19 October, 2015

Happy Birthday Baby!

Oh, my... my baby is 12 years old. I cannot believe it. Like seriously, I can't believe it. She's old now. No longer my "baby". I mean, heck, she's taller than Elisan now and edging in on me.

I love this kid with all of my heart. Truly. But, if I had to be honest, and I will be... Kyla is a hard child to parent. She is stubborn, hard-headed, know it all, head strong and intense. She shuts down when she is tired or hungry (hangry anyone?) and is ALL about her friends these days. I can hardly get a hug from her anymore.

There are days when I get frustrated, knowing that I don't know how to parent her the way she needs to be parented. But, I'm working on it. I'm praying more about it more. The truth is, she is a remarkable kid who is driven, intelligent, hard working and stinking funny.

She is gorgeous and could seriously be a model because she is so comfortable in front of the camera. She is crazy athletic. In fact, one gentleman at the recent volleyball game pointed Kyla out of the crowd of other players commenting how naturally athletic she was, without knowing that she was my daughter.

Kyla, your future is bright. Use your hard headedness to your benefit. Keep your standards high and reach for the stars. You can do anything you put your mind to.

I love you, my baby.

19 August, 2015

First Day of School - 2015

It's already back to school time at the Wagner household.

We had such a wonderful summer and I am sad to see it end. I truly enjoy having the girls home with me during the summer. I feel like a big 'ol mother hen, having the chickadees at home with me. That's the way it should be... or at least, that is how I feel. There are days that I feel that I would have been perfectly content to have homeschooled them, but then I realize that I am not equipped to teach. So, off to school... and the world they must go.

I enjoy the summers because it is a time for them to get back to the basics. By the end of the school year, it seems they are so tired, stressed out and moody. Plus, we get the added bonus of attitude and mouthiness, to which I blame their friends. It's true as I've seen it time and time again. Once summer hits and they've spent the first two weeks at home, the attitude and mouthiness completely disappear. Like, it's a stinkin' miracle! So, yeah... I'm never too excited to see school start up again.

The last couple of weeks I have watched Elisan talk incessantly about high school. She is so super excited to be a Freshman! I'm glad to know that she loves school as much as she does. Granted, her graduating class will be less than 30 students so her "idea" of high school is a bit skewed. A friend of mine said her kid's 9th grade class at Round Rock High School was over 900 kids. That just blows me away. JUST THE 9TH GRADE CLASS! I think Elisan's hair would catch on fire if for some reason we had to enroll her in public school. I just feel blessed that we are able to continue her in private school where she can receive a solid CHRISTIAN education, that values morals and Christ-like behavior.

Kyla has been a bit reluctant to starting school again. Although she's a really smart kid, she had an incredibly busy year last year with her school schedule, school sports, club soccer and additional training she did. She literally did not have a break all.year.long. It was maddening for me to watch, but she and Randy were all gung-ho about it. However, by the end of the school year, she was done. She was done with her extra training, done with her select team (they weren't a nice group of girls to spend time with - on or off the field...) and the school work seemed never ending. She was tired and I feel, we, as her parents were to blame. I think that is why she was reluctant to start up again. Not necessarily school as much, but the crazy schedule that accompanies it. But, this year, Randy and I are working to make it not as stressful on her. Plus, we encouraged her to take study hall as an elective this year to help with the homework/study load.

All in all, I think it will be a great year for both of them.

This year, I am planning on taking off from most of my volunteer roles I have accumulated over the the years. Last year, I was homeroom mom (3rd year in a row), Booster Club board officer (2 years in a row), track coach (4 years in a row) and graphic designer of all things Booster Club related (two years in a row).

In my now free time, I've signed up for a new Bible study called "Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When He Speaks" by Priscilla C. Shirer. I'm excited about it, because let's be honest, we could all hear from God a bit more these days.

I'm also going to focus more on my photography business and I can't do that if I'm spread too thin. It's something I enjoy and think I'm getting pretty good at. I've already had 4 parents say they want to book me for senior sessions and that is AMAZING to me. It's exciting.

I would like to find a volunteer/serving role that uses my gifts and talents, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for that opportunity. Until then, I'm going to be an official homebody and that's okay!

13 August, 2015

Happy Birthday Kid

So, yeah, this happened yesterday. My girl turned 14.

I remember being 14 and I just cannot believe I have my own 14 year old daughter.

