2008 Competition Cheerleaders!!

I took these pictures the other day when the girls had picture day. A local photographer is the one who did the team photos but I came to the field to get some of my own and to do Ashley's individual shots. Since they girls were looking at Trish, my photo doesn't have the girls looking straight on. But it's a good pic anyway...



Later, they did some stunting and some looked better than the others since they hadn't really warmed up much. This stunt is in their competition routine. The two flyers, Taylor and Ash, go from this:



to this:


Each of the girls put up their scorpions for the camera. Ashley wasn't really stretched out but she looked good. Definitely looks good being up in the air, on one leg while holding her other leg behind her with one hand. But cheer isn't a sport, right?!?!



Here's a closeup of Ashley in her pyramid; she's just so pretty!


Here are the individual shots I did of Ashley. I haven't decided yet which one I like the best but I've decided to get the toe-touch pic made into a button to wear to the games and competitions. Her jumps have really improved over the years and her toe-touch is awesome!!





Right when picture time was over and the girls were heading back, I snapped these shots of her and her friends. So carefree, lol...




The 3 Muskateers - Ashley, Ashley, and Mysti!

First Game of the Season!

Tonight was the first home game of the season. Last year (and every year before) it was only about Ashley cheering but this year is different - Brad is in the Marching Band and so we are very proud to enjoy the entire game in a couple of different ways!

Brad plays the trumpet and played all last year as a beginner. Since our town is pretty small the middle school students are allowed to try out for the high school Marching Band in 7th grade after a year or more of playing. He was so excited to have been chosen and worked really hard over the summer. He was a little nervous for the halftime show. Despite his nerves, though, he did great!






Ashley's squad is looking good so far - I'll admit to being the proud momma of the best tumbler on the team. :) She's a flyer, just like last year, and has really gotten her scorpian and basket toss looking good. I missed the basket at its peak but got some good shots of her stunts.







Except for the loss to the Rams, the game was a lot of fun. Brooklyn was enjoying herself up to a certain point and then she was ready to go. We decided that from now on, one of us takes her home after the halftime show, lol. I made a hairbow for her with the initials of the school "TC" on it and got a ton of compliments. I was pretty proud myself - I made it about 30 minutes before we left for the game.



Go T.C. Rebs! Have a great season!!

Update on Brooklyn

**not sure why the post below just showed up; I did that a few days ago, lol**

Brooklyn is back to her normal self. We went in on Monday and had another CBC done. Her WBC was down to 11,500; not as big a drop as the dr was hoping for but at least it was down. We'll go back on Friday to check it again. I've no doubt that she'll be back in the normal ranges - she hasn't run a fever since Sunday and she's eating and drinking normally again. Plus, her majesty's diva-ness is back in full swing which is ALWAYS a good sign things are back to normal. :)

Brooklyn's been so sick. I'm not really sure what is wrong with her and that makes it a little more unnerving. It started out earlier this week when she had what seemed like a little summer cold. No biggie - some runny noses and a bit of a cough. She was looking like she was fighting a cold through Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning, though, was a whole different story. Brooklyn woke up horribly - crying, not really being able to breathe out of her nose, was running a significant fever. I hated seeing her like that but still just thought her cold had gotten a bit worse. She began to complain of a sore throat later that day and was starting to refuse to eat. I looked at the back of her throat and it seemed really red so I called the pedi to make an appt. They couldn't see her until Friday and told me to bring her in on Thurs if she got worse and they'd work her in somehow. (I've been told this before and basically that means sit here and wait all day, we'll not get to her until about 4:45pm) She seemed to pick up at nighttime, even jumping up and down during the Olympic events we were watching, so I wasn't too worried.

Thursday was ok - she slept the majority of the day and had to be held all the time (thank God I still use my slings b/c they were wonderful). I got more sleep myself on Thursday just from having to lay with her at naptime, having to rock her, etc. It's very tiresome, though, and I felt bad that I wanted a break from her. At one point while rocking her, I saw the dust on my bookshelf and longed to clean it off! If that's not needing a break, lol, I don't know what is!! Thursday night was like the night before, she had a second-wind, and was acting like her normal, goofy, overactive self. It only lasted about an hour, though, and then she was like a sack of potatoes sleeping in my lap.

Friday morning came and she was p.i.t.i.f.u.l. Nothing could have prepared me for how bad she was. High fever (103.2), malaise, not wanting to eat or drink anything, those tired "I'm not feeling well at all" kind of eyes. It was so sad. So I got her dressed and took her in.

