It's all good . . .

My Amazing Land Sharks

Back in the fall, Lily did cross country with her school's Land Shark running club.  Well, when it came time for track this spring, I decided to sign Derek up for it too.  I figured that at least it would give him something to do other than sit in the stands with me and watch everyone else race.  It turned out it was a good idea, as he loves it.

They worked really hard, and were super excited for the first race.  They even had their Grandma Lynn there to watch, which was a special treat.   And the weather was gorgeous.  Too good to be true, right?  Almost. 

Soon after their team did their warm ups and were stretching, Lily and Derek start walking across the football field over to the stands.   I guess Lily had fallen and scraped up her knees pretty  badly, but luckily my mom had a purse full of band-aides, and so she was fine. 

Derek, on the other hand, had been trying to climb the fence and got in trouble and sent back to sit with me for the whole evening, except for when he was racing.  Oh, Derek.  He did fantastic on his race though, getting 7th in his age group for the 200 meter boys race. 

And Lily, in spite of her knees and hands being in a lot of pain, ran her 400 meter race and didn't stop running once.  I am so proud of her!

It was a really fun night, and it is so great to see both of them out there running (even if I don't particularly like running myself - he he!).

A Wedding Weekend Adventure

My oldest niece, Madeline, got married in Salt Lake city this past weekend, and not only was I going there to celebrate with her as the aunt, but I was also going to be her wedding photographer.  I was a little nervous about the drive alone with the kids from Colorado to Utah - even though I have done that sort of thing more than once - and I was a little nervous for the portraits too, since it has been years since I have done wedding portraits.  Lucily, everything turned out great.

On Thursday morning, I was up at 4 am and we were on the road by 4:45.  I got to Ogden, Utah around 1:30 pm and we were so happy to make it to Brent and Marilyn's home there.  The kids immediately made themselves at home playing outside and with their toys, while I passed out from exhaustion on the couch and took an hour long nap.

Later, when Marilyn got home from work, we spent hours talking and catching up. It was the perfect way to start our adventure.

Friday morning, we were up early and back on the road, but luckily it was only for an hour when we drove to the temple in Salt Lake City.  We got there early, so we could have time to wander around temple square, which was wonderful.  The spring flowers were amazing, and the kids loved getting to see everything.

We met up with my parents and my sister Holly and her husband.  Almost 50 years ago, my mom and dad were married in the Salt Lake Temple, and so I made sure to get a picture of my parents in front of the temple.

Lily and Derek truly love being on temple square.  As Derek was showing me a "really cool fountain" he found, I lost track of Lily.  I turned around to see her deep in conversation with a set of sister missionaries from Russia and Croatia.  She was just chatting away with them, and when I walked up, she promptly introduced me and her brother.  Pretty fun :).

The temple was amazingly gorgeous in all its spring splendour.  All the colors of the flowers were the perfect contrast to the gray granite.

Lily and Derek  were so excited to get to touch the temple, as this was the first time I had taken them this close.  They also really wanted pictures on the stairs, and then Lily wanted a picture in the alcove where the brides often stand :).  (It was almost exactly 11 years ago that I stood there for pictures after Kevin and I were married there.)

Soon, we met up with everyone to go in for the wedding.  My sweet niece, Megan, watched Lily and Derek for me during the sealing, which was so nice.  The sealing was amazing, and it was so fun to be in there with 3 of my sisters too.

Afterward, I got right to work taking the wedding portraits.  And Derek got right to work running away from the various people assigned to watch him and Lily.  I often found myself tripping over Derek as he was trying to climb up the side of the temple, or when he and Lily found a potato bug.  One of the portraits, you can just see him running into the frame to escape his babysitters.

Lily kept herself busy by talking to the bridesmaids, holding their flowers, helping hold the train of Madeline's dress, and just making friends with anyone who would listen.

And I was busy taking portraits, which was stressful, but so much fun.  It was even better when I changed out of my heels and into my tennis shoes.  It only took once of almost falling down the stairs mid-shot to remind me that, even if they didn't match, they were more comfortable and considerably safer :).

And at the end, I had someone snap a picture of me with the bride, my wonderful niece :).  And I had to get one with my mom and two of my sisters.  It was so much fun to see them, especially Wendy, since she lives in Texas and it had been a while.

