Puttin' on a Ritz

Addie had her first dance recital- and we could not be prouder!! This is the little girl who cried and refused to go infront of her preschool class of 12, in the classroom, to get her certificate from her teacher- and here she is dancing infront of hundreds of people, on a stage! She has grown-up and changed drastically this year- we are so proud!! (The video of her dancing will be in another post as blogger isn't letting me upload right now....)

Waiting in the auditorium for her classes turn to rehearse.

Once again with her BFF's- Hannah Grace and Lainey

More friends from school

I love this- they are all watching another group practice. When Addie practiced, it was the first time any of us parents knew what song they would be dancing to- Putting on the Ritz.

After a successful practice, we ate lunch at her favorite place, McDonalds- and she even got the coveted Happy Meal!!

After a nap at home, we loaded up with car with everyone and headed back to the high school for the actual recital. I was SO happy that this dance company breaks the recital into 3 sessions- and you only have to attend 1- each one was 1.5 hours long.

Here she is waiting to go in!! The teachers watched the kids so the parents could just enjoy the show!

Waiting with her friend

These are kids from Alden's class- he was excited to see his friends on stage- they were adorable!

1/2 of this group is from Addie's class, the other 1/2 is from the class next door to her.

At the end of the show, each class was called to the front of the stage and the parents came to get them. Addie's class was THE last show and THE last on the stage so we could take time to capture a quick picture. Alden was infatuated with the flowers and couldn't wait to give them to Addie.

Our amazing dancer!!

With her MarMar and PopPop who came all the way from NY to see her!

A family picture- this weekend must be setting a record!

Alden was thrilled to see some of the friends from his class- he was happy to embrace Madison- they were cracking us up!

What a fun time it was- we are all so proud of you Addie!!

Goddard Graduation

Tonight Adeline graduated from the Goddard School's Preschool- it was amazing!!

Addie hanging out with Nina and Delaney before the ceremony- we got there early to get good seats- and it's a good thing as there was standing room only 10 min before it started!

1/2 the graduating the class- they sat still, singing loudly, saying their lines clearly, amazing!!

Addie was on the aisle but the back row- hard to capture on camera- PopPop got better pictures which will be added once he sends them to me!

There was a slide show- a baby picture, a picture of them working in the classroom, and then 1 of them in their cap and gown- so sweet to see how much they have grown-up!

Miss Monica- she has been an amazing teacher- we aren't sad to be leaving her as she will be Alden's teacher next year!! Addie is thrilled that she will get to see Miss Monica every morning when we drop Alden off!

Addie and her other teacher- Miss Nikki was is also wonderful!

Miss AnnaBeth- the afternoon assistant. She would often fix Addie's hair after naptime.

Friends- Hannah Grace, Addie and Lainey

We are all so proud of our little graduate! It's hard to believe we will be doing the same thing next year, but for Alden! We are so blessed to have this Goddard School- the teachers are all Christians and the education is top-notch!

Good-Bye Car Seat, Hello Booster

Addie has been asking for a booster seat for awhile- and I really wanted her to get to the 40lb mark. Clearly at 5 1/2 it's rather crazy for her to still be in a full-fledged car seat, so we decided to make the Big Switch in time for her preschool graduation.

Shopping for booster seats can be difficult, so we stopped at McDonald's for their .49 kiddie ice cream cone first- yay!!

Reading the booklet on the booster seat- love her desire to learn!

SO excited to be in a car seat!!

Thumbs up the next day while riding to school!!

Alden is not to be left out- he is excited to have Addie's old car seat- and he is now wanting a booster seat, which he will get when he turns 4 as he will be 4 AND 40lbs then!

Preschool Graduate Pics

I cannot believe Addie is "graduating" preschool next Friday!! How in the world can she be old enough for kindergarten?

Her class- several kids are missing- they don't all come every day, a good number of them only come 2 or 3 days a week- and yet, Addie is friends with them all!

I am so thankful for such a fantastic preschool! Addie has learned so much- not just academics which are important, but more importantly people skills- she can work with all different kinds of kids (just look at her class- multiple ethnic backgrounds and religions are represented), how to follow directions from someone not me, how to be a leader, how to stand-up for herself, how to be empathetic, how to live for Jesus without cramming it down someones throat, etc. Seeing all the invaluable life lessons she has learned in just this one year is why I am so thankful for her school- and I can't wait for kindergarten, and 1st grade and 2nd grade...! It isn't always easy to "train up a child in the way they should go" but since it's what God commands, I know He will protect her and I know it's what best for her! Look out world, here she comes!!

Beach Attempt #1

The company Al works for is amazing- simply amazing!! They asked him to come to Virginia Beach to cover that office this week- they ASKED, not demanded. They even allowed him to book 1 day early, Sunday, so that 1)he could get to the office early Monday morning and more importantly, 2)we could go to the beach on Sunday and have a place to clean-up before the 2 hour ride home!!

