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...

buddies

 these two may seem like an unlikely pair

(he is in emery's class and has a brother in selah's).

but when they are together,
it can be hard for other kids to get in on their fun!

his mom is a photographer as well,
so this is often his approach to my camera:

 it's so nice to have caught him in moments of pure joy!

these photos were captured at kiwanis park a few weeks ago.

(have you been?)

i had so much fun watching these two play that day!

best friends in southampton

we went to southampton with our friends this summer, 

and like last year it was just us girls!

(see photos from 2011 - here and here)

~

in 2 days...

 we went for ice cream, 

hiked around fairy lake, 

fed the turtles and fish,

enjoyed the hot tub,

had a campfire with s'mores,

performed songs and dances,

watched the olympics,

pretended to be in the olympics,

made our way down to the beach three times!

i do hope this new tradition will continue for years to come!
so fun for the girls, and their mom's...

superman

 this little guy is the sweetest super hero i know!

he brings smiles to many faces...

 you might recognize him from this post, 

if you're a regular around here!

pinery - ontario parks

each year we go camping with another family or two.

this year we were at pinery, 

near grand bend, ontario.

such a fun place to camp out and make memories!

there were nine kids in our group this year:

i love how these shots of our friends begin to tell the story of our time.

~

here are a few more images to fill in the gaps!

 the boys were not so keen on having their picture taken.

 we packed a spray bottle, 

which quickly became the 'toy' of choice while embracing the hot weather.

 on the first morning, selah discovered a very large moth 

(it died later that day, but was still kept close 

throughout our time away and 

might have even come home with us...)

 it rained on and off for one of our days,

we made the most of it!

 spotting this guy (surfer santa, perhaps?)

across the playground in grand bend,

brought a smile to my face!

(i don't have a zoom lens, so this was taken from far away and severely cropped)

 we also spent an hour paddling on the river.

we had to get ice cream on our last night.

chocolate peanut butter for me, as usual...

this s'more didn't make it.

little s'more secret:

at our house, we now skip the graham crackers and chocolate bars,

and make our s'mores with family digestive cookies.

do you know the ones?  

try it - delicious!

 car packed, ready to head home and start planning for next year!

where is your favourite place to go camping?

i'm looking for suggestions for 2013....