30 years in the making....

I debated on what to call this post...in my head it has been many names. And it was supposed to be ready to post on my birthday….but, no. Oh well. Here are some of the post titles that floated around in my head.

"I'm still alive!" "I made it!" "The more I grow, seems the less I know." "All the Embarrassing Pictures.” and “And So It Goes.”

Maybe those will be blog titles of the next few blogs…because this ONE of a series of posts. Today I’m only posting a few pictures. With scanning and planning and posting…I get bogged down. Plus, it will be nice to have a few blogs rather than just one BIG HUGE ONE! Just know….more are coming.

Is it just me or does everyone feel from a young age, that they will never get old and they will never die? And as you get older you feel older and you think about....well anyway.

This is the first part of my life...and all the school pictures I had. I can think of some REALLY fun pictures I want to post...but I don't have them....my mom must have them.

Anyway, here you go….enjoy.

Kindergarden

1st grade

I think 3rd Grade

AHHH!!! Belly shirt!

My friend Carol and I made up a dance to a Paula Abdul song, for our 4th Grade Banquet.

Get ready for it! TA-DA My Sally Jessy Raphael glasses! And my ice cream flavors shirt?

I was hip! (4th grade)

YIKES! Purple Poison.

My friends in 5th grade. Christine (back left) and then Han and Han. Which of these things are not like the other! I loved them! They were great friends!

5th grade

Blue Attitude.

7th Grade

The Her-icanes.

Graduation day! From Jr. High. With Grandpa Alger!

Jump to my Junior Year
And Senior Year

You're welcome!!!!

Your Mid-Week Update!

How smooth are you?

Can you guess what is in this smoothie?

One week ago tomorrow we had the Missionaries for dinner. It was fun we love feeding them! It brings back the memories of being a missionary and eating with the members.

This is Elder Warby from Washington and Elder Bjornn from Arizona.

They are excellent servants of The Lord.

Marley is becoming a handful. She is very busy and wants to be SO independent. She wants to dress herself (but she can't), she wants to change her clothes often (but she can't), she wants to feed herself and she is doing a pretty good job. But, since she is still learning she has to take a lot of baths. She loves to lay down like this.

Sorry. I can't get this picture to turn.

When she sits up she has a duck tail. Wooohooo!!!

My foot is healing. I am still working toward running in the race. Today I walked 2 miles and it was the first time since the Incident of 2009. It wasn't bad unless I was going down hill and then it was hard not to let me foot jar on the ground. That hurts. I hope to run a mile before Sunday.

The bruising got worse before it got better. It looked the worst last Thursday and Friday. Still the pictures don't do it justice.

And here are the awesome shelves Nathan built in the garage!

My handsome hunk organizing his tools and building a shelf for inside the apartment.

Natasha gets 12,000 points for noticing I have bangs. She mentioned it in a comment. She is so awesome and very observant. I hope she feels validated (click on her name and you'll see why).

However, the bangs often get barretted back. It's so hot and humid sometimes that I just can't handle them sticking to my face. And other times I just feel like I look too much like a country music singer...it's the bangs.

Since I've been hurt. Marley has been feeling left out.

So, I wrapped her head in the ace bandage.

She loved it. You know how she loves hats!

We love you all!

Here have a smoothie! These ones don't have spinach in them...but, they are just as delicious!

8 years....It's Independence Day! (flashback)

It's hard to believe it has been 8 years since our country was attacked by terrorists.

People are still healing from that grave day.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

I wanted to be reminded of those images I saw 8 years ago.

Images that looked like they were from a Hollywood action film.

Images of peoples' lives being changed forever.

Images of people surviving a battle in the heart of New York City.

Images of business men covered in soot and clutching their briefcase, like they were clutching to life and trying to breath, let alone absorb what was happening.

I did.

I looked at the pictures that are so readily at hand through an image search.

They reminded me of the stories that came in the days following.

Stories that aren't pictured.

The stories of family members worrying for their loved ones who worked in the World Trade Center.

Stories of survival.

Stories of loss.

So heart breaking.

I am so grateful to live in a free country.

I am so grateful to be able to travel freely.

To pursue education how and where I please.

I am so grateful to be able to speak my mind.

I am so grateful for the men and women that uphold these freedoms and defend this country.

I am so grateful to be able to worship freely according to the dictates of my own conscience.

I don't worship the flag but, I do believe it is a wonderful and honorable symbol of our freedom.

And that it should be respected.

"Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there

Oh say, does that starspangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the of the brave?"

Yes, it does!

I will always remember.

On a lighter note....It's Independence Day

- - -Flashback- - -

We played on the tramp and waited for everyone to be ready.

We went to the festivities at the Middle School.

There were lots of races.

Three legged were the most fun!

Sisters.

Good Form!

They Lost. Darn!

Mother & Son.

Good Form!

They lost! Darn!

Husband & Wife.

Crazy Form! Look at me...I look like I'm in it to win it. Don't I?

It paid off! We won!!!

What did we win?

Just the opportunity to take a picture with our fists of victory in the air!

The Grease Pole!

Actually there are two. One for the kids and one for the adults.

Every Fourth of July, Salina City stakes two poles in the grass and then they lather it up with animal fat, hence the name - The Grease Poll!

What do they do with this?

They take volunteers -

teams of four -

the teams climb the Grease Pole.

And you say...

WHY!?!

WHY NOT!

No really...there is MONEY all over that thing!

Hundreds of dollars!

THATS WHY!

This was Jill (Nate's sister) and her team. They tried. It was HARD!

They only got a dollar. Darn!

They shared a slushy. Yea!

Ok, I'm sensing you have more questions about this Grease Pole.

Where does the money come from?

Donations - wouldn't you donate some money to watch people try to climb a grease pole?

Besides the money slathered all over the pole, what is the teams incentive to try to get to the top?

THE JACKPOT!

There is a ribbon towards the top of the pole...also held on by the grease and if you get that ribbon you get hundreds of dollars. This year I think the jackpot was $450! Plus, whatever you are able to get off the pole, which was about $150 total.

Here is the team that wins every year. They get MOST of the money and the JACKPOT!

Don't hate me but, I only got a picture of them getting ready. My camera died. So, you'll just have to go to Salina next year and watch these guys climb...they've got a really good system.

We had a great BBQ - again no pics. Sorry!

Nate and the gang play Ultimate Frisbee - Nate's favorite! Again no pics. Sorry!

And then we did poppers and sparklers on the deck. FUN!!!

Let Freedom Ring!