NCA Weekend!

A couple of weekends ago, we took a drive to freakin' Dallas.  I say freakin' Dallas because I hate that drive...so much.  And we do it E.V.E.R.Y year.  Every year.  And every year we say we hate it, why do we do it?  Etc, etc... We do it because CHEER.

Well, on Jan 22 and 23rd the high school teams went to compete. 

2 weeks prior to the comp, all 3 girls got sick.  All 3 got tested, but only K testes positive.  This meant that she could not go to practice-which meant that she got pulled from the routine.  She was cleared 1 day before they left for the competition.  She was upset.  She had been to practice every single day and worked hard, only to be pulled.  Thanks a lot COVID!  Leanna also missed 6 of her practices.  And she got put back in a couple, i mean a couple, of days before leaving for the competition. She was only in one of the 2 Varsity competitions.  She was very nervous, because she missed so many practices.  But the comp must go on...so, off to Dallas they went.  We got to go to the high school to do a small send off.

NCA Nationals is 2 day competition.  On day , JV did amazing.  Varsity had 2 routines; Leanna was only part of the UIL routine.  In both they had a few bobbles and some stunts did not go up.  But since the 1st day's score only counts as 25%, they could still bring it up.  The next day, JV killed it...and ended up winning 1st place.  Varsity did great on the 2nd day.  In both routines, they were able to climb up from the previous day.  They placed 3rd in the NCA routine, and placed 5th (out of 21) in the UIL routine.   It was a late night driving home, but we left with happy hearts. And we were glad to be leaving Dallas.  Below are Leanna's action shots and K with the trophy and banner. 

See you in a few weeks for All-Star Nationals!

The "Baby" is a Teenager

 The last teenager of the house-Mia finally turned 13.  She's the baby, and now she's a big teenager-how can it be?  

Well, her birthday fell on a Friday.  So the obvious thing to do was to have dinner with her friends.  She chose Sweet Paris as the place to celebrate.  It's a cute little trendy creperie that my girls enjoy going to.  So we gathered  9 of her friends and went to eat crepes on a cold Friday night.

The girls got dressed up- which was really eye opening to see these once little girls that are now young ladies.  They are all beautiful and looked so grown. We had a table upstairs- where it was really hot.  The girls ate their crepes and chit chatted amongst their selves. After they ate, Mia decided to open up her presents.  I was very proud of her.  She opened up each gift, patiently, and walked over to each girl and gave her a hug after each gift.  It was super sweet, and it really shows how loving she is.  

After opening gifts, we went outside for a quick photo session.  These girls were so much fun.  I thought they'd be cold taking the pictures.  But they loved it.  It was a nice little cool down since we were  so hot upstairs.  

Once back upstairs, we had cake and took more photos.  The girls really enjoyed themselves.  And Mia had a great time.

I normally do a photo session for the girls' birthdays.  Here are a couple from Mia's.  Her photo sessions are always a challenge...It's always cold/windy and the sun sets so early! 

Look at my pretty teenager.  I wish her a wonderful year.  May she continue to be a good friend, a respectful student, and may she always make good choices- even if it means choosing the unpopular opinion.  May God continue to bless you in every moment of your life! We love you baby girl!

2022 Rodeo Art Show

The year started...and our girls hit the ground running.  So did I.  Poor Pat- he's gotta try to keep up with us.

As an elementary and middle school aged student, Leanna would draw or make art pieces to be showcased in the Pearland Rodeo Art Show.  Year after year, her art was chosen and displayed in the main building.  Then around junior high and early high school, her electives changed and she no longer did art.  Well, last year, she got back into it.  

Well, this year she was challenged again.  And even though it took hours of lots of tedious work, she did it.  She entered this piece below.  It's done in colored pencil from a photo.  Her piece was selected to move to the next round, which is a big deal.  But that is as far as she made it.  Now... she's got goals for next year!

Title: Composure

Award: Finalist

Our pretty girl, proud of her work.

Below is a photo collage of all her previous years and her art work.  It's amazing to see the transformation- hers and her art style!  She's received a couple of 1st places, a few 2nd places, and some 3rd places. 

I hope this girl knows how proud we are of her.  And I personally hope that she continues to nurture this talent of hers.  She can do so much with it if she continues to grow it.  It's in her blood- from both our sides.  I pray that she goes far with it.  And next year, I know she'll go to the next level!🤠🐄

 

Christmas 2021

Christmas came and went- just like that.  This Christmas wasn't like last year-where everyone was quarantined and no one got together.  But it wasn't like the previous Christmases either-where we ALL got together, ate together, laughed together, and just had fun with each other.  Ever since COVID-19 came to be, everything is so different.  Everyone has different opinions about the virus, different opinions on how to react to it, how to prevent from getting it, or how to keep themselves and others safe.  As for me: it is what it is.  I will not hide from it, I will not be scared of it, and I will not avoid it.  I know everyone has their opinions about it, but that is MY opinion about it. Plain and simple.

Anyway, this Christmas Eve was spent at my sister's house, with only some of us there.  The kids got to do their cousin gift exchange. We also made a saran wrap ball for them to unravel- it was so much fun to watch them try to unravel while wearing oven mittens.  And it was pure joy to see how happy they got as they got a "prize."  My favorite quote was from Brooklyn: "Says the guy who got hot cocoa and hand cream!"  This was after she had gone 3x and gotten zero prizes!  

On Christmas Day, we all woke up leisurely.  We made hot cocoa and had breakfast.  Then the girls opened up gifts- which they enjoyed.  Pat and I opened ours too. Then we all just relaxed the rest of the day.

This Christmas, it doesn't matter what things I got.  What matters is right in front of me.  The girls, Pat, and the life we have built together is all the gift I need.  And God had blessed me with them.  And for that I am grateful.  

For this coming year, I want to live life the best way possible.  I want to be better, I want to do better.  I'm hoping that reviving this little blog will help me work towards that. Hoping it gives me accountability, hoping it makes me appreciate things- even the little things.  Because I know that those little things are part of something big-something God has planned for me, for us.  So...here's to 2022.