Life was hard when I was 14 ... I cannot hardly imagine how hard it is now. No need to get into the social media aspects of it all... that's crazy enough. But, the reality of having information at your virtual fingertips at all times is mind-blowing. But, that's all my 14 year old has known. There is no life before the internet for her and that's weird.

I mention this because MY fourteen is way different from HER fourteen. And while her way of life is very different from my way of life back then, her LIFESTYLE is way more sheltered than my LIFESTYLE ever was. Does that make sense?

For example: When I was a pre-teen/teenager, I had my own phone and phone line in my room. It was a phone line that my brother and I shared, but essentially, I could call anyone (anytime) that I wanted. And vice-versa... including boys!

I can say without a doubt say that Elisan has not had a phone conversation with a boy to date. Never. And, I can say without a doubt that Elisan has only had ONE text "conversation" with ONE boy and that first time was just last week!

So, yeah... her 14 year old lifestyle is different from what my 14 year old lifestyle was.

Another example is sleepovers. I participated in sleepovers nearly every weekend. Either at my house or at a friend's house. That was just a given. (At which time, we'd call boys, etc... on my own private phone line... )

Elisan has never had a sleepover and has never been to anyone's home for a sleepover.... EXCEPT for her 8th birthday party in which we had a moment of weakness and allowed a sleepover at our home. Oh, and wait... she did attend a sleepover when she was 7 for a friend's birthday...and, I was there, spending the night as well, helping my mom friend manage all of the girls. So, that one really doesn't count, does it?

So, yeah...call us over protective parents, I don't care. But, that's the thing. This whole WAY OF LIFE (i.e. current modern living that has been thrust upon us) vs. LIFESTYLE (the way we as a family choose to live) has really rocked the apple cart in the way of parenting. What was acceptable 30 years ago, is no longer acceptable... at least not to me.

Now, girls are not just talking on the phone to boys until the wee hours of the morning... they are using FaceTime to communicate with boys... and doing/showing God know's what to God know's who. That scares me. Like, really scares me.

And so, there are those who think that we are über strict in our parenting style, but ya know what? I'm okay with that. Because right now, it feels right. And as she grows, we will grow too. And as trust is developed, we will trust more. It's not that I don't trust her now, but we have held back on the opportunities for trust to be developed. I'm sure it's there... its just the opportunities have not presented themselves. As an incoming Freshman to high school, those trust opportunities will become more and more available.

So, happy birthday kid. There is no other person in this world that loves you more than your mama. Those many hours of crazy pregnancy labor coupled with your horrific birth experience and non-stop crying for 4 months have paid off. You are a beautiful, kind, sweet, incredibly smart and amazing young lady. I'm honored to be your mom... even when I thought you would never stop crying.

10 August, 2015

A Gallon a Day...

So, I'm on day nine of drinking a gallon of water a day. So, far, so good.

The first day, it was really hard sucking down all of that water. I felt bloated and more bloated.

By the 5th day, it was not hard at all and I found myself finishing my gallon by 6 p.m., versus 10:00 p.m., right before I headed off to bed.

Seems like now, I'm MORE thirsty than ever before and I reach for my water out of habit now. In fact, I wake up in the morning parched. Like literally dying of thirst. It's totally weird.

To make things easy, I used my gallon plastic pitcher and fill it up in the a.m. I use room temperature tap water, as I find it hard to drink/gulp chilled water.

I drink 32 ounces of water BEFORE I have my first cup of coffee. This is my "rule" so I don't get behind on drinking. Once that first 32 ounces is done, the rest is easy.

Have I noticed anything different about my skin? No. I have seen some people that posted before and after pictures with no dark circles under their eyes after 30 days of drinking water and that may be the case for me. I'm still only 9 days in, so who knows... My tummy is not magically flat now that I'm consuming more water... I am using the restroom a lot, though... does that count? I don't feel as if I'm eating as much as I once was, probably since I'm full of water.

Am I drinking flavored water? Nope. It doesn't taste good to me. The only other thing I'm drinking aside from ONE cuppa coffee in the a.m. is water. No sodas, no tea, no Crystal Light, nothing.

So, there ya have it.

Oh, and here's a before picture. I'll try to post a 30 day picture if I can remember.

Ugh, 42... YOU are not my friend.

One Proud Mama

Since I can't recap the entire last year, I suppose I can hit the highlights.

