This may look like a simple rose but it's mine! And I grew it! Yes, me the one with no sense of a green thumb has suddenly become interested in the art of floral landscaping. I love roses, they are my favorite flower and I decided last year mid-summer I was going to plant a bunch this growing season. And it was actually so much fun...picking them out with the kids, planting them in a spot where the greenhouse lady told me and hoping they would sprout. And here she is...my first rose, so to speak. Now that the bug has bitten me, I planted 5 new perinnials and other flowers. I followed the directions to a tee and I tell you what...I love looking out at my new flowers. I think I can do this, I really think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

"Here, deer, here pretty deer..." He ran right after I lured him in just long enough to take his picture. Won't my hunter of a husband be so proud...

He was.

I'M BACK! Has it really been that long since my last post?! In a nutshell, between soccer league pictures, my own son's soccer games and practices, my daughter's upcoming dance recital and their rehearsals, preschool graduation, my computer nearly crashing and having to get a new hard drive, and just the usual regular day to day house stuff. So it's been a little crazy. Whew! It's been good but it sure makes the time go twice as fast. So here's some photos of the kiddos...Brody with the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Nebraska and the girls' dance rehearsals. So now that my life is caught up again and looking forward to school ending next week, I can post a little more often. It's been good keeping up with all of you though and trust me, when I thought I would pull my hair out at 2 in the morning trying to get my photos to upload, my relief came by reading your blogs...so THANK YOU!

In the last 4 days I have taken over 350 pictures.

Saturday morning was the annual spring soccer team photos. Me and another photographer got the bid, the teams were split and we were off. I hired my bh to help me with the paperwork, keeping track of frames and the money. It was a 3 1/2 hours of non-stop teams. But it was so fun. Then it was off to my son's soccer games. Now the more tedious job begins of sorting through each form, hoping they match up and ordering.

Then there was the fundraiser of one of the elementary schools which they asked me to be a part of. I was more than happy to donate my time to this event. Eric Crouch was the guest of honor. For those of you who don't know him, he was the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Nebraska and went into the NFL after that for a short time. Now he plays for the Canadian football league. Being in a town where the majority are Husker fans, I knew it would be a hit. So I was official photograher, taking photos of Eric and his fans. Most of them were kids all decked out in their Husker gear. My son got a picture and a football signed by him. Of course, he wore his Packer shirt which got a laugh from Eric. He even threw a pass to my son. That was pretty cool. So now that fun is over and I have to sort through those and get 5x7 ordered for each. Whew!

By the way, when I asked my girls if they wanted their picture taken with Crouch, they politely said, "No thanks, we'll wait for the cheerleaders."

By the way, this minivan driving momma is going to be somewhat more hip in about a month...yep, got the SUV on standby. It's a white Jeep, as close to "cool" as I can get (or is that "kewl") As soon as it pulls up into my garage to replace that forbidden minivan, I'll send some photos.

Wasn't it only awhile ago I was making fun of my bh for treating his truck like his own child?! And here I am, excited to post photos of mine. Sorry, bh. I can relate to your giddiness.

Karen, stay strong. Don't let the minivan monster get ya!

Well, I have signed up for my races for the year...2 5K's, a 10K and the half marathon. These are all races around here but one day, I'd love to go to a completely new state for a race. There are so many to choose from. My running buddy and I were scanning over all the possibilities. I stopped at a race scheduled in the Cayman Islands. So if I signed up, we would just HAVE to go. I wouldn't want to lose my entry fee, right?! I put that thought in the back of my head and one day I'll surprise my bh with a trip to Mexico, all because I have to run a road race there.

Hmmmm, wonder how that would go over?!

It's funny how women form groups of friends, depending on the activity or event. I realized this when my son told me I know too many people. On a recent trip to HyVee, he stated now we can't stop and talk to anyone, we are just here for food... So I started thinking about my circles of friends...

*The Runner's Club, including my great friend and running partner. These ladies are the ones I run with, stratigize about upcoming races and talk about which shoes are the best.

*School yard moms...we all met while waiting for the school bell to ring everyday about 4 years ago. Our kids are all friends too.

*MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) moms...these are the ladies I can talk to about kid worries, problems and meet twice a month for play dates.

*Church moms...these are the ladies whom I feel safe talking about spirituality with.

*Soccer, football, basketball and dance moms...we are there for each other for carpooling when needed and schedules, which get crazy at times.

