First day as a College Freshman....

As I type, I can still remember when Taylor was born and how much joy she has brought to all of our lives since that day *sniff sniff* but now she's all grown up, moved 12 hours away and got as far away from any parental supervision as she could, just to go to college. She got a full academic scholarship for 2 years to an all girls prep college. She LOVES it which makes me feel a little bit better considering how far away she is now. It's not the old 3 hour drive to visit anymore. I just keep telling myself that it's only 2 years and then we'll get her to Tech back in Lubbock to start Med school and then all will be right with the world. *sniff sniff*

I never went to college much less seen the inside of a dorm room, but I can tell you this would make me clausterphobic (sp?) But, I hear from everyone this is what they are supposed to look like. You'll see what I mean below.

She says that they are going to put the beds up on lifts soon so they will be able to put those little desks underneath the bed, like a bunk bed and that should give them both a LOT more space.

This is her suite mate Emily, whom she just loves. She's all the way from UTAH! They met last year when they went for a visit a couple of times to the college and hit it off so they requested each other to room with and that was that. They are in a Suite with a main living/dining area and all the bedrooms are off of the main room. 4 are doubles and 2 are singles. I would much rather be in a single, but I think that's more money in tuition. But, I am happy they like each other and they all are cute as hell.

This is the whole lot of them on Sunday before Brunch. How fun is that? They are all expected to dress appropriately and attend Brunch every Sunday together. I love that!

She's taking a total of 14 hours. Plus she's decided to play Softball, too. I talked to her this morning after her first practice at 6 am and she was beat and she has more practice this afternoon. I told her to look at the brightside, this will keep her from putting on those "freshman 15"

Frist day in the 3rd grade!

Love these girls!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

Oh the fun we've had this Summer....

First Grandpa Bill and Ms. Laura came for a visit...Grandpa Bill always does a scanvenger hunt when he comes. It's a lot of fun and Izabella loves it! This one took a good 15 minutes or so and she had us all running behind her trying to get pictures of the whole thing. Ms. Laura loved the dogs.......but who wouldn't, we've been very lucky with both our dogs...even though Joey has pretty much destroyed our carpet, taken a panel of corner siding off the house, destroyed 3 pine trees in the back yard, and started chewing on the bottom stair slat. We still love him and he's just about over it..but of course now that I say that.....I better go find some wood to knock on. Enjoy these pics..

Then Daddy and Izabella went to New York for a Mingolla family reunion. I wasn't able to go and that was the weekend that I redid Izabella's bedroom for her birthday. While Grandma and Papa were here we went to the GA Aquarium for their 46 th anniversary.

Next was a little get together for Izabella's 8th birthday party. The usual suspects came....Christina, Alex, Reagan, Aidan, Ms. Sandra, Ms. Kerry and of course the little people with fur that live with us, Soxy and Joey. We just did hot dogs and cake and ice cream, always a winner. She had gotten a Nintendo dsi from Grandma and Papa before they left so she got 2 games for it. Thanks ladies for making her birthday so much fun!

Then it was 4th of July. We spent a quiet night at home with the Downings. We got to do a little fireworks of our own...............and I do mean little. But still had a great time!

Next up.........it's been SO hot this Summer. We've been in the upper 90's since June with about 95% humidity mixed in with that. Makes it hard to breathe sometimes. After a good night in the driveway, Robert came home from work just dying from the heat so he decided to shave his head and to let James do it!! Not sure he realized how many cold ones he'd had before the clippers came out, but I think it turned out great and Robert loves it. More importantly.............his father loves it!!

Daddy took the girls with him to Huntsville, AL to do a show up there. There's a NASA Space Center there that he wanted to take them to. I didn't go with them and they told me all about it when they got home. They also had a Star Wars exhibit there, too.................BONUS!

And of course, there was some old sisterly wrastlin while Tay was in town! Oh if you could have heard the laughter! and then someone got hurt! always happens. Izabella fell off the foot stool and landed on the back of her head. If you look closely at the last picture of Steve and Tay you can see when it actually happened :)

Last night we had a camp out in the back yard for the last weekend before school starts on Monday. We had sliders, fries and fruit and I set up a build your own ice cream sundae station set up too! YUMMY!!!

The girls were up till 2 playing and swimming and then up at 6 and in the pool again before 7 this morning. The plan was to get them to sleep well tonight and get a good nights sleep before first day of school! Mission Accomplished!!

Well..........that's it in a nutshell, but I should add that in between all of this were lots of movies, more sleep overs, 2 weeks of YMCA camp and lots and lots of swimming! We tried to make the most of every moment we had!

Summer update coming SOON!!

We start back to school on Monday! OMG! 3rd grade. This year Izabella has some old friends and new friends in her class. We'll see how much fun we can have this year!!! You'll get to see soon how much fun we've had ALL summer long!

Happy 8th Birthday my sweet Izabella!!!

Today, Izabella turns 8 years old...........Which I can't believe!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl...you are the light of my life and the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Izabella and Daddy went to NY last week for a Mingolla Family reunion. I wasn't able to go, so I made a plan to do a makeover on Izabella's room for her birthday. She's had the exact same room since she was born and it was just time. She'd picked out this bed in a bag a few months ago and told me that she'd always wanted a mosquito net. So, I just took it from there and have been getting things ready for when they left. I started Thursday night and go done Monday night. There was much to do....holes to fill, sanding, taping, painting...blah blah blah. It was hard work but I loved every minute of it. My only feat was "what IF she didn't like it?" I decided that if she didn't like it, then I would move into it! I love it and think it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. It's a big girl room that she can grow with for a while. Grandma and Papa came through to visit for a couple days on their way back from NY so they got to see the room too! It was so good to see them both, as usual.

Below is the final result!

I took a video of her reaction but I can't get it to upload :( If I ever can, I will repost but SHE LOVED IT!!!! I've never been hugged so tightly! :)

and she promptly called all her friends to come over and see it :) makes my heart happy!

Izabella, I love you to the moon and back!

For Taylor Rae on Graduation Day!

How to make A Beautiful Life....

Love yourself.

MAKE PEACE with who you are

and where you are

at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.

If you can't hear what it's saying

in this noisy world,

MAKE TIME for yourself.

Enjoy your own company.

Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.

Take chances.

MAKE MISTAKES.

Life can be messy

and confusing at times,

but it's also full of surprises.

The next rock in your path

might be a stepping stone.

Be happy.

When you don't have what you want,

want what you have.

MAKE DO.

That's a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.

You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.

To know where you're going

is only part of it.

You need to know where you've been, too.

And if you ever get lost, don't worry.

The people who love you will find you.

Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.

It's what you do with time

and with all the goodness and grace

that's inside you.

MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...

The kind of life you deserve.

With all our love on your graduation day!

Dad and Susan

We couldn't be prouder of you!

Happy Mother's Day

This is what I woke up to Sunday morning........so sweet!! and there's nothing else in the world that would have been better!