The biggest thing that I am most proud of from both of my girls, is them being awarded the highest overall GPA for their grade. Kyla in 5th grade and Elisan in 8th grade. They worked so hard to achieve this award and I couldn't be more proud of them.

Elisan actually set out at the beginning of the year to get the highest average. She was a girl on a mission... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Elisan is a hard worker and excels at anything she puts her heart into.

Kyla, though... what a surprise! She's a smart girl, no doubt, but she has to work hard. And by hard, I mean, she has to really put in the effort and time. Randy pushed her this year, no doubt, but she prevailed. This on top of the soccer she played for Lonestar's top u11 team and three school sports. She managed to juggle (no pun intended...) it all and pulled it off with exceptional skill. So, proud of her!

Both girls work hard, but play hard as well. Elisan won the CRUSADER of the YEAR award in athletics. Kyla won the MVP award in basketball.

Elisan's volleyball team was undefeated the entire 8th grade year. She played basketball and really enjoyed it. She ran track again this year and has proven she's a long distance runner. Her coach, Coach Wentrcek is excited to have her run Varsity Cross Country and Track this year knowing that she will represent well.

Kyla played school volleyball, basketball and track this year. And while, the volleyball and basketball teams were new to the sport, Kyla stood out as the best player among them all. She stole the show during basketball season and was very fun to watch. In track, she ran the mile and came in first place among 5th and 6th graders. She also placed in the long jump and in the relays. She very nearly placed in the high jump and perhaps could have had she had more training. (I had the privilege to coach the team again!)

All in all, it was a great school year for both girls. It was a busy year and it flew by.

And now, the days are ticking down to the beginning of high school for Elisan and middle school for Kyla. In fact, they start next week! This mama is sad to see summer end once again, but know they are ready to be among friends and back to a normal routine.

08 August, 2015

Free!

There's something freeing about making my blog private. To be perfectly honest, I was tired of telling my life story for the world to read only to have it not read. With the advent of Pinterest, I felt as if the only reason why people came to my blog was for some freebie that got pinned... not because of what I had to say.

And, so... the blog became a hassle. I had no desire to keep it up and by the wayside it went.

And here I am again. A year later, with a lot of living under my belt, starting anew.

I'm hoping to keep up more, now that I'm writing only for myself (and possibly the girls should they choose to read my blog.)

I'll see ya around soon,
Erica

24 July, 2015

Wagner Road Trip 2015 - Vacation Recap

Okay, okay... so, I've been gone an entire year... but, a friend asked me if I was going to blog about our recent road trip and I told her I would. So, without further ado... here's a quick recap of our Wagner Road Trip 2015!

First stop, the Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier was beautiful and we saw it on a (mostly) cloudless day...something I'm told doesn't happen too often! The wildflowers were also just starting to bloom. The Grove of the Patriarchs trail was phenomenal... So many massive trees!

Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park off the Pacific coast was beautiful. The rugged rocks off the coast are called sea stacks. The water was cold and as you can see, we definitely needed warm clothes. The starfish, sea cucumbers and sea anemones could easily be seen because it was low tide. The bottoms of the rocky sea stacks were covered with them!

Hiked through the HOH Rain Forest of Olympic National Park. Lush and green! It's amazing how the landscape can change so dramatically!

Possibly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. North Cascades National Park was a definite favorite. The water in this picture was truly turquoise (No Photoshop needed here!) Roaring waterfalls were at every turn from the melting snow. It was very beautiful! (My heart goes out to the victims of the recent ice cave collapse that occurred in North Cascades National Park. Such a tragedy.)

Words can hardly describe the beauty of Glacier National Park in Montana. We hiked and explored as much as we could in our two short days there. The bear in the picture was foraging alongside the road and we were lucky to be close enough to get a great picture of him. The picture of the reflected mountain is a totally legit picture taken by me.

White water rafting in the Salmon River. Randy's friend owns a rafting and guide business in Stanley, Idaho and he invited us to spend the afternoon rafting! So much fun!

Arches National Park in Moab, Utah is one of the most extraordinary places I have ever been. What must have occurred here thousands, upon thousands of years ago to form these incredible arches and rock formations is truly mind boggling. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this national park, it is well worth the visit!

