1st Day of Ballet/Tap!

Today was Caroline's first day of her ballet/tap combo class for the 2012-2013 school year!! She was so so SO excited because she has been wanting to take tap for over a year. And the day was finally here! She woke up this morning shouting "yay,yay,yay, I get to tap dance today!!" :-)

My ballerina...so anxious to leave for class:

 She has to wear her hair in a bun this year just like a real ballerina. I love it!!

 A quick pose with bubba (who was not happy about the picture :-)

 We switched studios this year and, luckily, lots of Caroline sweet friends switched too and are in her same class again. We live in a HUGE city but our neighborhood really feels like a small town within this big city. All of these girls are either in Caroline's class at preschool, on her soccer team, in her class at church, and/or will be starting Kinder with her next year. And they are all so sweet and have such wonderful families. I love our community!!!

(L to R): Caroline, Lucy, Leah, Avery, Natalie, and Emory

 Caroline still has the same great teacher she had last year...Mrs. Janie...even though we're at a new studio. Here are the girls sitting with their "ballerina backs" i.e. good posture

 Talking to Lucy during class...she is SO my daughter ;-)

 The MOST exciting part of class for Caroline today...TAP TIME

 Little siblings watching through the glass: Matthew, Gabe, and Millie

Caroline missed dance so much this year and is glad it has started back up. We're looking forward to another fun year of dance!



My Littlest Love

A little about my littlest love.

He loves his "sasses" (glasses) and wears them as much as he can!

 He is all boy and majorly obsessed with trucks & balls.

 He wants to be outside all the time. His "mommy said I can't go outside" face:

 He absolutely adores his big sister. He is her constant shadow and wants to be right next to her, doing exactly what she's doing, at all times! (and she sure loves having a little shadow and constant sidekick :-)

His little self has stolen my heart in a big way. Oh how I love him so!!

Jumpstreet

We met some buddies at Jumpstreet this morning to play. It's a new place that is filled with trampolines, a bounce house, little rides, and a ball pit. Caroline loved it and had a great time jumping with her friends. Matthew liked climbing all the stairs :-)
The kids were moving so fast that I gave up trying to get any clear action shots!
Caroline jumping towards Lucy:
 

Reese, Lainey, Riley, Eleanor, and Blair
 

Sweet, little Amelia :-)
 

Lucy, Riley, and Caroline
 

Fun times!
 

My precious, SUPER cautious second-born was SO scared of the trampolines. He very hesitantly stood on one for about a minute before he decided to just watch from the side. How in the world did I get TWO unbelievably cautious kiddos?!? Hopefully, that will end up being a good thing when they're teenagers, ha!
 

Hopefully, we'll get to go back to Jumpstreet soon. It's fun to have somewhere close-by to go play when the weather is too hot/cold to play outside!

32 Years Young

I turned 32 on 8/8!
I had a very low-key birthday which was just perfect. The highlights of my day were a lunch date with my hubby, a mani/pedi,  dinner out with the whole fam, and cake/presents at our house afterwards.
Some pics of our evening:
Caroline wanted her babies to watch me open presents!
 

 

 

Mimi & Matt (who changed into his "cozies" as soon as we got home from dinner :-)
 

My wonderful mama & me
 

Aunt Jean & Nannie

It was fun to celebrate my birthday with the people I love so much. I can't believe I'm 32! It's weird because I still feel about 25, ha! Guess that's how it always is. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family who made me feel so special on my birthday. I love you all!!

Character Camp 2012

Last week, Caroline participated in her first CHARACTER CAMP! My friend, Elizabeth, had this great idea to get our girls together, along with some friends, and have Character Camp for a week. Each day, the group of girls went to a different house and had 2 hours of fun. We did crafts, activites, playtime and lunch. Everything revolved around our theme for the week...the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. The girls had a great time, and I pray that God will use all they learned to help them produce real fruit in their little hearts!
DAY 1: Love & Joy
The girls went to Mrs. Elizabeth's house the first day to learn all about love and joy.
Making their craft:
 

 

 

 

Precious group of girls:
Lainey, Blair, Eleanor, Riley, and Caroline (all a little obsessed with dressing up :-)
DAY 2: Mrs. Alycia's house to learn about Peace, Patience, and Kindness
DAY 3: Mrs. Caroline's house to learn about Goodness and Faithfulness
DAY 4: Our house to learn about Gentleness & Self-Control
We started off our day by watching a Character Builder's movie on Gentleness & Self- Control. The girls piled onto the couch, along with Matthew who wants to be just like big sister and all her friends! 

Working on our "gentle sheep" activity and talking about Philllipians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all people!" 

Then we headed outside for an egg walk. Better be gentle so you don't drop the egg!! 

 

 

 

 

It was time to learn all about self-control after the egg walk. The girls colored a picture for this Fruit of the Spirit. We then listened to a really fun & fast Fruit of the Spirit song and made candy bracelets with each piece of candy signifying a particular "Fruit" the girls had learned about during the week.  

 

We ended our day with lunch and playtime.
 Everyone (moms & daughters) agreed we must make Character Camp a summer tradition!! Here are some of Caroline's activites from the week...we'll definitely be hanging onto these and talking about the "Fruits of the Spirit" throughout the year: