Cinderella

Broadway here she comes! This last month Olivia was in the school production of Cinderella. She played the part of a town person. Despite the long rehearsals she really enjoyed being in the production. Olivia is a natural performer and is very comfortable on stage. I was sad that we didn't get to see her perform because the last night of the show when we were going to go see her, she was home sick! :(  

Hooray for Liv and developing her talents!

A safe place for Horsey!

Good thing "Horsey" has such a great friend that keeps him warm and safe and brings him along to play on beautiful spring days. Everything is better with Horsey!

Good Citizens

Last week I was invited to an awards assembly where Alex would be receiving an award. He was given an "Outstanding Citizen" award for being a leader and good friend in school. 

Imagine my surprise when Gavin also received the same award! I was so proud of these two boys. (Gavin is in the light blue hoodie on the front row, Alex has the long hair and brown t-shirt on the back row).

Who Knew?

Owen, being a 3 year old, likes to dress himself. Imagine my surprise one morning when he came upstairs dressed in a chinese outfit given to us from our friend Ilon from Taiwan. 

His favorite part was the pockets! 

There are a lot of perks being the youngest of 5. Owen was the finest looking boy at Preschool that day :)

 Happy Birthday DAD!!!

Today is my Dad's 60 something birthday....I think it's 67? Anyway, I thought I would dedicate this blog to him on his birthday. In thinking about my dad I came up with several things that I love about him. My dad is a family person. Family is always number one to him. He will drop anything to help out one of his kids or grandkids. His family has also extended to include several close neighbors and friends. He loves to be surrounded by family.

My dad is hardworking....holy cow, does that man know how to work. He taught me from a young age the value of working hard. Every summer when I was young he would leave a list of chores for us to do. Sometimes I think he just made up chores to keep us busy, like unstacking and restacking the wood pile, or picking up rocks in the backyard. My memories of when I was young is working with my dad on Saturdays in the yard. It was hard work, but I relished spending time with him. And he taught me how to be a good worker.

My dad is a bad-A! but in a very good way. He is tough and prickly on the outside but tender and soft-hearted on the inside. He often gets choked up talking about things that are important to him such as Freedom, Religion, and Family. 

One of my favorite things about my dad is his hands. His hands are big and rough and show that he is always hard at work serving others. He is honest, trustworthy and full of integrity.

When I was growing up I didn't get into much trouble...mostly because I knew that if I did, my Dad would always find out. The worst thing that could've happened is to have my Dad be angry with me or disappointed in me.

My dad is very patriotic. He cherishes our freedoms and respects and honors our country, the men who preserve our freedoms, and finds a connection to these things with our God. He has served many years instilling these values and principles in the youth through the scouting program.

I love that over the years my dad has continually worked to improve himself. He is constantly working on becoming a better person, serving others, and playing with his grandkids. He is always working on becoming more patient and loving. 

I love that he is passionate about his beliefs and can express those passions to others. 

I love that he can do anything. When anything goes wrong in our home my dad is the guy we call to fix it. Since he has been retired I love that we get to spend more time with him. 

I love you Dad and cherish each day we get to have you in our lives. I am so grateful that you have angels that watch over you and protect you. I am thankful for the many lessons you have taught me. I value your opinion and your respect. Thank you for teaching me and helping to shape me into who I am today. Thank you for your many sacrifices over the years. I honor you and love you!

Hope you have a great Birthday!

Aruba

ARUBA!!!

Aruba was amazing! Loved every minute of it, from the beautiful beach, the crazy Carnival celebration, the incredible diving, the absolutely amazing food to the challenging, but fun golf...honestly, what more could a girl ask for in a vacation? 

Seriously, these people know what they are talking about when they say Aruba is One Happy Island! I was surprised by the fact that Aruba isn't a lush, tropical island. In fact it is quite the opposite...dry and deserty with lots of iguanas and lizards. But I found the land to be quite beautiful and captivating all on it's own. 

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am all about the beach! Can I just tell you....Holy Cow! The water was a beautiful turquoise color with soft white sand. There was actually quite a bit of coral on the beach in the water. When we w

ent diving the dive master said that Aruba i

s actually a coral reef that keeps building itself up and pushing up out of the water. This is what causes the dry, deserty conditions. Aruba has no natural water sources and gets very little rain. Because of that they have built a water desalinization plant that takes ocean water and turns it into usable water. We loved the drinking water. It was like perfectly filtered bottled water coming out of the tap. 

We had no idea that we were in Aruba during Carnival. It was so fun to be a part of this celebration. We were told by one cab driver that people spend more time and money on Carnival than any other holiday including Christmas. The costumes were elaborate, the music loud, and the dancing plentiful. I did, however, feel like I had smoked a few packs of cigarettes and was tipsy on the fumes of all the alcohol consumed. Oh, we had fun though!

I think the part I liked the best about Aruba was the people. Everyone was so open and friendly and happy. It was an interesting mix of Dutch, Latin and American influences. The people were beautiful. Aruba is definitely One Happy Island!