Nicki MEETS Tanya Tucker!!

 

Back in March Nicki was given tickets to Loretta Lynn for her birthday. She was thrilled that Loretta was coming to town, as Nicki loves the "old time" country music. She has sang "Coal Miners Daughter" at various events, as she loves Loretta Lynn.




During the summer, Nicki was invited once again to sing the American/Canadian anthems at the fair. She was thrilled to be invited again. Closer to the fair we heard that Loretta had to cancel her show. While Nicki was disappointed, her spirits remained high as she said, "Well, if Loretta couldn't be there, how did they know Tanya was the next best thing?!"


Little did you all know that Nicki loves Tanya Tucker too! She knows most of her songs word by word.


The day came for Nicki to sing the anthems, it was a beautiful day. Her uncle and two cousins were visiting from California, so they do not get to hear her sing often.


Here she is singing The Canadian Anthem:

http://youtu.be/4YVekWAECoU

And here she is singing the U.S. Anthem:

http://youtu.be/g3BJpTwW1EM

After Nicki sang we enjoyed the horse events, and then had a great time watching Tanya Tucker perform. Nicki was given meet and greet passes...I cannot even tell you how excited she was when she heard the news that she was going to MEET Tanya Tucker.


After the concert we met Karen at our "pre-planned meeting place" and headed backstage. Once there we were told that she would be very quick, and that she will not be doing any autographs. Nicki said, "Who cares! I get to meet her!" We were last in line and the time finally came. Nicki walked up and a quick picture was taken. Tanya said to Nicki, "Were you the one singing the anthems tonight?" Nicki turned a bit shy and said yes. Then Tanya told her, "It sure sounded good.Not too many kids have a voice like that!" Nicki then told her, "I have sang your song, San Antonio Stroll a few times at different events. I love that song!" Imagine Nicki's face when Tanya said to her, "Well, sing it for me!"


Nicki's eyes started to fill with tears, and she did what any 12 year old would do...She Sang. It was a beautiful thing. Watching my daughter, star-struck, sing for Tanya Tucker. Towards the end, Tanya joined her in the song and they finished it together.


She was told she did a great job. Somewhere in there it was said that Nicki would like to sing on the Grand Ol' Opry one day. To which Tanya replied, "Well, when you get there, you just step up on that stage, take that microphone, and SING. Don't ever let anybody tell you no. Nobody is going to stop you. You own it and let it be yours. You can do it if you want it bad enough."


Nicki was pretty much at a loss for words by this point. We said our thank you's and Tanya hugged her once more. Although she was told Tanya wasn't doing autographs, Nicki's cute self won, as she asked Tanya, "Will you please sign my hat?!" Tanya said, "Of course...I think you saved this spot right here, just for me!" She then signed her name right smack in the middle of Nicki's cowboy hat.


We said goodbye, and as we walked away, I heard my daughter say, "This is the best night EVER! I cannot believe that just happened to me!"
I have to say, I think every child should be able to feel that special at least once in their life. My daughter loves her music, and loves to sing. She is just an average farm kid, and there is nothing out of the ordinary about her. We don't know if she has what it takes to get to the Grand Ol' Opry...but the best part is, that night, she got the confirmation that she could do anything she sets her mind to.
If I had the chance to thank Tanya Tucker, I would. For allowing my daughter to experience something so big...for as that night, my 12 year old...was on top of the moon.

Finally! An update!!

Long over due update!!
Well, it has been pretty much FOREVER since I have posted here on this blog. As you will be able to tell from the pictures below...we have been overwhelmed with HOUSE everything. We are finally nearing completion...and it seems to have taken over our lives. This summer was a busy one. We have had alot of you asking for pictures...so I figured I would update with some. We are looking at the 2nd or 3rd week of October to move in. It is coming FAST! Everytime I think I spent a day packing boxes, Tony comes in and says, "So, what did you do today?" Grrrr! That is my sign that I have way too much stuff and I better get on the ball and throw some of it out!! So, I will let you see the pictures now. Enjoy!


This is the front of the house. It is almost done. Just a few more things and then it is finished. You can't see the rock in this picture, but it is river rock. I love it!

Here is our entry way. At the middle part of the top of the stairs, is what I call my Christmas Tree room. We didn't plan it, but it is the perfect size for a Christmas tree. I think I will have it be my "seasonal" room, and change it with the seasons.
Closet under the stairs, and you are looking into the living room. For some reason I can't type below the next two pictures...so I will just explain them here. They are my living room...fireplace and tv wall unit. LOVE it. Turned out really nice. No complaints here!!

Kitchen...granite is being installed tomorrow!! Wish us luck...I hope I like it!! YIKES!




