Abby's (at home) Clarinet Performance

One of the things that Abby was looking forward to most about middle school was band. She decided that she wanted to play the saxophone. Well, we found out that she had to start out with either the flute or the clarinet. For Abby, it was a no brainer. She knew it had to be the clarinet! After some "try-outs" at school, she found out (officially) that she would be able to play the clarinet.

Abby couldn't wait for the day that we would go to Tulsa and get a clarinet. Once we got the clarinet home she was disappointed to find out that her teacher had requested that they not even put the instrument together until they learned how to do it all together at school! Ugh...more waiting! The day finally came where they put the instruments together and started learning notes. Abby is LOVING it! She comes home everyday, hurries to get her homework done and then breaks out the clarinet. She can't wait to practice! (Let's hope it stays this way for a very long time!)

(I have to add in here that I was a little less than thrilled about the sounds that would be coming out of a reed instrument. They tend to sound a bit like a dying duck. Not to mention the sharp squeeking sounds... I will say though, I haven't been pleasantly surprised. There really hasn't been a whole lot of that! It does happen occasionally, but not the way I thought it would!)

I am so impressed at the progress that Abby has made in just the past few weeks! She is always asking us, "Can I play a song for you?" Absolutely! I was so impressed the other day when she played this song (below) that I asked her to play it again so I could record it. Take a listen.



Impressive, huh?! Maybe I'm biased, but I think she sounds great!
Great job, Abby! Keep up the hard work!

Happy Birthday, Ben!!

I'm not sure how it happens, but every year my kiddos continue to get older! I know I say this about every birthday, but I can't believe Ben is 14! This is just getting crazy!

Look at this kid! He is just growing up so fast! He is looking and sounding more and more like a young man everyday!

No matter his age, I know Ben will always love to get presents!

Abby thought she was so funny. She wrapped up a movie that Ben had brought home from Grammy's the day before and some Q-Tips. Ha ha ha!!

Ben isn't a huge fan of traditional birthday cake (gasp!) and opted for Death By Chocolate for the third year in a row!

Dad and I are so proud of the fine young man you are growing up to be! You make us proud! We are so blessed to have a son who loves the Lord and wants others to know him too! We love you very, very much!!
Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Wedding Day!

YAY!! It's the big day!

Our day started out heading to the reception location and getting things all set up and decorated. SO happy to finally be there for these things!

(The pictures will pretty much speak for themselves. Click on the pictures to view them larger.)


It took a lot longer than what we expected, but everything turned out great! (Especially considering what we had to work with!)









Abby looked so beautiful and did a great job as the guest book attendant!



A family unity candle. This was such a sweet way to include the girls in the wedding!






I loved that Kris wore hot pick shoes with her gown! CUTE!


The wedding party.

Cousins :)

Mr. & Mrs. Hunt!!






I loved everything about this wedding! The ceremony was sweet and personal. The reception was fun. I am so thankful my family and I were able to be there!

Congratulations Kris & Scott! We love you guys!

The Day Before The Big Day

I was SO happy to finally make it to Indiana for Kris's big day! I hated being so far away that I wasn't able to be around for all of the planning, shopping, preparing, etc... Once I got there I was ready to go! Friday morning we headed to the church to decorate for the ceremony, then off to the reception location to check things out and finally to the rehearsal dinner location to get things set up.


This is Kris and her best friend (since childhood) Beth.

Kris and Beth doing their signature mosquito faces. :)

Once all of the decorating was done we all went out to lunch together. Super fun!!

Rehearsal

These boys love their dinosaurs!
Thank you, Nolan, for sharing your dinosaurs with Luke!

Abby was learning about her responsibilities as the guestbook attendant.

Luke was more than happy to help blow out all of the candles!

Kris made (super cute!) bracelets for all of the girls for the wedding.

SO happy to be with my sisters!! :D

I wanted to see Kris, Scott and the girls open their wedding gifts, and since I wouldn't be around after the honeymoon, I had them open them early.

I was really excited to give Kris and Scott the bottle of wine that Jon got when he was in Argentina! I think they were happy about it too!


I had a super great day spending time with my mom, sisters and all the rest of the family! SO HAPPY!!

Abby Bridges To Cadets

It was nice to take a break from Girl Scouts for the summer, but now it's time to get back after it! What better way to get started for fall than with a picnic at the park? It was a beautiful day for a picnic!


This is Abby's sixth year in Girl Scouts and she is in sixth grade which means she bridges up to Cadets this year. I am so proud of her for sticking with it!

Ready to cross the bridge.

Officially a Cadet! :)

Abby with Sheila and Sam.
Sheila is Sam's mom (and my friend!) and is helping out with the Cadets this year.

Abby's whole troop!

Last year Abby said that she would like to continue with Girl Scouts through high school. I would love it if she did it! However, she is getting a little bit wore out with it. She didn't want to continue this year. She was already registered and has way too much cookie credit (money she earned from selling cookies last winter) to quit right now. Jon and I asked her to continue right now and we will reconsider at the end of this year. I am hoping that with some of the changes being made in her troop that she will reconsider. I won't force her to do something that she doesn't want to do. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.