*College moms...now this group I have known most of my life. These are the ladies I see once a year and when we get together, it's like no time has passed. These are the ladies that make me feel young, we laugh, we stay up late and we share beds (no rumors now) This is the group that knows my wilder side...just don't tell my kids.

*High school moms...we still keep in touch, mostly email, xmas cards...but it's fun to see how we've grown and changed through all the years.

*Couple moms...these are the ladies where our husbands are also friends and our kids are friends. We get together for grill outs, the annual 4th of July parties and hang out the lake. We take trips together and have family and couple times together.

It's great to have so many circles of friends. Even though my son doesn't like the chatting we have to do, it's part of being a woman! I'm glad to know so many of these ladies and they are a part of every chapter in my life. Girl Power!

There are two times every year in my children's lives where even though it's a happy occasion, I can't help but to feel a little sad. One is their birthdays and the other is the first/last day of school. Am I crazy? Last Sunday we celebrated my son's birthday. He turned 10 and is the coolest, most awesome 4th grader I know. Okay I know I'm his mom and all but he also rocks my world. We had a great day with grandpa, got Packer stuff and a new golf bag for his clubs. The best part was telling him we were going to a Packer/Viking game in September...his chance to see Brett Farve in action other than our basement big screen. The look on his face was priceless. And then it hit. Wow, he's ten years old. 3 more years and he'll be a teenager...8 more years and he'll leave home for college. Time just goes so fast. I don't think I realize it until birthdays and those school days come up. I know I'm a little more wierd about this than most which is why I don't say much about it. I know I can't stop time but I just wish it would last a little longer. He's growing into a great person...very athletic, smart, kind, spiritual. I am proud of him. Just when I finally get used to the idea of him being 10, 11 will roll around! Sheesh, will I ever be normal?!?!

The following photos really being peace to me. We all took a drive a few weeks back and hundreds of geese were just sitting on the half frozen lake. They were so beautiful. I couldn't stop taking pictures. Then like it was on cue, an eagle soared overhead. I quickly changed lenses and snapped away. It's not my favorite with just blue sky in the background, but it is the closest and most clearest shot I have gotten of an eagle. I have found that I really need a longer lense to get really close photos of these creatures. They spook very easily. But it sure was fun trying to get as close as possible.

I regret not noticing nature when I was younger. If you look around you, there is just so much to see, so much to take in. I look forward to our family "drives" to see what kind of wildlife we will see because you really just never know. and when you do experience it, the peace it brings seems to last awhile. My bh wants to take my turkey hunting this year...he'll hunt, I'll bring the camera and I am excited to share that with him. With him and with our kids. Now that I am older and somewhat wiser, that long lense for nature days seems feasible and well worth it. For the peace I feel when I am surrounded by nature is nothing short of amazing.

Thank God for all that He has created.

God's beautiful world...

Found this photo from last summer at the lake...

Today my youngest had her kindergarten checkup. The last kindergarten checkup I will ever have to make and the last one I will ever have to worry about. This whole kindergarten thing is a little overwhelming for me but that's a whole other blog. Today, right now, I am so happy this appointment is over. My little one is done shedding tears from the shots, ate her Happy Meal and is ready for kindergarten. I had to explain we needed to finish preschool first though. She wants to know how many more sleeps 'til kindergarten...hmmm, I need to figure that one out.

Last summer, my little one had a seizure in the backyard. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen and even today, I get emotional about it. From that point, she had to have all these tests done...EEG, blood work and an MRI. They were looking for whatever it was to cause this to happen. Thank God, there were no tumors, there was no diabetes, there was nothing. We figured it was a reaction to low blood sugar and her body responded by having a mild seizure. The doctor said she would grow out of it. Thank God again, she has had no more episodes since and is thriving. But I still was worried about this apointment, worried they would find something. Again, prayers were answered. My 5-yr. old is the spunkiest, smartest little girl I know. She rocks my world.

My bh said we were blessed today. And we were. We are. Look out kindergarten class of 2007...my little one is ready to roll and I have a feeling she'll be the first one there.

This past week I have been helping in my youngest daughter's preschool at our church and oh the stories that I heard from these little kids! During circle time, Mrs. Johnson was describing an animal in a book she was going to read and she wanted the kids to guess what it was. Her description was something brown, eat nuts and has a fuzzy tail.....a little boy raises his hand and says, "I know you are going to say Jesus but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me." That got a huge laugh out of everyone!

Hope it made you laugh too!

