School's out!!! And summer is in !!!

 Chloe was singing and flailing her little arms around in her own world.  It was great.

 I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated with their feet.  I used to take pictures of my own feet growing up?  I think I want to remember places we've been.  Trees,  fresh grass,  and here....muddy rivers! :)

Nothing says summertime more then  PB&J's on a red checkered blanket!!

 Hey it's not centered but what can you expect when a 3 yr old took the picture?  I think she did pretty darn good!  

Well we have officially kicked off the summer season 2013 and we are thrilled!   Done with the long bleak cold winter months (Sorry Brian)  but now for warmer fun in the great outdoors.    Abigail finished up school on Wednesday this week.  I went to her awards ceremony  where she once again took home a citizenship award.  I am so proud of her.   She may not win the accelerated reader awards but I care more that she shows consistent good character in her classroom to her peers.  She's my sweet considerate girl and I couldn't be prouder of her.   
   After finishing up early at her school, we needed an activity to celebrate the year's completion so I pondered what would be fun new and unexpected for the kids.   I abhor the usual Chucky Cheese,Jump and Pump it Up play gyms.  We usually get sick w/ in 48 hrs  of leaving those places.  Sorry but it definitely ruins all that fun.  Not to mention it's around 8 bucks a person to play.  I knew I could do better.  So I remembered this spot that Brian and I found a year ago when the girls were in VBS one evening.    It's a little riverside park that usually isn't crowded.   I knew they would enjoy wading in the water so we packed a picnic and made ourselves at home for a couple hours.   We splashed,  thew rocks and the kids peed a grand total of 4 times between the 2 of them.   Luckily we were alone so we didn't shock anyone but the fish w/ our immodesty!   Honestly I think it was ridiculous how they kept having to go.  I think they got a kick out of coping a squat outdoors.
    It was a blessed day.   I wish Bri could have joined us.   I had a blast watching them play with their little dresses tied up to their hips and muddy feet.   We may have to visit that place again.  Abigail was cute, while she was burying treasures for her sister she proclaimed "mommy! this is way cooler then the pool!".    Whew,   sometimes this tech savvy, blinged out generation can be hard to impress.  I'm thrilled our kids still get excited with simple things like playing in mud with just our family.   I hope we can keep that going for as long as possible.   I know I had an awesome day with them.   I'm very thankful for the joy in our little family.  God is so good to us!  We praised Him in the simple beauty of his creation. It was more then enough entertainment to make for a very memorable afternoon.

Why we are so happy with DDC

Here's a video the kids made of behind the scenes fun during recital time.   It gives a good peek at why we are so happy with the kids being a part of this big dance family.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v15_hldXZ-U

recital 2013

 Lining up!  They called over head for "Animal Crackers to the stage"

 leading the little ones to the stage!  A lot like herding cats but we got it done

 dress rehearsal night, they were still getting instructions here


more horsing around

 Chloe liked the big girl's room

 Letting her run her energy off a little

 Chloe's buddy  Cara, I love that Cara carried her little security blanket around.  They look like dolls ready to perform but they are still babies at heart!

 Abigail came down to Chloe's dressing area to help me w/ her class,  she loved playing with the little ones

 Clearly, the Bit was not happy I was still snapping pictures. 

 what are you going to do?   I just love and accept!    And I love her an awful lot!

 horsing around killing time until they danced again,  the Mini Company got our own dressing room and the girls had a blast!

This is Evelyn,  these girls frequently get mixed up and accused of being sisters. 

 The only way to get to our dressing rooms was through the back stage area,  so it made for fun pictures to be in the wings all night.  That is Abigail in the back of the group

 I can't get used to these silly faces they make, but I love her anyway!

Chloe's best buddy Claudia,  she absolutely loves her to pieces!

 Looking good heading to dinner with MiMi,  I love how they matched!

 Sweet dance dad!

Such a good picture of Grammie

 We ran into some buddies for dinner , the girls loved sitting by themselves

 walking back from dinner,  heading to show #2!

 Mom looks so pretty!!

 We were desperate to entertain the girls through the show in our room so we resorted to yoga,  one of the mom's is an instructor.  They had a blast

 Abigail gave teaching yoga a try :)

 We got them settled down with some butterfly coloring pages.....phew!