Her dr checked her throat (did a swab), looked at eyes, ears, and throat, felt her belly and sinuses, and all the other normal checkup type things. Her swab was negative for strep and she had no other signs of anything other than her fever. So, she orders a CBC and her WBC came back at 16,000. Yikes! The poor baby is definitely fighting something and that war inside her little body is making her miserable.

She's currently on Sulfatrim Ped. Suspension, a strong antibiotic that I'm not too excited about (lots of side effects that aren't good when you can't/won't take the meds with lots of fluids). She goes back on Monday morning to have another CBC done. Hopefully we'll see a huge improvement in her numbers.

Just pray for the little Bugger - she's already a petite little thing, the last thing she needs is to lose any weight. Oh, and speaking of weight, I'll have to turn her seat back around. She had fallen to 19lbs at Friday's visit. She's soooo not going to be happy....

Olympics of a Lifetime

I honestly don't know when I've ever been so into the Olympics. I love watching gymnastics and swimming/diving, but really nothing else. I have found myself watching fencing, individual pursuit, and the steeplechase, for crying out loud!! I guess in my old age I'm appreciating the abilities of all, not just some.

So, I can be officially counted in the masses of sleep-deprived Olympics watchers. I am totally exhausted!! I'm usually a night owl anyway but for some reason this has been rough on me. Luckily, Brooklyn has been considerate in letting Mommy have a little more time in the morning to get going. :)

Phelps, wow, what can I say? I'm soooo excited for him. I'm so excited to see that an American broke the record for the most golds in a single Olympics - an honor that was held by another American. I'm glad to see the sportsmanship among the athletes of our country, especially in the swimming events. Dara Torres and Michael Phelps were just the epitome of good sportsmanship. I made sure to replay those moments for the kids so they could see why it's so important.

Nastia Luiken, Shawn Johnson, Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, Michael Phelps, Tyson Dix - all great examples to our young people. Can't wait to eat my Wheaties!!

1 week down...

So the kids had their first week of school this past week. It was full of all kinds of happenings, including a funeral. One of the upcoming Seniors was in a horrible accident last Friday night (I'll explain in just a minute) and his funeral was on the first day of school.

Here are a few pictures of my kids on Monday as they headed off to the glorious first day of school!! (Can't tell I'm a little excited, can you? :) )

Ash, Brad, and Blake

Ash and Tay


Blake and his teacher (he looks happy, eh?!)


Blake in his desk, by his buddy Loughlin

Ashley and Brad, being in middle and high school, have a new stricter dress code this year. They are only allowed to wear collared shirts (either polo type shirts or dress shirts) or t-shirts that are school related, jeans or khakis. So, just in case you're wondering why they're dressed kind of plain, that's why. The only way to "spice" up an outfit is with shoes or jewelry (and the shoes are kind of limited, too). Needless to say, the kids were NOT happy about it. They'll hate it even more next year, though; this is more of a transition year into the new dress code. Next year it's limited to collared shirts that are white, blue, or orange ONLY. *sigh*

So Blake's teacher is wonderful! We met her last Thursday but know her from the community and because her family just joined our church. Last school year, her 2nd child (she has 4 boys) started coming to church and, within a few weeks, had prayed to receive Christ! Then his younger brother (who is Brad's age) followed suit after a baseball game one night (their coach would lead them in prayer before and after the games, offering to talk with anyone at anytime if they had any questions). Then in VBS this summer, the youngest brother who is 8, prayed to receive Christ as well. It was great to watch the Lord work through that family and just goes to show how important it is to reach the youngsters. After all the kids had shown such an interest in going to church, of course Melissa supported that and started coming as well. Praise God!!

I have orientation and a few things to take care of this coming week with regards to Nursing school. I'll ask those friends and family of mine to just pray for me. I'm not going to give specifics but God knows what they are and so I'll leave it at that. :) Nothing major, so no worries, but just some concerns I'd rather not let fester, kwim?

Gotta love crazy people!

And yes, this means you, Kimberly. Get over it. I've had enough of your lies and psychotic episodes. The ties are cut, my dear. So go on your merry way and be done with it. Just try not to let your delusions keep you from seeing the reality every now and then, ok?

This HAS to be one of the funnier blogs I've come across...

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com

Keep this in mind: All these cakes are made by supposed professionals. They actually took payment in exchange for these cakes. People ate them. Heck, some of them were posted in public portfolios for others to see. :)

OMG, I was absolutely cracking up at her commentary on the cakes, too. It's just funny all around. Enjoy!!