FREE

Leave it to a country song to get me thinking and make me feel mushy. It wasn't a song about a dog or a farmer or anything like that. I was driving home today from picking up Kayla at preschool and a song I believe called, "You're gonna miss this" came on one of the country radio stations. Yes, I love country music. So anyway, I hadn't heard this song and I started listening to the words.

It started out with a high school girl complaining about school and wishing she was 18 and couldn't wait for her life to start. Her mother tells her, "You're gonna miss this". I started thinking about high school. It was so much fun. I was a cheerleader, I hung out with the "in" crowd, I played softball and was really good, I got good grades, went to all the football and basketball games, Homecoming and Prom, bon fires, boyfriends. It was great. I was so FREE.

The second verse talked about the girl being a young bride. Her dad came over to visit her small, one bedroom apartment and he tells her it's a nice place. She says it'll do for now and starts talking about a bigger house and babies, etc. Her dad says, "You're gonna miss this". I reflected back to My and Kevin's first apartment in Kennewick. It was actually pretty nice. We ate a lot of hamburger helper and laughed a lot. Our dining room table was a card table and two lawn chairs. We had mismatched furniture that we bought at yard sales. There wasn't a lot of money, but we had each other. We would just decide on a Saturday morning to drive to Coure D'Alene and we would. Little road trips together on the weekends were so much fun, we were so FREE.

The last verse, if I remember right, talked about her water heater being broken and a repair man, I think, coming over to fix it. Kids were crying and fighting and the everydays of life were around her. She apologizes to the man for her kids and he tells her that they aren't bothering him at all. He has two children of his own that are grown up and gone now, "You're gonna miss this". (This is were I admittedly ALMOST started crying. I got that lump in my throat. You know what I mean, right.) I started thinking about now. Today. My home, my husband, my three kids, my church, My life. It's so great. We are always busy. Baseball and gymnastics. School and church callings. My house is sometimes clean. We order pizza. We laugh. We go to church as a family with no argument. We play games, we are so FREE. I miss the right now already and it's not even gone yet. I am truly happy and blessed to be able to recognize all the wonderful things I have right now. I am happy to live in the now and in no hurry to start another chapter (or verse) of my life.

Darn that country music!

Olson Update

I thought I'd take this opportunity to update all on the goings on of the Olson family.

First up ...



Kevin. Today happens to be his 31st birthday!! I am so lucky to have him. He is an amazing father and a wonderful husband. He has many talents but they sometimes go unnoticed because he tends to hold back and let others take center stage. He is wonderful in so many ways, so I'll just say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART" and leave it at that.




Next. . .



ME. I am doing great. I think I am starting to get into a routine now that I am a stay at home mom. Then I realized that spring is coming and the kids start all of their spring sports. Change my routine again. But that is okay. I am enjoying being home and I won;t have to miss a single baseball game this year!! I need to find time to fit in some exercise, but whats a few extra pounds!! I love my callings in church. I teach the third Sunday in Releif Society and am an Activities Day Advisor. Being an Activities Day Advisor helps me to get to know the younger girls in church and our activities together are always so fun. I love the women who I work with. They are so creative and amazing. Teaching Releif Society has been a challenge. I really enjoy this calling and I canlt explain why. I am very thankful for all that I have.

Jacob . . .



I don't know where to start. He amazes me. He likes to be the best at everything which isn't always good, but he strives to do his best. He had a very good report card. (His teacher just had her first baby so wasn't able to have a parent/teacher conference, report cards just got sent home. It's nice to hear other people tell you how wonderful your kids are. He is currently taking tae-kwon do classes at Pacific Kicks and earned his white belt last week. Now he is working towards his gold belt. He really enjoys tae-kwon do. He is also anxiously awaiting baseball season to start. He is a busy little boy!!


Next up . . .



Kayla. One word. Giggly!! I love her laugh/giggle. It is so infectious. I absolutely love to hear her laugh. It makes me so happy. Her eyes literally sparkle! She loves gymnastics and cheer, which also makes mom very happy, and loves being a girl!! She is so girly! She is also little miss fashion. She loves preschool with Mrs. Hughes and can't wait to start kindergarten in the fall. She also will be starting T-Ball soon. Thanks to having a 16 year old aunt, my sister Ashley, she can sing you just about any song that you hear on the radio. Her favorite thing in the whole world right now is HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!!

Last but not least . . .



My little Kelsie. This is her saying "Cheeese". I love her curls. She gets them from me! She loves to laugh and play with her brother and sister. Unfortunately, they give her whatever she wants so when she is with other children it makes things difficult. She just had her first official day in nursery this past Sunday. I was happy and sad at the same time. She is just like me, so we get on each others nerves very easily. She loves to dance especially to Mexican music, she has my rhythm as well. She loves the sacrament at church and always wants more.

So there we are. The Olson's!!

So as you may know I had the opportunity to attend the National All-Star Cheer leading Competition in Orlando, FL earlier this month. It was amazing!!! I had the time of my life and it was a definite dream come true. This little collage that I put together are some of the highlights of my sisters 2008 year. Her team did GREAT! There were 26 teams in her division. It was the biggest division in the competition. They didn't get a top ten place like they had hoped, but they did really well. They placed 20Th, but let me tell you, that is good when you put them up against the teams from Georgia, Texas and Tennessee. The Georgia teams basically swept the entire competition all the way across the board. They are truly amazing!! But our girls held their own. After the competition there was an "after party" at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was open only to the cheerleaders and their families. I don't know if I have ever been to an after party, but this party was so much fun!! I felt like I was 16 again. I held back at first, tried to be conservative, the responsible chaperon, you know. But then I thought this is once in a lifetime and I was out on the dance floor with my sister and her team. It was sooo fun! I learned a dance called the Cupid Shuffle which is basically a new hip-hop version of the electric slide. They played some old school music from my high school days, you know, House of Pain-JUMP AROUND, I know you know what song I am talking about. And some of the girls thought it was a new song. PLEASE! WE made that song cool!! My thighs were hurting the next day. I don't know how those girls do it. Anyway, my trip was a blast and I am very proud of the Elite Force Cheer squad for their amazing season. The competition will air in April I believe on ESPN and on FOXNW so watch your local listings for times and dates!!