Princess Ballet

Natalie had her first ballet recital over the weekend.  It seems like it's been a long build up to this, and there were times when I questioned how much she was even liking it.  And then dress rehearsal happened and the child was in love.  She was dressed fancy, got to be on stage, had makeup on, and then watched the older girls dancing.

dress rehearsal

demonstrating first position

trying so hard to dance like the girls wearing pointe shoes

Here is Natalie's class practicing their routine at dress rehearsal (she's in the back row):

Sunday afternoon was the recital...though we started off the day pretty grouchy (probably from the 3 hours we spent at rehearsal on Saturday), Natalie rallied for the recital.

Here is Princess Ballet I doing their routine at the recital (she starts off in the back row about 3rd from the left):

dancing to "Shake it Off" during the intermission

any dancers could go on stage...these boys and oh, so many girls

three best friends

all the day's dancers

post-recital

Ben was Natalie's number one fan all season

In the end, Natalie ended up liking ballet so much that she opted to keep with it rather than gymnastics, which she has been doing forever.  

Just another day...at the Park

After a morning of heavy cleaning (tackling the storage room in the basement...), it was time for a picnic lunch and some outside time!  There is a little park not far from us with a playground and a nice, paved bike trail.  That was our destination.

bike gang

bike break to pick some flowers

pedaling uphill is hard on little legs

We got interviewed by a woman writing an article on the use of local parks.  Look for some pictures and quotes in the next edition of the Bright Beacon!

Playing at the Park

Sunday.  Monday.  Tuesday.  Nights I work.  Also known as 3 days away from my bed, 3 days of limited sleep, 3 days of limited time with my babies, and 3 days of looking forward to Wednesday at 8:00am.  Wednesday always feels like a bit of a celebration.  Don't get my wrong...I really like my job, and love working nights, and am grateful that I don't have to work more or work day shift, but nights brings its own challenges, and arriving at Wednesday each week means 4 days off to recover, catch up and spend time doing kid stuff.

After gymnastics Wednesday morning, we desperately needed groceries, but not before we needed lunch and decided that the best place to eat would be the park.

the fastest way to make Ben mad...a hostile takeover of his toys.  

The temper on this kid....

Do you notice us dressed in pants and long-sleeves?  I also had a jacket on...and was freezing!  It was in the 50s.  After a couple of weeks of 80s and sunshine, 50s and cloudy felt like winter again.  Gymnastics, park, groceries and we were all ready for a quieter afternoon and early bedtime!

Mother's Day

With all the chaos of normal life, it's nice to have a day that forces your to pause and consider just how lucky you are.  I have two beautiful and healthy babies.  I still have my own mother in my life, and I am surrounded by wonderful other moms: a mother-in-law, my sister, a sister-in-law, and mom friends.  The kids served me breakfast in bed, I got to run, we delivered some Mother's Day cards, and then we did nothing particularly special and that was just fine.

The kids got to play and we did only the necessary chores.  This is a victory of a day!

The newest favorite activity at our house is bike riding.  Ben has figured out how to pedal...and he is in love with his bike.

I just love the over-sized helmets.  gotta protect those precious heads.

Does your heart not just melt at this.  So cute.

My little lady, dressed for a party at all times.

And after bike riding was done, we played on the swing set and took turns bouncing one another on the trampoline.  It feels like a day done right when you come inside hot, sweaty, and worn out.

A good day to gear up for another crazy week.  

Yard Racing

Beautiful weather is upon us and we have taken full advantage.  Today we had a playdate, then planted some more flowers, and had a visit from Jack and Anna.  Natalie, Ben, and Jack started racing.  And they raced, and raced, and raced.  I couldn't believe how many times they all went.  Someone decided it would be interesting if I got in on the action.  We tried to set up a fair course.  Each person running a certain distance (me the longest, the boys the shortest, and Natalie in between) to give us all an equal shot at winning.  The results were pretty funny...

Don't be surprised if you see Natalie in a track suit in a few years.  She's speedy!  And Ben...he plugged away with the kids each time, never once getting mad that he was in last place.  How adorable are his little legs churning along?!