.................

So I know that I have been absent for a while.....a lot happens in life, I thought I would be able to keep up with a weekly blog but it just hasn't been the case.  Maybe my life is simply just too busy......but I thought I would come on and let you guys know.......

Sadly my choice to not post for a while comes from a long line of actions.  I am not able at this time to let that be aired......I am completely saddened.  As I use my blog to communicate with people, other people have began to use it as a tool against me and my family......so as it is, I will no longer feed those people.  If I do choose to post it will be something that isn't directly focused on my life.  It honestly hurts to know that a place that is mine has been taken from me......I would have never thought it would end up this way.......

I hope in a few months things will calm down and I will be able to come back, but until then I hope everyone has a great 2016.......I know the girls and I have been super busy over the summer with activities; including fair and derby practices.

Recently I've discovered that not all of my family members feel that I've made good choices, wither that's in posting a picture or what not.....I sat on my feelings when I received an e-mail stating how disappointed they were in my posting pictures, calling me "tacky" well, my dear, the thing is, that's your opinion.....and your entitled to it. Just as I am entitled to post pictures for my children or friends of the family to see. Some of us want to remember, even though our lives may not be as perfect as we all claim I never have sent such a harsh message to FAMILY!! 

I miss the get together's where we hid in the bed room and promise to always be there.....I miss my kiddos having cousins......I miss being part of something bigger than just my own home. The sad reality is when the grand parents pass away most families desolve. The once might oak of a family begins to age and die inside. The parents (our parents) become the leaders of the family, the birth of a new mighty oak. Families continue to grow as the original oak continues to be forgotten as it rots into the earth.

I had always dreamed as a child that my "family" would be the one to forge through the typical forest. I knew in the passing of my grand father in 2002? that our family would start to wither....my grand mother was a tough one to get along with. She was set in her ways and had a strong mind. I believe most people were pushed away by this, since we are all seed of this amazing tree, we were all pretty set in our minds. Even as she aged no one felt compelled to visit, her health started to deteriorate.....I'm sure most knew the end was coming sooner rather than later.....even in that final call when you hear the words "your grandmother passed away last night" do you find courage. The courage to cry, to morn the woman who was so short with you, you begin to realize it was real. She is really gone........I sat in the moment and cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. My last grandparent was gone....... My grandma had a private service held on her birthday, family only. We all gathered, most of us for the first time since we laid my grandpa to rest. I thought maybe things could be different, maybe since our mighty oak had just blown down we could still stand tall as one....but it was clear as we all stood that was never going to happen. Many of the members choose not to attend for what ever reason, I never had a doubt in my mind of going. I knew that may dad had just lost his mother and I was going to be there for him, this wasn't about me, Even though I had lost my grandmother, my dad lost the one woman who would love him forever.....the woman who stated his family..... I guess in all the grief we sometimes forget that. We forget that it's not always about us, it's sometimes bigger than that.

After the service was over we gathered at the church with one last chance to reach each other......some chatted and some chose to coil up. It was awesome talking with cousins I haven't seen in years. Amazing to meet their children that I had never had the pleasure to meet before. Yet we all remained guarded, maybe knowing this was the last time we had to be together......

My dad's hand is in the glove on the stone.....

The task at current hand has been dividing a household that my grandparents created all those years ago. Seeing pictures and objects they held near and dear all sit in an empty house. To drive by the house at night with no light on.....it's real........ As a small child I remember my grandma collecting holiday Barbies, and I always wanted those fancy dolls. Not sure that I fully realized that to get those dolls my grandma had to be gone. Even though she passed over 2 months ago, I just brought those dolls home this past weekend. As my girls carried them to the house and sat them on the table it felt so strange, these were her's..... As we clean and ready things for a sale you wonder what memories each item holds.

