Best Friends

I love this picture! This was taken in our pool last summer and is a picture of Sydney with her best friend, Brittany. They are so cute! They met in Kindergarten (Mrs. Royal rocks!) and have been inseperable ever since. When these girls get together, they rarely surface! Their new favorites are Littlest Pet Shop toys. If you haven't seen these toys, look around! They are sweeping the country as the new craze for little girls everywhere! Sydney and Brittany will play with these things for hours. If new ones come out, they are right there on top of it ("Mom, I saw on t.v. that there is a hummingbird now. Can we get it? Please? Please?")

Anyway, I'm so glad Sydney has a friend that she enjoys being with. They are very sweet with each other and they play so wonderfully together. I am proud of Sydney for choosing a friend that is so sweet and polite. It's fun to watch them play together, giggle, tell secrets, and link arms when they walk together.

Girlfriends are great! And...I'm glad my daughter has found a friend who has been true and loyal!

Kurt Barttrum...world class kid!

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged but I wanted to use this specific blog to talk about someone who I think a lot of. This kid has amazing talent and what's more he is an all-around great guy. Kurt, I know, is going to do great things in his life. He is an amazing diver who, already at such a young age, is doing unbelieveable things! He has set record after record and I know we are going to see him in the 2012 Olympics (I know it seems far....but five years is nothing!)

I've known Kurt for about six or seven years now. I met his little fireball, cutie-faced sister first through my job at the gym. She was one of our gymnasts and later was on our competitive team. I then met Kurt and his parents and fell in love with this family the moment I met them. Kurt would spend time tumbling at our gym and was a natural. Talk about fun! He was nimble and would attempt anything and had no fear...and what's more.... nine times out of ten, he would land it perfectly! He would stand at my desk and tease me and we'd joke and he'd pull silly, typical jr. high boy pranks and antics. He'd tell me about his latest girlfriend and all the drama that surrounds early teenagers. Then...he got his license! He pulled up in our parking lot in his "new" ride and couldn't wait to show it off.

A couple years ago, we spent New Year's Eve with Kurt, his sister, and his parents. Talk about a fun group. We had a really good time and it was great to be able to spend time with them.

I know Kurt adores his parents, but what I hope most is that he continually realizes how incredibly blessed he is to have parents that are dream supporters. Kurt is just beginning to live out his dream and his parents are always right there watching him, encouraging him, loving him, and supporting him. I love Tim and Amy for many reasons. They are SO fun and we have such a great time hanging out with them. (We do a lot of laughing!) But what I love and respect most about Tim and Amy is their amazing parenting and unabandoning love for their children.

What a great gift to give your children.

I love, love, love my children and they bless my heart daily however it also blesses me to see other parents hard at work and doing a great job of it.

Congratulations, Kurt on a phenomenal year in diving! I can't wait to see you on my television in 2012!

Big Kristin

Well, our weekend is nearly over and as I was going through some pictures on our computer, I came across these delightful images of "Big" Kristin and our kids. We love Big Kristin! She is such a peach. I've known her since she was about five. She was the prettiest little girl and I was friends with her brothers when I was in high school.

Later in life, when I became the manager at the Performance Academy, Kristin taught tap and jazz there and we renewed our friendship. Needless to say, my children fell in love with Big Kristin. Now to clarify, Kristin is not "big" but when your kids have two friends named Kristin, you have to clarify which one you're talking about. Thus arrived the name Big Kristin! We will probably have to curb that name once she gets pregnant because you know how upsetting that name might be during that time of her life. Kristin is very admired and loved by each of my children. Elijah and she have a special bond due to their love of art and painting and drawing. Noah and Kristin have the most fun just being silly together and she puts up with all his craziness and always laughs at his every joke. Sydney adores Big Kristin and wants to grow up to be just like her. She always wants Kristin to sleep in her bed during sleepovers and Kristin always spends an extra amount of time playing Barbies or house with her. Their relationship is a blast!

Anyway, Kristin got married last summer (in the most beautiful ceremony I've ever seen!) and lives out of state now. We don't get to see her that often and we miss her lots but seeing these pictures makes me smile and remember all the fun we always have when we get together. Her husband is a peach too and they compliment each other beautifully! I must say, I admire Jeff and Kristin and their godly relationship and how focused they are on each other.

So, in a way this blog is dedicated to Big Kristin. I appreciate the way she loves my kids and all the fun times we've had together. She is an amazing person and I love the positive influence she has on my children.

Kisses and Hugs to you Big Kristin! We can't wait to see you again!