Their company number The Clapping Song.  They did a great job


Such a wild crazy weekend of rehearsals and 2 shows, and I'm glad it's all done and went well.   Again, I was so proud of all the dancers through the big day. We were in 6 dances between our 2 kids but so many kids were in so many more.   By the end of the 2 days we were all pretty done.   Chloe lasted until 5 songs from the end of the show and slept on mom's lap for the finale.  It was such  a special night and all those kids and parents are really amazing how they pull all that together.    Chloe did amazing for her first dance recital I was so relieved.  For rehearsals she rebelled and didn't dance when she got confused on the large stage and couldn't locate her spot.  She walked out and slumped her shoulders and did what we call 'monkey arms' through the whole song.   The teacher just called from the side of the stage..."Chloe!..Dance!"  but she didn't like not knowing where to be.  Clearly, it was important to her.    By the second run through they walked her out to show her where she was supposed to be and she finally did her number. 
   On the day of the performance I held my breath from the wings gripping the arm of my fellow dance mom hoping she would dance at least a little.  The child is only 3 yrs old so if she didn't do anything but walk out there and do monkey arms everyone would laugh and be entertained but I wanted her to have fun and enjoy the experience.   Well she did dance.  She took our over emphasis on dancing no matter where she stood to mean she could relocate at will to the front row through the song.  I guess it was better then her back row spot to her.  Who cares it was a memory and she did her thang!   I was so proud of her whole class.  They were adorable dancing in their huge blue bows to Shirley Temple's Animal Crackers in my soup!  
    For the evening show we let Brian and Mimi take over Chloe duty and they said she sat content for the rest of the night.  Popping up for random numbers she recognized or friends she wanted to cheer on.  This worked out good leaving the Bit and me to focus on the homestretch of the event. 
     Abigail shone too in her numbers.   She shook her shimmy and beamed that all American smile as far as she could project it to the audience.   She left the stage with her head held high and a spring of pride in her step.  As a parent thats all I can ask.    I love seeing her confidence build in this.   She is having so much fun.   She's got a growing network of peers, young and old, teachers and teens.    It's helping her grow so much and mature.  
   We had our low points in the chaos too.  I lost track of her at one point in between shows as she bolted about the huge old theater on her own feeling her independence with the older kids.   I fought back my motherly urge to blast her with it when I finally found her in one of the lower rooms, sitting head held low in a chair with a teacher telling her "it's ok hunny, we'll find her".     I let a little "see!?  That's why I told you not to run around here alone like you owned the place,  You're only 6!"    Once her tears flowed we said our sorrys, grabbed a back vacant hallway and a cupcake to lift our spirits and  get our grip again before we headed back hand in hand and rejoined our group.     It's so tough to let them grow up a little but make them know they're still a kid.    It was a sweet moment and I was proud of her for not letting it spoil her mood or the night.  
     All in all we had a great day together sharing the madness together.   We soaked in the lights and the drama.   We shared the nerves and the pride together through the long hours.   It was an ebb and flow of emotions and we came out sitting just the 2 of us by ourselves in the balcony for the grand finale.  I must admit,  I got teary as it drew to a close.  The last number wowed me so much my eyes filled up with pride for the other kids.   I have really fallen in love with so many of them.  They have been so inspiring to watch through the season.   They have been so good to our 2 little dancers.    Their talent and endurance just made my heart swell.  It was a special night.   Glad we have a lot more in our future.  I know this because when the sun came up 10 hours later both girls had re donned their costumes again and were right back at it in our living room twirling and bouncing off the walls to music.  It runs deep in these 2!   Brian and I have a long road ahead of this ,  and we're ok with that!
     

Tuggs... my first child

"my cotton mouth"

"fuzzy face"

"The beeeeeeb"

