How 'bout them Wolverines?

I'm sure it was bigger news in Utah than it was here, but it was great to watch Utah Valley University on "Dancing with the Stars" last night! Dang, they're good! You may not know that my brother-in-law, Scott Asbell, is the director of the Ballroom Dance Team there. We don't have TV, so we didn't watch it live, but we voted! Scott even got some face time. It's on YouTube this morning; you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN5hqrf5Rys Depending on the votes, the winner of last night's match-up will compete against Purdue next Tuesday.

Some new pictures...

We've had a busy couple of weeks. Of course, it seems like May is always the busiest month of the year, doesn't it?

Kevin traveled to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas for a conference last week. So, since he was back on the continent, I flew out to meet him for the weekend. We had a great time. We did some of the "Vegas" things, but one of the highlights was a hike we took to Mary Jane Falls, about 45 min outside LV.

When I returned home, we celebrated Rachel's birthday. Can you believe my baby is 12?!? We do "friend" parties only every other year, so this year there were 11 girls here for a "cooking party." They decorated aprons and made pizza and homemade ice cream. It was fun!

We also had the end-of-year band concert at the high school this week. I actually LOVE these concerts, because as opposed to the middle school concerts where they're still kinda learning their instruments, the high school kids sound wonderful! Here are my beautiful musicians.

And, I'll add a picture of Shawnie, just for grins. I just love the guilty look on her face as she sits next to the deflated basketball - haha! Have a great day, everyone!

Prom!!!

Natalie went to her first prom this weekend! Wow, what a production it was. All we did for two weeks was eat, sleep, and breath PROM. She and a girlfriend decided to go together because they weren't asked (what is WRONG with these boys???). A bunch of them rented a limo and went to Kansas City for dinner. The limo driver got pulled over for speeding - the kids thought that was hilarious! Then, back to Warrensburg for the dance and "after-prom," which was just us moms making breakfast. Natalie looked BEAUTIFUL and had a great time.

We did a YouTube search for "prom hair," then practiced a few times before the big night.

The other mom hired a make-up artist to do the girls' faces. She was awesome! I was taking notes.

"Hello Kitty" Friday...

OK, I have to tell you how funny Natalie is. She finally got her ears pierced a couple of months ago. She has this friend Michelle, and the two of them are so cute together. They went earring shopping, and now they have this earring "schedule." It goes: "Whimsical Mondays," "Hoochie Mama Tuesdays," "Classy Wednesdays," "Dangerously Dangly Thursdays," and "Hello Kitty Fridays." How funny is that? Teenagers can make anything fun, can't they? Whaddaya say...anyone for "Hoochie Mama Tuesdays" with me?

Spring Break!

It was spring break for the kids, so we took the opportunity to go see Kevin in Hawaii. Yes, there were beaches and sun and beautiful flowers and wonderful fruit, but the highlight was just hanging out as a family! This deployment has taught us that nothing else is worth it! The sad thing for us was that Natalie didn't come with us. She had some band commitments at home and felt bad she couldn't come with us.

I got in!

Here it is! I've been accepted to the Dental Hygiene program for the fall! Yay! I was sweating it -- they only take ten people per year. I've gotten pretty good grades since starting back to school last January, so I hope that helped.

So, I'll be VERY busy for the next two years, but I'm looking forward to a rewarding new career!

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas! I finished my two very hard classes - Microbiology and Human Physiology - and was very ready for a break. It was great to stay home with the family. We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS for the first time in many years -- how cool is that! One of the biggest treats was spending Christmas Eve with Tony & Penny Monetti and their kids. We were treated to a FABULOUS Italian seafood feast!

In between Christmas and New Years, we drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee to see Kevin's family. We stayed at his parents home, which is comfortable and beautiful. We were able to be there when our nephew Tyler returned home from his mission to Japan. We also attended the Eagle court of honor for another nephew, Alex. It was cool to be there for that! Here are a few pictures from our holidays: