Christmas Cards

Today started out with an early photo session with a friend and her adorable girls.  I am no professional photographer by any means, but said friend likes to flatter me, and I just love to snap photos of cute girls, so it works.  I could not convince the little lady the get picture ready this morning, so we ventured out to the back yard for a mini photo session of our own this afternoon.

G has inherited the grand Christmas Card obsession from her mother.  This year she has decided to do her very own photo card to send out to her friends and teachers.

And she likes to use props. . . 

I like the photos we did today.  But I can't wait to go to a really pretty location and try again next weekend.

In other card news, I finally ordered our family Christmas Card tonight.  I think creating the card is my favorite part of Christmas.  We are already receiving cards in the mail, so I feel like I am so behind.  I can't wait to get them in the mail!!  

Better late than never. . . .isn't that the saying?

Cheer Competition:

Competition arrival started at 5:30 am. Meaning we had to leave our house at 4:00 am!!

But it was all worth it to be called. . . . .

 2012 NCATA Champions

This squad worked so hard for months to prepare for the competition.  I'm so glad that babyG had the opportunity to learn that hard work and determination pay off in the end.  And she had a little fun in there too.

The picture below is G with her cheer coach, Mrs. Kim.  And the NCATA championship trophy.

Not to mention her very first medal of any kind.  She was SO excited about getting the medal, that she was the first girl off the mat at the end of the routine. 

After the first competition the girls and parents took a vote on whether or not the squad would participate in the state competition.  The entry cost was minimal, and it was nearby at a local high school in the Birmingham area, so we decided to participate.

The squads competing were all so good!  We finished fifth place. 

 I was so proud of my girl for holding back her tears of disappointment until she was in private.  Several of the girls started crying right on the floor after they received their trophy.  G held her head high and conducted herself very well.

It was after we got in the car that the tears started to flow.  Luckily Nana was there with us, and she came to the rescue by taking us out for a nice dinner. 

And, a little build a bear fun really helped get G's spirits back up.

The football team made it to the semi finals in the play offs, but lost to the only team that beat us all season.

So, for now, cheer is over and we have our life back.

I am so proud of babyG and all the girls for what they accomplished this season.  She has made some sweet memories, that will follow her for a lifetime. 

Until next year, I love this little Rams cheerleader!!

Jumping into the Photo Season

It's that time of year again.  Time to start snapping hundreds of photos in hope of getting one sweet photo for the Christmas card design.  

I'm practicing today.  And I'm a little rusty!!

Halloween Recap 2012

I cannot believe that Halloween has come and gone already.  I had barely decorated, and now it has passed me by.  This year has been a little crazy for me at work, so I have a ton of vacation time left that I need to use before the end of the year.  So, I decided to take the day off for Halloween.

I had a very productive day.  I got a lot of cleaning and organizing done in the house. And I was able to put out all of my Fall decor.  I only have a few short weeks to enjoy my favorite season, and then we will all be speeding into the Christmas festivities.

This year babyG decided to dress as a nerd for trick or treating.  The week of Halloween is always Red Ribbon Week at school, so she was also able to wear her costume to school that day.  Normally she has a hard time deciding on a costume, but she knew months in advance what she wanted, and she never even thought of changing her mind.

I must admit, she made a pretty adorable nerd.  This is the second year that her BFF Caity-bug has joined us for trick or treating.  Caity lives WAY out in the woods and has nowhere to go trick or treating.  And we just love having her with us for all the fun.  I laugh when I look at this picture of the two of them together.  Sweet C-bug is very tall for her age, she is only eight. But she is already as tall as big10 is at twelve.

After trick or treating we came back to "sort" and take inventory of our goodies. . . 

 Catch up on the news via the Iphone. . . .

And eat some of the goodies while looking extremely tired.  Both of these boys had been worked hard all week at basketball practice.  Luckily they had a short practice on the day of Halloween. 

I can't believe how fast this year is flying by.  It makes me realize that we have been way too busy, and are moving entirely too fast.  I can't even enjoy what is right in front of me.  I am working on taking it a little slower and trying to enjoy the moment.  Rather than looking ahead at what is coming next.  That being said, I am not going to let it stop me from pinning Christmas decorating ideas on Pinterest. :)