She Did It!

The day finally arrived! This past Saturday was Paige's Dance Recital. She has been in dance class since September and while Paige came a long way in dancing, it became a struggle for her to complete the year through the recital. She was given a choice half way through the year to stick it out or to stop and she chose to continue with it until the end. Not long after that decision, it became a battle for Paige to put her tights on. They itched and itched and itched; apparently so badly she couldn't possibly continue. (Tights are a requirement, no exceptions!) Once we committed to staying through May, we shelled out way too much money to call it quits. With recital fees, costume fees, etc. we were in it for the long hall.

So I prepared myself each Monday for the possibility of an anti-tight demonstration. And every Monday, Paige delivered, which made me more determined to get her through this. Sure, it would have been easier to drop the class than to put up with the meltdowns, but it was the principle of it. You don't quit half-way through, especially after you made the decision to continue. It was a very long teachable moment. LOL!

I am so glad she stuck it out, and I think she is too. The recital was all it was supposed to be, and Dave and I were so proud of her. It took place at Louisburg College in a real auditorium. She got dressed in an actual dressing room with bright lights and mirrors. She got to wear makeup. She looked like a real dancer, wearing her hot pink and black costume with a pink tutu for ballet and pants for tap. She performed really well too. She said she was nervous to go out in front of all those people, but she never showed it on stage. Those who have known Paige throughout her life, know she has not been the most coordinated child, but dance class has helped her tremendously. She knew the moves and performed like a dancer, and had fun. She participated in the finale with all the other performers, and at the end we presented her with flowers, which really surprised her. She wouldn't let the flowers go. Alex was even good throughout the whole recital and gave her a big huge hug at the end.

The moment was bittersweet. I was glad I wouldn't have to drag Alex with us every Monday and deal with the tight drama anymore, but it was emotional for me to see my 7 year old daughter up there in front of all those people, knowing that this might be the only time she would ever perform like this. Wow, did she seem grown up at that moment. While she does enjoy dancing, this just isn't something she is passionate about. She doesn't want to continue with it. So Mommy is a little sad to see it come to an end. I love dancing and wished she would have enjoyed it enough to continue, but I am sure we will find something else she will enjoy even more, and Mommy will be just as proud of her. Sniff sniff!

I think we need to have a tight burning party to celebrate, don't you?

Alex's Preschool Art Show

What a busy month! Whew! All the end of the year school events for both Paige and Alex, birthdays, Mother's Day...the list goes on and on. While it is very busy, it is also a lot of fun. Tonight we went to Alex's Preschool Art Show. This was the first family event for Alex other than his Christmas Program, but since that was during the day, Paige and I were the only ones to go to that one. This time Dave and my parents were able to attend. Alex showed off some of his artwork on the walls of the classroom and his teachers had put together a portfolio of art projects and photos taken throughout the year. It is such a wonderful memory book. Then we headed outside for snacks and the playground. Alex wanted no part of the snacks, he just wanted to go play with his friends.

Alex has a couple of very good friends in his class too, but by far his best friend in the whole entire world is Robert (on the right). He and Robert are inseparable at school. They hold hands, hug each other, act goofy together and laugh like crazy. It's like watching two little girls. At this age though, it is so darn cute! It's hard to believe Alex's first year of preschool will be over this Friday and he will be off for Summer break. Where did this past year go?

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day this year was a special one because my Grandma Sandwick was visiting from New York. That morning we all went to Church and afterwards Dad took a picture of the four generations of women; Paige, Me, Grandma Sandwick and Mom Heller. After church, everyone came to our house for dinner.

Uncle Tom and Aunt Chris stopped by for a visit and gave Paige the cutest birthday present, which she loved (a horse pillow!) We enjoyed being able to see them and hear about their trip up to Virginia. It was a nice day to spend with family and went by way too fast!

The Park and More Birthday Fun!

Paige had her friend Amanda from school sleep over Friday night, which was kind of a last minute decision, but boy did they have a great time together. Paige just started the sleepovers the later part of this school year. While she had been okay having friends stay over at our house, she has always been a little scared to go stay at someone else's house, but now she is starting to learn just how much fun sleepovers can be! After Amanda left on Saturday, Paige's actual birthday, we had a family picnic at Rolesville Park. We were joined by Mom and Dad Heller and my Grandma Sandwick. It ended up being a very hot day, but we enjoyed eating our lunch and taking a walk around the park trail. The kids brought their bikes and rode all over the place. Of course, they loved the playground. Paige also opened her family presents while we were there. Grandma knitted Paige a colorful hat and scarf for the winter, which Paige really liked.

By the time we got home, we were all hot and sweaty, so Dave and I decided to get out the blow up pool and set it up on our deck and let the kids play. It took forever to get the thing blown up, but it was worth it because the kids had a blast, and so did Dave and I. It was very refreshing! I caught this picture of Paige and Alex hugging each other, and I just love this one. They were having so much fun together, which was really nice to see.

Paige's Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Paige's 7th birthday at EasiHorse Farm. I highly recommend this place to anyone who has a horse-lover in the family! The kids got to ride horses, ride in a horse drawn cart, feed the goats, hold the baby chicks and just have fun. We really lucked out with the weather too. There were predictions of storms all day and the whole time we were there the sun was shining. It was a little warm and a bit windy, but it was perfect - no rain!

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially Paige. You could see in her behavior and her smiles just how happy she was. In years past, I know she has really enjoyed her birthday parties, but this year there was a new maturity to her. She was polite and calm and relaxed and just seemed to enjoy the moment. She loved having her good friends there with her. It seemed much more relaxed to me too. The farm was very calming and beautiful and the people were so nice and accommodating.

