Flashback Friday - HAIR!

This was my new haircut and color in April...

And this is my newer haircut and color I got today!

Flashback Friday - Eric and Nicole, I hope your birthdays were great! Love ya tons!!!

Mom and baby Eric home from the hospital - 35 years ago as of a couple of weeks ago!

Eric with his serious face - still uses it a lot to this day!


I'm sad this picture turned out like this - I think it's a copy and not the original. But, I still wanted to put it on for you Eric to make you feel better. You see, even though everyone thinks you're the spitting image of Dad - here he is 3 yrs younger than you are today with a LOT less hair!


Another distorted one - and yet so precious of Eric and Grandma Bagley. (Doesn't she look like and older Earlene in that picture?!)

Oh yes, here he is doing one of his favorite pastimes - talking on the phone?!?! Not really, but it's a fun shot!

This is so funny - you just had to get on the table to pose, huh? And I WANT mom's bag!!! (Too bad it's history!)

Awwwwwww, what a cute toddler! Eric I still think Sage is at least 90% you! (That's o.k. Nicole - because I think Ivy's 90% you - I promise I thought she WAS you at the reunion last Saturday for a second!)

Enter Nicole and Ivy! Thank goodness for them! What a cute family you were there on your wedding day!

I had to add this one in of you with Audrey at Greg and Liza's wedding reception. What a good Uncle you are!

Eric you don't know how amazing it was to see you with Sage right after he was born. You were so sweet as a first time father of a newborn! You're a great dad to him and to Ivy! I am so proud of you as a family man! Also, you're a very hard worker and have done so well for yourself in your career! And I can't believe you're going to run a marathon in October - way to go! Eric, growing up (after I reached a certain age) we didn't always get along...but now I can see it's because we are a lot alike in some ways. I love you and always have and now during the last 10 yrs I have become to really LIKE you too! You are handsome, funny, hard-working, athletic, persistent, determined, and musical. You're also a good dancer and have a great taste in music which I've benefited from for a LONG time. Hope your b-day was wonderful!


Nicole, I think this has got to be one of THE most beautiful pictures of a mother and her son I've EVER seen! Nicole you are a phenomenal mother. I am so lucky that Eric and you got married. I can't imagine life without you. Your talents are many. You're excellent at giving massages, doing hair, knitting, stain glassing, making organic skin care, doing handy work around the house, decorating AND you can sing and dance - what can't you do?! Most importantly, you are one of the strongest people I know! To go through ALL of your health problems and still be so healthy and such a fighter. You are such an example to all who have ever gone through anything wrong with their body. I mean really Nicole, you amaze me! I love you tons, happy late b-day!

Oh and Happy 39th wedding anniversary (yesterday) mom and dad! You are the BEST!!

AUDREY STARTED KINDERGARTEN!

I can't believe this day actually came!

The day started at 6:30am for Audrey! School starts at 7:55am!!!

I thought today would be a day for unlimited pictures, so I brought it in to her room when I woke her up. I said, "Audrey, say Kindergarten!" She replied, "Mom, I don't think it'd be a good idea to take a picture right now because I won't be smiling - it's so bright!"

On her way into the Kindergarten room door - and so happy!

After she found her name and said hi to Mrs. Moss she was on her way to her desk.

There were several different centers the kids got to choose to play at while the other kids were finding their seats. Of course my little Libra picked the art center!

Then, the teacher read "The Kissing Hand" to the kids and parents. Audrey was very talkative and social as always. She told the teacher that she was so excited about school that she could hardly sleep last night. She also made sure Mrs. Moss knew that we had borrowed that book from the library before. Also, when Mrs. Moss read about the little raccoon being nervous about school, she said that she, herself sure wasn't. And, when the book was over and her teacher said that she had Hershey's kisses for the children to give to their parent's Audrey said "oh, those are my daddy's favorite!"

After school we went to the zoo, we love those otters!

Then we were able to go to the Idaho Falls Chuckars baseball game. One of Kev's previous co-workers gave us all free tickets!

Audrey enjoyed cheering, clapping and stomping the best.

Kyle was fascinated with the Chuckars bird mascot - and even got to give him a high five!

Kaden was mesmerized with it all!

Flashback Friday - Goodbye Dance Tech!

After a lot of thought and prayer, we have decided to keep Audrey at Studio One and not continue her at Dance Tech.

This is Audrey all ready to leave for her first day of Dance Tech.

She was two years old when she started (and turned 3 the next month.)

Here she is practicing her dance at home. Since it was such a young class, a lot of the girls in her class wouldn't dance, or would cry or not go out for class or the performances at all. Not Audrey, she always loved every minute of class and of the shows.

She was not one of the oldest, but was the tallest by far!

Her first year she did two jazz dances: one to "Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the old Oak Tree" and one to "Fill me up Buttercup."

Here she is in her second year practicing for her jazz dance to the "Walk like an Angel/You're a Devil in Disguise" song by Elvis. Kyle learned the dance with her and since he didn't have a tail to twirl - he used his blanket.

