Recital Week

Alyssa had a week full of activities getting ready for the big recital held on Saturday.
It started off the day with getting pictures done at the studio. They did individual and group photos. Alyssa was very excited about this because she got to wear her pink sequin tutu and wear make up. I tried to curl her hair for the pictures but with her hair being so fine by the time we got to the studio it had pretty much fallen out and was just a little wavy.
She did great with her pictures and it was fun to see all the chaos and the other little girls costumes.

Wednesday was her rehearsal for the recital. Another day of getting all dressed up. Let me tell you my little ballerina loved it. I wasn't sure how she was going to do on stage because sometimes when put in a new situation she is very nervous and unsure. She loved it. We weren't there long since her class was the second dance. They did do a father daughter dance but after talking it over several times we decided Cory wouldn't be doing it. The rehearsal times never meshed with his work schedule and I wasn't about to have him take time off to attend one. I'm surprised that the studio doesn't ask what the husbands work schedules are etc. I guess since it's optional it doesn't matter.

Alyssa was so excited after this. Her and I went out to dinner and she couldn't stop talking about it and dancing. It was very cute.

Saturday was her big day. Thankfully, she was in the early show at one. She was so excited to go dance and show her Nana's who all came up to watch her. It felt like we were waiting around forever before she actually went on. Her and I were backstage while everyone else was sitting in the audience. When the time came the look on her face was priceless. I stayed backstage while the other mom's went out to watch. I saw her walking and taking her place and she waved across at me. I feel like this time was our special little moment. I watched on the t.v. monitor and for a moment felt bad that I hadn't gone out with the other mom's but when she came running back afterwards and I was there I wouldn't have traded it for anything. The pure excitement on her face and her telling me she wanted to dance more was enough for me!

After meeting up with the rest of the family, taking some pictures, and getting her flowers, we headed back to the house for a nice dinner, wine, and presents for her big day. I hadn't planned on really getting her anything but I was so proud in how much she has grown this last year and her love for ballet that I couldn't resist. I found a cute necklace, since she loves her jewelry, that has a ballerina on it and pink rhinestones for the tutu. She hasn't taken it off since.

I'm really looking forward to watching the DVD when it comes to see what everyone else did because like probably most parents we only watched our own! I ended up signing her up for classes for next year at the same place. I'm debating on changing locations for several reasons but haven't at this time.

The day couldn't have been more perfect for us. I know she was excited to have her Nana's there to support her and to see how hard she has worked this year. Thank you again Nana's!

Father's Day

Cory was working all day Father's Day so it was just me and the kids until later that evening.

We had a fun day of hitting the gym and the kids playing for awhile. They both love going there now and Alyssa has made several friends there. It actually gives me motivation to get my butt in there when I have my daughter begging me to go there so she can play! We also enjoyed a little time at the park and misc. activities around the house before Cory came home and we cooked him a salmon dinner and carrot cake for dessert. I say "we" because Alyssa helped with everything. She loves spending time in the kitchen!

It was nice to have Cory home since we hadn't really seen him in over a week. The kids were thrilled to see him and were hanging all over him. We just had a quite evening together but a nice Father's Day to say the least.

Old Photos

For those of you who know me and for those who don't, I love old black and white photography. One thing I have been doing lately is getting old family pictures and making copies of them for several reasons. The obvious one because it's family and has sentimental value, secondly for my children to have and last because some of them are just fabulous pictures.

I'm going to be sharing with you some of them that I have gotten recently and will probably throw some in here and there through out. I hope you enjoy!

This first one is a picture of Cory's grandfather, Tom Kelly. I think there is a striking resemblance between him and Knox. I'm not sure exactly how old Tom was in this picture but from the looks of it he was probably around a year give or take.



This next one is of Mary Bess, a.k.a. Grammy, and her brother George who passed a little over a year ago. I have always loved this picture of the two of them. They look so cute and he looks so loving but from the stories that they both have told that wasn't always the case! Ah, siblings!!



Here is a picture of my grandfather, Paul McDonald, when he got their or his car. I can't remember the exact details but anyhow, I loved this picture.



