Competition Season

It's competition season at the Liles' house. Our Saturday's are filled with a lot of cheerleading. I LOVE it!! Yesterday, Rebecca's high school squad took first place at their competition. They have faced a lot of obstacles along the way, but pulled it together on the floor. I am so proud of them.

I am coaching the middle school squad again this year. Our squad has been doing amazingly well this year. We have scored the highest of any other squads at our school.

Safety First

Eric has had a rough year with driving. He has been caught talking on his cell phone while driving a few times. He has had 2 speeding tickets. He forgot to put his truck in park and it rolled into a ditch. He was called before the safetycommittee at work last week for all of the incidents. (He usually serves on this committee.) They had pictures of the truck in the ditch and him talking on thephone. All of the guys he works with had a great time pulling his chain. One of them recommended that he have to wear a motorcycle helmet when driving. I came up with the idea of him wearing a bicycle helmet. I bought him one and used my cricut to cut out vinyl to decorate it.

Eric thought he needed something on the back. He suggested the number 88. Rebecca came up with is on the back.

He had the office laughing all day. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson.

Let's Go T-Wolves

Rebecca is cheering on the varsity squad this year. We are all enjoying Friday nights under the lights!! So far the T-Wolves are 2-0. Rebecca LOVES it all!! Her favorite part is dancing with the band.

High Schooler

Well...it's here. Where did the time go? Rebecca started high school this past Wednesday. She said her first day was scary. She was scared an upperclassman would dump her in a trash can. She was happy that didn't happen. : ) She loves her teachers and looks forward to Friday Night Football.

I started my 25th year of teaching.

Carnival Cruise-Day 3

Day 3 of our cruise started off with a glitch. Wednesday was supposed to be a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. However, Tropical Storm Dan decided it wasn't meant to be. We were awakened by the sounds of our cruise director, Marky Mark, that due to the tropical storm, we were being rerouted to Freeport, Bahamas. We were VERY disappointed about not going to Cozumel. It was the the reason we chose this particular cruise. However, when life gives you lemons, we make lemonade. We were happy that we would get to visit another tropical place. Eric and I had visited Freeport on our first cruise. But it would be a first for Rebecca. Due to the change in plans, we spent Wednesday at sea. We ate a late breakfast(along with the other 2000 passengers). We decided to look at pictures from the night before, visit the casino, and check out the gift shops. Along the way, we got asked to play in a game of Family Feud with some other families. It was quite amusing. Both teams "won" and were awarded a very nice, 24K plastic ship on a stick. : ) Rebecca decided she wanted to go swimming, so she went back to the room to change. Eric and I wandered around. We went to the Dynasty Lounge and played bingo and watched the Newly Wed Game. When we returned to the room, we found Rebecca sound asleep. She never made it to the pool. We ate dinner in the dining room again. After dinner, we went back to the Dynasty Lounge and watched Minute to win it and a reverse scavenger hunt. We went to the pool area for the Monster Party, but Rebecca wasn't feeling good, so we called it a night.

Customize a free greeting

Parasailing in Key West

Before we ever left for our trip, Rebecca and I spent hours researching the cruise and excursions we could take. One that really interested she and Eric was parasailing. I, on the other hand, was not interested at all!! We booked the excursion after we boarded the ship. We decided they should do it first thing so we could spend the rest of the time in Key West doing some shopping/sight seeing.
We met the guide when we got off the ship. She put us on the "train" to take us into town to meet another guide. There were 4 others going on the parasailing excursion. I watched Eric and Rebecca ride off on their adventure and I walked around Mallory Square. Here are the pictures one of the guides took of Eric and Rebecca's adventure on the wild side:

Free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Carnival Cruise-Day 2

Our first full day started off with a port in Key West, Florida. None of us had ever been there before. The boat ported at the Naval base. We had to take a "train" to the center of town. Eric and Rebecca had an early appointment to go parasailing early that morning. While they went parasailing, I walked around a few of the shops. We met back up and walked around town. Rebecca got a henna tattoo. We ate at Sloppy Joe's bar. I tried their signature sloppy joe. It was yummy. We found Jimmy Buffet's original Margaritaville restaurant. Since we had already eaten, we went to the gift shop and bought t-shirts. It was really hot, but we enjoyed the excursion. The most interesting fact I learned was that US Hwy. 1 begins in Key West. Hwy. 1 runs through Lexington County. Tuesday night was Cruise Elegant night for dinner. We all got dressed up and enjoyed a delicious meal. We caught the tail end of a show and then called it a night.

