Mackenzie Perry at OneTrueMedia.com

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So pretty!

This year my clematis plants have gone wild! I am so excited. Here's a picture of one in the front of the house and one of the three in the back.

Polo on the Lawn

Blake has been volunteering at an event, Polo on the Lawn, a fundraiser for Hospice, for three years now. She sells candy as raffle tickets for $20 a pop! The thing is, she is pretty cute, and she can sell 10 at a time in a blink of the eye. The event is hosted at a friend's home. The photo is a picture of their home. The estate, Ashlawn, is just as grand.

4 1/2 years younger~4 1/2 inches taller... maybe more.

Civil Air Patrol

Evan has ambitions to get accepted into the Air Force Academy and he is working on qualifications to add to his resume' at 12 years old. He certainly gets his drive from his daddy! He joined the Civil Air Patrol in March and is really enjoying it. Evan is a bit of a rule follower. He loves structure and set expectations, so this is perfect for him. This commitment includes physical fitness qualifications, uniform expectations, lots of bookwork, and the opportunity to learn how to fly airplanes. This is a picture of him on the way home from their meeting. He looks pretty handsome in his uniform, I have to say! ;o)

Golf Camp!!

Evan has been going to Southridge Golf Course for an hour and a half every day this week for golf lessons. This weekend ~ Golf! Let's hope he can teach Mom and Dad a thing or two. xo

Colorado ~ Like no place else!

Clay was asked to come view an upcoming job in Aspen over the weekend so we hopped in the car and took a road trip. Blake had practice, so she stayed home. We left early Saturday morning and drove through Summit County over Vail pass and through Glenwood Canyon. Amazing! Gorgeous! If you haven't traveled that road recently, do it and soak it up. (Clay had driven that road the week before when he went to Grand Junction for the day, and noticed a huge difference in the water level of the river. Too hot in the mountains - too much snow melt for the rivers!)

Once we got to Aspen, Evan and I took the gondola up the mountain, had lunch, and enjoyed the view. We ventured into a couple of shops in town, but quickly exited when we saw the $200 t-shirts for sale.

Clay finished his walk through and we headed over Independence Pass down through Buena Vista and stopped to spend the evening with Samantha and Ken and their family. We enjoyed dinner with Mom and Fred and our quick visit with Jessica.

The next morning included breakfast at Patio Pancake and a three hour drive through beautiful Colorado on our way home to Fort Collins. Gosh, I love Colorado!

Summertime!

Yea for SUMMER!!! It's been a long winter and a cold spring and we are ready for the HEAT!! The kids have several camps over the summer including an overnight CSU football camp for Evan, two weeks of golf instruction for Evan, a week in Oregon for a gymnastics and stunting camp for Blake, and as always, a week away at Camp Timberline for Evan. Blake still has two to three days a week of cheer practice and is still looking for a summer job. We'll see how she can fit all of that in. No worries ~ it's summer! (almost!)

Flag Football Tournament

Evan's team, the BullDogs, played the Gators for game one of the tournament this Saturday. They lost. They played four more games in a row in the rain and wind and won every one! They ended up playing the Gators again in the championship round. They won!!!! But, since this was a double elimination tournament, they had to play the Gators again because both teams only had one loss under their belt. It rained and rained and the kids played their hearts out. Six and a half hours of playing with bananas and granola bars being their only source of fuel, the final outcome was the Gators won the tournament. The BullDogs made us proud. They were having so much fun!!!! Evan caught a few passes and ran the ball like a mack truck! It was fantastic!! This was a fun, fun, fun season! xo

No more trampoline pit ;o(

Well, the trampoline has seen better years so we decided to get rid of it. We now have a 17 ft diameter and 3 ft deep hole in the corner of our yard. We don't want the maintenance of a pond and we can't afford a hot tub, so what do we do with this large hole? I say lets deck over it, Clay says let's fill it with concrete, Evan wants a fire pit and Blake wants a HOT TUB!! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. . . to be continued!

