competitive season has begun - my sweet dancer

this weekend E had her first dance competition of the season. 

such an incredible day. 

first, huge shout out to miss Danielle who finally
opened her own studio this year...

it was so fun to design this logo for the studio!

she is an incredible teacher and mentor to the
guys and gals who joined her studio.

the studio as a whole received a ton of awards on Saturday,
because of her leadership. 

so proud of her and the entire dance family!

~

unfortunately, photos aren't allowed during competitions, 

so I just have a few images to share taken between costume changes!

this is E and her best friend K.  

miss Danielle invited them to do a lyrical duet this year.

it was a very sweet dance to the song "good company."

they scored platinum (highest level) for their dance and 

also received a special award from the judges called "perfect pair" 

because of the strong connection that they showed on stage.

so proud of these two...

this is E and another great friend after their ballet routine.

next was hip hop! 

E worked hard last year in rec. hip hop with hopes of being 

invited to join the competitive team!  

so fun to see her on stage...

i didn't get pictures of jazz (busy day!), 

but here is E doing her needle in her group lyrical costume.

a crazy and incredible thing happened during this routine.

half way through, the music stopped.

without missing a beat, the girls continued dancing to the end of their routine.

it was such an amazing moment watching these girls

do exactly what they were supposed to do.

tears were flowing and the audience was cheering them with every step.

i love the photo below that shows the senior dancers 

from our studio cheering the minis on from backstage.

photo credit: shooting stars dance competition

the judges loved the tap routine these girls did so much,

that they were invited to dance again in the 

showcase of stars at the end of the day.

i thought it would be okay to grab a shot 

since the competition was over.  ;)

E was in 6 dances this year, a big jump from 3 last year.

you can see she came home with more than 6 awards...

she and her team received special awards for 5 of her six dances!

twas a pretty incredible day...

E&K's birthday party

did something totally new this year for my girl's 9th birthday.

we did a joint party.  

loved it...

em's best friend was born 4 days after her.

they share many friends through their dance studio.

why not save some time for everyone and 

let them have a party together!?

we found a great location that has a

pool, bowling and mini golf all in one!

the nine year olds and all their friends had a great time...

my friend Ali made these - amazing, right?!

loved the loot bags, inside and out!

yep, there was an underwater window in the pool.  super fun!

i couldn't really share the rest of the photos for two reasons

1. many didn't meet my quality standards 

(as they were shot in a dark basement).

2. lot's of girls attended and I did not

ask for permission to share the images.

i hope the few I did share give

 you a glimpse of the love that went 

into planning this event and the fun that was had!

the best part of the joint party, 

was planning it with my good friend Ali.

i think we made a great team.  

waste management in kitchener-waterloo

i had the privilege of going on a trip with my daughter's class 

to the region of waterloo's waste management facilities earlier this week.

first of all - it was a great trip.  

the students loved it and i think they learned a thing or two!

as always, i brought my camera along and i'm so glad i did.  

there are a few images i want to share with you.

this is what the landfill looks like:

the garbage you can see was dumped within 

24 hours of the photo being taken.

that's a lot of garbage...

(can you imagine a years worth?)

now here are some images of the many things 

that can be recycled and should not be in the landfill...

 please recycle friends, 

and use your green bins!

(for those of you who have not heard, 

timmy cups can be recycled or, even better, 

go in the green bin for composting!)

sweet shoppe party

this was such a fun party to put together for my 8 year old!

it was a sweet shoppe in the 60s theme, 

and all the girls came dressed for the fun.

i was amazed with the costumes and hairstyles of our guests.

the premise of the party was to earn sweet shoppe dollars

that they could spend at the sweet shoppe.

to earn the money they participated in simple activities 

that you would do at most parties,

but adding the money factor was cause for great excitement!

the first activity was creating a paper purse 

that would hold the money earned.

then it was on to auntie beth at the nail and tattoo shop

 to get their nails done and a 'sweet' tattoo applied...

a little music from hairspray and dancing...

then opening gifts.

the girls thought they might have to use their money 

for the ice cream shoppe, 

but they actually got 'paid' to create and eat ice cream sundaes...

(squeals of joy!)

~

flavours included mint chip (my girl's favourite),

chocolate, vanilla sprinkles and orange sorbet.

for toppings we had chocolate and strawberry sauce,

smarties, jelly beans, gummies, sprinkles and whipped cream!

finally, they were on to the sweet shoppe to spend their sweet shoppe dollars!

it was so fun to watch them count out their money 

and fill their paper purses with goodies to take home.

~

hearing my girl say it was her best birthday party ever... 

was sweet music to my ears!

aubree's 3rd birthday

my niece (who is also a big sister now) had a birthday party recently:

i had the pleasure of making the cake (pinterest inspired)

for the celebration and photographing the fun!

~

there were many guests (of all ages) at this party, 

but we'll keep the focus on the birthday girl...

i think she liked the cake!