Blue and Gold!!!

Well, just this past weekend Shannon, some great friends, and I journeyed out to good ol' Logandale, NV where we celebrated Moapa Valley Pirate Homecoming at the football game! The Pirates were victorious that Friday night. The weather was perfect with a little bit of a chill that made it perfect football weather....or marching band weather as I really call it! This time of year is when marching band season is coming to a close and the football game brought back so many memories. I have been reminiscing today with a few tears I must admit!

It is neat to think about the similarities that Moapa Valley High School and my High School share- the main similarity being our colors! Only the bold wear BLUE and GOLD! Just check out our school shirts:




Anyway... one similarity they do not share is Marching Band. When I think about all that my kids will miss out on living out west it makes me sad. This isn't a stab at anyone who grew up here and thinks that it's great, it's just that my kids will have to grow up completely different than I did which I think is sad. I wish they could experience all four seasons and all the fun and adventures that brings. And most importantly, if our children did want to be in band- they will have to experience the poorest quality out here. No offense to Nevadans, but band is something that is chuckled at and made fun of overall. Back home in states such as Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Illinois, marching band is huge, exciting, and competitive. Marching Band takes up hours of kids weeks, lots of hard work and dedication, and is not considered the "dorky" thing to do. Here, it is just a joke. Because I am feeling nostalgic, humor me and watch this clip of one of my favorite professional marching bands back east from Illinois. A show is about 10 minutes. If you don't want to spare that much time- just skip ahead and watch from 7:20 to the end because that is the most exciting part.

This is what marching band is like back east. Enjoy my passion that will be sadly missed by my children! : (







I'm so excited that I get to go home and attend my brother's last performance with Muhlenberg North Marching Stars at State Finals on November 1st! Go Stars!

Cute Purse Contest!

Handbag Planet is launching a new purse website on October 15th and they want to celebrate by offering a chance to win a gorgeous purse for free! 24 purses will be given away in 24 hours. So, hurry before the 15th and enter a chance to win a lovely bag!

www.handbagplanet.com

Family Home Evening- Rock Band Fest

Family Home Evening Rocked last night. We have a young couple's FHE every monday and we always have a blast. It's the highlight of my week. Yesterday was the first time I've really tried to play any kind of game system since Super Nintendo! I am so anti-video games for a few reasons and thought that Rock Band would be lame. After combination FHE/MNF (Monday Night Football), the crew decided to start a band- Rock Band! I loved the drums! I felt like a Nintendo nerd like my brother! I look forward to FHE next Monday so I can Rock the drums again. I think I'm almost ready for tour. haha.

Has anyone else tried Rock Band?

Makeup Artist in the Making!

I wanted to share with you a couple things that I did this past week at school (Academy of Hair Design). I only have two weeks left by the way! I am so excited! I can't wait!

This was my model, Amanda.
Before:

After Foundation- Contouring of the face



Finished Photography Makeup

Fantasy Makeup

Inspiration- Blackbird
Before



After- Finished Fantasy Makeup

I tried the idea on my face the night before... As you can tell- It evolved just a little bit. I added a beak!

PICTURES: Disneyland/CA, Kentucky

Seriously- The happiest place on Earth! Manda and I ran around like little kids all day long and rode EVERYTHING we could. It really wasn't busy that day, so it was perfect. Shannon and Kevin just tried to keep up!
At Mickey's House

Going 3D!
Little Mermaid!- there were so many great pictures from the parade but I really love Ariel!
Who was stoked for Disneyland!!!???? Manda and Me- We got there when the gates opened and left at 10:30pm. We enjoyed EVERY HOUR
After Splash Mountain...Manda got the worst of it
We sooooo choreographed that
We went on a journey in a submarine to Find Nemo
Raging Waters:
Being trashy and showing my usually covered leg!
The Crew. Kevsters, Manda, Me, and the Mister
Mr. Hunk
We thought we were funny!
I'm exhausted and Amanda wanted more!

Kentucky Trip:
I was naughty
Me and My Jilly who was the most amazing friend to me while home!

Playin' Corn Hole
My Aunt Angie and Cousin Brandon


Mother-Daughter Smiles
Me and Rick
Shannon and the parent-figures
Enjoying the Outdoors
Me and My Mama Debs
I sure do miss this beautiful place!
Pickin' tomatoes must take a lot of muscles! : )

My cousin Amber, my brother Kaleb, and you know who!

It's Been A While...

Wowsers! I have some explaining to do. Are you comfortable because it may take a while to read this entry!? I will try to keep it as brief as possible.

Well- the reason why a new post has been so long in the making is because our computer decided to blow up. It died. This was about 2 months ago. It took 6 weeks to get our computer fixed! That felt like a lifetime, and I don't know how we ever lived without our computers previously. (It's true! We rely so much on technology such as cell phones and computers that when we have to go without them, it's a struggle!) Anway... My computer just recently got out of the hospital, and I'm ready to renew my commitment to be a devoted blogger!

Late July and August have NOT been my favorite months, to say the least. It all started with the ice machine. Our ice maker on the refrigerator decided it didn’t want to perform its task anymore. Shortly after that, the air conditioning went out in our Dodge. (Keep in mind that we had just replaced some parts in our Honda for its air conditioning for $250). By now- we were getting a little annoyed. And by the way…the air is still not fixed. We’re rolling in Vegas with nature’s air conditioning which isn’t always that great! After the air went out on the Dodge, our computer stopped working. The entire hard drive had to be replaced. Following the computer, our DVD player stopped working, and the toilet seat broke!

I think our belongings had a conspiracy against us! What do you think?

Shortly following all of these collective stresses, I received a phone call early morning on Monday, August 4^th that my father had passed away in his sleep. I was completely shocked because it was certainly unexpected. He went to bed early the night before because he wasn’t feeling well and slipped into a diabetic coma shortly after. He never woke up.

The worst part of receiving this news was that I didn’t even cry. My dad was never my favorite person, but once I started to think about the plan of happiness and what this life is all about, I began to cry. Now, these tears weren’t because I had a life filled of fond memories and love for my dad, but rather quite the opposite. I cried for him. I cried because his life on this earth was spent wasted. He was the only one who had the power to change his life, but he never did. I hope that he is getting a second chance in the Spirit World even though it would appear as though he had many chances on this earth. He had the gospel. He knew it was true because he would always say that he did, but his actions showed that he loved his drugs more.

With absolutely no intentions of being rude, I am thankful for my father’s example in life of how not to live. I am completely inspired to LIVE my life the BEST I possibly can. I know that I will fall down many times, but I will always fight to get back up. Death really is meant to be a celebration and reflection of our journey, not our regrets. Life is short, so make sure that you LIVE for Him. We live to die, and we die to live. This I know is true.

The Dash

The Dash
by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?