Canyonlands National Park in Utah was such a stark contrast to Arches NP. Canyonlands is literally across the highway (or the Moab Fault) from Arches. After checking out all of the canyon overlooks, Randy convinced us that his GPS tracked a "shortcut" back to Moab that was only 18 miles. Um, that shortcut was an off-road 4x4 trail that was NOT a shortcut at all. We spent over two hours off-roading on Little Canyon Road. Fun? Maybe for Randy...

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado has been on my bucket list of national parks for quite some time. These cliff dwellings were established approximately 800 years ago. And trust me when I say, they were under a cliff overhang, over a deep canyon! The Ranger guided tours were very informational and interesting. Hard to imagine people actually lived there!

And finally,

Thank you to this guy for researching, planning and plotting our road trip adventures for the last four years! 25 National Parks and counting...

08 July, 2014

Wagner Road Trip 2014 - Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park

Before we headed out of Zion, we had another mini-hike planned for the morning.

The Narrows Hike in Zion is a very popular hike. However, you need wading boots because you are definitely going to get wet. The very nature of the Narrows Hike is trekking through the Virgin River between the narrow canyon. We knew in advance that we would not be hiking the Narrows, but it was possible to hike up to the Narrows entry point.

Photo source

Here we are at the beginning of the Narrows Trail.

Here's where you enter the water and where our hike ended.

On the way back, we stopped off at this pool to check out the fish. The water was so clear.

I love how the water streams down the canyon wall like condensation. The wall was filled with beautiful flowers, honeysuckles and greenery.

We headed out of Zion and made our way to Bryce Canyon National Park also in Utah. I've seen pictures from Bryce Canyon but the photographs of the Hoodoos pale in comparison to the real deal. There is just no way to describe it. One of the more visually stunning parks I've ever been to.

Starting our trail at Sunset Point.

Making our way down to Wall Street.

Inside Wall Street.

Making our ascent from the Queen's Garden.

Still hiking UP from the canyon. It was hot!

We headed back to our cabin and took a nap. It was a long 3.5 mile hike in the noon-day sun. We needed a break!

We had dinner at a local pizzeria near our cabin. We had a running joke the whole trip and it was that the people who work in National Parks are on "Mountain Time" or "slow-as-molasses-running-uphill in-the-winter" time. I think we waited for our pizza for about 45 mins. Not the model of efficiency I must say. But, it was good and we beat the dinnertime rush. (Thank goodness!)

After dinner, I headed back to the canyon to check out the Hoodoos once more. The sun was lower in the sky so you could make out more detail of the Hoodoos in the shade of the canyon.

The square shaped hoodoo on the left is Thor's Hammer. The tallest hoodoo in Bryce Canyon and one of the most recognizable hoodoos in the world.

Close up of Thor's Hammer. It looks like it could topple at any moment.

The cabins that we stayed in at Bryce were beautiful and decorated so lovely.

Photo Source

The next morning we headed out quite early because we were facing an 11-hour drive to Albuquerque. On the way out, we stopped by the National Park sign and took our obligatory picture.

We arrived in Albuquerque at dinner time, ate local Mexican food and went to bed early. We had another long drive ahead of us... this time 12 hours. We made it home by 8:30 p.m. that evening and we were so glad to be home.

Our road trips are a lot of fun. There is a lot of pre-planning involved, but once we hit the open road, it's nice and relaxing. I hope that before the girls are too much older, we can plan one more BIG road trip. Thinking about Washington, D.C. next. Maybe in a couple of years.

07 July, 2014

Wagner Road Trip 2014 - Zion National Park

We left Sequoia National Park and headed back to Vegas. This time around, we didn't stay on the strip, but rather in a hotel and casino off the strip.

Interestingly enough, it was the weekend of the Comic-Con (Comic Book Convention) that was held at our hotel. There were people dressed like comic book heroes and apparently, the less clothes they could get away with... the better?

Um, it was definitely NOT something we planned. In fact, I bet we would have seen less scantily clad people had we stayed on the strip! Needless to say, there was no reason to hang out Vegas the second time around. So, the next morning, we headed out to Zion National Park in Utah and arrived in time for lunch!

After lunch, we headed out on the biggest hike of our lives - Angel's Landing, which is also one of the most famous hikes in the U.S. Randy was prepping us for this hike for weeks. Talking about how awesome it would be, but also, that it was going to be hard. We headed out on the hike around 1:00 p.m. on a blazing hot day.