This one is with my grandfather and grandmother. Again, not sure of the details, but I loved this one too. As I do most of the pictures I have of them because most of them he is wearing his Naval uniforms and I love it!

Cannon Beach

This last week the kids and I got to spend the week in Cannon Beach. It worked out perfectly because I had been wanting to go at some point this summer and with our calendar getting pretty booked very fast I wasn't sure when it was going to be possible if at all. Than we got our chance. Nana Gail rents a place every year and invited us down there for a few days.

We headed down after dance practice on Monday and stayed one night in Longview visiting my parents. We had a nice time catching up and of course Alyssa loved all the attention while Knox loved a new place to tear apart.
Tuesday we head out and it was a very nice peaceful drive after I got over the Rainier Bridge, a.k.a. Lewis and Clark Bridge. I hate bridges every time I go over them my plans get sweaty and I start getting a little anxious. It's weird because I don't have issues with heights or water just dang bridges. It's weird. Anyhow, so after that the drive was beautiful and relaxing. We got down there early afternoon and enjoyed meeting up with everyone.

After relaxing for a little while and beating Judy at scrabble, hehe, we headed down to the beach for some fun sand time. Both kids seemed to really have a good time and after about 40 min it started raining and the wind picked up and we headed back in. Which was fine because Knox's mouth was really bothering him. He has six teeth coming in and possibly eight but it's hard for me to tell. He was a little uncomfortable.

We stayed for the next several days with more relaxing, fun scrabble games, beach time, and a good trip to the outlet mall in Seaside. It's kind of sad because the outlet mall now isn't really anything special with just a few stores to really check out. The funny thing is I have those same stores right in my backyard and never go to them until I'm out of town. I guess it's a little different when you are on vacation and go right?! I got the kids some great summer clothes which they will need for their vacations in hopes of finding some sun, which I know we will.

On Friday we made the long drive home and finally got their early evening. Traffic was a nightmare! From Fort Lewis until a little past Tacoma it was stop and go and when it did move was like going 20mph. Ugh! The kids were great as they always are in the car, thank goodness. Although I don't think we will get another beach trip in this summer, unless it's around here, I'm really trying to figure one out. I just wish there was more time!

Holy June

Ba-na-nas! Sorry, I can't get Rachel Zoe out of my mind this morning but really is it already June and I haven't posted for almost a month! Yikes! Anyhow, the end of May was pretty busy for us. I got sick for a week having bronchitis and ear infection. It was the one time I was thankful my children weren't feeling well too! We did a lot of laying around and napping. Of course this happened during the time of the month where we had nice weather. It's OK we spent a lot of time just hanging in the backyard.

After that was all over we have had a ton of play dates and activities going on. I still can't believe it's June. June and July are booked crazy for us and August is starting to get that way too. Before I know it September is going to be here and than the holidays. Something that I don't even want to think about right now. I'm hoping to convince someone that we should just go away for them and not deal with drama that we always have to deal with in some form or another. Fingers crossed!

This last weekend Cory and I went to the U2 concert in Seattle. It was such an amazing show and I'm so happy I got to see it. I have been fortunate to have seen a lot of bands over the years and now I have my list of "must see" that I'm trying to get off of my bucket list. Anymore I have a hard time paying the money to go and see just any band. With saying that I am going to a concert in July that I is OK and I have seen twice before but it's the company that I'm mainly looking forward to. Nothing like a girls night out, right!?

Anyhow, Cory and I stayed down at the Silver Cloud and had an amazing room that over looked Safeco Field. The weather was perfect for us and we had a good time walking around people watching, having lunch, and doing a little shopping before the concert. It was nice for us to get a day away together since we pretty much hadn't seen each other for nineteen days.

The rest of the weekend was beautiful and we spent it lounging and playing. Alyssa got to go down and have a sleepover at her Nanny's house with her Nana and Nanny. She was so excited and exhausted when we picked her up!

Hopefully this has somewhat caught me up. I'm going to try and get back in the swing of things and updating more.