My "family" has had it's arm load of problems and I'm sure a few more arm loads are still coming as things hopefully come to an end. I wish they could all remember no mater what hard feelings have grown and sprouted from life events, they are the only family they will ever have. My dad only has 3 sisters and 1 baby brother, they will never get those people again. They will never get back the memories that make them smile and laugh, but instead now those memories are replaced with fighting over how things should go and believing they are entitled to more than they are. How one thinks you can walk out of the family and let all of that go, then all of a sudden think you need to be there.......that's not how any of this works. Why can't they be there for each other?? They all lost a mother and a father years before.....why can't they see that?? Even as I sit and type this my heart breaks, I know the struggles I have seen my dad go through, I know the toll it is taking on him. I wish this cold all just be over for him!!

Moral of the story here is: we all only have 1 family......I know things come and go....life knocks us down and as we stand only to trip again. Winds blow and rocks are thrown....but please, remember we are all cut of the same blood.  

And to the one who e-mailed me, I have a message to you..... I love you no matter what has happened. I took those pictures so family members who chose not to go might be able to have a tiny bit of closure. That moment that they needed, so that my children might remember their great grandmother. I know you don't see it that way, and for that I am sorry, but that wasn't about you. That was about me. <3

dropped the ball.....

So......as you can clearly see I've dropped the ball on blogging.....nothing in April.  I would like to have some great reason as to why, but  I would be lying if I did.......it comes right down to it, I was lazy!!  Not anything all that spectacularly great happened either......just my boring life.  The girls are gearing up for school to wrap up another year at the end of the month, then the craziness of summer vaca begins!!  Updated to Windows 10 and I HATE IT!!  messed up all of my pictures so that will be a full week of fixing stuff there...... >.<   Not like I have anything else to do right?!

I am honestly at a loss of what to even talk about today....I should be sewing as I have a large show tomorrow.......so, here I go.  I'm hoping to get back on track next week (fingers crossed)  Maybe I will have some awesome to tell you, but don't hold your breathe......lol

Until next time.......

Industrials!!

So as you know I like to get piercings.....lol  so this post should really come to no ones surprise that I got another one!!  :)  This one is a little different than the normal run of the mill piercing.......  Haley and I went on March 10. 2016 to Mason City to go to River City Tattoo Company......ya see, Haley had been saving up her money to get this piercing done so we had to find a place that was within her allotted savings.....lol  She had saved $50.00 so it was doable!!

 First we started off on that Monday prior that we would be going to TechinoColor in Mason for their $20.00 Tuesday deal (which this is 2 holes so good to go)  So I messaged the piercer their to confirm that he would be there, we didn't want to make the drive for nothing.  He promptly responded (which I LOVED) and let me know that he would be there after 4:00, so I let him know that we would be there!!  Well, that Tuesday morning I received a message from him letting me know that I didn't need to "worry" about coming in as he wasn't going to be there.....I was bummed!!  I knew Haley would be crushed.  I told him that I hoped everything was alright and we would have to try for another day. (this was really our one free day as roller derby was starting up the following week and was on the day of his $20.00 deals)  so I messaged Haley and let her know, as thought, she was crushed!!  So then I messaged River City, to be honest, I was very disappointed.......I simply asked if they had any piercing specials going on and let them know the piercing we were looking to get.  I never got any response.  With the technology of Facebook today I do know that they saw the message, just never responded. :(  So Wednesday morning I messaged the piercer directly, asking him about specials and if they still did the students get $20.00 piercings on Thursdays.  He semi-promptly responded that they did still run the special!!  yeah!!  So with just a few more simple questions which he answered the next day we were set to go!!