Digital slideshow created with Smilebox

Carnival Cruise-Day 1

We went on our first family cruise last week. What a wonderful vacation. Here is a slideshow of our first day.

Personalize a photo slideshow

The $5000 Smile

Before:

After:

After 2 years and 8 months, she was finally able to eat corn on the cob. It was the only food she wasn't allowed to eat that she actually didn't eat. She's not too excited about the retainer, but her smile sure is pretty.

Bunnies Spotted

It is a joke in our house about Eric seeing bunnies everywhere. Before he was diagnosed as bi-polar, he was seeing bunnies everywhere. All but what time was his illusions due to the illness.

Tonight while he was grilling, he noticed a small family of bunnies living in an overgrown area near the pool. He was able to pick one up and let us pet it. We actually found their "nest". Two of them found hiding places so we wouldn't get them. Rebecca took some lettuce out to them. We'll check in the morning and see if they ate any.

The Baby Bunny

Trying to Get Away

Little Girls Cheer Clinic

It all started 3 years ago when I forced Rebecca to go to the high school cheerleader's little girl clinic. She did not want to go, but I insisted. She left on Saturday loving cheerleading and we enrolled her in a tumbling class the next month. Here is a picture of her at the clinic in 2008. She is the one on the front row in the teal shorts.

Fast forward 3 years, cheering on the middle school squad for 2 years, and an all star team for 1 year. She is now a varsity cheerleader at the high school. She was one of 36 girls that got to do the teaching at the clinic this year. Here we are together on the last day.

The Varsity Squad and Coaches

Rebecca and 8 & 9 Year Olds

She had a blast. If I do say so myself, she was a great leader. Way to go, Rebecca. I am so proud of you.

8th Grade "Graduation"

Rebecca's 8th grade year was her best yet. She took 3 high school classes- Honors Algebra 1, Honors English 1, and Spanish 1. She ended the year with a 4.0. We are very proud of that accomplishment.

I was able to attend her graduation. (Eric was in the hospital. That's a story for another day.) She earned Honor Roll for the entire year and The Presidential Academic Excellence Award. It was signed by President Obama. The entire ceremony was very well done. We are so proud of her!!

I was very scared about the prospect of her beginning middle school 3 years ago. I have to say that I was VERY pleased with her overall experience. She had amazing teachers and wonderful administration. They really did want what was best for the children and did what they could to accommodate the students. Thank you, Carolina Springs Middle School, for a wonderful 3 years.

Waiting for everyone to march in

Shaking hands with her teachers

She did well with awards

WKHS Class of 2015 learn how to make the T-wolves symbol

8th Grade Dance

Each year, Rebecca's school holds an end of the year 8th Grade Dance. Rebecca wasn't going to be able to go due to cheerleading practice. Lucky for her, the coach canceled practice for that night and she was able to go. She had already seen a dress she was interested in, so we set off to find it and a pair of heels to go with it. Finding her first pair of heels that she could walk in was a lengthy ordeal, but we were finally successful.

She didn't have a date, but enjoyed the time with her friends. I was able to get a few pictures before they went into the school. Needless to say, it is very hard for me to believe that she is so grown up looking.

Lexi and Rebecca-Ready to go

Love those beautiful eyes

Beautiful

Proud Parents

Rebecca and her friends-Carlye, Rebecca, Jaynie, Lexi, and Hannah

Pool Time

The pool is open for the season. Rebecca found a very cool float that we are all enjoying. Ready for a summer full of pool time fun!!

Getting the tube ready

Hannah and Rebecca trying to decide who was going in first

The Island Float

Happy Easter

Here are some shots of our Easter Sunday. It was very low key. However, the traditions continued. Egg dyeing and an egg hunt.

