More Recital Pics

This set of pictures was actually taken the day of the recital. The last post has pictures from her dance studio. The picture of her asleep was how I found her when we got home from the recital--all pooped out!

Enjoy!!

Maddi's Dance Recital

Finally, the big day arrived. The day we have all been waiting for since I first signed her up for dance class...yes, the recital. Unbeknownst to me, dance recitals are serious stuff. I should have been tipped off when they announced in January that they were starting to work on their dance at every class from then until the recital in June. Or, maybe when it got a little closer and we got the costumes and were told which specific tights they had to wear, or how their hair had to be parted on the left and in a bun in the back. (Excuse me! Has anyone seen my daughter's head of hair??!!) Or how they had to wear pink blush and red lipstick so they would show up while on stage. (Excuse me again. Has anyone tried putting red lipstick on their 3 year old and then had them not get it all over everything--like their costume!!)

I should actually back up a minute, because before we even got to the recital day, we had dress rehearsal at the studio. Then the next week, we got all dressed up again to do formal pictures with a photographer. Still yet, we had the actual rehearsal at Hancher auditorium 2 days before the performance. My friend Christi and I decided to be the "backstage moms" for our group. (Mostly because no one else volunteered) On the day of the rehearsal it wasn't too bad because all if the other moms were their, too. However, the day of the big show, we were on our own. Trying to keep fourteen 3 & 4 year olds entertained for an hour and a half (in full makeup and costume no less) proved to be exhausting. We tried coloring, simon says, and singing songs but it was only a matter of time before they were running around at full speed trying to burn off their cooped up energy. Never mind the potty breaks that required disrobing of all costume gear!

After a never ending eternity, they called our group to line up. Yipee!! I was impressed how the girls got down to business. We got them all lined up in correct order, and they very diligently put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them as we had practiced before. They walked quietly down the hall, through the big doors to their place backstage, and were ready to dance. They did a fabulous job and were so proud of themselves (and rightly so!) for a job well done. They really got a kick out of the clapping afterwards. Being that it was too dark to see the audience, Maddi's first comment was, "Mom! Uncle Matt wasn't there!" I reassured her he was and that she would get to see him after the show was over.

So there it was, 2 hours of preparation for 2 minutes of stage time.

When we finally made our way outside, everyone was waiting for Maddi and brother Lars and Aunt Diana were holding some flowers for her. Lars was so excited to give them to her and even told her she did a good job. She was beaming. Looking back, Maddi had a great time, (and so did mom)!

Dakota is One!

Happy Birthday Dakota! She finally turned one on May 31st. My kids were thinking, "Great! An excuse to have a party!" I was thinking, "Great! One less year of puppyhood left!"

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Dakota has a "thing" for toilet paper, and eats rolls of any size. I am convinced this is just to peeve me. She has also added eating tooth paste tops, but unfortunately she ends up destroying enough of the tube that I have to throw the whole thing away. I have now bought FOUR, yes four! tubes of toothpaste for my kids in 3 weeks time. This is all a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

Anyway, since we still think she's great (most of the time) we did buy her some peanut butter flavored "Frosty Paws" (ice cream like treats for dogs) and sang Happy Birthday to her. Here are some pictures of her eating her treat and hanging out with the kids.

Biking in the Rain

Drew finally got his first bike that has gears and all that jazz, and he was very excited about riding it for the first time. The day we got it, he wasn't feeling very well but we tried about a 6 mile loop anyway (we were practicing riding to the pool so in case it ever gets hot enough to be open, we'll be ready). We had about 1 1/2 miles left to go and Drew finally got off his bike and just laid down in the middle of the sidewalk. Now, this is not typical Drew behavior, so I knew he must have been feeling pretty bad. I was pulling Maddi behind me in the buggy so we quickly rode home and got the van and came back to pick up Drew. Lars on the other hand, was in heaven and there was no way he was getting in that van. He and dad decided to finish the ride home and I was so proud of him for doing such a great job on such a long ride. Knowing that he probably won't beat Drew home on a bike ride for awhile, he also had to rub it in that he beat his big brother and rode further. I knew Drew was sick when he didn't even care.