So, one word of advice.....remember all of your needed paperwork.  And know your laws if you are having a minor getting pierced.......unfortunately we forgot Haley's birth certificate.....so we had to drive back home and get it and go back.........blah!!  Our piercer was amazing about it though, if we had been in before to have her pierced it would't have been a huge deal, but since we hadn't it was a no go.  And I wasn't upset, I was actually impressed that he stuck to his guns and didn't bend for us.  It's called being PROFESSIONAL!!  So that was nice, just wish I would have remembered it the first time!!   ;)

Just so you know, there is some paperwork involved in getting any work done at a tattoo place.....the general name, birthday......then the health questions.....yep, normal stuff!!  they copy your id as well.....but not the birth certificate (that I remember)  Next, our piercer went back to his work space to prepare for our piercing.  Also side note, your piercer will ask you prior to setting up what/where you want pierced.  With ours it was the top of our ear so he checked to make sure that was a possible piercing as it's pretty well known that everyone's body is different.  Not all people are candidates for every piercing.  Then once her was ready for us we were called back.  Each piercer has different rules as to how many people can come back and all that good stuff but we only had the 2 of us so we were set.  He asked who was going first, we told him it was up to him (as we were both kinds nervous and each wanted to go first)  he decided to start with Haley, youngest first!!  All good with me, I had been watching You-Tube videos so this was going to be a breeze..........

the piercing needle......14 G.

all of the supplies....needle, q-tips, tooth pick??  yep, to mark a straight line on the ear.
(there was ink too just not shown)

Haley's ear was marked and the first hole was pierced....

Haley watched very few videos but saw the "elf ears" and
wanted to make sure that I got her's!!
So both holes are pierced, her ear does straighten out.....lol

Yep, Haley is a bleeder.......cleaned up with q-tips and good to go!!

All cleaned up and looking dandy!!

Measuring to make sure the bar is a good fit.
You want a longer bar than necessary to allow for swelling.

  It was my turn next, Haley told me it didn't hurt!!  (She lied!!)  Although she didn't even flinch when her's was done!!

The holes are done!!  The first one wasn't as bad as the second!!
That one was tough!!

Bar is in and ready to put the balls on the end.  :)

Looking all excellent!!  :)

 So done!!  Let me tell you.......when Haley told me it didn't hurt she was a liar!!  The bottom hole wasn't bad....tolerable!!  The top hole sucked BALLS!!  lol  I kinda knew that going in though.....if you realize the top of your ear is much thicker and harder to pass through than the bottom part.  On a scale of 1-10 (1 being what happened and 10 being H0!^   $*3@) it was about a 6-7.  Would I do it again??  Dependable....lol  although I have another possible piercing planned that is in the similar spot so most likely!!

The after care is the same as other piercings.......http://www.safepiercing.org/learn/piercing/body-aftercare/#!/~/product/id=23786192

 http://www.piercingbible.com/piercing-care

 Each piercer will have their own tips and tricks but for the majority of the time it's pretty straight forward.  Although we have never used their brand of cleaner...

 We use the Band-Aid Brand Antiseptic Wash, love this stuff and never had any issues with it.  We also use it on cuts and scrapes and it helps them heal a little faster than left untreated.  Not sure if it helps heal faster with piercings but it works for us.  Not going to say that it will work 100% for everyone for every piercing but again, it works for us.  :)

Another bug thing is to not play with it at all!!  It's hard to do, it's something new and shiny and you want to show it off.  Just gonna say, it cold slow down healing time....and it could potentially cause infection if something would happen to get into it.  No one wants that so keep your hands DOWN!!  :)  With this piercing, you need to make sure that your hair stays out of the way for the first while.  It will get wrapped around the bar and it will hurt when you pull on it.  I found if I keep most of my bar towards my head that works best for me.  I was bumping it on too many things with the extra on the bottom....lol

Sleeping was interesting....I would NOT recommend to get this piercing on the side of your head that you generally sleep on.  For the first few nights up to the first few weeks, your ear will be tender.  (Mine hasn't been too bad at the 1 week mark, I've been sleeping on it for a few days without pain)  Each person is different so your time frame could be different but Haley's is super tender as where mine really isn't.  Yeah me!!  lol

Make sure you don't change your jewelry out early!!  This piercing can take up to a year to fully heal.  Yes that is a long time, can you change out with in that time, yes we were told we could.  I defiantly will be changing to a shorter bar when the time comes.... I guess I have small ears to this thing is killing me being so long!!  There are different lengths of bars that differ for each ear, so you'll need to measure what the right sizing is for yours.  There are tons of different styles of bars; fancy, plain, bling or shapes.  I'm hoping to find a kitty one (no luck as of yet though)



But again......all information that I give within this blog is not professional at all!!  So if you have any questions please contact a piercer and ask them.  Again, each will have their own answers, and their own ways of doing things so keep that in mind too.  :)

oh, you don't like that??

