A Night of Recognition

They recognized all the Senior football players, cheerleaders and trainers tonight at the high school football game. That included Kathryn. So Del and I were her escorts -
She has LOVED training over the past 2 years. She has loved the players, fellow trainers and coaches that she has been able to work with and we have been very pleased at her dedication to this commitment.
So it was a pleasure to be there tonight, to escort her in front of her friends and peers and to support her in the recognition of this great event.
Congratulations Kathryn!

"Here Kitty Kitty"

Speaking of cats...
I told Del I was having a 'Halloween costume dilemma....' going as a 'sexy black cat', or 'the fat lady that sings'. After he stopped laughing (politely, mind you), he said I should probably go as the cat and gave me high praises (though he strained to keep from snickering) when I came out with the simple costume. He's always the gentleman!!!
We all dressed up at work this year - everyone wanted to be witches, except for me. I told them 'I'm a witch every other day of the year so I wanted to change things up a little'. Hence, the cat.
Patients loved it - we had the whole office decorated and then served different treats each day of the week; cookies, doughnuts, candy etc etc.. And we gave out a trick or treat goody bag to each patient that came in.
Our office was voted the 'Best Orthodontic office in Frisco' for the month of September from the citizens of Frisco. We are quite proud. So we wanted to thank our patients by showing them a great week of Halloween fun.

Our Fearless Protector

This is how Lacey starts...

Then she 'bravely' does the 'half in, half out' move.

As soon as the threat moves away, then she proves
her courage by confronting the danger full body!!!

This is what has Lacey in such a frenzy.

We called it 'the tiger', just so Lacey would feel
valued and needed.

Lacey is a pathetic dog. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE this dog - she has brought us more joy and fun than I can even express. But she is a whoosy dog!!! In fact, Del now has a string of 'P' words he calls her...pathetic, pampered, pansy, pudgy, poopy pooch!! There are a few other words, but I just can't remember them right now...
She is a 'city' dog - inside the house with all the luxuries of life, verses being outside in the weather, yucky food and sleeping conditions of a farm dog. And she has Del trained pretty well. He takes her every morning for a walk, except Sundays. And then every evening, when he comes home, she runs to the door with her blanket in tow, wanting him to tug her around and pull her on her belly. It's quite a sight. He barely has time to put his computer down, give any human a hug before she is whimpering at him for attention. It's hilarious.
So when she does this 'scarety cat' thing, where she pretends to stalk our neighbors cat, he just laughs like she is worthless.
He loves her, I know he does. It's obvious as he roughs up her head when he pets her and chases her in the house calling her a dumb dog and let's her sleep alongside his leg while he watches t.v.
My two protectors...one just lets the other one do all the work.

Broken Trust, Broken Heart

I've been meaning to blog for the past few weeks - a few cute things here and there, a few thoughts that went unwritten, but today, I have a broken heart that kind of puts all the rest into the 'not worth the effort' file of blogging. And I'm just a little overwhelmed with my broken heart that 'details' won't be possible to share.
It's just one of the VERY FEW times that I have had my trust broken which in turn has broken my heart. I can count on one hand the times I have felt like this. I don't like it. And after time, both the trust and the heart heal.
But for now...ouch.

