First Day of School (a little late)

Here is a picture of Aleisha's first day of school! (It only happened about 4 weeks ago!) This was the 1st day of 4th grade. I can't believe how big she is. So smart. She is holding the VERY EXCITING "zipper binder." They get to carry it in 4th grade for paper, pencils, pens, etc. Aleisha was thrilled with this particular school supply. She is like me in that way, as she loves all kinds of school supplies. We both love pens, paper, folders, scissors, etc.

We are staying busy. I know you are surprised by that. Fall is a busy time for the fundraising business. I have also been substitute teaching at the school here to make some extra money. We are also busy with church activities (as AIM coordinators, Bible class teachers, and Richard leads singing sometimes) and singing activities (chorus and quartet rehearsals). However, we love it or we wouldn't do it!

Our annual chorus show went well overall. Just before taking the stage to begin the show, we were informed that one of our members had been killed in a car accident on her way to the show. We were able to delay the start of the show for about 15 minutes for the chorus members to try and get themselves together. The show turned out great and was very fun! We missed, and still miss, Cindy Blessen. She was a very precious person and a beautiful Christian lady!

I have been sick this week with bronchitis, but am starting to feel better. Man, that will really take it out of you!

Hope you are all well and happy!

Pea Pickin' Time Again!

Well, it's pea pickin' time again! Some of our friends very graciously invited us to come out to their place again this year and pick black eyed peas. Yesterday was the day, so out we went. Ever watchful for snakes, we picked about 10 gallons of black eyed peas. We were just going to shell them by hand, which is fun but time consuming. Some friends from church called late last night and offered to help us shell them with their electric pea sheller. I had never heard of such a thing, but was very happy for their help. That is one neat contraption! It has small rollers at one end that kind of squish the peas out of the shell without smashing them. Peas go into a bucket under the unit, and shells go in the trash can at the end. Way cool!

Summer is quickly coming to an end. It is a bittersweet time, as I enjoy having Aleisha home, but am also ready for her to go back to school. I can't believe it starts Monday. However, there are many things going on between now and then (and have been all week).

Monday was chorus rehearsal and show run through. Tuesday, we were in Amarillo, helping Newton (my brother) and Laura (his wife) move into their new home. I got to set up her kitchen for her! Then on Wednesday we picked peas. Tonight my quartet, Star Struck, and Richard's quartet, Dynamite, are singing at King's Manor Retirement Home in Hereford, TX. Tomorrow is dress rehearsal for the Prairie Winds (my chorus) annual show, and the show is Saturday night. Sunday is our first Sunday with our new group of AIM (Adventures In Missions) students, and we are having a pot luck lunch. Then we are going with the AIM students back out to Keith and Julie's to pick more peas for the widows from church. The peas will be bagged and delivered by the AIM students. Richard and I are going to prepare all the dry ingredients for a recipe of corn bread to be delivered to each lady with her peas. All she will have to do is add the wet ingredients. Then school starts Monday! Whew!

THEN, next weekend, we get to go to Nashville, see lots of family, and celebrate the marriage of my cousin, Paige, to her fiance', Zack. We are super excited to see everyone and can't wait!

I pray all of you have a wonderful day and enjoy whatever it is that keeps you busy and out of trouble!

Bad Blogger...

Bad, bad blogger! I acknowledge it has been a REALLY long time since I have updated my blog. AND I promised pictures!

Now that we have that out of the way, I don't have to feel guilty about it anymore! Whew! What a relief.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Alaska! If you ever have the opportunity to go, DO IT! I have never seen anything quite like it. Here are a few pictures of what we saw and did. If you would like to see more pictures, feel free to look at the album Alaskan Cruise .

First formal night at dinner

HUGE glacier in Glacier National Park

View from the top of the Mt. Robert's Tramway in Juneau. That is our cruise ship, MS Westerdam, at the bottom. The tram goes about 1000 feet up to the top of Mt. Roberts.

Kilisnook, an Alaskan brown bear, who lives in the Fortress of the Bear in Sitka. He was rescued as a cub when his mother was killed for breaking into the kitchen of an inn to forage for food. While he may look here like a cuddly teddy bear, he is 18 months old, about 6 1/2 feet tall, and weighs about 600 pounds. When full grown, he will be 9-10 feet tall and weigh over 1000 pounds.

The food was amazing, the scenery spectacular, and the ship was incredible.

Well, it has taken most of the afternoon to get a few pictures, captions and paragraphs aligned the way I would like, and I learned a little about HTML to boot. Hope you enjoy it!

Off we go!

Well, summer is here! Hallelujah! We have left home and driven to South Texas. Aleisha is staying here with some cousins while we go on an Alaskan cruise with Richard's parents, brother and sister, and their spouses. I am so excited! Everyone has said this is best vacation they have ever taken. I will post some pics when we get home!

Aleisha had a great wrap up to the school year! She received the Hornet Award, one of two given in her class, for using her manners, being nice to fellow students, staying out of trouble, etc. She also received Commended scores on both the Reading and Math TAKS tests. (She had to pass the Reading TAKS to go to 4th grade.) We are so proud of her!

Have a wonderful start to your summer!

Inspirational Website

If you need a boost about Monday every week, may I humbly suggest www.simpletruths.com? This website is founded by Mac Anderson, the founder of Successories. There is also a link in the list of blogs I read to the blog they post each Monday morning. There are movies and inspirational books there for many topics.

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

Contest Results

Well...we did well at contest. We did not win (at least not the gold medal.) Star Struck, my quartet, placed 5th out of 19 quartets. Our score was down this year from last year, so that stung a little. It is so difficult to compare from year to year. We sang different songs than we sang last year, and we have different judges every year! We were pleased to medal (make it into the top 5). We sang well and had a WONDERFUL time! The plan is now to learn some more music and go through the score sheets to see what we can work on going forward.

The Prairie Winds Chorus from Lubbock, which I also sing with, placed 3rd in the Division AA (mid-size chorus) contest and 4th in the overall contest. We sang well and scored 600 out of 800 possible points. (For the un-barbershopped, that is a GREAT score!)

When I get my pictures from contest, I will scan them in and add them to the blog.

Everything else around here is running and running. We are finishing up the year in fundraising, Aleisha has end of school stuff, we have church stuff, and just regular stuff. Makes for a lot of STUFF! But we love it!

Contest is coming!

Contest is indeed coming! Region 25 Sweet Adeline International contest, that is! It is next weekend. I am so excited about it. My quartet, Star Struck, is competing. My chorus, Prairie Winds, is also competing. I love the whole contest weekend. Not only do I get to sing most of the weekend, I get to spend it with some of my best friends, see other friends, get reacquainted with people I see every year, and just have a ton of fun! We get to perform in the most amazing venue. It is the Eisemann Theater in the Center for Performing Arts in Richardson, TX, which was specifically designed for this kind of thing.

Another reason I love contest is the competition itself. Of course I want to win, as I am a very competitive person. But more than that, it gives every competitor the opportunity to show what she has worked so hard on. And the barbershop audience is one of my favorite to sing and perform for, as they understand and appreciate the product especially.

Wish us all the best!