Playroom

Nicki's room. This is the most commented on room. We get, "Wow! That is bright!" and, "Who on earth picked those colors?" Normally those comments come from plumbers, carpenters, etc. who obviously do NOT have 12 year old girls. The color is bright, and yes the carpet is purple shag...but Nicki loves it. After all...it is her house too! :)

Kaycee's room...Picture is duller than it looks. Her walls are Benjamin Moore "Pool Blue" and her carpet is a Disney soft green color.
She wanted Purple. Oops.

Ryans room is Benjamin Moore "Twine" and "Apple Spice". His carpet is so cool...you can't see it, but there are tire prints all over the carpet. Ryan LOVES this!

Joes Room: Benjamin Moore "Silver" and hmmm...cant remember what the blue is. The carpet has another car them thing...but I can't remember what that is either. Apparently Joe doesn't really care, because he now says to my mom, "The colors are nice, but I just wanted it all to be white." Ooops...again.

My bathroom shower...first time picking out tile...I think I REALLY like it!
The picture doesn't do it justice below, but the colors came together really well.

This is my laundry room...Love Love LOVE this. I might actually enjoy a load or 2 of laundry! Imagine that!!

Look! We have a skylight!

So the other day I was driving and was looking at the back of the house. All of a sudden I noticed it. A single hole in the roof of my new house. A hole? Did we order a skylight? I didn't. I am pretty sure Tony didn't. One of the chillen's might be pretty pleased to hear the builders messed up and put a skylight in their roof. Who should I confer with first? I call Tony.
Me: Hey. Is there supposed to be a skylight on the roof?
Tony: A skylight?
Me: Yes, a skylight. There appears to be one right above the kids bedroom.
Tony: A skylight?
Me: Yes. One lonely skylight.
Tony: I don't think there is a skylight on the plans.
Me: Oh ya, the plans. Should I look at the plans?
Tony: You can. Are you sure there is a skylight? We didn't want a skylight.
Me: Oh, the builder is here, I will talk to him.
Tony: Ok, let me know what they say.



So, I am still pondering the lonely skylight as I approach the builders. Kinda thinking, "Well, we didn't order one. But that middle room kid will sure have the coveted room now!" Anyways, I go over to the builder, who has a few other beefy builder type guys standing around him. I approach in my, I AM WOMAN...HEAR ME ROAR attitude. Quite proud I noticed their HUGE error before it was too late to fix it. Normally it isn't the woman who notices the very important details like this.
I admit...I am rather pleased with my discovery.
The conversation goes a little like this:
Me: Hey guys.
Guys: Hey.
Me: You know, I was checking things out around here,
*(Fearing they might think I was checking THEM out...I quickly recover from that statement!),
uhhh...I was checking out the house, and I noticed something that is not right.
Guys: Oh really? What?
Me: Well, I don't think there is a skylight on the plan.
Guys: A skylight?
Me: Yes, a skylight.
Guys: A skylight?
Me: Yes. A skylight. Right on the backside of the roof. Above the kids room.
Silence.
Guys looking at each other.
Laughter.
Lots of laughter.
Me: Confused.
Guys: Uhhh...that's not a skylight.
Me: It's not?
Guys: No, it's an access hole. So we have a place to access the roof.
REALLY?



REALLY?!
No more "I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR."
It's NOT a skylight.


Who KNEW?!

Our New House...

Well, after alot of planning and planning...the house building is FINALLY underway! It seemed like it would never get started...but it is in full force now. Everyone keeps asking me to post pictures, and I figured this would be the easiest way to do it. Plus it gets me back into blogging again. :) I will post a bunch of pictures here, so you can see the progress, and then keep it going. I am going to be asking for ALOT of advice on things as we are at DECISION time...and some decisions should be group decisions, don't ya think?! :) So...lets get started!

So, here is Tony, as we are trying to decide where we want to put our house. As you can see it is across the road from where we are now. The house between the two tree's is where we are now.


First step...making a driveway.

Then...this is the beginning of it all!

Here is where the pictures might get a bit out of order.  And, alot with Ryan in them.  He is documenting the building process in his class, so I will take the pictures from there.  It is a good idea of what is going on.

The crawl space floor.  It ends up with a ton of rooms...but you have to duck to get into each one.

Walls are up...

1st floor...

Kitchen/Living Room

2nd floor is happening!

Entry way stairs...I love them!!  Later I will post what it will look like...

View from the back of the house...

Roof!!

There she is!  Isn't she getting pretty?!  We are so excited!  Now I have to run to go talk to the builder...Will be back!

Well, we once again, took off on another adventure with our friends, Joe and Hallie. 
Hallie and I got the guys Zipline Tickets for Christmas, and headed up to
Whistler to have some fun. 
The guys had a great time on the mountain, and
Hallie and I thoroughly enjoyed the village.
( I have to post the pictures here in different posts, as I can't figure out what is happening with blogger, but when I go to add pics to a post, it takes forever.)