Sunday morning dawned rather moistly (read this raining). The forecast called for showers until noonish so we decided to still go for it. The rain we drove through to get there was torrential!! My car, which was covered in some sort of tree sap, was totally clean by the time we made it to VA Beach!! Thankfully Al's hotel room was ready- so we trouped up there to come up with a Plan B since it was still pouring with no signs of letting up, and it was already 10.30am.

The kids thought his set-up was pretty sweet- and we agreed! He had a full kitchen, dining table, pull-out couch, desk, tv, and a separate bathroom and bedroom!

We were going to head to a local mall, one, ironically we used to go to when we lived on the Eastern Shore and had to come "across the bay" for something, when we passed a man, dripping wet and smelling of chlorine. From the hotel's website, it looked like the pool was outside- but we decided to check it out and SCORE! the pool is INSIDE!! We promptly put our suits on and spent the next hour watching the kids swim from one side of the pool to the other. They had a blast swimming and making friends with 2 little boys who also came down to burn off some energy. Around noon the rain stopped and the sun came out- so we cleaned up and headed to The Beach!!

My little fish- they are doing SO well swimming!!

Ready to go to the beach- the elevator was the best to them since it was super shiny.... Ahh to be so easily entertained!!

Drumroll- here is it- THE BEACH!! As we were driving around looking for a place to park, Addie kept commenting on how she had missed this place, on how she had missed that shop, how that spot was her old favorite, etc. The funny thing is that she has NEVER been to VA Beach before- I guess all beach towns must look alike to her- Ocean City, Rehoboth, etc.

Since it had just poured, the sand, wherever you went, was perfect for building sandcastles, which is what Alden was adamant we do- so we did. I left my camera in the car and I forgot to get Al to take pictures of him building- he is so going to be an architect when he grows up!! We put our toes in the water- which was freeeeeeezing- and then the kids decided to start hunting for shells.... They had a blast- which is what we were going for!! It ended up being the perfect day- not crowded- but enough people to be entertaining, not sweltering hot- but warm enough you enjoyed the ocean breeze, and oodles of sand to dig in and shells to find!

After playing on the beach for a little over an hour, we had a great lunch at a little restaurant, strolled some more on The Boardwalk, and topped it off with Kohr Brother's Frozen Custard. It wasn't what we had planned, but it was a great time, and that's what really counts!! The kids were totally tuckered out and snoozed almost the entire trip home.

We will most certainly go back this summer, and hopefully it won't rain the first few hours we get there- but if it does, we know how to still have a good time!

Happy Birthday, Al!

For what feels like the first time in ages, Al had his birthday and he wasn't 1)working or 2)moving!! In honor of this, we had a cookout and invited our good friends Mike and Karen to come and celebrate with us!!

Here Karen is so graciously modeling the great spread that we had- turkey burgers and all the trimmings, pasta salad, baked beans, watermelon & chips- yummy!!

The Kids Table- Avery is still stuck with us at the grown-up table, but not for long!!

Singing to Al- that cake is from Sam's and Karen picked it out- and yes, it was just as amazing as it looks!!

I love this pic- we all helped him blow out his candles!!

After this, Al and Mike went to play a round of golf while Karen and I got to put the kids down for a nap. We did end the evening by swimming at the pool and eating pizza- the kids were happy with that and that made Al happy!

Al is such an amazing man- I am thrilled, honored and humbled to be his friend and wife! It's been an amazing set of birthday's we have spent together- and I look forward to what God has in store for the next 80-something birthdays!!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day weekend- what an amazing weekend- amazingly traveled, amazingly fun, amazingly fast!!

Saturday we woke up at 3am and were on the road by 3.30am- all in an attempt to miss as much traffic as possible- and it worked!! The kids did great- they went back to sleep for a few hours once we put them in their carseats.

Here is Alden enjoying a breakfast of champions- Cars Cheezits!! He has his precious NiNi wrapped around his neck- what more can a man ask for??

I love this pic- all 3 of my "children" doing something different. It was a great trip up- Al was such a trouper to drive and let the rest of us snooze.

Once in NY we had our standard, NY bagels for breakfast, and then headed off to a local strip mall where an airport is as well- there was a HUGE airshow happening on Jones Beach and all the airplanes were taking off and landing at this airport! We got to see a good number of planes all without the hassle of the actual air show!! Alden was in heaven!

After some naps (not for me, I got a pedicure- ahhh!) we relaxed in the backyard and enjoyed the perfect weather!

Addie even got 85 year old Nonnie to come and sit outside!! Nonnie will do just about anything these 2 kids ask of her!

After a yummy dinner, the kids decided to "help" PopPop undo some damage they did last summer- throwing white rocks from around the pool- into his red rock area. They thought it was a great job- and were even more thrilled when he gave them money!!

After much debate, we decided to leave Sunday evening at bedtime- once again in hopes of missing traffic- and once again, it worked! We rolled in a little after 2am. Yes, we made it to and from NY in a little under 48 hours- it was well worth it!

This means that we had all day Monday to actually RELAX! The kids were thrilled to go to the pool- and since it's been sooooo hot lately, the pool temp was actually refreshing not numbing.

See what I mean by it being an amazing weekend? We are so blessed to have family close and the ability to go see them time to time!