Recital

Ellie did great at her dance recital on Friday! The actual recital was professionally video taped but here is my video of Ellie at dress rehearsal. (I was a room mother and had to be on stage so the video is from the side...)




Ellie's class, lined up to go on stage. Ellie is on the far right.


Dress rehearsal. Ellie is on the far left.


Waiting behind the curtain on recital day.


Finale.

*I was not able to get pictures of the actual dance but Ellie did great and looked adorable :)

Photoshop Love

The digital camera I use is just a point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot. I like it better than an SLR at this stage in my life because it is small enough to carry with me at all times- which I pretty much do. I have seriously considered an SLR Nikon or Canon several times and just can't justify purchasing one, yet, when I know I would still use my point-and-shoot a majority of the time. So when I capture a sweet moment between the girls like this picture below (but in terrible lighting), I just use Photoshop (Elements) to make it appear like it was taken with an SLR. (It's a pretty simple fix and if anyone would like to know how, just ask me and I'll be happy to share...)

Here's the SOOC (straight out of camera) shot...

Here's the edited photo...

Here's just some fun with Photoshop (and my new header)!

So, for anyone wondering what kind of camera I use (I get asked a lot), it's not my camera...just my love of Photoshop!

Creek

Although we've walked the trail in our neighborhood several times in the last 2 1/2 years that we have lived here, I never knew that there was a nice grassy path the led OFF the trail to this really cool little creek that is just perfect for little girls to explore (and throw rocks in)! What fun!

Dinner with Daddy

Ellie came to me 3 1/2 weeks ago and asked me "Mommy, would you please take care of Josie on the third Saturday so Daddy and I can go eat at the Olive Garden restaurant?" She came up with the idea all on her own and insisted that they only go "on the third Saturday"! She talked about all it the time and told us which Saturday was coming up each weekend. As the third Saturday approached, she reminded me daily that I was to watch Josie so it could be "just me and Daddy". When the day finally arrived, she was so excited! Eric snuck out that morning and bought her flowers and a little box of chocolates to give to her before their big "date".





They had a great time and Eric did a good job setting up the bar high for when the time comes for Ellie to go on any real dates!

Fun Friday Afternoon

On Thursday evening, while driving in the car, Ellie out of the blue says "I am so sad that the dinosaurs are not here anymore. I really wish we could see a REAL dinosaur..." Well, our Children's Museum has an awesome dinosaur exhibit called the Dinosphere and even though we go to the museum often, the noise in the Dinosphere (very loud booming thunder and dinosaur bellows and other prehistoric sounds) always scares her and we do not ever make it through it. When I told her that if she really wanted to see a "real" dinosaur then the Dinosphere would be the best place to go, she exclaimed "Well, then let's go!!! But...let's bring Daddy with us..." So, on Friday, Eric decided to take off work early and we headed of to the museum as a family!



Ellie immediately got scared of the noises and covered her ears and if Eric had not been there, I think it might have been another failed attempt.

But he was so great with her and even encouraged her to talk to the staff and ask questions about the dinosaurs. The staff was so wonderful and even shut off all the sound and turned on all the lights while they told Ellie all kinds of neat things about dinosaurs. Then they even let Ellie press the button on the screen that restarted all the noises.



With only an hour left before closing time, the girls then hurried and showed Daddy a few more of their favorite places in the museum. My camera's battery died but here are the few pictures I was able to get...


Carousel with Daddy


Tea Party


Family (in the fun house)


Water Play

The girls DID NOT want to leave when the museum closed so we promised them some swinging time once we got home.






It ended up being a really wonderful fun Friday afternoon!

Playhouse Tea Party

Is this not the cutest sight ever?!?

Look what came today!

The long-awaited playset is finally here! It came all the way from Amish country Pennsylvania and was actually delivered and assembled by an Amish man himself (plus his driver). The girls are super excited and, of course, have already tried it out even though it is rainy and wet today. (The mulch will be here on Monday to cover all of that mud.)











I am so very much looking forward to lots of sunny days and all the fun and creativity the girls are going to have with their new playset!