Paige was so comfortable with the horses too. She loved riding them, but equally enjoyed brushing them. I think this might be "her thing." We've tried a couple of different activities with her like dance, gymnastics and soccer and while she enjoyed them for the most part, it wasn't anything she was passionate about or truly took an interest in. She really enjoys swimming, but I don't think she will be on the swim team. I think it just might be horseback riding. I could be entirely wrong too. Time will tell, but for now she just glows when she is in the company of horses and seems at ease riding them.

For the party, we did all the animal things first. There were three horses to ride; Pixie, High and one other. They took the kids on a pretty long ride. While that was going on, 3 kids could ride on the horse drawn cart with Mr. Dave, the owner of the farm and a horse named The Colonel. Then we went to a different pasture and all the kids got to feed the goats. Alex wanted no part of riding a horse, but he loved feeding the goats and listened and did it just like he was supposed to. The goats were a lot of fun and there were a lot of smiles. After the goats, we headed back for a little more riding and the kids got to groom one of the ponies. I think the pony really enjoyed this part! Lots of kids with brushes.

After all the "horsing around" (sorry, couldn't resist), we had cake and ice cream. It was too windy for the candles to stay lit long enough for Paige to blow them out, and she was a little disappointed, but we made the best of it. After cake the kids enjoyed running around and playing with the baby chicks. Paige did end up opening her presents after the wind died down a little. She received a lot of horse themed gifts, which of course she loved. Again, the maturity came through as she opened presents. She took her time, enjoyed each gift and didn't rip into everything as fast as she could like in years past. I sat there wondering where my highly emotional, fidgety, loud child went? (Not that I am at all complaining!!!) We certainly still have those days, but it seems like they may be getting fewer and fewer.

Paige has a great group of friends, some from school, some from Church and some we have known for years and years. It was a great mix and of course, my Mom and Dad were there. This year though, we had a very special guest, my Grandma Sandwick. Paige and I were so happy Great Grandma could be there to see the horses and enjoy the day with us. We missed having all of our family here, but hope you all enjoy the blog and the photos!

Happy 65th Birthday Dad!

After such an exciting and exhausting weekend of fun, there was still more fun to be had. We were celebrating Dad's 65th birthday. After Paige and I returned from camp and took some much needed showers, we headed down to my Cousin Davie's house for a cookout. To the extreme joy of Paige and Alex, Davie had filled up his pool and we had 90 degree temperatures, so the kids got to go swimming in April! How cool is that? The water was COLD!!!!! but the kids didn't seem to mind even when their lips turned blue. My Aunt Pat was visiting from Utah and my Grandma Sandwick was feeling well enough from her broken rib to make the trip down, so it was even better to have them there.

We had a fantastic time, as we always do when we go to Davie's house. He made delicious beer can chicken, Mom made her yummy beans and a special birthday cake for Dad. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful family event!

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!!

Brownie Camporee

Last Friday Paige and I embarked on a new adventure. We went on our first Brownie Troop overnight Camporee. My Co-leader Lisa and I stayed two nights with 10 girls. We were both a little nervous at first because none of the girls had ever camped before and they are all pretty young, 6-7 year olds. Fortunately all ten girls fit into one cabin, so they were all together. I was so impressed with how well the girls did. They all were well-behaved, helpful and happy for the most part, yes even Paige! We had a few tears and scrapes from falls and some whining, but they all pulled through and did their part to make the trip successful. It was great to see them all doing their "chores." Some cooked food, some cleaned dishes, some swept out cabins and the dining hall...all played an important role during the trip. I think what impressed me the most was how polite, thoughtful and helpful they were toward Lisa and I and toward each other. The girls all get along well.

I have to elaborate more on all the fun things we did during our camp out. Friday night we really just had enough time to settle into the cabins and have dinner before it started to get dark, although we did squeeze in a hike to the alpine tower and a game of buddy tag with some of the other troops. Paige loved the buddy tag game. Friday night was a late night. Our girls were all finally asleep by about midnight. They were all so excited and some were a bit nervous with the darkness and the outdoor noises, so I understood that. However, there was another troop in our camp who were up until about 4am, which meant I didn't sleep at all. Those girls woke up some of our girls because they were so loud. I had to be the mean leader and tell them go to sleep because their leader fell asleep and was snoring very loudly. After I got them to go to sleep I went back to my cabin with the snoring leader and maybe got about 1 hour of sleep total, I am not kidding!

Surprisingly I wasn't that tired throughout the day on Saturday. Like clockwork, Paige was up at 6:30am and ready to go, despite staying up so late the night before. Ugh. Once one is up, the rest aren't far behind. We ate breakfast, did our morning chores and then headed to the flagpole for opening ceremonies to kick off the Camporee. The theme this year was "Dig It" and it was an Archeology theme. We did crafts, played games, and had activities throughout the day all surrounding this theme. Paige really enjoyed the games. They did an obstacle course and the favorite game was called Cross the Creek. After each rotation the ropes were moved farther and farther apart and if you landed in the "creek" you were out. Paige did really well at this game. Who knew how well she could jump! At the end of a long day, we went back to camp and made our dinner. The last part to our day was the big campfire with all the other troops. The girls loved this part. We all sang songs, roasted marshmallows and made smores! When we got back to camp, the girls in all 3 troops in our camp were sound asleep by 10:30pm - yippee!! The leaders weren't far behind that. Other than a very loud owl and more snoring, it was a pretty quiet night.

Sunday morning we ate breakfast, cleaned up camp, packed the vans and headed to the flagpole for our closing ceremony. Then we headed home. I think the best part about this experience for me was seeing the smiles on the girls faces when they arrived home and told their parents stories about all the fun they had. I was so happy to be a part of that. I had so much fun too and can't wait to do it again - really!