The bride and groom were just glowing with happiness when they exited the temple, and their joy made them very compliant as I ordered them around for pictures.  (And thanks to my tripod, I was able to get in a few of the group portaits.)

I LOVE how their portaits turned out.  There were so many that I loved, it was hard to find a favorite (I will put more on my photography blog when I get the chance).  We were very lucky with the lighting, as right when we needed it, we would get a perfect little cloud to cover the sun.  And like I said, the flowers were amazing, and it didn't hurt that the bride was gorgeous :).  Oh, and it was the perfect opportunity to play with my new wide angle lens.

After portraits, it was time for the wedding luncheon at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake.  The lunch was delicious, but my favorite part was talking to my sisters and my older nieces.  Derek was especially enchanted with my niece Megan, holding her hand and telling her all sorts of stories.  It was great :).

Then it was a mad dash to the reception in Alpine.  Holly came with me and the kids, which was so fun, and she helped me pick out a few of the portraits to edit up for the reception in Idaho Falls the next day.   The reception was another opportunity to talk and laugh with my sisters, Holly, Wendy, and Cheryl.  And Lily somehow made a friend of the cake decorator, who gave her a bag of frosting to decorate crackers with :).

The kids and I stayed at the house where the recpetion was held, and so they had a room to hang out in and go to bed, while I was free to socialize and continue my job as the photographer.

That was one yummy cake :).  And I had to capture the throwing of the bouquet (check out Lily trying to get it), as well as Madeline and Jacob's get-away from the reception :). 

Saturday morning, the wild times began again, as the kids and I left early in the morning to drive from Alpine, Utah to Idaho Falls for reception number two.  We got there a little before lunch time, and I left the kids playing with their cousins while I went into town to meet an old friend for lunch. 

Melissa had been a good friend of mine when I lived in Savannah, Georgia, and her husband works for BYU Idaho in Rexburg now.  When I knew I was going to be there, we made plans to meet up, and we had a yummy lunch at Red Robin and we talked for two straight hours.  It was so fantastic to see her!  I wish I had thought to snap a picture of the two of us.

When I got back, we all went straight to work helping with final preparations for the reception that night.  Before the reception, friends of my sister Cheryl, had prepared a nice dinner for all of the family there.  It was very nice, and good for all of us to get to sit and take it easy before the reception - and it guaranteed that everyone remembered to eat :).

The reception was beautiful and low-key.  Lily changed into nice clothes and helped serve and take away plates with her boy cousins.  I took more pictures, and Madeline was able to sneak some food every once in a while :).

Derek spent almost the entire reception watching a movie in a room off of the kitchen, which was awesome.  So glad Cheryl thought of that!

Once the reception was winding down, I sent Lily and Derek off with my parents to get tucked into bed at the home we were staying that night.  Then I got busy coordinating the present opening extravaganza :).  We set up chairs for the bride, groom, and mother of the bride, and then we had the little boys gather presents and bring them over.  Madeline and Jacob would open the presents they were given, Cheryl would write down who they were from, Melanie would place the presents in a pile, and Michelle would throw away the trash into a huge garbage sack :).  It was a blast.

It was a fun night, but I was exhausted by the end.  I went to Cheryl's neighbor's home, where my parents and the kids and I were staying, and went straight to bed.

We all got up early on Sunday morning and went to Cheryl's house for a delicious breakfast.  Then I got the car all loaded up with our stuff, Lily and Derek, and my mom, who came to spend the week with us.  The drive was long - around 11 hours - but it was wonderful to have my mom for company, and the kids were as well behaved as always in the car.  We rolled into town just about bedtime for the kids, which was perfect. 

The weekend was a little exhausting, but it was so much fun and completely worth the long drives and such to be there for it all :).  I am so happy for Madeline and Jacob and their new life together!

A Field Trip with Friends

On Wednesday evening, right before my trip to Utah for my niece's wedding,  I headed out with some friends to garden of the Gods for a photography field trip.  Even though I as in the midst of packing and very stressed, I went anyway, and it turned out to be the perfect way to relieve stress and revitalize me to finish packing.

It was so much fun, and even though it was very overcast that evening, so we didn't get our perfect sunset, it still turned out great.

The Garden is beautiful any time of year :).  And I love sneaking pictures of my friends as they take pictures.

While we were there, I took some quick portraits of my friend Judi - her husband had been begging for a picture of her, and I love how these turned out.

And I got a couple shots of my friend Natalie as well :).

