She did it. She dreamed it, she worked hard, she sweated, and she cried over it. And most of all she did it.When Maddy was a kindergartner, she came home and told me about the cheerleaders who had come to her school for a pep rally, and how one day she would be one of them.  Dreams are a big thing for me, and and I am not about crushing them. I looked in those huge chocolate eyes of hers and I smiled. On the outside I said, "Yes, you can do it." On the inside I said, "Oh no. I know nothing about cheerleading."  Soccer? yes.  Tennis? you got it.  Cheer? not so much.So I worked hard on her, and and she worked hard on me.  Let's sign you up for a soccer team, Maddy.  She played and she scored a goal for the other team, but I didn't have the heart to tell her as she ran down the field jumping and leaping in the best celebration you could ever imagine. How about volleyball, Maddy?  She signed up and did cartwheels on the back row and handstands during the time outs. How about cheer, mom?  Maybe later, Maddy. How about basketball, Maddy? Maybe later, mom. How about tennis, Maddy? She took to the court and looked gorgeous in that little tennis skirt that she had picked out, but she wasn't too concerned about making contact with the ball. How about gymnastics, mom? I think I can hang with gymnastics, Maddy. ...

Last night, Maddy comes up to me at the football game wearing one shoe. Not a surprise.  She took her shoes off at the game and a boy stole them, wore them, and ditched them. Today, like the finder that I am I decided to go looking for them. A little history about me, I have the gift of finding things.  Lucky for me the setting of the shoe search was a football stadium. It was time to to turn a search into a work out.  With my eyes peeled to the ground I fast-walked the field surrounding the stadium, ran up and down the bleachers, took a few short sprints on the track, and figured out that I needed to buy a good sports bra. I searched every inch of the stadium, even the boy's bathroom which I have to say is amazingly different than the girl's bathroom. Two hours later I was hot and sweaty, but I was not about to give up. Hands on hips, I stopped for a moment to survey the scene. Athlete vs. field, needle finder vs. haystack, mom vs. crazy boys of the world. If I were a crazy boy trying to be mean to a girl, where would I hide a shoe? The bushes...no. Over the fence...no. As I scanned further, my eyes came to a sudden halt when they saw the gold mine... the sand pit.  This is exactly where any respectable boy {or cat hiding poop} would hide a treasure. I began my new search digging through the sand. When I spotted a tiny bit of black rubber peeking out at ...

I will never forget Angry Snow White.  Somewhere along the way she had snapped. Could it have been consuming one too many apples, making one too many unmade beds, serving one too many grumpy dwarves, or maybe it was taking one too many photos with tourists?  Seconds after this shot was taken, Snow took those scrubbing hands of hers and sent the girls flying forward with a shove and a sickly sweet high pitched, "Have a nice day!" They caught themselves from hitting the pavement and looked at me with large surprised and amused eyes. "Um... Mom? Snow White just pushed us!" We could have been angry, but we chose to laugh. At their young age, they were able to see the humor in the situation and know that sometimes even Snow White does not have a very nice day. At my older age, I could feel her pain from dieting on fruit, making those endless unmade beds, dealing with grumpy short people, and snapping a million photos. A girl has got to get her fun somewhere!

One very fun part of my job is jump on a bus with musicians and taste a small slice of their life on the road. I will always have fond memories of being on the road with these two. Muddy hills, dust storms and delicious funnel cakes. Thanks Kellylynn Janson and Chris Janson!