Cantus Finale

After picnicking and playing in the park (Audrey's baptism celebration), Jason and I headed to Nampa for Rylee's Cantus Finale concert.

Of the 3 concerts each year, this one is my favorite. 

The songs are more relatable and the atmosphere more relaxed... but still very professional, of course.

Michelle Pederson was the guest performer. Her singing was powerful and FUN. 

Michelle is the new "Voice Over" instructor and also teaches Rylee voice lessons.

They ended with their signature "He Lives in You".

Well done Rylee..well done Cantus!

Beautiful Rylee

I've been wanting to replace our out-dated pictures, on the wall. I decided I would take them myself..sometime.

When a friend mentioned the location of her recent kid's photos on Facebook, I knew exactly where it was.... passing by that old fire station dozens of times without seeing the potential.

While the rest of the kids were at school, Rylee and I had some free time. On the spur-of-the-moment, we decided to do a little photo shoot (before her big date) AND run some errands.

Here are some of our favorites.

  As we continued our errands, we passed by this red wall. I thought it would POP, so we stopped.

 Here's our secret: the red wall was at the old Eddy's Bakery outlet. 

 We took these back at home, in our front yard..after a little wardrobe change. :)

 The moral of the story... you don't have to have a lot of time, a fancy camera or expensive props to have a successful photo shoot. 

But it doesn't hurt to have a cooperative and beautiful subject like Rylee.

Wish me luck with the other kids.

OUCH!

I was in my room, as Rylee came home from school on Tuesday, "Oweee, owee... my leg just got run over by a car!" Through the whimpering, I heard Jason try to calm her and find out more details. 

Even after asking questions myself, I was still not clear on WHO and HOW.

She said as she was getting into the car to come home, a guy ran over her leg. He rolled from her heel over her leg/ankle/foot. She and her friends yelled to the driver, "Get off her leg! Get off her leg!" He had to actually back up to free her.

She is not forthcoming about the driver's name..she says I wouldn't know him. 

Hmmm. 

My motherly-instincts say otherwise.

I asked her if she went to the school nurse. No. Will you go see her tomorrow? Yes.

The next day...still DIDN'T see the nurse.

With school year coming to a close, I felt it was important that someone at the school know about this. I called and talked to one of the assistant principals. He said he would talk to the resource officer and Rylee and make sure she went to the nurse. 

I knew Rylee wouldn't like me interfering, but didn't feel like I could let it rest without reporting.
I didn't hear back from the assistant principal, before school got out, so I'm glad Rylee is healing and having less pain each day.

Through the grapevine (my source will remain anonymous) my motherly instincts proved correct! I DID know the driver. Mother's, trust your instincts.
Rylee was shocked when I approached her about it.
"How did you find out?"
"Mom's just KNOW things. Always tell your mom the truth!"

Making Progress

We're excited for the progress we see with Rylee's teeth. 

In the near future, the focus will be more on bite correction, rather than straightening. Yay!

Rylee is going to LOVE that I posted these..not.

Brace Face!

We had promised braces for Rylee's 16th birthday...and even did her first ortho consultation that very day. 

But HOLY SMOKES was I unprepared for the cost! 

To get the best deal and make the most informed decision, we decided to get several consultations (5 to be exact). I wanted to weigh the pros/cons, benefits and costs of each. I had saved up a good chunk of money for a down payment, but it didn't seem like enough, so we decided to wait for our tax return as well.

It was hard for Rylee to be patient. She was SO EXCITED to get them on!

The consultation process took weeks and a lot of getting out of school (poor kid), but it was good. By our 5th consult, we felt like experts..or that we could make a good decision about treatment at least. We narrowed it down to 2 doctors and had a final consult with each, about the nitty-gritty...money.

We had anticipated the cost of a cleaning, but had to pay for fillings and sealants too. Lucky us. (Another big bill I didn't think about when promising braces.)

After getting a recommendation from our dentist, we decided to go with Dr. Kelson. He was the one Rylee liked the very best and he was willing to work with us on cost. We paid in full, to avoid adding money to our already-tight monthly bottom-line. Whew!

It took 3+ months to get here... but here she is, all decked out in her new tin grin.

Here are "BEFORE" pictures...stay tuned for the "AFTER"(in approximately 20 months).

Moral of the story:  Assume it's going to cost you more than you think, expect there will be unexpected costs and 5 consultations is A LOT..you could probably get away with 4 and be just fine. :)

Sweethearts Dance

I guess the trend of the day, is to have all-day dates...before going to the dance in the evening. So the Sweethearts date started in the morning, with the girls making a big breakfast for all the guys.

After breakfast, the group went to a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf place. Then they separated to get ready for the dance...

Rylee's friend Maddie offered to do her hair and make-up.

Rylee called her friend Eliza, at the last minute, to ask to borrow a clutch.

We went to Trinity Peterson's house for pictures.

The WHOLE group.

The guys.

The girls.

Kaylie/Sam, Madi/Brayden, Paige/Taylor, Riley/Warren & Rylee/Kyle.

Next was dinner at Paige's house.

On the menu: strawberry spinach salad, spiral ham, party potatoes, green beans, delicious Great Harvest rolls and sparkling cider.

After the dance, the couples came over to our house for dessert... brownie sundaes! Yum.

It was fun to hang out with this group. I liked getting to know them just a little better, as the night progressed.

They goofed off, talked and played games 'til 12. 

Around midnight, the party came to a close and they went home... before they turned into pumpkins! :)

He said...

Many days past.... no answer from Kyle. Then one evening, as we were watching t.v. as a family, the doorbell rang. When Treyson and Abree opened it, they discovered some balloons, a stuffed turtle and a note.

"Sorry I was as slow as a turtle to answer... So good luck! -Kyle (better get poppin)" :)

Rylee popped the balloons and found her answer... YES!

Awesome.

Rylee & Kyle Ruby

 FUN times!