The next morning, Drew was the first one out of bed and all he wanted to do was ride his new bike, even though it was raining.

Daddy and Maddi

One of our kids' favorite things to do is to crank up the music and dance around with mom and dad. While the brothers were out playing with their friends Maddi decided she wanted to dance with Daddy. So, music blaring (good thing the windows are still shut) they began their twirling and spinning to some good ol' Kid Rock. Yes, you read that right. (For the record, it was the WalMart version). I wonder how dad will take it when she gets a new dance partner in a few (ok, "several" actually sounds much better) years and is getting ready to head out the door for Prom?

Dakota's Resting Spot

Just so no one thinks that our dog may be neglected in any way, here is where she likes to sleep when she is on our porch. She almost had the nerve to look at me like I was crazy when I was taking her picture because I'm sure she thinks that EVERY dog must sleep on the rocking chairs on their porch while the cool breeze is flowing. Could it be that we have ruined yet a third dog, with them thinking that they are people with people needs and everything? This is not a proud day in our household, and once again, our lives are being taken over by the needs of a four legged furry creature. Good thing she's cute. Good Grief!

Dakota Gets a Bath

Our dog has issues. While on a nice walk on a beautiful afternoon, Dakota running off leash, gleefully throughout the land...she finds a dead "something". It was in no way, shape, or form recognizable, and Dakota started jumping up and down, each time rolling a different side of her body onto this apparently irresistable morsel. Oh, did I mention the fact that there were maggots crawling around on it? Sorry, how could I forget. After Jamie was able to get her away from this disgusting remnant of a critter, we finished our walk and took her home for a bath.

Now, last summer we did attempt to give her a bath once or twice, and she HATED it. Thinking that she is now almost 1 so a bit older and wiser (come on, she's really 7 in dog years!) and knowing that she loves to jump in the ponds etc, we figured she'd at least be cooperative. Ok, tolerant...maybe.

Jamie proceeds to get out the hose and spray her a bit to get her a little wet for the soap to lather. She is already getting a little agitated and as the water spray proceeds, she becomes even more ticked off. Eventually she goes into full yelp mode. All three kids have their ears covered because she is so loud. By this point I am sure the neighbors must think we are practicing some evil torture ritual and it is getting downright embarrassing. She decides to shake (as all dogs would) but I am convinced she had unpure thoughts in her head as she was doing this, sending out the message that she is NOT amused, and just wait and see how many more rolls of toilet paper I destroy and leave all over the house. (That is her new favorite pastime. See, I told you she has issues.)

Anyway, she is now quietly laying on the porch, calmed down from all the excitement, and most likely secretly plotting how she is going to get even. But hey, at least she smells good.

Mowing the Grass

Lars' preschool class got to grow their very own grass in a tray and Lars was adamant that he get to "mow" his grass once it got long enough. The tray of grass seed looked pretty pathetic when he brought it home, but 3 days later and we had a full on jungle! Anyway, I just love the little projects that bring a 5 year old such joy!

Happy Birthday Kent

My brother turned the big 4-0 so of course being the baby sister I have to give him at least a little grief. It's only fair after all, since he was 4 years older and won virtually every fight we ever had because he could either out "wit" me or just plain hit me harder than I could him. Actually, he's a great guy and I couldn't be happier for him or think more highly of a person than I do him. He was a great big brother and a good role model for me to want to be like (I even went to ISU instead of Iowa!) and I wish him the best. Here is a classic picture of Kent that shows his fun spirit and personality--Happy Birthday Big Brother!

I've Been Tagged

Ok, so my friend Vicki "tagged" me over 2 weeks ago and I am just now getting around to doing this, but apparently I am supposed to tell you 10 things about myself, so here goes.

1. I will celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary this year

2. It has been the best 15 years of Jamie's life (hehe!)-ok, mine too!

3. I ran my first half-marathon, did my first 12 hour adventure race, and am competing in my first triathalon this year.

4. For as athletic as number 3 sounds like, I should look much more like an athlete than I do.

5. I would love to own a loft in NYC so I could stay there and go to all the Broadway musicals when I visit.

6. My dream home is an old New England farm house from the 1800's.

7. I am fortunate enough to have loved my mother-in-law dearly.

8. I miss my dog Ben.

9. My favorite dates with Jamie are when we get to go running together.

10. It wouldn't be summer without a trip to Okoboji!

Spanish Whistling

The other day our family was in the van and Lars announced that he had finally learned how to whistle and proceeded to give us a demonstration. Upon hearing this, Maddi decided that she was not going to let her whistling skills be overlooked so without missing a beat, she proclaims, "Well I can whistle in spanish!", and then whistled us a little tune.