So in typical 2016 the world seems to regress.....when I say that I mean in terms of acceptance.  Today is my little rant about how the world only perceives what they want.....in general, in appearance.  So it's no secret that I have a few piercings, it's actually something unexpected that I have found that I like.  No biggie........well, in the world of others it seems to be huge.  I walk through Target or Wal-Mart (of all places) and receive odd stares and people shaking their heads.  I've had people tell me that I have ruined my face with a nose piercing.....or junked my ear up with piercings.  Let me start off by telling you I don't give a flying f*#k what your opinion is!!  I didn't get these piercings so that you could feel comfortable and enjoy them!!  People believe that piercings forever ruin your life, first off a piercing is not a forever choice.  It can be, but most piercings will heal up if taken out!!  So forever, no.......as time goes on maybe I won't care for one (not likely but ya never know) and will take it out.

Some people believe that dirty, unkept people have piercings.  Maybe some do, but most people do not realize that you have to clean a fresh piercing very regularly to keep the risk of infection and rejection out.  For the first few weeks piercings need to be cleaned at least twice a DAY!!  Kinda sounds like a lot of cleaning to me, not kept dirty!!  People with piercings must maintain them, meaning keep tabs on how they are doing.  I notice a day that my piercing seems dry, or sometimes I get a little makeup around my nose piercing that I clean (I clean it out EVERY NIGHT!!)  My tragus hasn't been a huge issue, I make sure every couple of days that the stone is screwed in and check the back for funk and move on with my day.

Will I ever get a job??  Honestly no clue!!  Probably not with the stuck up snobs of the world today!!  Which is a great reason to work from home!!  lol  Would I take my piercings out for a job??  Hmmm, that would have to be a pretty amazing job that I am IN LOVE with to do so.  So chances of that are pretty slim.  I hope that someday people can look past appearance and see that not all pierced people are terrible people.  Honestly as long as I can remember I have been intrigued with people with piercings and tattoos, staring at them.  I had always hoped that I could understand myself enough to be as confident as those individuals!!  I mean come on, you have to have confidence to strut your stuff and not give 2 shits about what people think about you!!  I remember going to the mall in St. Cloud, MN where there was this man that worked in Hot Topic......let me tell you, this man was a work of ART!!  He had countless piercings, I think he may have even lost count of all of them....I mean TONS!!  Down his head, ears, nose, lips....you name it, it had some bling somewhere!!  Anyways, I remember watching him, at the time Haley was probably about 2-3 years old, she was in complete awe......lol  she had never seen anything like him before and never has again.  I wish I would have stepped out of my comfort zone and talked to him, asked him if he knew how many piercings he had and which hurt the worst.  He was truly amazing!!  I'm sure he had his fair share of reducule from many people, but he never let anything other than confidence show.

Have I hit some sort of mid-life crisis??  Possibly, but not going to blame any tattoo or piercing on that.  I think I've just finally begun to discover who I am, yes I am a sweet, quite girl who for the most part keeps to herself.  But I am also a little dark on the inside........

My 16 year old has piercings as well, I have taken her to get them as the state of Iowa does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to be pierced without consent from a legal guardian (believe me they will make you turn around and drive home and get the required paperwork!)  ;)  So maybe this is our bonding activity, most parents take their kids to the park or a concert....well, I take mine to the tattoo shop for a piercing!!    Is it a bad thing??  I don't think so, it teaches her to be responsible, to take care of herself.  We recently got our industrials done (which I will hopefully get up next week) together, I think it helps to have someone get work done at the same time, almost like a buddy system.  We hold each other accountable and have someone first hand to ask questions and compare!! :)  When she wanted her nose pierced at the age of 15 people told me I was nuts!!  Yep I am, but I'm also the mom who believes that if you're willing to take care of it then we will talk.  I had people tell me to make her wait until she was 18 to make a decision, not sure that would have worked out, she has a friend who pierced her own nose TWICE because her mom didn't take her......yep, professional vs. self......