She also did a tap dance but I can't remember what the song was!

In front of the sleigh at the Festival of Trees.

All ready to leave for the Festival of Trees her third year.

She did a jazz dance to "Celebrate" and her tap dance was to "The Heat is On."

This is her playing with some friends from class in the warm up room before Festival of Trees. We're sad to say goodbye to Dance Tech. They've been wonderful. We had to choose between a Studio that offers everything including classical ballet and pointe along with the opportunity to be in ballets like the "Nutcracker", and one that offers a lot, but not those things. That's what it came down to. Although what made it extra tough was that Dance Tech invited her to be on the advanced - invitation only- mini jazz team - a competitive team that only a few 5 and 6 year olds are asked to be on a year! But, she can compete on her jazz team at Studio One and learn classical ballet too. So, that's our BIG decision for the year concerning Audrey and dance. Hope you enjoy these pictures and that you liked the ones of Studio One from the last post. It took me a lot of time to compile both posts so if you have a second, let me know if you like what you see!

Flashback Friday - A Year In Dance

" The Flight of the Bumblebee" Dance - dress rehearsal. Audrey is the one all the way to the right who starts in the back (and then goes to the front among other places.)

The beautiful dancer all done up for the Studio One June 2007 recital.

I couldn't resist taking this extreme close up of her in full makeup! I'm so in love with those

BIG, BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES!

This picture is interesting. We went to the store to pick out flowers for her and also for her teacher. I assumed she picked more for herself but when she got home she mentioned how the bouquet was for her teacher. I said "Audrey, I thought you wanted that for yourself." She said "No mom, that's for Ms. Dantzel!"

The note she wrote to her teacher - notice the picture of the bumblebees?

Mom and kids outside the Civic Auditorium all ready to go in.

And here you have Kev and me with Audrey and our other "son and daughter" back in December all dressed up for the party scene for the Nutcracker performance.

The three of us. Isn't Kev a hottie with his makeup?!

Us again, nice curtsy, Audrey.

Here is Audrey with her partner she had for the children's couple's dance during the party scene. (They were the youngest guests.) His name is Timmy - he's actually her cousin's cousin! He is Kev's sister's husband's brother's son!!! He is a year younger than her and was much shorter at the time so when he twirled her she had to majorly duck!

This is an adorable one of them together with Timmy's tongue slipping out.

And here she is with her class joined with the younger class - what cute Chinese for the Chinese dance!

Fast forward 6 months and you get cute Bumblebees!

7 years and no itch!

Today, July 29th, 2007, Kevin and I have been married for 7 years! I can't believe how the time has flown by! We were married in the Salt Lake Temple and then had a reception that night in Murray, UT at the Murray Mansion. It was so fun. We had a huge turnout and were able to visit and dance the night away with many loved ones. That night we were able to stay in a luxury presidential suite at the Residence Inn by Marriott (thanks to my brothers who were working there at the time.) Then we were off to Las Vegas, Newport Beach, Sea World and Disneyland. It was one of the best, most fun and exciting weeks of my life! Then a week after we got back, we got to have an open house in Shelley,ID and have a fun-filled night of socializing and dancing all over again!

Kevin I just want to say why the last picture in the slide show says "Happily Ever After." Even though when we got married we were so young and naive in some ways, and had a different idea of happiness, now we know that we do have a happy life and will forever. We know that true happiness is finding joy in everyday life, in the little things in spite of any trials or challenges we're going through. I'm so glad we were able to get married when we did because I have been able to live, laugh, love and LEARN with my best friend (and true love) everyday since. I love you with all of my heart and soul.

Love,

Nettie

Harry Potter and X-rays

I'm so excited to have gotten my book this afternoon. (I needed something fun to happen this week!) I've only been able to read 4 chapters so far, but I have had A LOT of interruptions.

Yesterday I got to look at my x-rays and let's just say they're not good. I tore almost all of the vertebrae in my neck and it is perfectly straight instead of curved how it should be. I also have some slight scoliosis going down my upper spine. And, my lower back shows degenerative disc disease. The lowest two vertebrae are almost close to touching - the disc btw them has worn away considerably. Now the neck problems are from the wreck. But the other's were there before. I believe mainly from a lot of gymnastics on hard gym floors and grass during my cheerleading days - although it could be genes or other factors. I believe that the accident was a wake up call and happened for a reason. It got me to the chiropractor. I've been going to chiropractor's since I was 16 (during those cheerleading days) on and off. But I only go when I'm in so much pain I can't function. Now that I saw my x-rays again (it's been a few years and they're worse) I know that once the whiplash is gone, I still need to go there for maintenance on my pre-existing problems -so they don't get worse. Why do we sometimes put everyone else first and then have to have a big thing come along to get us to pay attention to ourselves?! I am not doing that again. I vow to take care of myself better from now on. It's only fair to my family to have me in my best condition! Don't you think?!