Itty Bitty Gidget

I love my Maltese! I know...I sound like one of those bumper stickers or t-shirts that you proudly disply when you are in dork denial! Gidget is our 3 lb 15 oz Maltese that we've had since last October. We, at the May house, are completely in love her! She's is so much fun and comes complete with many accessories such as hair bows and... I hate to admit it but I even have a puppy purse for her that she will hop into when we go places. She is the perfect little travel-sized pooch!

Now, here's the story on how we came to purchase our Maltese. Please be forewarned that you will now see firsthand how big of a geek I truly am. Two years ago, we trekked across country to visit Chad's family in California. While staying at Uncle Carl's house, our children got to know and played a great deal with the kids next door. One late afternoon, the mother invited me to sit down in their front yard and visit. She was so nice and had this gorgeous landscaping with all kinds of cacti and flowers and shrubs. The chairs we sat in were in directly in front of her cactus garden which were flowering and beautiful. Well, while we were chatting (I found her extremely fun and interesting with all her stories of her kids being in commericals and doing call backs and working in catalogs. Her husband was an extra in Independence Day) this extremely soft ball of white fur jumped up on my lap. I was more than delighted! Baxter, while pretty good size, was the softest dog I had ever encountered and was so sweet and gentle and loving. "What kind of dog is this?" I asked sweetly. Then came the reply. "He's a Maltese."

Needless to say, I became a little obsessed with their dog and pummled Uncle Carl's neighbor with question after question about their canine friend. I WANTED THIS DOG! It became my mission. I would go to the ends of the earth to find the perfect Maltese for me and adopt one and love it until I became its ultimate, wonderful master!

THEN... she told me the price they paid for him and I fell over due to the coronary I experienced! Okay...maybe I didn't fall over, but I did straighten right up in my chair thus causing my injury.

You see, like I mentioned, I was in front of her cactus garden and her money talk caused such a jolt that my shoulder blade rubbed up against one of her cactus plants. Now, I don't think she ever knew that I did it because *clearing my throat* I'm a pretty good actress too. I sat still trying to keep my shoulder blade from rubbing up against my shirt and politely continued to carry on a conversation all the while sheer panic was building inside. After ten more minutes or so, I say goodbye and walk quickly back over to the house so Chad can do surgery on my shoulder. Needless to say he had to use the tweezers to remove around 15 little cacti barbs.

HOWEVER...no cactus can diffuse my new found love for this breed of dog. We found Gidget at a breeder in Gas City. She was six weeks old (I know, a little young. But hey, it worked out!) She was the smallest in the litter and very sweet. She is energetic, loving, playful, and has a wonderful disposition. She loves to be in the car or on a leash as long as she is with her family. She is carried most by Sydney and Elijah and I think if Sydney could dress her up like a baby, she would do it in a heartbeat.

The only con about the Maltese is the grooming that is involved. Their hair is super fine and becomes tangled easily. She mats really quick so a shave down is required every few months. We bathe her once a week and comb and brush her daily. Her grooming is a handful but I don't care. I love her anyway!

In the pics you'll notice a short Gidget and a shaggy Gidget. I don't prefer one over the other. They both are pretty adorable!

Mmmmmm!

Well, a sure sign of Spring around here is the opening of our favorite local ice cream hangout. If you haven't been to the Albany Dairy Dream.... you should hop, skip, and jump to this establish-ment! This place is incredible! I promise (cross my heart and hope to die) that they have the BEST vanilla cokes you will ever taste. I don't know what they put in them but they are amazing! Their ice cream is fabulous too! In fact, when I was pregnant with Sydney, I craved their bubble gum ice cream. Yummy!

Anyway... we Albanyians (is this even a word?!?!) don't brag about much but we do toot our horns about Dairy Dream!

COME ON SPRING!

Good friends!

Well, we had Elijah's belated birthday party tonight. Talk about crazy! He invited two of his friends over (Brendon and Aaron) and... I have to say.... they had a great time. The boys started their evening out playing laser tag and arcade games in Muncie. Afterwards, they headed back to our house for tacos and games. They are hysterical to watch and Chad and I have laughed so hard at them tonight.

I'm so glad Elijah has such good friends to hang out with. I hope these good friendships continue throughout school. These boys seem to have such a good time together.

Speaking of friends, I have many good friends and I'm thankful for each one. My very best friend, Holly and I have known each other since seventh grade. We both have three children and wonderful husbands and we still get together as much as possible not to mention all the phone calls! We have the best time together and I'm so glad we are still so close. She rocks and I love her so much!

Bottom line....I am thankful for all my friends. Those from elementary, jr. high, and high school, to friends Chad and I have met over the course of our relationship, to friends I have through work.