For some reason, I cannot post any pictures unless I use my fancy version which I don't have time to do soooo...no pictures for this one. It has been so busy, the days just seem to fly by. But it's been a good busy. Business is good, kids are good, life is good. Tonight I am finally getting some time to blog and search for that SUV. Is it out there?? You see, if I didn't need a 3rd seat, I would be fine. But due to the fact that I am the family carpooler, grocery getter and in general the McClure transit, I need that 3rd seat. They are hard to come by. So I'll keep searching the automall.com and hope to find one soon. I guess I am excited to upgrade to a "cool mom" vehicle. Well, back to searching. I'll let you know how it goes....

It was like we were dating again! I'm talking about my hubby. This weekend my mom came down to watch the kids and we headed to Mitchell to Menards and of course, Cabelas. It was a great time. We shopped for toilets and showers for our new bathroom and spent hours at the hunting store. He is in his glory at that place. But I have to say, I like it too. I like because of the smile he gets on his face as he shops for hunting stuff. So anyway, we got these neat matching green caps for this summer. We wore them all the way home and it was just so funny! Just looking at us with these matching hats, all giddy with our new toilet and camoflage...you couldn't ask for more.

But here's the best part...this song came on the radio while heading home. I had never heard of it but my bh said he heard it when he was antelope hunting and loved it. He told me to listen to it...the words said something like I heard your voice on the phone and it was so sweet....then he told me when he heard this song, it reminded him of me and made him homesick. My eyes filled with tears and I just started laughing! My bh, after all these years he really is a romantic. I'm so lucky.

My son got his first phone call from a girl.

The phone rang, I answered and a girl asked for Brody. I gave the phone to him and he went into another room. A few minutes later he came out kind of laughing. Then he told the story how it was this new girl in his class and she called to tell him that Jessi had a crush on him. Apparantly both girls were together so there was a lot of giggling in the background...he said he didn't know what to say so he said bye and hung up. Brings back lots of memories for me when my best friend, Angie, and I would do the exact same thing. We'd call Jay, giggle and then hang up. And now here I am, watching my son get those same calls. And I know it's only the beginning. My how they grow up.

I told my son to get used to those calls...he just shook his head and said he didn't understand girls at all!

We decided to go to Sioux Falls Saturday for a day of shopping and of course, visiting grandma and grandpa. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of things on our list. Seems like everyone else in the city had the same long list. The traffic was so crowded. Now I grew up in Sioux Falls and never have I remembered it taking 15 minutes to get from the mall to Target...but I digress. So I dropped my bh and son off at the Sportman's Warehouse and us girls headed to check off one item on my list...shoes. I noticed a new store opened called Shoe Carnival. Hmmm, looked interesting. I decided to check it out.

Wow, I have never been in such a shoe frenzy in all my life. And the worst part is, I joined right in!

There was a stack of these really great shoes...$84.99 marked down to $49.98..Not bad but continued to wander the isles. Suddenly over the loudspeaker, an employee announced that for the next 8 minutes, there would be another $20.00 taken off those shoes...I quickly calulated in my head...$29.98 for an $84.00 shoe! I love a bargain as much as the next woman, grabbed my girls hands and told them to hang on tight! I dashed for the size 8's as well as everyone else in the store. It was a madhouse. People were grabbing shoes from all over. They were even flying up in the air. I wasn't giving up. This was too good of a deal. I found my size in 2 different colors, ran to the checkout and got my bargain price just in the nick of time. Whew. We all made it out alive. I was just hoping the next stores would not be so intense. But it was kind of fun. Although my bh told me I was nuts when I told him the story. I quickly reminded him of HIS saying after a shopping spree in Cabelas...."It's not how much I spent, it's how much I saved..." He smiled and told me he loved my new shoes.

This is my almost 10 yr. old son, the sports fanatic. Our day Saturday was spent at his basketball tournament. He has been with a team since January and loved it. Especially since the really tall college players helped coach. The games were so fun to watch. Now that the medals are handed out, we await soccer season which begins in a couple of weeks. That leads to golf season and then football, more fall soccer and back to basketball again. I better keep my cheering section fired up, there are not many breaks in the action!

This is my 7 yr. old daughter. I know I've had this on before. It's one of my favorites. With some urging of friends, I entered it in a few photo contests. I won 2nd place in one and am in the running for 1st in another. But that is not the purpose of this picture. This is a photo I will have with me for the rest of my life. It will always warm my heart. Just like the little girl does. To me, there is no reward that could ever mean more than that.