A Ballet Party

The girls were invited to a ballet party and they had such a great time!  Emily was super excited to dress up as a ballerina!

I think Emily was struggling to stay balanced.

Such beautiful decorations.

Sharla helped do the make up for each little girl.  All 25 of them.  Way to go Sharla!

And the Star of the party was Sara Bardo.  A ballerina for the Houston Ballet.  She was so great! She had just come from a rehearsal so she was a bit tired but still enjoyed showing all the girls some moves and explaining what they mean.

I can't imagine having strong enough toes for that!  She started dancing after seeing the Nutcracker when she was 8 years old.  Clara was her inspiration to become a ballerina.

She was so sweet to sign a pair of her ballet shoes for each of the girls to take home.

Emily was so excited she could go up on her toes in Sara's shoes!

It was good to see Sara again.  We'd gone to church together for a long time and we each get so busy with life to get time a chance to just catch up and talk.

Thanks Sara for the wonderful ballet memories and fun times for the girls!

the Motorcycle

A friend from work gave Spencer a motorcycle but it was all in parts. So Spencer called another friend who was able to help put it all together. It still doesn't run perfectly so he only uses it for short trips.

Excited to see Dad on his motorcycle.

Dad took Jake for a ride around the block.  He LOVED it!

Josh got a short ride up the driveway.  He loved it too!
Both of the girls also got a ride around the block with Dad (wearing helmets of course!). They all loved the wind and how fast it goes.  He never went too quickly but it sure seems like it.
Dad is now officially the coolest and best EVER!

Spencer and his friend went for a "man" date to see the new Batman movie, Dark Knight Rises.

So I suppose I'm the next and last to get a ride on Dad's motorcycle.

Father's Day

I took these cute pictures of the kids for Spencer for Father's Day.  I absolutely love them!

This picture was one of the last ones I took and Jasper couldn't take it anymore and had to come and lick someone.  Looking  closely Emily is making a funny face and Jasper got her right in the mouth.  I keep encouraging her to close her mouth. 

There has to be a silly picture....

I think this is my favorite picture from Father's Day!

These kids LOVE their Daddy!

Pundt Beach

My SIL told me about this great white sand beach she had gone to with her kids and they had a blast! So we thought we'd try it out in late Spring.  It was white sand alright! And only 15 minutes away!

It was really hot and the kids started exploring and digging so we quickly changed into our suits.

We need to invest in a large canopy to give us some shade.  It was REALLY HOT!! Too hot for it to be as fun as it could/should have been.

Emily was brave enough to get in the water.  She's such a brave country girl and kept the coolest of us all. She loved it!

We buried each of the kids in the white sand.  It was super soft sand! Each child was made into a mermaid or merman.

Jake decided to cool off with Emily in the water.  We wouldn't let them get too far.  But I could have just pictured one of those long ropes to swing on into the water.

Mermaid Avery

Our Sandman Josh.

We definitely will come back with inner tubes, a large canopy, and LOTS of water!

Mother's Day

This was my Mother's Day morning.  All of the kids climbing into bed with me. 

Good Morning!

The rest of the day was wonderful!  Church, dinner at Grandma Christie's, and early bed.

Emily Turns 6

I know this is super late and Emily turned 6 in May... better late than never!

It was a school day and we started a new birthday tradition of putting a dollar in the number of balloons that child is turning.  It was fun!

The daily walk to school, with puppy.

The birthday girl, really grumpy & hungry and hiding in this picture, choose a favorite bbq restaurant nearby.  Grandma Christie came along too and brought a special birthday girl gift from her sister, we call her Grandma Judy.

Emily and each of the kids took a turn wearing the special birthday tiara.

(I can hear the excitement as Josh wears the tiara! Please excuse the mouthful of food!)

There's a waterfall & fountain in the restaurant that the kids like to make wish in....

Emily found a friend just her size.

So glad Grandpa could make it....

presents for our big 6 year old girl

Emily wanted an ice cream cake.  Pink with butterflies.  Avery & I did  our best with those butterflies.

the ice cream cake.  It was easier than I expected.

popping the balloons with cash inside

another new tradition: Silly String.

The kids had a blast and Emily is such a good girl to hand out the cans of silly string and share in the balloon popping.  She may be a bit of a wild one but she sure is sweet!  Love you my sweet Emily!