Magic (Again!)

This post will be lots of pictures. I think it's the best way to summarize our very fun trip to Disney World and Universal Studios. Anna remained keen on meeting as many characters (especially princesses) as possible.

I did not know how James would react to the characters, so I was pleasantly surprised when he showed no trepidation towards them at all. I also feared he would be a handful at the parks, but surprisingly he was a little trooper. He did prefer walking to riding in his stroller (unless he had a popsicle), so that led to a few chasing episodes, but we always caught him. He also loved the rides, and even was a good sport waiting in the lines.

Overall, a great trip, and we're looking forward to next year!

The gateway to the magic...

I love that the backdrop is Andy's bed...

Princess Merida and her brothers.

Jasmine & Aladdin



Tiana & Naveen

The Mouse himself.

A Goofy bunch.

Rafiki from the Lion King.

Anna & Sleeping Beauty at a princess tea.

Anna was SO excited to meet The Beast.

Alice & Anna

Vikings in Norway

4th of July!

Yummy.

Dancing with minions at Universal Studio

Spongebob!

James did this a lot.

See?

Harry Potter World!  Ok, I was more excited than Anna to be there!

The Cat in the Hat!

Handy Manny and cool Anna.

Playing the bongos at Epcot.

View from our hotel room balcony.  There was one rule - don't drop things off the balcony.  So, imagine how we were feeling when we had to call the front desk to tell them James dropped his shoe into the animal enclosure.  Yay, babies!

Goofing around in Dr. Seuss Land.  We spent two fun/free popsicle-filled days at Universal Studios with my side of the family for Papa Odie's birthday.

Happy 60th Birthday, Papa Odie!

June 365

Our June in pictures.

Beach Babes

Anna, James and I took a mini-break and headed to Panama City, Florida, with Misty and Hayla.  Never having been to the Florida panhandle I didn't know what to expect.  The powder white sand and clear turquoise water is so beautiful, I've really never seen a beach like it - just like a postcard!

The trip was very eventful - we logged a lot of time in the pool, played on the beach, learned how to change fuses in the car, tried some new yummy frozen drinks, chased James down a dock, and enjoyed rides at a small fair.

All in all, a nice break.

Digging holes

Mmm, sand.

Beach babe!

Contrary to what this picture shows, they actually did have a good time...James was mad because I wouldn't let him run freely down the dock...

Watching fish.

Riding the train.

Ferris wheel!



Plie, Shuffle Ball Change

And the extracurriculars have begun!  Anna took ballet and tap this year and loved it.  I was particularly excited about this since I danced for 13 years, starting at age 3.  Watching her brought back a lot of memories from when I danced, overall I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

She was in a class with her friend Audrey and it was a hoot seeing their progress through the year.  I have a lot of respect for teachers of little children - attempting to organize the chaos that is 12 three-year-olds, all while trying to teach them choreography...phew.  Each week they would have "homework" from their dance teacher (Miss Sheena); some weeks it would be a particular dance step to work on while other weeks it was an instruction like, "let's work on not blowing raspberries in class next week."  Ahh little ones.

The entire year culminated in "the recital", and as much as I tried, I couldn't get Anna to show me more than one or two steps of her routines in the weeks leading up to the big day.  So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Gramma Turner came for a visit the weekend of the recital, which was very special for Anna.  And for me - it was fun doing all of the things with Anna that I remember my mom doing with me before a recital.  Like taming Anna's hair into a bun with gobs of gel.  I vividly remember my mom fixing my hair each year, and the excitement of wearing makeup for the performance.

Leading up to the recital Anna seemed a little nervous...or as she put it, "my tummy feels funny".  A few times during the weekend, when we would mention the recital, she would say, "I don't think we need to go to that."

But, when the time came to get preened and primped, she was eager and willing.  And once we arrived and she found her class, she was ready.  We dropped her off backstage and then eagerly headed to our seats for the big show (which we had heard would be 2+ hours long, so we knew we were in for the long haul)...

And her class did not disappoint.  They were a sweet group of tiny girls doing their best, and anyone who didn't crack a smile at their performance has to be a scrooge.  For the record, they danced to Blue Skies and Baby Love.

The day after the recital Anna asked if she could dance on the big stage again because she "really liked it".  So, here's looking forward to next year!

The Baby Love tap routine - Anna is third from left. (Video is not great quality!)

Posing pre-show

Anna & Audrey

Me at age 3... :)

This hangs in Anna's room - my first and last pair of ballet shoes.  Gramma Turner made it for her before she was born.  The rose on top is from the bouquet we gave her after the recital...full circle.

May 365

And what a May it was...

Spring Fling

It's hard to believe, but Anna has finished her second year of preschool.  Her year as a Dolphin was filled with fun parties, field trips, crafts and homework sheets.  The preschool capped off the year with a "spring fling", an evening that provided many laughs while allowing each class to showcase some of what they had learned during the year.

As you'll see in the video below, the three year olds started and ended strong, but kind of lost it in the middle.  It was pretty entertaining.

Next year Anna heads to pre-K (unbelievable) at a new school, which she is very excited about.  Then it's off to kindergarten...oh  my.

Christmas party!

Puppet show field trip!

Playdoh in class!

Getting ready to perform

Anna took home her first trophy - second place for bringing in the most Box Tops in the school... ;)



Running Under the Rainbow

As the heat started to build this spring, the wait for our neighborhood pools to open seemed neverending.  So we turned to an old favorite - the backyard sprinklers.

The kids really enjoyed the romp through the sprinklers on this particular afternoon, and, the water and light aligned to give them a rainbow to run through.

And it beat the heat to boot!