Blue jean beauty queen.

LP is still chugging away in the pageant world! She just loves dressing up and seeing all her pageant friends. We only do natural pageants, but have sort of moved up a level into more competitive, more exciting systems. All in good fun :)

She won the "Little Miss Liberty Bell" Queen title two weeks ago, along with Best Dressed for the whole pageant, Most photogenic, Prettiest Hair, Prettiest Eyes, and Best Smile.

We were most excited about Best Dressed- this was her first pageant with a wardrobe change (and without two front teeth!) AND it had a patriotic theme. There were tons of sweet little girls in their red, white, and blue- ruffles and sparkles and bows included! We went a different route... LP wore child-sized BDUs with black boots and her Daddy's beret :) I added a rhinestone flag and a rhinestone star on the front and pink glitter on the back (Staff Sargeant West's Little Girl). I gotta say, I worked really hard on it and I was thrilled with the outcome- even more thrilled that she won for it!

I honestly think she could have taken overall Grand Supreme- but she had ONE judge that scored her pretty low. I have a feeling it was her makeup- I went a little heavier than usual. Oh well, she had fun!

17 trophies (14 in 2011), 2 crowns, 5 tiaras, and 7 medals... I think she needs a bigger shelf!

I'm not sure if it sounds like I'm bragging? Maybe. And maybe I am! I'm proud of my girl- not for her trophies, but for her fun spirit, her love of life and people... and I happen to think we made a pretty baby :)

My child competes in pageants (per her request), that makes me a pageant mom. I root for her to do her best at anything she tries. She doesn't practice all the time and we don't spend a lot of money, but I want to give her what I can if this is what she wants to do. I also want her to have fun, so when she says "I want to do a twirl on stage!"... I say, "Then go do a twirl, baby girl!". I stand in the back and make silly faces to make her laugh, (although her eye contact with the judges is great, so she never sees me). She does well because she likes to do her best and you can tell she's having fun and... we made a pretty baby :)

"Start spreading the news..."

That is not actually an encouragement to gossip, just my clever way of tying an "announcement" into a post about New York.

It's been exactly a month now, but Nathan and I had THE most fantastic time in NYC!! Oh gosh, it was the best weekend. We covered so much ground, taking in ALL Manhattan had to offer in a little more than 48 hours.

We arrived in NY around 11am on Friday, rode a shuttle to our hotel and took about six minutes to get settled in. We didn't want to waste any time! We headed out looking for lunch (we had a pretty extensive food plan for the weekend). First stop, sushi/chinese. Armed with full bellies and a map, we were ready to go... anywhere :) We walked and walked and walked to familiarize ourself with the area and landed in Central Park.

It was such a beautiful day and the park was booming with activity. After the park, we headed to the Dakota (John Lennon's apartment) on our way to the Natural History Museum (we have big fans in our house!). By the way, we had already made two more food stops on our way.

We ended up taking the subway back downtown and headed to dinner. We had decided we were staying out until we couldn't go anymore because well, it's New York, and we are NOT old. Buuutt... turns out we kind of are. Nathan was struggling by 8pm (in our defense, we hadn't slept at all the night before due to the death of a friend). We ended up at a movie in Time's Square before turning in for the night... but not without stopping for a dozen mini-cupcakes :)

Saturday, we were out the door around 9:30 and out to breakfast, map in hand. That map was Nathan's BFF. A friend of our's had said to us to try not to look like tourists- but between the map and the camera, we might as well have been wearing black socks with brown sandals. We wandered over to Hell's Kitchen to catch the Saturday flea market.

From there, we made our way down the Hudson to the Intrepid- the Sea, Air, and Space Museum. Military gets in free so we decided it was worth checking out.

Of course, by the end, it was time to eat again. After a late lunch, we headed south to Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, and Ground Zero... making my All-American boy swell. Nathan had never been to NYC and it was so fun to watch him enjoy it. We rushed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. Some good friends of our's happen to be in town for a wedding, so we met for dinner and drinks- so much fun! And on the way home (at 3am)... the Donut Pub :)

Sunday was drizzling, perfect for a morning stroll with coffee and umbrella in hand. We made our way to Chinatown (gotta get some souvenirs for the littles!). And then some true New York pizza. YUM. Our shuttle was coming after lunch, so we packed up, checked out, grabbed some gelato for the ride back to the airport and said goodbye!

Somehow, our plane home only ended up with nine people on it, so everyone was moved to first class with everything it included... fun :)

Honestly, it's probably one of the most exhausting weekends of my life and it.was.so.worth.it. So were the five solid pounds I gained.

What a treat! We very rarely spend money on ourselves. My husband was so thoughtful to give me this gift. Even if it was a little like Homer giving a bowling ball to Marge with his name engraved in it, I had an absolute blast. It was one last hurrah before life gets insane and we never get away again lol.

Oh, and yes... that same sweet All-American boy is headed overseas again. SOON. It is a (relatively speaking) short tour, and a lot of good may come of it for our family. I'm so proud of my husband's dedication to his family, his job, and his country.

Sunday night, I couldn't sleep and literally stayed up until 4am praying for God to move in Nathan's career. We found out Monday that he was going with no inkling beforehand. How's that for answered prayers?

Sheeeewww!

We are still here! Alive and kickin'.
This past month= insanity.

Jamaica, NYC, church camp, and surgery.

I feel so behind on LIFE, but that's because I'm busy living it :)
At the moment, I am six days post op (tonsillectomy...ew). Me and my big chair have become the best of friends. Today was the first day that I've been able to get up and try to do something around the house, and apparently... it was a little soon. I ended up over-doing it a bit (and by over-doing it, I mean putting away laundry and making beds but vomitting in between tasks). Back to my chair.

The throat pain is about what I expected. What I didn't plan for was my body not adjusting to no food which landed me in Migraineville for a solid 48 hours. That didn't help at all. I think I've gotten more used to a steady popscicle-pudding diet (although, I can't honestly say I'm enjoying it... I'm STARVING. I want hot, crunchy, chewy, non-sugary food!!) but the headaches seem to be under control now that the scabbing of the throat is in full effect :) haha... sorry.

Anyway, I will spend the next few posts catching you up on all the other stuff that doesn't involve pain meds and puke bowls (Now that Nathan has me set up with his laptop... in my chair)!