The senior year begins...

Cory in his FCCLA sweater...what a handsome guy!

Lots of fun and hard work ahead during his senior year. Hopefully he will take time to savor these last few months of youth.

Everyone is always in such a hurry to grow up, but then spends the rest of their life trying to be a kid.

So cute...

Slim and Trim

Ashley, Bryan and I are all on a weight loss kick.

Ashley and I joined Weight Watchers the first of June. Ashley has almost reached her 10% weight loss goal of 16 lbs. I have lost 13 lbs so far. Still have a way to go...but as long as we keep losing it is exciting!!

Bryan has lost 15 lbs just by eating similarly to us, and working out a little more than he had been.

Pretty soon no one will recognize us. :O)

So excited to see the Half-Blood Prince...

We are going this weekend and I cannot wait!!

I know that the movie has received mixed reviews, but I am confident that I will love it as a true fan of the series. I hope that it is as dark as the book. So excited!

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I did love the movie, but it was a little disappointing. There were important parts of the book that were not in the movie, and then there was a part in the movie that was NEVER in the books. Strange.

Hopefully the next movies will be better. Hmpf. Still a Harry Potter fan!

Heather's Going Back to School!

I just heard that Heather is going back to school and am so excited for her...and so proud. Education is so powerful.

Strut Your Mutt 2009

Last weekend Ashley and I volunteered at Strut Your Mutt in the Dog Pack registration tent.

It was so fun to see all of the sweet dogs...my very favorite part. I love all kinds of dogs...big ones and little ones, old and young.

We saw a three-legged Greyhound that looked as happy as can be and another dog with wheels on his back end. He went around the whole course with his mom and seemed very happy too. That's one of the most wonderful things about dogs is that they live in the "present", they don't worry about what they don't have.

Such a fun day!

I Finally Did It !!!

It has been a long time in coming...almost 25 years since I began in fact...and finally the journey is over...GRADUATION!

Today was one of the best days of my life, but it took its place in order of importance where it should...after my wedding day, after the birth of my daughter Ashley and son my son Cory.

Of course, there are a million other fabulous things that my family accomplishes on a daily basis that take precedence over my own pursuits and I guess like any Mom, I put myself in last place sometimes.

I really appreciate my family for helping me to see that it was ok to move myself into first place for a little while. They are the best!!

Now I look forward to going back to the role of Mom...cheerleader for the rest of the family.

FCCLA Officer 2009-2010

Cory was selected as a state officer for FCCLA (Family Consumer Community Leadership Association) 2009-2010.

He is very excited about the opportunity to represent not only his school but the state during his senior year. He will have the opportunity to travel to Washington DC, Nashville, and many other meetings around the state with youth leaders.

We received a call from the high school principal the day after he was elected, letting us know how much he enjoys having Cory at the school; what a great influence he has on other students; and how happy he was that Cory has this opportunity.

We are very proud of Cory too and can't wait for the rest of the world to see what a great leader he can be.

Olympic Speedskating Star

This week I had the opportunity to meet Olympic speed skating star Derek Parra. We had the opportunity to meet him because our instructor is connected to USA speed skating.

During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he earned a gold and silver medal in long track speed skating. He now coaches both short and long track speed skaters and is also a motivational speaker.

It was really neat to hear his story of how he became involved in skating as a roller skater, and then transitioned to inline skating and later to ice skating in pursuit of an Olympic dream. He was very down to earth, nice and approachable.