As far as tattoos go, yes I've only gotten one (with more on the list of "to do") yes people have things to say about it.  Yes it's shaky and there is a very thick ink line on my wrist bone (I've been told it's scaring from going in too deep) but I LOVE my tattoo!!  He symbolizes something that is important to me, not anyone else, ME!!  It's not offensive, it's not hurting anyone else!!  Yes I am a woman with a tattoo~get over it!!

 Does having piercings and a tattoo make me a bad parent??  hahahahaha......I laugh at that one!!  Nothing that I put in or on my body is going to EVER change how much I love my kiddos!!  If anything I believe it makes me love them more, I realize that I am setting an example (a colorful one) but the good ol' not judging a book by it's cover.  My kids know that just because you look one way doesn't define who you are on the inside!!  If that is the only lesson my kids learn from piercings and tattoos then so be it!!  At least they won't be so judgmental......

Grace and Tessa take over!!

So.....yep I dropped the ball again last week, no blog!!  lol  the girls didn't have school so I spent the day with them shopping in Charles City having fun.....yes I shop a lot.... ;) But I thought today we would do something a little different....Grace and Tessa do not have school today while Haley and Allie do.....so I'm going to let them blog!!  So buckle up and hang on cause you never know what will come out of a 8 & 9 year old mouth!!  toodles!!  <3

Hi this is Grace I am doing 9 facts about me #1 I am in ROLLER DERBY.My roller derby name is sweet cheeks.

#2 My house is a ZOO. We have 5 cats 1 dog 10 fish 2 turtles and a couple stray lady bugs and a few srtay box elder bugs.I like having that many animals because 2 of the cats curl up and suckle on my pillow pets.
#3 My favorite summer activity  is jumping on the trammpilen.
#4 My  little sister is a animal/tattle tale/liar.TESSA eats a lot that is  why I call her an animal. she likes to tattle on people.last she likes to lie.
#5 I LOVE to sleep.
#6 I am marred to Olaf.
#7 My friends names are Ava,Jenna,and Kagean.
#8 I get a lot of injures.
#9 My favorite song artist is Taylor Swift;)



Those are 9 facts about GRACE the AMAZING.


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Hi my name is Tessa.I am 8 years old going to be 9 in September.My birthday is September 27.I am in dance and roller derby.I have a dog named PIVOT and a cat.My cats name is oreo.I share a room and i sleep on the the top bunk.I also have a fish named Callie.I like unicorns and my favorite color is purple.I have 3 sisters.I like to go swimming when I have time to.My favorite animal is a cat.I have 5 might be getting rid of one.I dislike spiders.My favorite movie is Minoins.I like to read when i have free time at home and at SCHOOL.I like to do dance and do cartwheels.I like to go shopping.I like to play with shopkins.I like to help my mom.My favorite food is pizza and my favorite dessert is ice cream and cake.I lactose and tallint.My sisters are really mean to me.Today i just bought my own purse.I love animals.My friends names are Kaylie KARANA and Erica.I like to play outside most of the time.I hate when I have to clean  my room when im at home but i like to clean other peoples rooms.I like to be outside and i like to look at nature.My friends are really nice to me.I love to help others.I help out around the house sometimes.I love  to ride my bike when i have time to.

that is a little about me Tessa(THAT IS MY DOG BESIDE ME)

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There it is....the world in a nut shell by my 2 youngest daughters!!  :)

We had breakfast together this morning!!  about the only quite time we had today!!  ;)

Ink!!