As we were about to leave, we happened upon a heard of deer.  It as so fun to watch them :).

After we finished, we stopped at Chic-fil-a for milkshakes.  It was a blast, even if it meant I was much later finishing my packing.  I sure love my friends :).

They Finally Have a Pet!

For those who know me well, you know that ours is a pet-free home.  It is not that I don't like animals, it is just that I really don't want to have to clean up after them, or have them touch me.  I actually had more pets as a child than most people do in their whole lifetime. 

We always had a pet dog growing up, and usually a cat or two.  We also had pet bunnies, a guinea pig, hampster, mice, rats, lizard, and once my brother even had a snake.  And add to that the other random animals we had, like our 4-H pigs, a random cow, and sometimes we even had turkeys and geese.  That is a LOT of animals.  Too many.  And it let me know that I like animals enough to feel guilty that I don't love them, and that I would really rather no touch them most of the time :).  Sad, I know.

Another thing, was that I realized with all those years of having pets, even though the kids helped out, the bulk of the responsibility for taking care of them fell to my mom.  I am now the mom.  I have enough going on, I don't want that responsibility too.  Add to that that my husband doesn't like animals, and that we are military and move all the time, and our home stays pet free.

That is, until we got a package for Lily and Derek in the mail from their Granddma Valerie.  Pets - finally, they thought.  Yes, Grow-a-Pets.  Pets that are only alive because they have grass growing out of their heads :).  Now that is a pet I can agree with!

The Grow-a-Pets are these cute little guys that have seeds in the head.  First, we had to put them in their "greenhouse."

Once the grass started sprouting, they got to take the "greenhouse" off, and then we just keep it watered and watch it grow.  It started out with just a little fuzz of grass.

Only a week later, Lily's kitty had a ton of grass.  Poor Derek's tiger is not doing as well, but hey it gives him character, right?

Thanks Valerie, for giving my kids their very first pet - and one we actually let them keep :).

A Wonderful Easter

We had a wonderful Easter.  It began with eating leftover cinnamon rolls that my friend Janet had made with the kids on Friday night, and they were so yummy.  After breakfast, we watched the church movie, "Easter Dream," and then the kids decided that they wanted to watch "The Testaments," because it was all about Jesus Christ.  It was a wonderful way to start our Easter.

Then I had the kids shower for church that afternoon before we could have their Easter Egg hunts.   They love finding their eggs, and really love that they get to hide each others eggs.  Lily hid Derek's eggs in her bedroom, and Derek (with a little help from me) hid Lily's eggs in the living room.  Then they met on the stairs and got a special gift and their Easter baskets with a chocolate bunny in them.  Their special gift this year was a new children's music CD by Janice Kapp Perry called, As a Child of God.  It is fantastic, and we listened to it all morning.

After that, it was time to start the hunt.  Lily got to go first, and she did a great job og finding all her eggs - even the one Derek had me put on top of the ceiling fan :).

Then Derek had his chance.  It was pretty funny when Lily thought an egg had fallen behind her bed, and we searched everywhere, even pulling out the trundle, but it turned out it was one of the first ones Derek had found and was already in his basket :).

Once all the eggs were found, they loved getting to open them all and see what candy was waiting inside.

It was like opening up 25 small presents :).  They both ended up with way more candy than I thought I bought.  Oops.  Guess I hadn't cut back this year.  That's what I get for storing it all under my bed and not paying attention to what I have until I pull it out to fill the eggs.  (I also put together a whole Easter basket for Kevin for when he comes home, whenever that may be, but at least he won't miss out on Cadbury eggs - he he!)

After the egg hunt, we had a quick lunch, and then finished getting ready for church.  Lily and Derek looked so great.  (And yes, Derek's outfit is the same as last year.  It still fit, and so there was no need to get anything new.)

I especially loved Lily's dress.  So pretty, and it had sleeves.  That is so hard to find in a little girl's dress.  She looked beautiful, and even let me curl her hair.

Lily even tried her hand at taking a picture of Derek and I.  I had to crouch down so it wouldn't be too hard to fit us both in the frame, and she did a really great job - especially considering how heavy my camera is.

After church, we finished up prepartions for a wonderful Easter dinner with my friend Tracie and her four kids (Okay, so they are ages 19 to 14, not really kids, but whatever).  I made the ham, and thanks to an automatic oven, it was all ready when we got home.  She brought the side dishes, and together it was a wonderful dinner. 

