Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Benny the Magic Bunny

 

Here it is...... Cally's first stage appearance.  In January, the guilty working mom in me, asked around to see if there were any fun classes Cally could take on a Tuesday when she's home with her dad.  As it turns out, a bunch of her friends from Poker Hill had been taking classes at the "Birds Nest" in Jericho-- it's a low key (and inexpensive) little dance studio above the garage of a women's home.  When I called to see if Cally could take the class, the dance teacher was a little hesitant.  She said she could take the class, but that it was likely that she'd have to sit the recital out because they had already ordered the costumes.  We didn't care about any of that, it was more about getting out to try something new.



Fast forward five months and Miss Sue did end up ordering Cally a costume.  On the day that they arrived, John helped Cally into her outfit and she was thrilled about the whole thing. 
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You might notice that her dad got something backwards.
Miss Sue talked the performance up a lot!  Cally couldn't wait to wear make up-- which, fortunately, only entailed getting wiskers and a black nose.


At times, during the dress rehearsal, I worried that we were headed to the world of "Toddlers and Tiaras", but fortunately, we live far from that culture.


Despite practicing this one dance weekly for four months and playing the song fairly regularly at home, Cally never seemed to show us any choreographed moves.  She jumped around a lot, but we weren't expecting much on the stage, given the gene pool (or lack there of) she received.


She definitely didn't know all her moves, but by watching her friends, she was able to hold her own.




In the end, the two and a half minute performance was one of the cutest things I've ever watched.  Granted, it was my child up there, so I may be a little biased, but seriously, they could not have been more adorable!

 


Cally had a ball!  She loved the flowers she got, having so many people who loved her show up, and she had no problem being on stage.







 

And she had so much fun with all her little bunny buddies.






And the best part of being in the recital, was having an excuse to have Nana and Grandpa visit.

Nana saved the day by doing last minute sewing of the bunny tail and bunny "cuffs"
Grandpa played with the kids


The kids got snuggles with Nana, Grandpa, and Lobby every morning

We had an excuse to go get the best cremees ever!

We visited the "Funky Chicken" Market (getting ready for our own chicks to arrive too soon)

Having someone to read, read, and read some more


We have no idea where Cally stands in terms of a future with dance, but we certainly enjoyed watching her up there and hope it gives her the confidence to perform in whatever way she chooses to in life.

Monday, May 13, 2013

My Recipe for the Perfect Mother's Day

For the perfect Mother's Day:

  1. Sleep in the guest room (so that no one can find you in the morning and get upset because you don't want to play and snuggle at 6:30am)
  2. Put a pillow over your ears until 8am when your husband takes the kids with him to get fresh made donuts and the New York Times
  3. Wake up to your daughter bringing you coffee, a fresh made donut, a card, and the New York Times.
  4. After sipping coffee, eating donut, and reading your favorite parts of the NYT, head down stairs for a delicious breakfast prepared by that awesome aforementioned husband
 

5.  Head out for a family adventure in Lincoln.  It may start as a bike ride up the Natural Turnpike and turn into a hike in Lincoln Gap
6. Watch kids act like monkeys in the trees 

 
7. Visit your best friend who now has 3 foster puppies and 2 baby goats (to add to the 9 dogs, 3 cats, donkey, chickens and miniature horse)
8.  Have a delicious salmon dinner at neighbors house so that you officially get out of all meals for the day!


If recipe is followed according to the steps above, you will feel like the luckiest mother alive! 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Spring Break!



Can you imagine spending a week in a North Carolina forest in the Smokey Mountains with this cast of characters?  Pretty darn cute!  From left to right we have Henry Kelsey (16 months), Isaac Aubin (4 years old), Hazey, Cally, and Oliver Aubin (2 years old).  We all convened at the Davidson River Campground after 17+ hours of driving on a Sunday night.  We had a blast.  Here's a photo summary of a really fun adventure:

2 year old buddies
finding and climbing on magic rocks
counting tree rings
Finding a make believe stage and forming a band
lounging around and reading books
smores
Special guests Sherry and George Westerfield!
Quiet moments of drawing
Smokey the Bear Club
hockey, lacrosse, soccer.....
Learning about the forest with Sherry and George

Getting ready for kids hike-- "one for all, all for one!"

Awesome little hikers!

rest stop looking for birds

Fun bouncy bridge

Sitting in the gutter tree

Barefoot stream exploration

Good friends

Feeding Henry

Lots of Scooter Time

Biking on a boardwalk at the kids loop

Teeter Totter!
Cheering on big sis!

Buddies


 Best date ride ever!  Thanks to Sherry & George

A scare at the Transylvania County Hospital-- nothing broken!  Phew!

After four days in the Pisgah National Forest, I packed everyone up and we headed back to Vermont on the slow train, making some fun stops along the way.  The kids were troopers in the car.  Their patience in the car amazed us.

We got to stop in Baltimore on the way down and on the way back home.  The kids love hanging out with their cousin (and aunt and uncle).


Will even got a scooter between our visits, so the kids had a ball playing in the back alley of Roger's Forge.



Next stop was Rosendale, NY to visit with Beckett, Iris, Tim and Sophia. 



Running Race
Keeping up with the big kids!