So here it is...finally FRIDAY!!  So as you may have guessed it by the title I did go through with my very first tattoo!! I am so excited!!  Yes I chose a weeny sized one but none the less it is still a tattoo!!  I guess I went with a small one for my first to make sure that I was going to be able to handle the pain.......lol  Yes I had 4 beautiful children without any pain medication but I think that is a little bit different!!  ;)

So my tattoo adventure began on Tuesday Feb. 23rd .  2 of my friends and I decided that we were going to go to Technicolor Tattoo in Mason City, IA for their $20.00 Tuesday special.....let me tell you; everyone and their dog was on board this particular day for this deal.....  We checked in around 5:15 and were told there would be about a 2 hour wait, no biggie....we would go do some shopping.  (we decided to go to Pure Pleasures {a sex store} and just walk around.  No harm in just goofing around)  We decided that we want to make sure that we were back with plenty of time so we headed back to the shop around 6:30......little did we know that it was going to be HOURS until a needle even touched our skin!!  I can't say that I am hugely upset.....yes, things in the shop should have been handled differently (there was a gentleman there getting the side of his head tattooed which took around 3-4 hours alone!)  In my opinion the larger tattoos should have been scheduled on a different day, but to each their own........  we watched people come and go, and we began to get a little mad......when was our turn!?  It was approaching 11:00 before we actually got to sit in t he chairs, we were the last people besides the artists to be in the shop that night, which closed at 9:00!!  So they went above and beyond to stay open for us!!  My friend Jamie and I both got the same artist, Jake.  He was super friendly and made both of us less nervous as it was our firsts!!  He laid the stencil on, and asked if we were ready......he slowly started with a small line and checked to see how I was doing.......I was actually doing great!!  lol   To describe how it felt would be difficult, as each person is different.  But I would say it's a lot like a bee sting repeating or if there are any of you that have ever touched an electric fence (to keep animals in) it's kinda like that.  Once he got close to my wrist bone it felt weird as my bone was vibrating.....lol  But I was amazed it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be......yeah!!





So I guess there is going to be a long list of future tattoos made....there are already a few in mind.....

all done!!  :)

Blah.....

So I apologize, I missed last weeks blog....went shopping with my mom in Rochester!!  Had more fun than sitting at the computer blogging.....lol

Anyways, it's been 2 weeks....not much in life has changed.  A few doctor appointments, selling Girl Scout cookies, Dance practices, 4-H meetings......and most of those are on Thursdays.....

I'm feeling a little blah today about writing this blog....not really sure where to go with it......just sitting here sipping my home made lactose free hot chocolate contemplating if I want to eat lunch with my husband today at the Chinese place we LOVE to go to......he asked me to so might have to.....lol

We have a roller derby to go to this weekend so that is exciting!!  Always love to watch and support the River City Dames of Anarchy.... (there will be more info on roller derby in a future post) :)  Since we will be in Mason anyways we are planning on donating 20 rag quilts to the NICU for "For the Love of Grace."  (there is a post somewhere down here that talks about a little bit of For the Love of Grace~maybe I'll write an updated one sometime)

I'm honestly starting to run out of ideas.....how about the 4 of you that follow me leave some ideas in the comments about future blogs you would like to see!!  ;)

On this coming Tuesday the 23, a friend and I are going to get tattoos!!  My first one!!  Kinda a little bit worried it's gonna hurt (duh, it's gonna hurt!)  but hoping it's kinda like a piercing and won't be that bad.....lol  Thinking a little orange kitty on the inner part of my wrist...maybe next week will be that blog, or maybe not.....depends on the way things go........

The middle kitty standing up.......

Yeah,  I'm bored.....don't know what to write about.....lol

My daughter's school is pissing me off.....Grace tells her teacher her ear hurts and needs an aspirin and he tells her it's not his problem!!  Huh??  Not your problem to help my child??  Really, that's news to me.......AND, when they have holiday parties they always have cheese and dairy filled items.  I haven't gone into too much detail about much since I kinda slacked MAJOR last year, but Grace, Tessa and I are all giving up dairy; as it causes major stomach upset, loose poop and all that fun stuff.  So at these parties she gets to sit and watch the other kids eat their treats and she get nothing.....thinking at conference time I'm going to mention it......