Lily even made placecards, and of course, it was the only picture I have of the dinner.  Oh well.  I always have too much fun in situations like that to remember to pick up my camera, even though I purposely left it out in plain sight so I wouldn't forget.  It was a wonderful evening, and a great Easter.

Our Little Golfer

On Saturday, Fort Carson had a free golf clinic for kids, and even gave them a golf club to take home, along with some other little goodies.  Derek and Lily both went to it with Kevin last year, which they loved.  This year, Lily was going to a birthday party that morning, and so I took Derek.

He was so excited, even though it was a tad chilly that morning (So glad I convinced him to change out of his shorts).  After fitting him for his club, he had a mini-lesson, and then was able to hit balls at the driving range. 

You could tell this was NOT his first time at a driving range.  Unlike many of the kids there, he knew exactly what to do.  And there was even a pro on hand to hlep give him tips :).

I was so impressed with how much better he was than last summer.  He must be growing up.  I can't wait for Kevin to get to take him out on the course again :).

After they hit at the normal driving range, it was time for the "Birdie Balls" - they don't fly very far, so are good for practicing, but have more substance to them than a plastic golf ball you would usually use in your yard.  Derek got to practice hitting them at a giant blow-up dinosaur.  That was his favorite part :).

It was such a fun morning, and it was great for the two of us to get some one-on-one time as well.  Here is a little video of Derek in action.  Maybe he will take after his dady and become an awesome golfer :).

Cave of the Winds

On Thursday, I had the very fun opportunity of going with Lily on a class field trip.  We went to Cave of the Winds, one of the many really awesome places to see in the area.  Lily was so excited for both the filed trip, and for having me with her.  And although she was a little upset there didn't end up being room on the buses for the parents, it was still a fantastic day.

To get to the cave, we had to go up a very steep, curvy mountain road with a sheer drop on one side.  Made me really grateful I wasn't on the bus or even watching the buses on the road.  I about had a panic attack, just thinking of it.  When we all got to the top, I got the group of kids I was in charge of, and they were super sweet.  I had Lily, of course, and then a boy from our ward and two other cute kids.

Because there were four classes, our first order of business was to learn about bats.  (Luckily, we didn't actually meet any bats in the cave.)  Then the kids got to play in the maze and the Caver's Challenge - which made me claustrophobic just looking at it, as you had to climb through the whole thing on your belly, and there was only one exit, and it took about ten minutes to get though it, and it was packed full of 3rd graders.   They also got to go in the "crystal mine,"  which was set up to look like inside a cave, and they got to dig for crystals, which they got to take home in a special pouch.  Pretty cool.

It was finally our turn for the cave.  It is called the Cave of the Winds, because the original entrance makes a flute like noise when the wind blows.  They also had a little lesson about the types of rocks in the cave, and why we don't touch the walls :).

The cave was huge, and I was very grateful for the guide, because we would have gotten lost and never found our way out.  I wish I had better pictures, but with having almost no light, and the constant moving of a group of 3rd graders, I am lucky they aren't more blurry :).

 
Lily LOVED the caves, learning about the rocks, and seeing everything.  And I did too.  I was very grateful for the electric lights they have all through it, since when the tours first started in the early 1900's, they had to use candles which would blow out frequently.  They even turned off the lights at one point so we could see how dark it really is in there.

Once we finished, we looked at the cliffs and saw how high up we were in the caves, even though you think of them as being below ground.  Pretty cool.  Oh, and I had to get a picture of Lily with her best friend, Katherine :).

It was such a fun day, and I am so grateful I got to experience it with my sweet Lily.  We will definitely have to go back there as a family someday :).

An Accindent

First of all, it was quite ironic that we had such amazing weather for our two weeks of Spring Break, only to have our first day back at school be cold and super windy.  The next day was a snow day - I know, really?  After two weeks of break, our kids were at school one day before we had a snow day, but whatever.  This post is not about my frustrations with my children being around each other so much that they were going crazy.  This post is about something else entirely.

This post is actually a little about the weather on Wednesday morning.  You see, as much as it would have been a pain, there really should have been a two hour delay on Wednesday.  All the roads were covered in about 2 inches of solid ice.  It was insane.

