ADRENALINE
Considering my heartbreak last year...some of you might be surprised to hear that I entered Riv and Lauren in the little Spanish Fork Pageant this year.
Remember I swore never again?
However, when the opportunity came around again, like childbirth,
I could only recall the good things about the experience.
So we signed on again.
Lauren groaned when I told her I signed her up. She was heavily into soccer at the time and couldn't imagine having any fun on a stage learning how to walk like a beauty queen.
surprisingly though, she caught the pageant bug and embraced
every dainty high-heeled step.
Miss River Jane never doubted that she wanted to do it again.
She loved hanging out backstage with her peeps and she kept saying during the Pageant...
"it's going by too fast!"
When it was her time to go on stage, she was all smiles.
"don't worry, I got this mom"
And again as last year, the very best thing about the whole pageant for River,
was hanging out with her life-sized barbie dolls beauty queens and heroes -
The Miss Spanish Fork Royalty.
She was in Heaven!
(I sat in the corner, talked to myself and took pictures of River and her idols.)
And lets just admit that part of the fun was all the shopping that was no doubt required.
Lauren and her friend Rachelle settled their nerves before their one on one judges interview.
~ Here is Lauren right after the interview...whew!
(she didn't even have to mention world peace)
Before each turn on the stage admittedly there were nerves, sweaty palms and a queasy stomach... and that was just me.
Lauren and River made some great friends during the pageant and learned some valuable skills.
Minutes after River's big win she was at the local ice-cream shop holding doors for people and clearing tables. She also felt it was her duty to wave to her loyal subjects as we drove down Main Street.
Here is a little video montage of both my girls winning Attendant;
When it was all said and done and we were the last ones to leave the auditorium,
I was a little sad it was all over.
I realized I got a huge adrenaline kick from all the
fuss and frill...
glitz and glam.
Some of you might think I'm a sad, pathetic girl without much going on in my life to get so wrapped up in a beauty pageant.
Silly I know.
I kept thinking the same thing myself.
We all have the need for a little excitement in our lives, don't we?
~ ~ ~
A few days ago, we were looking for quick rush of adrenaline so we headed North to the airshow at Hill Air Force Base.
The weather was a bit iffy,
so we packed everything we owned, and loaded ourselves on the shuttle bus.
Dean and I herded the family along;
on the bus...off the bus...through the crowds...
and all the while I was thinking to myself,
"I hope this is going to be worth it..."
and then, as we turned the corner and saw and heard the aircraft complete with pyrotechnic tricks...
I got butterflies in my stomach, and goosebumps on my arm.
We made our way towards the front lines for a better view.
(we were so close to the action that we all had to use make-shift Starburst wrapper ear plugs)
Little Quincy loved this go round a little bit better than when we went three years ago.
June 2009 May 2012
I love flashbacks, so here is one more...
Me and the kids ~ June 2009 (minus sleeping Quincy)
Me and the kids ~ May 2012 (with wide awake Quincy and crazy Canyon)
The kids got dirty looks er... I mean, entertained the crowd,
while we all waited for the BIG GUNS...
And then came The Big Guns;
THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRDS!
I had chills on my neck, a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes the entire show.
I felt exactly how Canyon felt - just thrilled to be there.
The precision of the pilots was unbelievable.
The maneuvers were breathtaking. 
Imagine the adrenaline rush for these pilots. My heart was pumping so fast each time the airplanes would fly over at 1000 miles an hour.
Canyon would "shush" them and say be quiet!
I couldn't imagine anything greater than to be one of the skilled pilots.
obviously the kids were as thrilled and excited as I was.
With grandeur and amazement, the Thunderbirds finished their show
and landed their planes.
Each person in the audience envied the pilots as they stepped back onto the tarmac in their flattering flight suits and in synchronized stride, made their way to the cheering fans.
I firmly believe that a person can do anything they set their mind to doing. So sitting in the back of a shuttle bus on the way home, crammed together with my family in the back seat, I toyed with the idea of learning how to fly.
And then my reality check came when someone from a few rows ahead on the bus said;
"what we got back there? the Brady Bunch?"
yep, that's us.
~ ~ ~
and speaking of adrenaline;
This is my little brother Will.
He is stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.
As I write this...somewhere in the Georgia mountains, my soldier brother Will is hopefully surviving another day in unreal conditions training to become an Army Ranger.
Will is in the Ranger program, away from his family, in grueling conditions, eating next to nothing, training day and night, in the heat or freezing cold, without contact from the outside world until the middle of July. Will thrives on that kind of excitement.
I'm wondering if he and I are really related.
If you want to see something really cool, really motivating and really humbling,
watch this.
or look up "Surviving The Cut" on NetFlix.
On Mother's Day Will left his comfortable home and wife Kimmy and his two little girls and has been in serious 24/7 training every moment since. It's what Will has always wanted to do.
Kimmy has received two short letters from Will scratched on the back of cardboard. He writes about the tough conditions, the frustrations of a mission gone wrong, the constant worry of a "no-go" but most of all he writes about his deep love for his girls.
Will passed the first several rounds of cuts in the 'Darby Phase' and is now in the 'Mountain Phase'
and we won't hear from him until the middle of July.
Can you imagine the adrenaline rush as he saw his girls as they arrived to pick him up even as the minutes counted down?
Eight short hours with his babies will get him through a lot as he's crawling through mud in the middle of the night or as he's navigating his way towards his target.
~ ~ ~
Now, I'm no Air Force pilot, I'm no soldier, I'm not even a beauty pageant winner, but I can still feel the excitement and pride and thrill right along with those who are.
And yes, I find my life's purpose in the small accomplishments and recognition of my children. (however few and far-between)
isn't that a definition of a mother?
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