MAYLIN2007

Alex is taking 8th grade ballroom at the school. He really likes it. He says it is a great place to be with the girls! He is right. They had two ballroom performances today. On Saturday, they have a ballroom competition covering a huge region. He was in three dance numbers tonight. He had three costume changes. He did great. In the performance this afternoon, I think he was nervous. He only cracked 1 smile, but tonight he was ALL SMILES! He looked great. I am glad that all 3 of my kids, especially my boys, know how to ballroom dance. What a great skill. Tonight Alex danced the Cha-Cha and then a medley of 5 different dances including the Tango, Foxtrot and Swing. He was fabulous.

Kenzie has decided to run for Miss Bluffdale, the scholarship pageant. It will be May 11. She has been attending workshops every Saturday, has completed her platform and fact sheet and has been working on her talent. Her platform is on learning disabilities, specifically how to help parents identify them, get their child tested and then homework tips to help the child learn to live with their disability. She chose this as she struggles with a learning disability. It has been a hard thing for her, but she has always made the honor roll and credits this to her long homework hours and dedication. She really wants to encourage others. For her talent, she has decided to sing "Moon River." She loves this song. We went shopping this weekend at a vintage clothing store for something to wear for her talent. We came home with 3 outfits for $80. Reasonable. One she will wear for the interview, and one she will wear for the talent.....the other one she just loved and will wear it whene...

I thought having A HUGE HOLE in the back of my house was messy, especially when there is 70 mile an hour winds, but really sheet rocking and mud and taping is REALLY messy. So is having a flood during all the mess. We didn't have rain gutters on our house for awhile, as they were adding on a new roof line. During this time we got hit by this massive rain storm and even though they thought they had the water diverted with plywood, it still managed to seep in....okay, more like run in like a river. My whole big room in my basement where we are living during the construction was flooded. This area is where our basement kitchen is. So to add to our mess, the carpet all had to be pulled up. There were fans every where. It was a bummer. But, they did get it fixed and the rain gutters installed. I think that part is good to go. Now, we are just waiting for one more mud and taping and then painting can start! Almost to the end! But, then I realized all my hardwoods are being refin...

So, we have been on vacation for the past 10 plus days. I've missed all your blogs and can't wait to catch up with you. I also can't wait to catch up this blog! Until I have a minute between laundry, house flooding, driving kids everywhere.....here is a sneak peek! Look who is coming to our house this week! His name is Bailey. He is 1 pound 13 ounces. He will only get to 5 pounds. He is so dang cute!!!!!!!!

On March 21, 2007, we had our Gotcha Day with Maylin! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems to speed up every year. It has been a great 6 years. Here is a picture of us moments after we met and a picture of us last October 2012. We both have changed and our bond is stronger. I was looking at her little face the other day and I couldn't believe how much she has grown over that time. She once was a little baby.....I hardly remember, and now she is 7 and loving being grown-up. Last night we went to a family dance and she danced with boys 35 times! She kept track. She loves us so much, which I am so grateful and we love her. The other day, I watched her and Alex walk down the hall at school together. He was carrying her car seat. When they parted they expressed their love to each other. I sat there and thought "There are my two babies. Look how they love each other." I was especially impressed with how Alex just loves her so much and takes his ...

As I have mentioned, Maylin has yet to loose a tooth on her own. She has had her permanent teeth grow in and her baby teeth never fall out, so the dentist has had to do the dirty work! Finally, she had a loose tooth. She has been thrilled. She asked me every day when I thought it might come out. She would wiggle it every day too and she got such a kick out of the fact it kinda grossed me out.  I don't know why vomit doesn't get me, but a wiggly tooth just makes me sick. Well this morning before school, while she was brushing her teeth she said, "look mom, my tooth is bleeding." I said, "That means it will be out soon." AND SOON IT WAS! With the next brush it fell right out and went right down the drain!!! We tried to catch it with a q-tip and we even took a part the drain and drain pipes looking for her little tooth. No success. We did find a lot of other gross stuff.....pipes are disgusting, but no tooth. Maylin was crushed! So were we. She has waited...

Mom this is for you: www.austinmission.blogspot.com Tonight after having a very frustrating day with the teenagers, I went into my laundry room to check my email. Okay, really to get away from the teenagers. Why lie? The dog followed me in. I haven't been happy with the dog. It isn't really the dog's fault, but he is getting the blame. He could have handled it better. Let me start at the beginning. The dog needed his shots. So I loaded the sucker up in his kennel. This was a feat in itself. Here is the dog's part, he could have handled it better, you know just walked in the kennel rather than have me beg, plead, fight, cry, yell......... Once there, we drove to the vet. I got out of the car and picked up the kennel. Half way through the parking lot that dang kennel (in the moment dang was not the word I used) broke!!! The bottom dropped out of the kennel. The force of the dog dropping out the bottom, pulled me down to the cold, icy cement. Of course, the dog didn...