I always considered myself a dog lover growing up.  Well, really an animal lover but our cocker spaniels were my closest buddies running around our country home.  The cats always kept us in good company.  They were mass breeding little baby sitters actually.  My parents were very much NOT the responsible pet owners and never took Bob Barker's advice to have your pets sprayed or neutered.  At one point we had,  (no lie) 21 cats that we counted on our 8 acre corner of the world.   We used to sit on blankets in the yard and play for hours with kittens upon more kittens in the summer sun.  We named them all, and had an elaborate family tree of who beget who usually having a couple of standard super producers at the head.  R.I.P. sweet cross eyed stud muffin Flower (sorry Sue was young when she named your masculine self) and your many wives (Sugar, Minerva, Chevy Checker, to name a few ).    It was probably one of my parent's more brilliant moves to allow this over population to take over our home.   It kept us busy, kept the snakes away and kept us outside and wildly entertained enjoying our feline family.    Now being a mother myself I fully understand how my own would seek any and all help to get me and my 2 sisters OUTSIDE!
    But it wasn't until my sophomore year of college that my heart got fully swayed to the loyalty of the domestic cat.   My sister Sue and I got off campus and rented an apartment together  with a couple other responsible young ladies.  :)    Having never lived with out furry friends around we felt a deep void in our living space.   Susan took initiative and headed down to the local SPCA one afternoon to take care of our need.  She returned with a tiny grey ball of energy with ridiculously huge Caribbean green eyes.  It was the eyes that won her over.    We all had a ball playing with her and she seemed to welcome her new home environment of rowdy 19 yr olds.    It took a day or 2 before my sister started to feel a strange guilt for purchasing a new cat when her own cat still was back home at mom and dads.  She was missing her long haired princess Victoria and felt she had betrayed her in buying this new spring kitten.   So she threatened to return our new kitten back to the SPCA unless one of us stepped up to be her sole owner.  Well I would hear nothing of returning this wonderful new addition so I happily agreed to take full responsibility for her.   It was easy since she had already taken to sleeping on my pillow at night.   She chose me so I chose her.  And a long deep relationship and bond took it's first form.
    I named her Tuggle.  It was a perfect fit in honor of a wonderful character with long legs and sassy style from a favorite old movie of mine, the 1960 classic film 'Where The Boys Are'. Tuggle and I have been through a wild ride of life events together.  When I look back over the span of time our friendship has taken together it makes me smile all the way down to my heart strings.    Eighteen years is a long time in a woman's life.
  She's cuddled me through studying for college courses late into the night sleeping on my heavy textbooks for attention.  I remember her chasing my pencil as I attempted homework and tedious nursing school care plans.   I remember how chubby she got when I left her with my parents when I spent a month in Guatemala.  She got a daily dose of ham to ease the pang of her longing for my return. She fully supported my crazy sleep patterns my many years of working the night shift. Always so happy to crawl into bed and sleep any odd hours away with me.  She pooped on my bridesmaid's pillow the morning of my wedding.  I think she sensed the stress of the day and took it out on my house guest, but it made us laugh and broke the tension.   I cried in her fur when I missed my soldier and feared for his safety.  She was my family when Christmas morning came and it was just me and her.  I loaded up gifts for her under our Charlie Brown tree that year he was in Afghanistan. She was extra cute to make me giggle in my loneliness as she chased the toys and wrapping paper shreds.   She kept me company every time I would sit long hours into the night nursing my babies in the dark.  She's moved into 6 homes with me. Always staking a claim on my sunny bedroom window perch in each locale. Even now, she provides a silent companionship in my noisy life when I scoop her up to sneak away for a quiet bubble bath.  Locking the bathroom door to pretend it's the old days when it was just us two for so many years.  Even when the kids bang on the door she doesn't flinch knowing they can't interrupt this ritual of serenity sought.   It's our time. 
     I know some people aren't animal lovers.  I don't think they are normal actually.  I don't have many if any in my life because I don't understand them.   I think God deliberately created the animal world to add pure joy and amusement in our lives.  A gift if you will for us to simply love and enjoy.   Something so sweet and ever present to remind us to take it down a notch.  They never judge us or criticize our life choices or failures as long as we offer a warm lap and a scratch. When all else crumbles around us somehow, just stroking something soft behind the ears lowers the blood pressure and makes pain have less of a sting.  It makes fear seem less looming,  and even joy more complete when it's shared with an old friend.  
    It's been fun constructing this, my tribute to Tuggle post.   My girl is still kicking.  She looks no where near as old as her little 7 lb body should look.  She's still my favorite pillow pet,  book buddy,  bath buddy and welcoming committee when I return from life.   I'm so thankful for the gift she's been to my journey.   My one woman cat who endures my family life since it's an extension of me.     I don't take her for granted.  Anyone who knows me knows her.   It will be a sad day indeed when she's gone.  But I'll re read this and toss one back in her honor when that day comes.    Here's to you Tuggs!!

  

Chloe's Tulips

I can't remember if I have ever written about these special flowers before.  I'm sure I have but they make me happy so here's another post in honor of my pretty purple annuals.  And yup,  I have to tell the story again.  I'm already like an old crazy woman retelling the same stories over and over.  But this is my blog and I'll repeat myself if I want to!  :)
When Brian and I moved into this house I was 'great with child' and desperate to make the place ours.   Loving the art of gardening, each year I try to learn a little more try something new and expand my interest.    I had seen these almost black tulips in a Martha Stewart magazine that summer and fell in love with the deep dark beauties.   I hunted everywhere for them and found them on a weekend trip away with mom and Sue.   I didn't get around to planting them until mid October and Abigail and I had so much fun doing it together.  We giggled and laughed at how difficult it was for me to squat down and be able to even see much less to reach the earth in front of me due to my enormous baby belly.  It is a funny special memory of me and the Bit making our new house a home before little Chloe arrived.   Now every year when they come up I cheer in excitement and the girls and I love to see spring color back in our landscape.     It brings the memory back to us all over again and I force Chloe to pose with them.  It's the little things you know?  Happy spring!