. I didn't get to since I was in Warrensburg taking my test. However, I got to watch practice on Thursday at school. Then Friday evening brought the school supper and the Drama Club performance. Abbs is in the drama club and had a great time at the performance. Needless to say, we are all quite wiped out today. Today was Samantha's last Basketball game and then we went out shopping. For Samantha's b-day we are painting her room so we had lots of stuff to get. Then tonight we are heading to dinner in Columbia with my brother and his wife, my aunt, cousin and my folks. We get to see the nursery for my brother. They found out last week that they are having a boy so of course we had to go out and get gifts! HA. I am very excited. For those of you who don't know, Bill is my only sibling so I have been missing out on being an Aunt on my side of the family. I am very happy and excited.

Hotel Poplar Bluff

I am sitting in a hotel tonight in Poplar Bluff. Thankfully it is only a one night stay. I have two staff here so I sometimes have to come down and touch base in person. I hate the drive though, it is very long (a little over 4 hours one way). The girls were not happy that I left. I was gone all last week for death investigations training. While it was interesting for the most part, it was very long!

Last weekend we started basketball season again. It was fun to see Samantha playing again. Samantha plays with her best bud on the team and has several kids on there that she knows so it is a lot of fun. She made two baskets and it was so fun to watch her do high fives with her friends. Abbigail started drama club today and when I talked to her earlier, she said she enjoyed it. So now we have before and after school activities (Choir and Drama Club) on top of the regular activities that aren't associated with school. Apparently the 4th graders start this at our school. While we are busy every night of the week, now we have 7:35 AM choir and 3:15 drama club. I complain sometimes but the girls love it so I of course do as well.

Christmas

We have made it through another Christmas. I love Christmas time which is funny since I hate snow and wintertime. I don't put them together and that works for me. We started off Christmas Eve by working, yuck. After work, we headed to Union to my in-laws home. It was very nice but was cut short because Sam was paged to work. His staff called in sick and when he called her back, she refused to talk to him. This was on top of having done this before and was grounds to be fired, Merry Christmas to her. Needless to say, we had to leave way early from Robin and Lynn's house. I was pretty upset at the thought of Sam having to work all night and not getting home till 8 AM on Christmas morning. On the way home, I drove and Sam made phone calls. About half way into the trip, he was able to get someone to work for him and he didn't have to go in....THANK GOODNESS! Christmas Day was at our house. The girls got up at 6AM. We opened Santa presents and then presents from us. I just love watching them, they are so fun. Then my parents came over around 7:30 and we did presents from Nana and Papa. We had 12 people at the house for Christmas and it was great. My brother and his wife, Grandma Ernestine, My Aunt Jodi, Uncle Gary and Cousin Jessi. It made for a great day!
Friday was a Christmas at my Aunt Jodi's house. My cousins family from Kansas City came in and we did Christmas there. It was very nice and we had a great time. After that I had 2 cousins come home and stay the night with the girls. Then on Saturday, the girls headed off to Kansas City with our cousins until New Years Day. I think I am having withdrawl from my children, I am really missing them. However, I talked to them tonight and they are having so much fun going to movies, playing, doing crafts.....etc.... It is like Christmas Camp for Cousins! I had to work at church this morning until noon and then Sam and I spent a couple hours shopping and then off to cleaning and getting ready for work tomorrow......sigh.

Life during the holidays

Well, let's see....where was I last I wrote. Things have been pretty nutty around our house. We made it through the first weekend in December but then I got sick. A cold or something that I had for about a week turned into strep throat and an infection of other sorts on top of. I finally have gotten over it for the most part and now Sam has it. I think Samantha may be starting as well. I can hear her in the living room as I type coughing a deep cough. Oh, if we can only make it through Christmas.......
Last week, Abbigail's class went shopping for toys for a local daycare. Her class decided instead of getting their teacher gifts for Xmas, they would donate money and adopt a daycare. This daycare is one that is a low income daycare so it was a very good cause. It was also a great lesson for the kids. Abbigail wanted to donate her own money. She had $15 saved up and decided to donate it to the cause. I was very proud of her as this was completely her own decision. Then last week their class went shopping for toys at Target. I was sick so Sam went and there are some great pictures. It looks like they had a great time.
Today there is no school due to bad weather so I am working from home. The girls are excited but I think they will probably veg on the couch today or play on the computer. It is to cold to go outside as it is around 10 degrees and I don't want to chance adding to colds.
I think I have my Xmas shopping almost done. I have around 2 gifts left to get but for the most part, I am done very early compared to years before. Xmas is at our house this year and I am very excited about it. We have my brother and his wife coming, my aunt, uncle and cousin, Sam's grandma and my mom and dad. It should be a great day. Sam is cooking and my cousin, who just returned from 2 1/2 months backpacking through Europe, is bringing some items she learned to make along the way. My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby and it is very early on but of course I have presents under the tree for Baby Gibson.
One thing the girls and I have done for the last couple of years is watch a Christmas movie, the Navity Story together. I am looking forward to it this year as each year they can process it more and understand the meaning of Christmas. I think it is very important for them to understand the true meaning. We are very involved in our church and Samantha just received her Bible last month (3rd grade Bible Sunday). The 3rd graders go through a series of classes from Sept to Dec. and then get their Bibles. I am the Sunday School Superintendent for our church so I got to present to Samantha this year and Abbs last year. That was pretty cool.
Other things going on: Last week I took the Girl Scout troop and we rang bells and collected money at Wal-Mart in Jeff City for the Salvation Army for two hours. It was so much fun. I had 6 girls show up and 3 moms. We had a CD player and played Xmas songs, the girls sang and some even danced. It was a great lesson for them. I came home and told Sam that I think this would be a great thing for our family of 4 to do each year. My girls, through Sunday School, are collecting money for the rice bowl organization which gets the money for kids who don't have food in other countries.
I think that is about it for now.....I have gone on long enough and everyone has probably quit reading :)