This collage customized with Smilebox

Cheerleading Tryouts

I think cheerleading tryouts were more nerve racking for me than Rebecca. She had 4 days of tryouts. The first day they learned a cheer and dance. On Wednesday, they showed whattumbling they have. She threw a round off 2 back handsprings, toe touch back handspring, and standing back handspring. Yeah, Rebecca!! On Thursday, she and her stunt group had to show the skills they could do. She said they did great. Friday was the final day. They went out in groups of 4-5 and did the cheer, dance, and jumps.

On her way to the final tryout

Typically the results have been posted the same evening, even though they say they won't be up until the next morning. We went out to eat, walked around Wal Mart and then sat in the school parking lot waiting for the coaches to leave. Around 11:00, they finally left, but no results were posted. We went home and Eric went back up at 12:15 to check. Still no results. I received a phone call at 4:45 in the morning from one of Rebecca's friends, Hannah. The results were posted. We all jumped in the car and went to the school.

I am thrilled to say that Rebecca made the varsity squad. She and 3 other girls from her middle school squad made the varsity squad. I am so proud of her.

Now comes the fun part....writing out those checks-to the tune of almost $900. It's all worth it!!!!

3 Years Later

Rebecca became interested in cheerleading the summer between her 5th and 6th grade year. We immediately enrolled her in a tumbling class to prepare her for middle school tryouts the following year. For the past two years, I have brought home tumbling mats for Rebecca to practice her tumbling for tryouts. Every year she wouldn't do it without spotting. However, the third year was a charm. Here she is doing her thing. We are so proud of her. Tryouts are this week. I know she will finally throw her tumbling at tryouts. We'll let you know how she does this weekend.

Round Off Backhandspring

Toe Touch Backhandspring

Okay, I know. You want a REAL blog post. Well, I guess I’m just trying to get back in the game. Thanks to my friend Nicole I figure I’ll try it.

Age: 45

Bed Size: King

Chore I Hate: mopping floors

Dogs: 3- 2 golden retrievers outside, 1 maltese inside

Essential Start of Your Day: alarm clock

Favorite Color: lime green

Gold or Silver: silver

Height: 5’

Instruments I Play: none

Job Title: Mom, wife, teacher

Kids: Rebecca-13

Live: Lexington, SC

Mom’s Name: Hope

Nicknames: In high school-Kapalko legs

Overnight Hospital Stays: 3-birth of Rebecca, gallbladder, knee replacement

Pet Peeve: people chewing with their mouths open

Quote From a Movie: "I'll have what she's having" (It's the only one that came to mind.)

Right- or Left-Handed: Left

Siblings: 1 brother, 1 sister

Time You Wake Up: 5:30 a.m.

Underwear: granny panties

Veggie You Dislike: most green ones

What Makes You Run Late: teenager

X-Rays You Have Had: Dental, ultrasounds, liver, knee, galbladder

Yummy Food You Make: lasgna

Zoo Animal You Like Best: giraffe

So, that’s me, from A to Z. How about you? Copy and paste and fill this out on your blog – leave a comment and I’ll come see. If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment anyway so I know you’re all still out there…

The Things We Do For Love

Yes, I'm playing off of an old song and showing my age.

Rebecca had two friends over to spend the night tonight. We took them to Five Guys for dinner. Eric decided to take them to get ice cream. On the way, we passed by T.J. Maxx. One of the girls said "Collin is at T.J.Maxx.". Just so happens this is who one of the girls likes AND the son of a lady that works in Eric's office. So Eric whips the car into the parking lot and the girls go giggling into the store to find him. Come to find out, they had not made it there yet. So we told them to meet us at Marble Slab. we sat in the parking lot and had a few laughs over some sights and sounds. The boy finally arrived and we all went in. After we got in there, the girls didn't want any ice cream. They couldn't eat in front of the cute boys. :). They all sat at a table together. The girls talked to each other and the boys talked to each other. They wouldn't all talk together. Oh to be young again......

