Week End Rambling

Anyone else glad it's Friday?

If not, I've got enough excitement to go around but I just thought I'd ask... :-)

I've been trying to follow Rambo's lead this week and stop to smell the roses a bit more. The month of May just about does me in every year and this one was no different. So many things that must be done and, quite frankly, we had a few weeks of behavior modification thrown in there as well.

I honestly thought for a bit that I had no idea who the child was standing before me. However, I'm am so very thankful that a lot of prayer and handing down (and not backing off of) consequences for certain behavior seems to have worked wonders. My girl is back and I am so very grateful. For real.

Anyway, the girl spent a couple of nights with a friend to attend VBS this week so the man and I got some uninterrupted time to hang out. We've also just been getting into the swing of summer and firming up our plans for big fun over the next few months :-)

What all of that means is there hasn't been much picture taking or exciting blog fodder going on in the ol' Bowers household.

That is, unless you want to hear about the amazing Bible study I'm doing on the book of Revelation. It's really good, y'all, but talking about seals, woes and tribulation on a blog largely devoted to my daughter just doesn't seem quite right...feel free to contact me via email, though, if you want to chat.

I love, love, love the study of end time events. It's not that I have strong opinions about how things will be wrapped up (honestly, doesn't matter, in my opinion) but I do enjoy the study. A lot.

We don't have many plans for the weekend (thank you, Jesus!) but I will be attending a tea for our pastor's wife tomorrow morning. She's an incredibly dear friend of mine as well so I'm looking forward to honoring her. She definitely serves it. (And so much more.)

Other than that, we're just going to enjoy hanging out because our schedules get wacky next week. And not in the Wacky Mac kind of way. Just busy.

But I digress...

Anyway, have a great weekend, friends. And try to stay somewhat cool. :-)

Sometimes you just have to stop...

...and smell the roses...

Summer Livin'

We have lots of things planned for this summer but I purposely didn't plan any type of camp or activity for my girl this week because I really felt she would need a chance to sleep in, enjoy some rest and relaxation, and recover from the school year.

So, of course, she's been up and ready to have fun before I managed to leave the house for work each day this week.

That's just the way it goes, right?

She is enjoying herself, though. She played with a friend yesterday afternoon and today is hanging with another girlfriend. She's also spending the night. So, you know, woo hoo!


All that to say that there's just not much going on right now that is blog post worthy. Yes, I realize that's never stopped me from boring you before but everyone can turn over a new leaf. You know, maybe.

We're in the process of planning our trip to South Padre later this summer and, in fact, just booked the condo yesterday. We are incredibly excited because it's - wait for it - beachfront. Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic time in Galveston last year but we did a lot more than just go to the beach like Moody Gardens, Houston Space Center, Schlitterbahn, etc.

This year we want to spend a whole lot more time with our toes in the sand and we found a fantastic deal so we are eagerly anticipating that trip. And doing a lot of daydreaming about things like this...

Happy summer, y'all!

Dancing Queen

My girl had her first dance recital in six years over the weekend and, quite frankly, she ROCKED IT, y'all. She was a dancing queen when she was younger but then developed a love for gymnastics and tumbling. Well, after suffering a broken elbow that required 14 months of rehab, she decided not a change is hobbies was needed.

Smart girl, huh? :-)

She did a fantastic job and we were all really impressed that she picked up so well after a long hiatus. 

She also looked beautiful, in my opinion, though it became apparent quickly that an 11-year-old does not exactly have an appreciation for a smokey eye....

She decided to do tap and jazz this year but, by the time the recital was over, she had determined next year will include all three types of dance so looks like we'll be picking up ballet shoes soon :-)

Nana and Boppy gave her these absolutely beautiful hot pink roses after the performance...

...and then we headed to La Fiesta for some after dancing grub...

Their jazz number was to "America" from "West Side Story" while the tap song was "The Chattanooga Choo Choo."

I had her put the second costume on again last night so I could snap some pics. They wore black leather newsboy style hats during the performance and they were adorable!

Absolutely loved the studio this year. Loved the costumes. Love the girl. Basically, an all around success!

And now summer can truly begin - woo hoo!

Happy Monday, y'all :-)

And then it was over...

Today is the girl's last day of fifth grade. There have been ups. There have been downs. There have been a lot of laughs and some tears. Lots of maturing, studying and growing up. 

And Taylor has has an interesting year as well.

Oh, I jest, y'all...

My girl walked out of the house this morning as a fifth grader for the last time. In a few short months she will begin her last year of intermediate school. 

With an incredibly young mother in tow.

And I kid again...

In all honesty, we all need a break. Time to recharge. A clean slate. A new chapter.

As always, God has provided exactly what we need when it's needed more desperately. We are incredibly grateful and are looking forward to an amazing summer. It's a very busy summer, for sure, but I've learned that time passes quickly and you may as well take the bull by the horns and enjoy every possible second.

Tonto been the main teacher of that lesson. :-)

And, for good measure, may I present my girl on the last day of school...

She was incredibly excited about taking pictures before 7am. And it shows. But that's ok - it's documented for posterity now.

Yes, these were taken with my point and shoot because I couldn't find Carl.

Carl is my camera's name.

Yes, we name inanimate objects in our home.

For instance, my car's name is Bob.

No, I'm not kidding this time.

Because you've now been subjected to our very own version of crazy, I'll give you an old pic of Rambo I found on said old camera this morning...

Happy Friday! Happy Summer! :-)

Mad Dash to the Finish

The last week of school...

...is, quite frankly, just a mad dash to the finish at this point.

...appears, to the outside observer, to be spent playing a lot of games with little instruction. :-)

...is rough.

...contains a dance dress rehearsal and recital.

...gave my child a chance to show off her guitars skills but her mom completely forgot about it and missed it.

...said child didn't even want me there to begin with but then wanted to know why I didn't come.

...obviously didn't find me earning "Mother of the Year" honors.

...makes me wish I'd done a number of things differently throughout the year.

...makes me realize how much my girl has accomplished - and how much things have changed - throughout the school year.

...makes me wistful for this day...

First day of fifth grade

...makes me realize just how much my girl has grown up this year.

...has me wishing for summer so badly that you could probably even talk me into wearing a swimsuit at this point.

...finds me being one proud mama as the girl earned Commended performance on two out of three TAKS tests. And miss the third by only two points. 

...reminds me just how much I love being a mom.

...gets me excited for the first day in the fall. I know, I know, I'm a dork...BUT I just love the clean slate a new school year brings.

...has be busily planning multiple summer camps, a weekend trip to San Antonio, a weekend trip to Oklahoma, a beach vacation to South Padre and multiple outings with both the man and the girl.

...is a busy but sacred time because these days will never come again. 

...and I wouldn't miss it for the world. :-)

Wordless Wednesday