Another Year Older (Kind Of)

So this past week I celebrated what I lovingly referred to as my "2nd Annual 35th Birthday." Last year I decided that I was old enough and would simply stop aging at 35...however, that doesn't mean that I'm opposed to gifts, well wishes and all of the pampering and spoiling that I can possibly get! I had a WONDERFUL day with Mike and treated myself to a wonderful (and quite expensive) pair of Buckle jeans. I have never had an enjoyable experience trying on jeans, until I went to Buckle at a friend's suggestion and now I'm hooked! Then I enjoyed spending the evening with Mike and the kids, as well as some great family friends who were also celebrating a brithday the following day. If only I could have celebrated my wonderful little sis' birthday with her as well then it would have been a perfect week. If she doesn't stop aging herself, she won't be my younger sister for long!

Another fun event of the past week was taking my little beauty queen (Ashley) to a Miss America viewing party last night. It was so much fun to reminisce with other former Miss America gals, as well as sharing our love for the program with a couple of future Miss America competitors. Ashley just said last week that she wants to be Miss Colorado one day, which was music to my ears! For those who might doubt the true positive benefits of pageant competition, I ask you to consider this...last night's winner, Miss Nebraska, is the youngest winner at only 17 years old. She will now enter college with the knowledge that she will never have to pay a dime for her education thanks to her scholarship winnings from this amazing organization. She will also have interview skills that will guarantee almost any job she chooses to interview for, as well as a confidence and maturity to take her as far as she hopes to go in life. These are the things that I wish for my daughter because I've witnessed them firsthand throughout my own years of competition. It definitely doesn't hurt that Ashley absolutely LOVES participating in pageants and gaining new friendships and volunteer opportunities, but I've also made it very clear that the second she stops enjoying it will be the second that she stops competing.

Now, to stay on theme with my "Chronicles of a Busy Mom" theme, let's discuss what all is coming up in the Berry household. Just when I thought things were possibly slowing down a bit or that we might have a bit of a lazy summer, reality hit. For the family who rarely travels (and I mean rarely in every sense of the word), I will be leaving town in a week to go to Minneapolis for a week of training with Lifetouch. As soon as I return home, Ashley has her first voice recital on Sunday at the exact same time that Robbie will have baseball tryouts. We have a pageant at the end of February to get busy preparing for and then baseball games should start in March. April will include a possible week in court for my pending case of the past year, although we're hopeful that the date will be pushed back because if it doesn't it will coincide with the same week that we are planning to go to TN for Mike's brother Chuck's wedding over Easter weekend. As soon as school wraps up at the end of May we will quickly jump into final preparations for Ashley's big pageant of the year on June 12th, Miss American Coed CO Pre-Teen. The last week of June means that Ashley will most likely be heading off to Lubbock, TX for Camp Champion (her first big middle school youth group event!), only to be followed by returning home one day before we fly to Sarasota, FL for Mike's sister Norene's wedding over the 4th of July! We are hoping to turn that trip into a week-long family vacation and the kids might even travel back to TN with their grandparents to visit for a couple of weeks. As soon as they get back, they will both have Bible camp in CO and football practice will start immediately after that. And then it's already back to school...whew! Hmmm, I'm already wondering where my summer went? But as any busy mom will tell you, I wouldn't have it any other way!