As I was backing out of my driveway to take the kids to school, I was being really careful, because our driveway was covered in slippery slush - not ice.  Unfortunately, when I got partway through the road, my tires went from the slush to solid ice, causing me to slide quickly backward and crunch right into my neighbor's car that was parked on the road directly behind our driveway.  Oops.

I was already having a pretty emotional morning, and so it put me over the edge.  When Lily told me it would be all right, I immediately burst into tears and said, "No, it won't be all right."  Oops.  But let me tell you, I had already been hanging by a thread BEFORE I hit the car. 

Once I took them to school, I had to go tell my neighbor, and once again, I burst into tears.  So embarassing!!  Then I cried again on the phone with the insurance company.  Really, I am usually so much more put together, but oh well.  Such is life.  Their car got crunched pretty bad, and I ruined my bumper.

Part of what I was so sad about, was that I messed up my pretty van!  And on the month when I finally didn't have any big expenses, I was now going to pay out a $500 deductible.  But hey, the van will be fixed and put in her former glory, and we have the money to pay for the repairs, so I shouldn't complain.  It was only an accident, nobody was hurt, and it will all be fixed very soon.  It could have been so much worse, and it was a gentle reminder about putting things into perspective :).

Some More Special Visitors

If you haven't noticed a pattern already, I seem to have arranged for somebody to visit us each month for the past few months, because, not only does it give me some much needed company, but it also gives me something to look forward to.  During Lily and Derek's second week of Spring Break, when they were in their drama camp all day, each day, I flew out my brother Preston's girls for the week.

It was so much fun to have Mikeena and Eden here, and although it took a little bit to get them here, it was wonderful. You see, I had planned it so they would fly straight from Salt Lake to Denver, so they wouldn't have to change planes or anything tricky. However, first their flight was delayed two hours, and second, I hadn't been to the Denver airport in so long (20 years I think), that I had no idea how big it was. And when they got off their plane, they immediately got turned around and lost.

I was standing there, right where they should have come out for about 45 minutes, calling them on their phones and texting back and forth. Somebody gave them bad directions, and they ended up on the oppposite side of the airport. It was crazy. Finally, getting very nervous, I went to a security guard and told him that my nieces were lost somewhere in the airport, and could he please help me find them.

Luckily, after I talked to him, they were with me in about 5 minutes. He got out a map, had me call them, and talked them through where they should go. It was such an amazing relief when I finally got to hold them in my arms!!  We spent the drive home and that evening catching up, and then planned our fun for the next day :).

The first place I took them was the zoo.  I sure do love our zoo.  Eden was in heaven feeding and petting the giraffes, although I think Mikeena preferred watching from a distance :).

I am glad they love zoos just as much as I do, because we had a blast.  They loved getting to see all the animals, and we were lucky enough to see the hippos during their feeding time :).

And the gorillas and orangutans were being fed also, and so they were especially active.  And of course, we had to use the scale to see how many of us it took to make a gorilla :).

We saw a ton of the animals out and about, probably because the weather was gorgeous!  It was in the low 70's and sunny - like we had ordered it :).  My favorite thing of the day was the leopard.   It kept growling hello to the snow leopard  that happened to be in the cage next door temporarily.  I guess they never see each other, and watching them say hello was pretty cool.

And I guess there was also when the bird landed on my shoulder!  It completely took me by surprise.  And hey, somehow we got it to walk from my shoulder to Eden's, and so she got to have the same experience, except that he didn't fly at her first :).

After the zoo, we ate our picnic lunch, and then I drove them over to Garden of the Gods.  We were too tired to hike, and so we just drove through the park and stopped to take a picture.

After that, the girls got their second wind, and we went to one of the malls so they could go shopping.  It was pretty fun, and so much different shopping with two teenage girls, instead of my kids :).  We finished off the day by eating popcorn and watching an old movie together.

The next day, they decided to help me with a project.  I told them a few things I was thinking about, and they chose painting the wall with me :).  So after we dropped Lily and Derek at thrie camp, we stopped at Home Depot and bought some paint.  Then we went to work.  They were so awesome to help me, and we had a blast listening to music and laughing the whole time. 

And hey, look at the finished product.  I love it, and it would have been so hard to do alone.  In fact, I am sure I never would hve gotten around to it without those awesome girls :).

That evening, they asked if I could do some portraits of them, and so we had even more fun.  You know how I love to take pictures.  Aren't they gorgeous girls?

