dancing....

its recital week in our neck of the woods, which means I am going to be elbow deep in hair gel, hair nets, bobby pins and make up.

this is little C's first year of dance and she is quite the mover & shaker. she has an active imagination and has thoroughly embraced her role as a princess.

This is the 4th year Big A has been dancing and I got to watch the run through of her dances tonight. she has gone from a fairly uncoordinated little duck to a graceful ballerina.

although her inner duck still comes out once in a while...

i heart faces | yellow

eight

Big A celebrated her 8th birthday this weekend.


I was wanting to do a whole post about her, and how much she lights up our lives, and brings her silliness and creativity to every part of her life.

she means the world to us and although her impact on my life has been profound, I'm just not all that ready to share about it here. maybe one day, but not right now. she knows all about it because we discuss it all the time, but for now, I'm chosing to just celebrate her.


plus, it was rainy out, we didnt even do a photo shoot, I feel bad about it, and I'm thinking that some nice photos ought to go along with our story :)


her Uncle John was in from CA and started her weekend off with a bang...new techie toys and a surprise greeting at the bus stop with flowers.

{please take note of the drastic skin tone difference that I didnt even attempt to correct. he is so tan is ridiculous, and it makes me spiteful}

Her fabulously delicious cake was made by Apron Strings Baking...a local gal working on building her baking business. I loooooved it, but whats more important is that Big A simply could not stop talking about it.





And to finish off her weekend, her cousins slept over that night, and they may has well have since they were up until 11:00.
The next day, I made the COLOSSAL mistake of letting them have fun dip (after breakfast, but yes, before lunch)...

fun dip is evil.

happy tuesday!

Rudy

For some time now, Big A has been asking to take horseback riding lessons. I have to say that I wasnt all that excited about it, not because I wouldnt love for her to learn, but because I have heard that it can be, well, expensive. I know all kids activities are costly nowadays, but I feared that horseback riding would drain my wallet moreso than, lets say, the church choir.



So, before I put any money towards this little endeavor, I called in a favor to a good friend. She has a horse, Rudy, and agreed to let us come spend some time at the barn so Big A could see if she really wanted to learn how to ride a horse.



We met her horse, Rudy, who was peaceful, patient and gentle the entire time



His momma knew how to talk to him to calm him down, and was great with instructing the kids to not stand behind him so they didnt get a hoof to the chin (honestly, this was something I had not given any thought)



as soon as I saw A's face as it neared her turn to ride, I figured that she had called my bluff on the whole horse deal and her interest in horses was really legit after all.



she did a great job and rode like a champ...even allowing my friend to lead her in a trot.



Little C got in the action, too. Even though she is smiling in this photo, she quickly decided that her time would be better spent creeping around Rudy's stall to see where he sleeps.

Rudy's barn mate is Slew...who is a descendent of Seattle Slew (and I'm not going to pretend to know which race or races he won). Apparently, Slew inherited his good looks from his family, but not the quick legs.

(did you know that horses had whiskers?? I totally did not and think they are hilarious!)

Thank you Rudy & family for a wonderful Mother's Day morning...it set the tone for a great day. We are ever so appreciative of your time and for letting the girls explore and learn.



(in case you are wondering how this all turned out, Big A has not stopped talking about Rudy. I found a local farm that has introductory classes that are very reasonable, and wont break the budget. She turns 8 this week and we figured lessons would be the perfect gift for her...)

the K family sneak peek

congratulations to K, who will be meeting a major milestone this weekend, as she'll be receiving her first communion! She was a trooper during our photo shoot, gracefully allowing me "one more shot, I promise!"

her brother was quite a ham, and even made some lady friends while he was off climbing a tree. he is a charmer...

thanks K gang, for a great afternoon at the park!

on gardening...

I love to garden. Its good for my spirit and soul to be in the dirt, digging and making room for seeds to sprout. I love flowers, but I really enjoy growing herbs and veggies.

The only problem I have is that we have groundhogs. Quite a few of them, at that. So, my gardening the past few years has been limited to, well, nothing. This year, I decided to beat the little vermin at their game and bought (this nifty window box) to hang up so they couldnt get at my goods.

When my package arrived from UPS, I tore open the box in anticipation and read the instructions...

"Hire Professional for Installation"

So, I congratulated my husband on his new job, handed him two U bolts (or T bolts, or, some other letter of the alphabet) and let him have his way at the wall. Add Rosemary, Basil and a cherry tomato plant...and I have myself a little garden that the evil little groundhog empire can't get at.

I love it and may just get two more for the other windows, since I now have a professional installer :)

And, speaking of gardens, I had a photo shoot with a sweet young lady who is preparing for her first Holy Communion. I'm not ready to do a whole post for her sneak peek, but here is a little glimpse of the garden we found for her to run around in...

it was divine.

Happy Tuesday!

Kaine Sneak Peek

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kaine! I had a great afternoon with you...and hope you have a wonderful year celebrating 2!