2010 State Leadership & Recognition Conference in Virginia Beach

And this is the reason we were in Virginia Beach. Ashlyn had to attend the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Leadership/Recognition Conference and there was a big gala for parents. (Ashlyn is 4th from the right, the little one :) )

To learn more about FCCLA and all that it has to offer, click HERE for National or HERE for the Virginia Chapter.

Ashlyn has been a part of FCCLA since the 8th grade and has really grown from it.

Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 125

click on photo to enlarge

Murray's Mill . Hickory . NC

1) First of all I want to apologize for being such a terrible blog friend lately...I mean to visit all of you, I really do...time is just getting away from me...on the bright side, today is our last day of school and we have a week plus 1 day off for spring break...yippeee...hallelujah!

2) While Nick was away last weekend, Braden and I (Dalton was at his girlfriend's house) watched Patriot's Day about the Boston Marathon bombing...how do you say that it was a great movie without sounding heartless about the reason the movie exists? It was well done, so sad...

3) On Monday I went to a funeral with Ashlyn. One of her friends died in a motorcycle accident last week. He was only 25...

4) Ashlyn left for Virginia Beach on Wednesday and will be back on Sunday. It's her annual trip for the FCCLA conference...unfamiliar with what FCCLA is? Well I've blogged about it quite a few times HERE haha...
and Christian left this morning for NYC with his girlfriend and her family. We haven't been there yet so he's pretty excited and I am too, for him!

5) As I get this post ready on Thursday night (to schedule for midnight Friday) Nick just came in and told me we attacked Syria...not sure what else to say here...

Ending on a somber note, that's my 5 this week and I sure hope you will join in! Post 5 randoms, anything you want, pictures, updates, recipes, news...link back, visit others when time allows! Thank you so much for your visit and have a wonderful weekend :)

FCCLA Pride

This vehicle was parked in the parking lot of Moomaw Hall on the campus where I dropped Ashlyn off on Monday. Something tells me the driver of this vehicle was there for the seminar too! Most of you probably already know that FCCLA stands for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
Ashlyn comes back home tomorrow!

Cherry Tree

I'm going to take a blogging break this week. Things are crazy around here at the moment. Ashlyn is running for a State Officer position for FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America). She was a State Officer in Georgia and it's that time of year for running again. In order to win her spot, she needs to prepare and rehearse a speech and know rules and regulations and know FCCLA history/facts. She goes to Virginia Beach on Thursday to run for office. In the meantime, we've been shopping like crazy trying to find a white, formal dress. If she wins, she will have to wear the white formal and it is nearly impossible finding all white. It's prom season, the stores are full of prom dresses, but none are all white of course. This is the part of it that I just don't like, the shopping. I'm not a big shopper, especially when there's something specific that needs to be shopped for. I'm just missing that girly gene I guess.

This photo of the cherry tree blossoms was taken at the mall yesterday, tracking down that dress. We did find one white dress and we bought it but not sure if it will work as it has black straps on it. It's a beautiful gown, but just not all white. We have the phone numbers of some shops we'll call today and see what they have. That's the hard part about being new to a town. When you need something, you just don't know where to get it. I've exhausted all the options I know about, so we dug out the phone book and Ashlyn asked friends, who were helpful with shop names and locations. Now I'm just waiting for them to open so we can call them today.

Today Christian has his first baseball practice of the season and I'm waiting to hear what Braden and Dalton's baseball schedule will be. Tonight we are going to the
PBR show at the Roanoke Civic Center. That will be fun.

So this is why I need a blogging break, I've got so much to do with shopping for Ashlyn and getting her ready, baseball starting up and trying to keep some order in the house! I'll be back by the end of the week, hopefully less stressed and having successfully packed Ashlyn!

Have a great week and take care :)

Monday Murals - School Spirit

Lord Botetourt High School

Love this mural inside our high school featuring different clubs and sports of the school...Ashlyn was in FCCLA starting in middle school when we lived in Georgia...she was a State Officer representing Ga and VA all through school and now she is still participating in events as an alumni.

Christian ran track through high school and the boys play football and occasionally track.

The Catawba Crazies is the school spirit section and support sporting events.

Help Save The Next Girl was formed after 20 year old Morgan Harrington was abducted and murdered in 2009. There are chapters at many schools including ours.

Do you recognize any of these groups/clubs at your own school?

Linking with Monday Murals

Have a great week!

Horses on the Beach

We spent the weekend in Virginia Beach. Ashlyn had her last State Conference there this weekend as a State Officer. She's been involved in FCCLA since middle school, starting out as a State Officer for Georgia, then twice here in Virginia. She's had a super time, grown tremendously and has become a young adult while involved in this terrific organization. Being a graduating senior this year, she won't be able to run as a State Officer again but can still be involved in many different capacities.

We had a few breaks from the festivities and saw these horses while sitting on the pier!

On the Boardwalk

On Saturday, Nick and I drove up to Virginia Beach. Ashlyn had a FCCLA function that she had been at all week and there was a special banquet on Saturday night that we were able to attend. In the meantime, Nick and I had fun, just the two of us, cruising around the beach!

Bridgewater College

This morning the boys and I drove Ashlyn to Bridgewater College. She has a training seminar there this week for FCCLA. You might remember a couple months back when she successfully ran for a State Officer position. Anyways, it was a nice, scenic drive, about 90 miles from our house. The town of Bridgewater is fairly small and quaint with beautiful landscapes. She will be staying in a dorm room with a couple of other girls and an adviser. Dropping her off in her own dorm room gave me a slight glimpse into the too near future when I'll be dropping her off for college.

Bridgewater College was founded in 1880 as the first coed college in Virginia.

Congratulations!

Well she did it! Ashlyn won her a spot as the Vice President of Membership with FCCLA this past weekend. That's my baby girl in the black dress. The other girls went with her but were competing in a different event. Since I wasn't there, I had to lift this photo off her Facebook,lol.

Today I am going on a field trip to Lynchburg with Braden and Dalton's class. We are going to the Children's Museum. Should be fun!