We took the pictures right around the corner from my house, and Lily and Derek entertained themselves the whole time by playing in the irrigation ditch next to us.  Luckily there was almost no water in it, because Derek managed to get himself soaked anyway :).

And the last day, we played and took care of last minute things we hadn't had time for on the other days.  Like playing Wipeout on the Kinnect, which they loved.  (And since I forgot to take a picture while they were playing, Lily and Eden reenacted it for me - pretty fun.)  I also took them to see Lily and Derek's theater performance from their camp, which was very fun.

All week, the kids had been playing outside every day with Eden.  The weather was so beautiful, and so the three of them would head outside to play, while Mikeena kept me company and read the first Hunger Games book.  Eden even taught Lily how to hang upside down on the monkey bars!  And they used their imaginations so well while they played - they loved playing with Eden!

Both girls also liked to play games with Lily and Derek.  It was such a huge thing for them to get to have attention from somebody besides me, and I don't think that Keena and Eden will ever know how much they really did for them.

It was such a wonderful week, and over way too soon.  We had to drop them back at the Denver airport on Saturday morning before dawn, and it was so sad to see them go.  I love those girls and am so grateful for the wonderful time we had together, and that they were willing to spend their break playing with me in Colorado.

They are welcome back any time :).

Lily and Derek's Adventures in Muscial Theater Camp

Lily and Derek had quite a full week for their second week of spring break.  When I signed them up for this musical theater camp a few months ago, I knew they would love it, but it was pretty busy.  It began Monday, and went until Friday, when they had their performance.  And luckily, Lily and Derek were in the same age bracket, which was great.

When I dropped them off Monday morning, I was a little worried as to how Derek would do.  It went from 9am to 3pm, and since he is only in morning kindergarten, it was the longest school type situation he had ever been in.  He actually really enjoyed it, and although he was noticeably more tired at the end of the day, there was only one time when he said he didn't want to go.

In their age group, they were performing songs from "Mary Poppins," and they even got character names and lines.  So much fun!  They learned choreography, stage terms, and all sorts of things.  They had a great time.  (And I am so glad I had my nieces visit me this week, or I would have been so lonely, but their visit is for another post.)

I was so looking forward to their performance on Friday, and so were they.  The night before, just to be more authentic, we tied Lily's hair up in rags.  So fun!

And her costume was pieced together with things we found at Salvation Army two days before.  So glad it came together.  Derek's, we were able to do with things we had around the house, and used rubberbands to turn his old church pants into knickers. (My amazing husband gave me that idea.)  They both turned out super cute.

The performance wasn't until 1:15 in the afternoon, and so when I dropped them off all ready to go at 9am, I was more than a little worried they might get messed up, but it wasn't too bad.  Lily's tiny bit of mascara I let her wear for stage make-up had long been wiped off, and Derek's "knickers" were starting to droop, but it was too late for me to do anything about it :).

There were four groups and they were the second one tow perform.  I knew from the moment that they came on stage, however, that something was wrong with Derek.  He was crying and refused to move or dance and sing.   I tried to get his attention and encourage him, but it wasn't working, and so when on eof the directors came and got him off stage, I went over and talked to him. 

Turns out that Lily was upset that some of the kids were being too loud before they had to go on, and Derek tried to get them to stop so she would be happy, but nobody would listen to him, and so it backfired and then he was too sad to perform.  I tried everything under the sun to cheer him up, and finally I remembered the giant candybar I had brought for a gift for him afterward.  One mention of the candy, and he was back on that stage. 

Sure wish I had thought of it right away, before he had missed two of his four lines and an entire song, but luckily, he got back up there just in time to sing his solo :).  He did great for the rest of it, and so all was well.  I loved watching him focus on the dance steps so hard that he forgot to sing.  And I love how his costume slowly fell apart, but how he still looked adorable :).

And Lily was fantastic.  Other than a little emotional drama when she saw Derek wasn't doing anything, or when his line got skipped, she was amazing.  She not only knew all the steps and her lines, but she knew everyone elses as well.  She sparkled up there on the stage - it totally reminded me of how much I loved that as a child :).

It was a fun show, and they did so well.  I wish I had better pictures of it all, but I was videotaping with my camera and it was really dim, and so what I have will have to do I guess.  And here is their performance.  It is about 10 minutes long if you want to check it out :). 

I sure am proud of my sweet kids :).