Yep, officially bored......colored my hair yesterday......went from purple to what was suppose to be dark brown~turned out almost black......yeah.....it's different.  I miss my purple hair though....why is it when you dye your hair it's so soft??  I like that!!!!

new hair blues......

hey.....I'm really a nerd!!  :)

Hey, I'm going to admit......I'm OCD!!  Never been diagnosed, but I'm no doctor to tell you that.  My closet is in rainbow order, my fabric is in rainbow order, I do things in even numbers......yeah.....please help me.....lol  No it's good.....I like things just so.....unlike my house though, there are small piles, not huge messes but piles of like items.  Ask me what is in a certain pile and I can probably tell you where it's at......probably.....I'm kinda odd like that.  lol

yep, pointless blog today...no direction!!  sorry about that....leave a comment about what to write, share me with your friends..... :)

Gator Gurl.....

So I wanted to do a short little ditty today......just wanted to give a quick shout out to one of my newest "followers".......this just so happens to be my 11 1/2 year old daughter!!  Allie found my blog on Google during one of her many hours on her computer....lol I am honored that she takes the time from her busy day of playing baking and animal games to read what goes on in our lives from my point of view.  Although, I'm sure there are things that she disagrees with from time to time...... :)

So Miss Allie, what embarrassing things can I blast about you......?? hmmmm.....oh the things I could say, but I choose to not since the huge world of the web can come back to haunt you one day.  But the things I choose to say are maybe things that you should hear......

Allie with Mr. Pivot

You are so much smarter than you give yourself credit for.....I know you have a passion for reading, sometimes getting a book out of your hands is impossible.

being goofy!!

You have so much more courage than what you think you have.....as you sat on the bed last night and cried about being scared about your upcoming dance competition I tried to tell you......your team is AMAZING!!  You ladies have worked so hard and that is all that matters!!  You will go out there, do your thing and what happens on the floor stays on the floor!!  I am crossing everything on my body that can possibly be crossed that you ladies knock some socks off!!  I have confidence in you guys!!  Even if you don't bring home a ribbon, you have already done something amazing....you have stood in front of hundreds of people and shown them your hard work and dedication for your passion.  You have worked too hard to worry now about something you don't need to!!  You know I'll be in the stands, with my heart in my throat, tears in my eyes, unable to breathe cheering you guys on!!  When the top places are announced I will applaud those first few and hold my breathe until they announce your teams name......I'm going big here!!

first dance competition 3 years ago....she still gets this look though.......

You are growing too fast into an amazing young girl....could you possibly slow down??  It seems not too long ago you were just learning how to walk and talk (the talking thing might be nice to revisit.....)  ;)  I miss the days you used to sit with me, quietly......  You turn 12 this year, so your last year to be an official pre-teen!!  I'm not sure I'm ready for this!!!

My Allie!!  <3

Most off I want to tell you that I love you!!  I probably don't tell you enough as I just assume that you already know that mushy stuff!!  <3  But I really do!!  To the moon and back, I would do (almost) anything for ya!!  So as you grow into a beautiful adult, please remember who you are and never change for ANYONE!!  I will always be your biggest fan cheering in the stands, holding my breathe waiting to hear your name......

the look I will probably get once she reads this........

Pivot.......

We might just be considered CrAzY!!  Yep.....we are that family!!  We have officially added to our family!!  There is the pitter patter of 4 feet added to our house!!  Yep you guessed it......A PUPPY!!

