On the Road Again ...

It's June 29th! 26 months OT! I promise I'm not going to be like those new parents who keep counting their baby's age in terms of months well after it makes sense: Oh yes, he's 117 months today! But, Georgia has worked so hard for every one of these months, these days, I think we're entitled to commemorate each one a bit longer. : )

So to celebrate THIS 29th, we're heading for the hills! The Rocky Mountains, to be exact. Instead of visiting our beloved Crested Butte, we'll be spending the week in Breckenridge. The girls are excited, which is saying a lot considering they just got out of the car from New Orleans on Friday! We're looking forward to the cool temperatures, the gorgeous scenery, and the adventure of discovering a new place.

While we're gone, we've got an assignment for you - should you choose to accept it! Four weeks from today is the fifth national 46 Mommas Shave for the Brave in Boston, and a few days before that ...

For a $10 donation to my St. Baldrick's page, you can "buy" a candle for my birthday cake and make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer. I'm turning 46, but I'd gladly turn 146 if we can get that many candles donated! The need for this research funding is even more important than ever as less than 4% of all federal funding for cancer research goes to childhood cancers. Last week, advocates from a coalition of organizations met with representatives on Capitol Hill to ask for their support of increased funding, and the American Childhood Cancer Organization kept an informative blog of the issues and ways you can help. We encourage you to read it and take action!

Thank you all for always Keepin' Georgia - and all kids in the fight - on Your Mind. Much love, and we'll "see" you next week!

Travelin' Jones

Well, our girl has covered quite a bit of territory in just the last two weeks - with more to come! First off, the Washington D.C. trip was a HUGE success! They visited every monument, museum, and point of interest they could in four very full days. Not surprisingly, Georgia's favorite spot was ... the Library of Congress! She thought it was so beautiful and couldn't get over how many books are kept there. I'm pretty sure she could have just spent four days right there, but she did also enjoy the Air and Space Museum and Georgetown University. Many, MANY pictures were snapped, but here are a few favorites:

The only hiccup in the whole trip was the 4+ hour delay on the return flight. Things got a little cuckoo there in the wee hours in the Baltimore airport, including a gate-wide paper airplane contest at midnight, so some very happy and sleepy travelers emerged from the bus when it arrived back at Ann Richards at 4 AM!

Georgia barely had time to rest, though, because we had a full week of appointments and volunteering at Parkside. She had her well-check at the pediatrician's office and was CLEARED for training for swim team! We also visited with the orthodontist, and guess who's getting braces next month?! She is actually VERY excited, and we feel like we're in a good place with managing the osteoperosis, so we don't anticipate any issues with her jaw. That said, we will have to have her wisdom teeth removed soon, just to head off any problems should things change down the road. Georgia's looking at two years with a tin grin, and she couldn't be happier!

The good times have continued to roll into this week as Georgia and Ivy hitched a ride with my parents back to New Orleans! They had such a great time in March, they were ready and raring to go again. And once again, they have loved every minute of it. I told y'all, they've got it in 'em now!

And they're not even rubbing it in. Not one bit.

As soon as our jet-setters get back this weekend, we're all off to Colorado for the week! And at the end of July, I'll be headed to Boston with the 46 Mommas! If we could just work in a trip to California, we'd have all three coasts covered in one summer - Disneyland, anyone?

All Star

We have an official high schooler in the house! Georgia finished up middle school on Thursday - on the A honor roll! We celebrated with a night at the movies to see "The Fault in Our Stars" (her choice), which we both really enjoyed. Through tears, of course!

Tomorrow night, she'll spend the night at school for the pre-D.C. lock-in and then leave early, early Tuesday morning for the trip. With all of the excitement, I hope they get at least some sleep because they'll hit the ground running Tuesday morning and won't slow down until they return late, late on Friday. She is so ready and so looking forward to this adventure, and we are thrilled she's getting to share it with her good friends. And what a great way to kick off the summer!

In other BIG news, Georgia tried out for and made ... the Ann Richards swim team! Next year, she'll be at the pool at the crack of dawn every day for practice, and she couldn't be more excited. We're so proud of her, and even though she may not be the fastest or the most skilled swimmer on the team, she will certainly be the most enthusiastic. In fact, at the tryout, on one of her time sheets, they wrote, "Determined!" Yep. That's our girl.

She's Gotta Wear Shades!

Today is National Cancer Survivors Day, and our survivor is positively THRIVING! Thursday marked 25 months off treatment, ya know, and Georgia is embracing every day. She's attended several year-end banquets and celebrations, shared some poetry at a reading for the school literary magazine, enjoyed a special trip to the bookstore with her principal and favorite librarian, and is gearing up for the big trip to D.C. next week! She's got two more finals this week, after which the whole school will attend the Class of 2014's graduation ceremony. This is the second graduating class for the Ann Richards School, and these 52 girls have earned over $6 million in merit-based scholarships! And 65% are the first in their family to go to college - a big point of pride for the whole school. Georgia and friends are excited to get to cheer on their ARS sisters, as well as get a glimpse into their own future, which I would say is quite bright!

Survivor!

As further proof of the shine on this Star, allow me to submit Exhibit A. The theatre program recently held a fundraiser - a lip sync contest - and although the competition was incredibly fierce, a very talented trio walked away with the big prize for their marvelous rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." This video was shot when they recreated their award-winning performance for the PTSA*:

 

Rock on, girls!