Maybe we need to hold off on the Dora videos a bit....

Swimming in the Snow?

Swimming was another popular item on our trip and we all thought it was pretty cool that we were able to go swimming and have snow at the edge of the pool. Jamie dared Drew and Alek to go lay their bellies in the snow and see who could do it the longest. I'm not sure that was the best idea (does "frostbite" ring any bells?) but they were smart enough to only do it once.

As for Lars, he was content hanging out at the edge of the pool where he could touch and grab on if need be. No being wild and crazy for him when it comes to being in the water. Just a silly, toothless grin for me as I tried to take his pic in the pool. Did I mention that he lost another tooth while we were in Colorado? The tooth fairy sure pays a lot more there than in Iowa, and since Emma also lost a tooth the same day as Lars I had to make sure of the going rate.

Maddi on the other hand was constantly begging Jamie to throw her up in the air, each time higher than the time before. She loves to dunk her head in the water and likes to try and swim to the edge of the pool "all by myself", even though she just sinks. She comes out laughing and giggling every time. I got some nice shots of her swimsuit bottoms falling off of her while being thrown in the air--talk about a "crack" up (bad joke I know but it's been a long day).

I hope you enjoy the pics and stories from our trip. For some reason, my camera erased the pictures of the kids at the ice skating rink but I think you get the idea of all the fun we had and what a great time it was to see our friends again.

Dirt Bike Park

The day the boys got to go to the "official" dirt bike park might have been one of their highlights of our Colorado trip. To be quite honest, I'm not really sure what the difference between an "official" course and a non-official course would be, but the fact that this was a "real" one was definitely brought to my attention more than once.
The boys liked this so much that they actually went to it twice the week that we were there and Lars didn't even care that he had to ride Emma's Barbie bike. (I foresee these pictures coming around to haunt Lars in future years).
It does look pretty fun and it seems as though this was something that Lars could do that let him keep up with what the big guys were doing. It's hard to be 5 and have the big guys be 8 and able to do everything with just a little more ease than you can. Keeping up with the big guys is exhausting work!

Fish Creek Falls

On one of our days in Steamboat we did a little hike back into Fish Creek Falls. It was absolutely beautiful with all of the snow and on the picture of me and the kids on the bridge you will notice that our heads are actually at the peak of the bridge . There was about five or six feet of snow cover on the ground so we were actually walking at the heighth of the hand railing. Pretty wild! Anyway, the pictures can't quite express the beauty and tranquility of being there but enjoy anyway.

Steamboat!

On Monday, our friends headed with us to Steamboat Springs for a few days of playing in the mountains. When we first arrived the kids headed outside our condo and enjoyed sledding on some hills (actually just huge piles of snow). They had a blast and it burnt off some cooped up energy they had accumulated on the (GASP!) 3 hour car ride. Funny how that seems like an eternity for kids yet us adults interpret it as three hours we can sit on our butts and do nothing! hmm.....

Anyway-after that we headed downtown to Beau Jo's for pizza. Being St. Patrick's Day and all, it was quite a busy evening and we had to hover around like vultures to finally find a table to sit at. Our kids were seated first so we literally stood by their booth while they ordered and ate. In the mean time, the adults ordered their food, hoping a table would open up so we could actually sit down and eat. We would stalk the other tables and watch for people to be almost done eating, and then "slyly" go stand by their table so we could snatch it when given the chance. If people started taking too long we would start giving them the evil eye as if to say "hurry up you moron" and finally someone relented. Now, if that sounds too brutal, let me assure you, we were not the only ones doing that. It was almost as if it had turned into a game and was actually quite humorous. Anyway, we ended up having a decent meal and a good story to tell. What more could you ask for??