We had a family pooch that passed away a few years ago, his name was Ruger and he was the sweetest guy you could ever ask for....we got him from an ad in the newspaper for free.  His owner was looking for someone to spend more time with him, at that time we had a very active toddler (Haley) who was 18 months old and Ruger was a mere 11 months old.  It was a match made in Heaven, they were soul mates, pals to say the least.  Ruger was definitely not a house dog, he was black and chocolate lab mix.  He got very sick in the winter of 2011 and ended up with kidney and liver failure so the best thing for him was to be put down.  It was one of hardest things I have ever had to do.  Haley and I stayed with him as the vet administered the medication that would take away all of his pain and suffering.......we watched him take his last breath and close his eyes, we stood there crying but knowing it was what was best for him.  We couldn't be selfish because we wanted him to stay with us, we loved him more than that......

right before we took our beloved boy to the vet to be put down....... <3 

We waited so long to add to our family, no one could ever take Rugers place in our hearts, that was going to have to be the most amazing dog EVER!!  In the spring of 2015 I was toying with the idea of a dog.....I missed the walks and the companionship of a dog....we just had to convince my husband that this was a good idea.....lol

Mother's Day weekend, May 9th to be exact we were at a hillbilly swap meet and there was a tote of adorable puppies.....I knew I was in for trouble.  3 of the girls were up with my family while Grace and I stood there.....one black with a little white puppy stuck out to us.....we went over and played with him, a sweet little guy.  I had to walk away.......I quickly found my dad and asked him what he knew about lab/terrier mix dogs, then I showed him......my step mom went over and picked him up and he quickly began giving his now famous "kisses"  hook.....line.....sinker........lol

We chatted with the owner, learning that they weren't 100% sure what his daddy was.  He was adorable!!  With no thought at all I reached in my pocket and paid her the $25.00 that she was asking and scooped up this puppy.....we started walking to the girls and told Grace not to say anything.  As we got closer my heart started pounding anticipating their reaction.....Grace walked ahead and the girls turned around.  My brother's girlfriend said something about what a cute puppy and the girls FLEW around....I was attacked!!  "is he ours"  "do we get to keep him"  "does Dad know?"  Millions of questions came rumbling out of their mouths.........and the fight began as to who got to walk him around........we quickly found a vendor with a small collar and a lead to "walk" him....I say "walk" because it was more of a drag at that point than anything......the girls were in love....... <3

the night we got him.....such a little guy......

the first day the girls went back to school......bought him this pillow for "large dogs"  lol  he can't even fit on it anymore.....

We called my husband when he got off of work and he came to the swap to meet up with us.....he wasn't too mad, but excited would be lying.......yes, I kinda rushed into this whole idea....but if you stand there thinking too much about it; the time will completely pass you by.  We had to buy him food, a kennel and all of the other necessities he needed.

That first day the girls went back to school was tough for him.....he laid by me waiting for them to come home......

We take Piv on walks when the weather works with us......it proves to be a challenge as he more walks you than you him....lol  We are slowly learning....... ;) Although one day when we got home this is what happened......

Piv in the pond........taking a chill

So you might ask where Pivot's name came from....it's a derby reference!!  The girls have become involved in Roller Derby (future post) so we want to make him part of that. A few explanations of what a Pivot is......

  "The pivot is also a blocker. A blocker's job is to get her jammer through the pack while blocking the opposing jammer. Blockers must be able to play offense and defense, often at the same time. There are 5 skaters on the track (per team): a pivot, 3 blockers, and a jammer."

Pivot - The pivot blocker wears a helmet cover with a stripe on it. She generally starts at the first starting line and serves as the leader of her teammates playing in that jam. As most teams play the pivot position at the front of the pack, she is also often the last line of defense to stop the opposing jammer from escaping the pack.


We thought about naming him Derby but it just didn't seem right, and when I was on line I seen another dog name Derby so we wanted something pretty original, I think Pivot hits his mark. The girls have taken him out skating with them, that was quite the challenge but Haley had fun with tying his rope around her waist and letting him run with her......they crashed but no one was hurt!!  :)

My derby team!!

Over all, Piv has become a welcome part of our family.....besides his biting and clawing.....lol  we have yet to get his BIG snip and get those claws taken care of....but he is a spoiled boy to say the least!!  <3