Here we are seeking shade shelter after about the first 15 minutes. Thank goodness for Camelbaks full of water! (If you are ever planning a trip to any National Parks invest in Camelbaks. They are work every penny!)

Still blazing sun, but look at that trail. It's steep and strenuous!

Beautiful view, though.

Ah, a bit of shade! Little did we know, we were about to head into "Refrigerator Canyon" where the wind blows between the canyon walls, where there is plenty of shade and no steep grades. Perfect way to prepare for the final ascent.

Here we are in Refrigerator Canyon.

We met a hiker during a quick break and she said that we were almost to the top. We just had to navigate "Walter's Wiggle" which is 21-sharp turning zig-zag switchbacks.

Finally, we made it to the sandy plateau of "Scout's Lookout" where we ended our hike. The hike to Angel's Landing continued another .5 miles, but sadly it required hanging onto chains, while climbing, to reach the top. Oh, and did I mention, there's a sheer cliff on each side?

Randy checking out the remaining portion of the trail. However, he didn't make it too far. The girls were near tears when he even 'thought' about hiking the remaining trail.

The girls taking a break at the top of Scout's Lookout.

This sign posted did not help Randy's case of continuing the trail.

On our descent down Walter's Wiggles. Kyla and Randy navigated the switchbacks better than Elisan and I did, so they got quite a head start on us.

Elisan loved the wind erosion against the canyon wall. It was pretty!

Elisan and I working our way down the trail... slowly but surely.

Here's the remaining portion of the trail. Looks fun, right?

Look how shaded the picture above is. The sun was finally behind the mountain and the way down was much more pleasant than going up. Once we were safely on the ground, we took the shuttle back to our lodge and watched more World Cup Soccer - U.S. vs. Portugal.

After the game, we ate at the Zion Lodge restaurant called Red Rock Grill and it was delicious. After we ate, we took a leisurely walk to the Lower Emerald Pools.

Check out the water fall we were walking under. It was lush and green in the lower pool area.

Here they are wrapping up our evening stroll!

We headed for the bed soon after.

We were all dog tired!

06 July, 2014

Wagner Road Trip 2014 - Sequoia National Park

We caught a glimpse of the Sequoia trees while in Kings Canyon, but I wanted to write about these ancient trees in my entry about the Sequoia National Park.

My family visited this park when I was four years old and honestly, I don't recall much about the trip. I do remember seeing photos of our trip in the family photo album and I really wanted to bring the girls to see the Sequoias.

To learn some interesting facts about Sequoias, this website offers some quick facts and information regarding the largest living things on earth!

Elisan standing in the fire scarred trunk of a living Sequoia.

One thing that I learned about Sequoias is that the NEED fire to help them grow. A controlled fire burns the underbrush. The heat from the fire opens up the Sequoia cones and seeds virtually rain down onto the newly cleared (burned) ground where the seeds can take root. Sequoia trees by design are fire resistant, so while they can burn, they don't die.

Surprisingly, this is NOT a Sequoia pine cone. This is actually a Sugar Pine Cone.

This egg-sized cone is a Sequoia cone.

Climbing Moro Rock, a granite monolith inside Sequoia National Park.

The view from (not quite the top of) Moro Rock.

General Sherman Sequoia tree. The largest living thing on earth!

Being silly on the Redwood Canyon Trail.

A giant Sequoia amid the forest.

Another interesting fact about Sequoia trees is that they only grow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Read below:

"All naturally occurring groves of giant sequoias are located in moist, unglaciated ridges and valleys of the west slope of the Sierra Nevada range in California, United States. The giant sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers and snowy winters. Most giant sequoia groves are on granitic-based residual and alluvial soils. The elevation of the giant sequoia groves generally ranges from 1,400–2,000 m (4,600–6,600 ft) in the north, to 1,700–2,150 metres (5,580–7,050 ft) to the south. Giant sequoias generally occur on the south-facing sides of northern mountains, and on the northern faces of more southerly slopes."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum

The Big Stump Basin, standing on the Mark Twain Tree Stump.

The Big Stump Basin is a quiet reminder of how man can enter a completely beautifully preserved area and destroy it for profit and gain. The Big Stump Basin was home to the Smith Comstock Lumber Mill that was in business during the 1880's.

I loved Sequoia National Park. It was beautiful, fascinating and a joy to revisit.