Making Beautiful Music

Bella began taking piano a year and a half ago and Kassy followed in the next term. Today they performed in their second piano recital. The recital was held at Legacy Hall in the River Center. The hall was gorgeous and had amazing acoustics. (That actually didn't work out so well when a certain toddler wanted to keep chatting.) The girls were awesome and I'm so proud of the accomplishments they've made and the dedication they've shown in developing this talent. 

The little sisters had to find some way to entertain themselves while we waited to go in. 

RASP Graduation

Sterling is 5th from the left.

RASP: Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. Last August my cousin, Sterling, left home for basic training here at Ft. Benning. In November, I was proud to be able to attend his Basic Training Graduation before he began Airborne training. In December I sat on my car in my driveway and watched the Airborne planes fly over and knew that one of the tiny jumpers was Sterling doing his first jump. On Friday, May 4 he accomplished his ultimate goal: graduating from RASP and becoming an Army Ranger.

So, here's why I admire this guy so much. His dad found a letter that Sterling had written in second grade outlining his path to joining the Army. At 18 years old, only two months out of high school he embarked on the journey. It wasn't easy and he faced a lot of trials, but never gave up. In fact when many would have given up, and no one would have judged him for it, he persevered. The Seargant Major who spoke at the Rasp graduation gave a statistic that 65% of the people who start on the path to becoming a Ranger do not succeed. I also read in the Army Times that an average of only 37% of the initial RASP class will actually graduate. So, it was with a lot of pride and even more awe that I was able to see Sterling graduate. Notice above that they're wearing the typical Army cap and below they've made the switch to the tan beret worn by Rangers.

5th from left again

It's always great to be with family. Above from left to right are Christy and Jon (the proud mom and dad), my cousin David (who I was thrilled to see), me, Adam, and Lindsay (Sterling's girlfriend and the only one able to initially point him out in the crowd.) Unfortunately, Sterling was taken directly back to the barracks after graduation for a safety briefing, so I didn't get to congratulate him personally. 

Great job, Sterling! We love you and admire you so much!

This Moment

{this moment inspired by Soule Mama} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Easter Celebration

Everyone's ready for church in their Easter best. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday at church with talks given by a family each sharing the impact of the atonement on their lives. How grateful we are for this day to celebrate the miracle that ransomed all mankind.

After church we gathered at our house for Easter dinner with Nana, Papa, Adam, Jackson, Charlotte, and the Shutes: Creig, Jenn, Lily, and Maddie. 

The kids ate on the back deck while the grown ups (and Kassy) took the dining room table. The weather was gorgeous, so it was really a shame not to be outside.

It's an Easter miracle! JT managed to get Maya to wear a bib AND sit in her high chair. 

We broke out the lawn chairs and outside games to enjoy our low 70 degree weather. Adam and Bella played a little ladder ball.

Maya and Maddie loved the little chairs. 

The Hunt, Boatwright, and Shute kids teamed up with the neighbors and spent over an hour giving each other wild rides in the wagon. There was a near mishap involving a curb, but I saw disaster coming, raced to the scene, and caught a child before he landed on his head. After a brief safety lecture, the wagon was back in business, just a little slower this time. 

Maya loves "Meena," also known as Nana. 

"Let me fix that for you."

Maya's best friend, Maddie, who she actually calls "Manny." 

My growing-up-way-to-fast girl. Gorgeous, modeling her flower plucked from one of our blooming bushes. 

Bella and Charlotte were lizard sitting for the neighbor while she took a wagon ride.

Easter 2012 exceeded my expectations. It's so amazing how much love and warmth that family and good friends (who we should really just call family as well) bring with them to your home. I'm so grateful for those the Lord has blessed me with. It was a day to celebrate, and we did so in all the right ways. 

Thank You, Easter Bunny

As you can see, the Easter Bunny was very kind to us all. He even tracked down Nana and Papa who were here all the way from Pensacola. I appreciate is educationally minded gift of books. We've enjoyed several good reading sessions thanks to the new additions to our library.

We might have managed to get a little breakfast into them before church. Unfortunately, no matter how fast we made breakfast, the candy feast took place much quicker. 

Happy Easter Egg

April 7, 2012

It's the day before Easter, the traditional day for Easter Egg hunts in our family. This year we joined our friends, the Shutes, for the hunt at their apartment complex. 

The Easter Bunny made an appearance, so we came a little early just in case, maybe, possibly one of my girls would sit in his lap and let me take a picture. As usual, no go. Screams emanated from their little mouths if we even walked in his direction. So, we hung back by the snack table where the kids munched on goodies and enjoyed gazing at E. Bunny from a distance, a good, safe distance. 

In a flash the hunt began with little kids heading for the closest eggs and the big kids directed to those further away. I led Aria and Ava through the crowd and Kassy was Maya's assistant. 

The Hunt Girls plus one. Bella's friend Lizzie slept over the night before and came along with us. When you already have six, what's one more girl?

Time to break into the loot. There was no shortage of the sugar. In fact, we had so much candy that after we got home I gathered a dozen eggs and smuggled them next door to our neighbor to include in her egg hunt. 

 The whole Hunt gang.

Meanwhile, A Little Geocaching

I'd read about geocaching several years ago in a Family Fun magazine and it was one of those things I thought sounded fun and we'd have to try one day. Geocaching is defined as "a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity." Recently, a desire to spend more family time in the great outdoors led me to look further into it. After reading a few tips, rules, and guidelines on a geocaching website we decided to try our hand at it. Flatrock Park is the first place we decided to try it out. After picking our first hunt from geocaching.com, we entered the co-ordinates into my GPS and set out. We weren't successful with that first hunt and decided to come back to it later. I decided to download a geocaching app on my iPhone, that made the whole process a little more fun and, truthfully, easier. 

I had the girls stop and pose at the top of the cliffs at Flatrock as we searched for our first cache. Even though it was a no go, the hunt was fun and it was a gorgeous hike. 

After downloading the app on my phone, we had success! Search number 2 lead us to "Tweety's retreat" where we signed the log and traded a sand bracelet for a wounded warriors pin. We were out of time and headed home after this one. 

The next week, on Bella's birthday, with iPhone in hand, we went back to find that illusive first cache. Didn't take us long to find it stashed under this rock. See it tucked underneath? We had walked right by it several times before.

For this one we traded a star eraser for a glass stone. 

Success had us fired up so we decided to find another one. This one required a little more of a hike. It was perfect. With a goal in mind there was no complaining about going uphill or how far we were walking. Kassy located this one.

Our trade this time was a magnet for a plastic lizard. 

A few weeks later we were the only ones to show for a playgroup at the park. The kids were a little disappointed, so I pulled out my phone, opened the geocaching app, and in a few minutes we were on a hunt and having fun. So, turns out we've found a favorite past time. We enjoy the great outdoors, spend quality time together, come out with little treasures, and after the initial purchase of the app, it's free!