General Conference with It's Traditions

General Conference has always been family time. I remember growing up how we would all sit around the t.v and watch conference together. Of course, my parents were much more strict with our behavior during conference that I am....we were not allowed to talk, we were not allowed to fall asleep and we had to be sitting up and never laying down paying full attention to every word being said. I guess it almost HAD to be that way with 10-12 children, otherwise, there would have been pure chaos.
Our traditions started when the kids were young. Kylie and Kathryn would pull out their bed mattresses, blankets, pillows and set it up right on the floor in front of the t.v. The three kids would all lay on the king size mattress together and giggle and play until time for conference to start. Del would have 'Conference BINGO' for them to play or I would have things for them from the Friend to do to occupy their time when they were little.
The older they got, we started implementing the 'homemade cinnamon rolls' and other things for a big breakfast before conference started. I have never worried if one of them has fallen asleep as most generally, either Del or I would join them about half way through the session.
The past few years, we have added the 'massage line', where everyone gets a massage during the session, including Lacey, our dog. It helps us to relax and have 'quiet', which gets more and more difficult when Kylie and Kathryn are together. They turn back in to two little kids when they get together and Del must have told them both to 'settle down' at least 6-7 times today.
In between sessions, we make more food - homemade chili, pizza, Halloween cookies and almond roca today. We played card games and even snuck in a little football for Mike. We called Jordan to see how he was enjoying conference and then ended the night with Kylie and Kathryn finally getting told a final time by Del to 'settle down'.
I was exhausted by the time the dishes were done, Kylie and Mike were out the door and we had all the food put away. But so spiritually fed by the talks and messages shared at conference. It was a theme of LOVE ... so inspiring.
A great time to spend as a family where we get to hear our Prophet and other church leaders, be both spiritually and physically fed and enjoy the moments of being a family. I missed Jordan, but knew he had listened to each session and attended Priesthood meeting in Idaho and was enjoying the same spiritual uplift that we were having.
Now I can't wait for the November Ensign to arrive next month where I can highlight all the messages I heard this weekend and remember once again, the promptings I received from the Holy Ghost as they touched my heart.

Senior Moments

It's been all about 'the senior' for the past few weeks. And I'm not talking about Del!!!
Once we got Jordan off to Utah and then on up to Idaho to school, all focus has turned to Kathryn and her Senior Year obligations.
Her skipping her junior year has put me into a tailspin that I have usually had time to prepare for...like scheduling Senior pictures, arranging and paying for her to take the ACT and SAT tests, getting application forms filled out and prepared to send to apply to several colleges, and then of course, the basics like school picture for the yearbook and the ordering of cap and gown, along with graduation announcements. Our school does all of this by mid November. A few things we missed and so have had to fit them in an already very tight schedule.
Kylie helped with Senior picture day. The hair, the make up, the outfits...and then once there, Kylie was the one who made sure Kathryn's hair was in place, the lighting was good and posed Kathryn in the best positions. I thoroughly enjoyed watching from the sidelines, starting at home in the bathroom. At one point, hair was not done to Kathryn's liking, but soon relaxed into what ended up being her best attribute in the pictures. Kathryn has gorgeous hair, as you can see from the pictures; a very thick head of beautifully natural blond with slight highlighted strands that are perfect. The photo shoot was fun and enjoyable, but unlike Kylie, who could have gone for another hour, Kathryn had had enough after 2 hours.. Kathryn's just not the glamorous, model posing girl that Kylie is...but I'm pretty confident she will be very pleased with her proofs when they come back.
The ACT and SAT tests are scheduled for two Saturday's this month - that will, of course, be in between her already difficult Physics and Pre AP Math classes and her online English 3 college course. Early applications to BYU will be filled out near the middle of the month and then sent off - she really wants to attend BYU Idaho, but we'll apply to several different schools.
She is training at 2-3 sports events every week, making for very late nights, making it pretty hard to be diligent in her Seminary attendance. She missed two days this week, which she'll make up, but along with her late nights for sports, her daddy has been sleeping in Jordan's room right next to hers and has kept her up several nights with his terrible coughing. She's been exhausted. Hopefully this weekend will end Dels illness and he can be back in his own bed.
But I've been most pleased with her determination to not get sick this year. With the flu and strep throat having over 400 students out at her school, she has done well to only miss two days. She is pretty dedicated with her homework, commitments and church responsibilities this year and has come to the conclusion that she just doesn't have TIME to be sick this year. I applaud her for her positive attitude and strong will.
So, needless to say, I am in a whirlwind of Senioritis...but it's fun. I've done this twice before, but this is unique in it's own way with the combining of both her Junior and Senior year into one. She's my youngest but probably my best prepared too.
She's making it work.
She's making it.
We'll be grateful for that accomplishment at this point in the year.