Another insane weekend

Well, this weekend was no exception to the non stop life we lead. Friday night was filled with downtown living windows. For those of you not aware of what this is, this consists of the downtown turning into shop windows with actors, dancers, singers, puppets, etc. inside the windows. You can walk downtown and look at all the different windows, buy hot choc and cookies, shop, take hay rides through downtown, etc. It is very neat but it was sooooo cold. Abbigail and Samantha danced this year in the windows. Abbigail has danced for a couple of years in the windows but this was Samantha's first year. She was so excited! They both did an excellent job. This was also the first year that my dad didn't sing in living windows. For years my dad was a part of a singing group called the Missourians. They would dress in dated attire and sing carols at one of the banks. It seemed odd to me this year to not see him singing. For those of you who have had the privey of hearing him sing, it is beautiful!
Then on Saturday the girls had rehersal for their church program and we had the Christmas parade. I have decided that I probably shouldn't have walked in it as I am feeling more sick today than I did a couple days before. I have a cold that I just can't seem to shake and today my throat is really hurting and I just feel ughhhh. Saturday night I took my last final! YEAH!!! I just have my big test in February and that is it. Sam took the girls Xmas shopping Sat. night so that I could do my final and then I fell over and slept till Sunday. To which was a rough day all around. Sam's step granddad passed away a couple days ago and the services were all Sunday. He got up and drove to Kirksville area for this and I choose to stay with the girls as they had a big program to perform in. We knew we wouldn't be able to be back for it and the girls needed one of us there, so it was only logicial for me to stay. However, I feel very sorry that I didn't get to go.
The girls did have their program at the church and it went very well. I think this was my favorite of all they have done. Abbigail had one of the lead roles and a solo. So, she was very entertaining to watch. She had several lines and was very funny. She was the Head Cheerleader and a Shepard in the show. Samantha was a cheerleader and had a duet in the show. She had some lines that she would say with the other cheerleaders who all happened to be good friends of hers so it was very funny to watch. At one point she got to do the splits which made her very happy.
Needless to say, I have had this cold for about a week now and tonight I feel pretty awful. thinking that I might have to visit the doctor tomorrow if still feeling this yucky.......

Thanksgiving

Today was a wonderful Turkey Day. There are so many things to be thankful for. Family, Friends, Work, Home, Church, etc. In this day and age, it is always nice to be able to stop and think of how lucky we are.

Every year for Thanksgiving we go to Sam's grandma and grandpas house in the valley. Usually anywhere from 50 to 100 people are there. It is always very exciting and fun. The girls have a great time running with their cousins and we enjoy getting to hang out and catch up with all the family. I got some great pictures from the day which I will put on here.

I am going to head out at 4 in the morning and go shopping. I wasn't sure if I would go this year or not but I decided, it is tradition that my mom and I go and how can I break that. Those are 2 of my favorite things: My mom and shopping. This year my brother is joining us to start looking for baby things. Hint Hint on what I couldn't share earlier in the blog. :) My girls are both going as well. This should turn out to be very interesting! I told the girls we were going to have to come home and take a nap for sure tomorrow afternoon.

The Dancing Girls!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

3 comments:

About Me

Blog Archive

Blogs of Interest

Hip Hop

1st day of school

Hermann

Hermann

The gang

The gang

Samantha

horse riding

Abbigail

Smores Time

Swimming in the Creek

Abbigail at the Valley

The 4 Monkeys

Zoo trip

Updating

Up to bat

getting ready to bat

Slammin' Sammie

Samantha's team picture

Mud Pit at camp Jo-Ota

Camp Jo-Ota

the girls at camp Jo-Ota

Samantha's favorite sparkler picture

Abbigail's favorite sparkler picture

Abbigail fishing

Abbigail's first cath of the day

Samantha's first catch of the day

Samantha fishing

End of the night - worn out

The Girls

Abbigial singing her solo

Samantha at Mad Camp

Dad's dance

Dad's dance

Abbigail

Samantha

Dad's Dance

Brian

Ernestine and Beckie

MVP - Albert

Ball Game

The girls

Dance, Dance, and more Dance

Abbigail in jazz

Abbigail in jazz run through

Samantha in tap

Samantha in tap

Samantha in tap run through

Abbs in Ballet

Abbigail in Ballet

Abbigial in Ballet run through

Samantha in Ballet

Samantha in Ballet

Sam, Abbs and Manthy getting ready for Dad's dance photos

Picture day for dance

My new car

Weekend here I come

Samantha

Abbs and her new monkey

The girls

Celebration time

Hanging with the gang from Omaha

Berney - Samantha got his autograph

Samantha decked out

We found it, Platform 9 3/4

Samantha and Mattie

Magic of Chemistry

Magic of Chemistry

Magic of Chemistry

Magic of Chemistry - Girl Scouts

Magic of Chemistry

Samantha and Abbigial at Magic of Chemistry

One long week

It's official