Slacker

Okay, okay, okay. I know I've been VERY slack about updating my blog. Hopefully this post will update you on things going on at the Liles' house.

Rebecca is keeping us busy with her all star cheerleading. We enjoyed 2 competitions in February and March. We traveled to Charleston for a JamFest Lite competition. It was held at The Citadel. What a historic campus!! Her team placed 2nd in their division. It was just what the girls needed to boost their confidence.

We also enjoyed a 2 day competition held in Columbia during the first weekend in March. It was put on by UCF. It was an amazing competition. The CEO/Founder of UCF, Randy Dickey, did not leave any detail out. The girls improved their routine, but didn't place as high as they had hoped. They came in 9th out of 11 teams. From that competition, I have a new favorite family photo.

As you can see by the new family picture, we are back down to 3. The kids went back to their dad on Feb. 25th. It was one of the hardest days for all of us. It is very quiet around the house and I keep looking at the laundry thinking that we didn't really wear many clothes this week. We spent yesterday putting their rooms back to the way they were. We miss them very much every day.

I got a new car. It is a Kia Sorento. It has a lot of bells and whistles on it. Rebecca and I are in love with it. She asked me yesterday if it would be her car when she started driving.

That's what's going on with us lately. I promise I'll try to do better about updating more often.

Happiness

Oh, the things that make me happy as I get older:

A new-quiet dishwasher

Nice and roomy with the silverware in the door

On another note, something else made me happy yesterday...I walked DOWN the stairs with alternating feet for the first time since my surgery. : )

Happy Birthday, Eric

Eric turned the big 4-0 on the 4th. It was very low key since he didn't get home until 9:00 that night. The kids couldn't wait for him to get home so they could sing happy birthday to him. I think Eric's favorite present was homemade chocolate chip cookies. He has them hidden so no one else can eat them. : )

Happy 40th, Eric. Here's to 40 more.

All Star Cheerleading

Rebecca has taken on a new adventure this year-All Star Cheerleading. It is an entirely different atmosphere than school cheerleading. Her squad, Renegade Rapids, had their first competition today in Columbia. Here is a video of the performance.

Here she is in her uniform:

January Snow

On Monday, January 10th, South Carolina was blessed with snow. At our house, we had about 5 inches on the ground. School was cancelled and we had some happy children. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out and play in it. However, the kids had a great time.

We all enjoyed being inside and enjoying the fire in the fireplace. Eric had been to the store and bought goodies in case the power went off. I got us started and we all roasted marshmellows. Add some chocolate and graham crackers and everyone was having fun. The next night, we roasted hot dogs in the fire place. Oh the memories.....

I do have a new respect of my parents and other parents with more than 1 child. 7 days cooped up in the house is too long. The kids are doing nothing but arguing. It's time for them to go to school so that they are away from each other and get back into a routine. : )

Happy New Year

The Liles' brought in the new year with a bang. We spent most of New Year's Eve day running errands. While we were out and about, we picked up some hats, horns, glasses and other New Year's Eve goodies. We also picked up some fireworks. We had some very happy and excited kids!!

About 11 years ago, we had just moved into our new house in Lexington. It was a fixer upper and Eric spent the entire month of october painting, replacing carpet, etc. before we moved in. Once we moved in, we didn't do anything else to the house. Fast forward to New Year's Eve...Idecided it was time to scrape the paint off the windows. Eric was thrilled that I was putting him to work. (Momma Hope coming to visit is a great incentive to get little projects done.) We worked hard that night and got them finished. Since then, we've had a running joke about what project we're going to do on New Year's Eve. This year was no different.
We decided to bunk the girl's beds so that they would have more space in their room. They were beyond excited about that. Here's a picture of Eric almost done with his project. We went outside to shoot the fireworks during half time of the S. Carolina football game. The kids(big and small) had a great time doing sparklers and shooting off the fireworks. I sat inside and watched through the window due to the cold weather bothering my knee.
When it came time for the ball to drop in Time Square, we had to wake up Eric, Rebecca, and M. We all counted down and tooted our horns to bring in 2011.
We are hoping for good things to happen in 2011. May it be prosperous for you and yours.