End of the Season Banquet

Blake had her end-of-the-cheer-season banquet today. It's always sad to say goodbye to a fun year. Does this mean we take a break from Cheer Central? Of course not! The new season starts the week of May 17 with new groups and new hopes for the following year. Blake is torn between cheering on a coed team or an all girl squad. We'll see how it all works out! The photo is Miss Blake with her two coaches, Julie and Kyle.

Spring Flag Football

Evan has had a great time playing flag football this season! His team has been dominating the others for six weeks now. They play in the final tournament next Saturday. Miss Blake has been helping out while we were traveling in Mexico, and texted us, "Evan's coaches are HOT!" His coaches are young college kids with a passion for the sport. They have been fantastic! Note the blonde coach and his bare feet! :o) . . . and check out the height of my son!!! Sheesh!

The "little brother"

She was wearing three inch heels. "Let me take a picture with Evan so I can be taller than him!" NOT!!!! xo

Junior Prom

She looked amazing! She had a blast! Her date was her boyfriend, Isaac. She arrived home safe. Parents are happy and grateful! xo

Check out the shoes!!!!

Orlando Trip to the World Championships!

Springtime in Orlando was sunny, warm, and relaxing. It snowed in Colorado while we were gone. ;o).

Miss Blake's team did fantastic but did not make it to the finals on Sunday. The night before we left for Orlando, the team had their final practice from 6 to 9. Right before the end of practice, two members of the team suffered serious injuries. Their injuries resulted in Blake having to relearn her entire routine with new, inexperienced members of the team. She practiced til 11 p.m., drove home to Fort Collins, arrived about 12:30 a.m., and we left for the airport at 3:30 a.m. The team performed the new routine for the first time on the mat at the semi-finals. I couldn't be more proud of their ability to rally. They did great! The division in which they compete is the most difficult and they represented Colorado proudly.

We have several pictures with teams from out of the country. I had to giggle when Blake would ask if she could get her picture taken with them, I would take the picture, and then they all would hand me their camera to get a shot for them as well.

Not making it to finals meant we had a lot of time to spend at the parks and at the pool. Blake chose the parks, I chose the pool. She turned 17 on Sunday and their team celebrated at their Prom Sunday night. It was a fun trip! No worries, no regrets!

World Championships!

Miss Blake and I are off to Orlando. Her team, the Cheer Central Suns, Unlimited COED Level 5 team will be competing Saturday morning and hopefully Sunday, too. This all depends on their Saturday performance. We are excited. This is her third year in a row competing at this very prestigious competition. Cheer Central ~ Let's go SUNS!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to Reality!

Clay and I had a very nice vacation in Cozumel. We came home relaxed, tan, and craving American food and water. The weather was nice for our first few days and then the rain began to fall. Two days of rain in Mexico really makes you appreciate our dry weather in Colorado. The kids did great in Fort Collins. Evan won both of his flag football games and passed his physical fitness test for Civil Air Patrol. Miss Blake is gearing up for the World Championships next week. I think she is really glad to have Mom and Dad home to try to ease her stress. Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandad Perry for taking such good care of our kiddos!!!! I don't think they missed us one bit! ;o) Well, maybe a little.

Decisions . . .Decisions . . .

The pool? . . . The beach? . . . The pool ?. . . The beach? . . . Lovin' Cozumel!!!!

Mexico for a week!

Every year, my boss takes his entire staff to Mexico. Clay and I will be leaving soon to Cozumel for a week. The kids are staying behind with Grandma and Grandad Perry. We are looking forward to a vacation together. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandad are going to have their work cut out for them. Evan just started flag football and Civil Air Patrol and Miss Blake is gearing up for the World Championship in Orlando at the end of April. They will be busy while we are away. We . . . will not. ;o)

What a life!

Moose and Conan are becoming very close friends. They now share a chair in the living room. ;o)