Way back in August Ainsley wanted an ombre color for the start of high school... remember that blog post about the cost?!?

A month and a half later she needed it cut because it was too long and hard to manage...

Then 2 months after that she says... "I think I want short hair!" ..Say what?!?  I gave the lesson... again... that I seem to be giving a lot more than usual lately, that money doesn't grow on trees and that sometimes we have to wait, make do with we have etc... etc. It was non-stop talk about it... and so I jokingly said fine... I'll just cut it.  Her eyes lit up and she said, "Really!!.. are you for reals?"  I thought well it's just hair... and secondly I knew I could always get an emergency haircut appt if needed. So after a quick youtube video and rummaging around for a half-way descent pair of scissors we set up shop at the dining table.  This was also the night the boys decided to clean the guns... quite the redneck family we were... hair salon and gun cleaning! I'm sure the neighbors were like... OH MY! Especially since we never have our blinds shut.

She snap chatted with friends while I cut 5 inches off!!  It actually turned out better than I had expected.

Not even a week later she says... "Do you think we could cut it shorter and we could add some layers!"  Uh sure... another youtube video watched and once again I opened up shop and cut a bit more off... I'm lucky she's got my thickness in hair so it's very forgiving for the mistakes that I'm sure I made...

Surprisingly she was content with this for quite a few months... but as it started to grow out it was time to get a "real haircut"... she wanted to thin it out... have defined layers and some shorter pieces around her face...

Can she get any cuter?!

She totally hates to have her ends curled under and immediately went up to her room to fix it but not before I got a picture of me and my mini me!!  Love my "little girl" bunches!

Finally the snow is gone... the days are getting longer and the temperatures have been blissful at 65... we finally emerge out of the dark and coldness of winter to discover spring evenings in all it's glory!

Once again piano festival happened this weekend...

This year was the first year that I was calm and not stressed watching them go down the hall to perform.  The weeks leading up to festival... entirely a different story.  Walker no big worry for he had his down weeks ago... he absolutely loved the Piper's Jig piece and could be found practicing that all the time... he loved that it had to be played fast... loud and that it was an Irish piece... he's got this thing lately about Scottish/Irish music, he can't get enough of it!  The other required piece... a Minuet he called his "boring piece" but he got it memorized and was ready to go weeks ago.

Ainsley on the other hand... OH MY.  Endless chats about time management and piano requirements resulting in NOT FUN parenting moments of nagging... arguing... reminding constantly and ultimately getting the lovely teenage attitude which resulted in privileges (phone and friends) taken away. There was pressure from her piano teacher as well who asked if her parents knew she was struggling with her pieces!

So by the time festival actually happened I was pretty calm and relaxed... there was no more that could be done last minute. It's hard finding a balance of pushing and letting kiddos figure out their life mistakes on their own.

The plan was simple... Ainsley would go first and then Walker would follow for they were both using one of the same books. (Ainsley really hates that Walker has caught up to her... and will probably be passing her very soon... but not that much to practice constantly!)  The judges got behind considerably and last minute they decided to pull Walker to another judge I think that really messed him up for he blanked out part of his pieces! Not enough to make it disastrous though for he got a Superior... whew!

Ainsley knew she wasn't prepared as other years and the pressure of waiting really ate into her... her hands were trembling and while she said she messed up a bunch too she also got a Superior!  This will be her 3rd Superior and she will get her next gold cup later this spring... Whew!  Piano teacher was also waiting it out with us and she too was relived that Ainsley pulled it out at the last minute. She reminded her that next year she will not be able to wait until the last minute... the pieces will be a lot harder and the judges will be able to tell if you are truly prepared or not... time will tell if this "ugh crunch time feeling" with resonate with her next December when she will get Festival pieces again.

This week she had to plan out the next 3 years of classes for graduation in 2020... crazy!!

Trying to get her to not overload on Honors classes, to set her own pace and schedule and not to worry about her friends schedules.  Instead of ALL honor classes... because let's face it she will want a social life!  We suggested Sophomore year to focus in on area to see if she even likes it before she loads up.  She really enjoys Science and opted for Honor Sciences (chemistry and A&P) ..a girl after my own heart!  Junior and Senior years will be spend loading up on College Core classes... how awesome is that!  I can't believe they offer so many college core classes!!

Mind blowing to believe that we are already on the last trimester of Freshman year... man that went fast!  She got her (GPA) ranking at school and she is 141 out of 426 students... man that is a big class.  Really happy she is thriving in High School... trying out new classes and really enjoying all the social activities!!  Looking to drivers ed classes this May... that should be interesting and scary!

Luna's eyes are so expressive...

She had a routine vet visit and she was like, "What the heck is that noise?"  She pretty much melted into me as much as possible in the hopes of becoming invisible... Ha! After shots and a nail trimming she was a happy girl to be going home...

I love when the house is full of laughter...

(This is seriously the only photos I'm allowed lately!)

7th grade is the year that the district offers the ski program.  For 2 days the kids get bused up to Pebble Creek Ski Lodge, get half day lessons both days, lift tickets and rentals for $60!  We might be one of the only parents in our neighborhood that don't take their kiddos to ski every weekend... the shock and horror our poor deprived children have never learned to ski... because gasp... we just don't like it!!

So when the opportunity came up for Walker this year I said... "here's your chance to see if you even like it."  He didn't really want to go but too bad... new experiences are good for you!

It's funny since the kiddos don't go out and play in the snow any more he had no big kid winter gear... so the $60 bargain of skiing for 2 days turned out to be a lot more with all the new gear but it was well worth it... He LOVED it.

I had asked for photos... got none the first day... lots of stories about falling and how much he enjoyed it but no pictures!!  Day 2 I reminded him I needed something for the scrapbook/blog... anything the bus ride, the burger he was going to eat, a selfie which he promptly told me, "Um no... he was not going to be taking a selfie."

So no photos to show how much fun he had, the friends he hung out with, the bus ride with them having to stop and put chains on just to get up the hill, the record amount of snow that was at the Lodge, the bacon cheeseburger he was so excited to eat, the skis that he thought were so cool and that he hoped he could rent the same ones again... nothing.

Instead I took a picture of the ski tags... but he is super excited to head back for night skiing in a couple weeks with scouts!

These two started talking about pooling their money for a car?!?  They were so funny... "How much does a car cost anyway?" Onto the website they went trying to find a vehicle they could both agree on...

They only found one they could agree on... a Ford Sport Trac.  I reminded Ainsley of the type of car she always talked about when she was little... a pink car with a take off top... She was not amused! Ha.

I think Ainsley is seriously hoping Walker continues to "buy into" this whole agreement for he is a money saver and she is a money spender!

What a way to ring in 2017 at school!  We went 2 days and then this was the view as I left Wednesday the 4th... resulting in a SNOW DAY Thursday.

Then came the bitter cold temps and with the wind chill it was easily -20s... ANOTHER SNOW DAY Friday...

Then came the rain and temps hovering around freezing making ICY treacherous roads...

And yep... a THIRD SNOW DAY this morning Monday.  In fact I was up and ready to head to work when they made a late decision to cancel school.  Oh my... and more snow is expected this week!!

Ten years of Christmas mornings standing in the same spot... I love that we happened upon this tradition of snapping a quick photo of the kiddos before the Christmas morning unfolded.  I miss that twinkle and excitement in their eyes as they tried to peek at the unknown Christmas wonder that lay ahead...

This year there was tiredness and sleeping in by these cuties...

Us parents were the ones with the excitement in our eyes as we had everyone together in the same room for majority of the weekend!!