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.  

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!

twelve years

today jude and i celebrate 12 years of marriage.

i am so thankful for our journey so far, 

and excited to continue on this path together for years to come.

we were able to get away for a few days 

(just the two of us) 

earlier this week.

it was so nice and relaxing...

tonight we had a picnic with the girls at rockway gardens,

a place we love to visit on our anniversary.

it was a great night!

these photos are courtesy of $20 well spent...

i picked up a wireless shutter remote this week.

loving it!

this spring...

much has happened over the past month or so around here...

the biggest news is, we bought a house and sold our current home!

it happened so fast and we're very thankful for a quick, smooth process.

we'll be moving in august - up the street and closer to our school.

the girls are thrilled as they will now have their own rooms,

and we'll be even closer to some of their good friends.

we will miss our neighbours here and our big backyard,

but we're excited to move to a similar vintage of home 

with all the renos pretty much done.

happy father's day!!

here is a little video i put together for jude this weekend.

he is away for a few days for a combination of work and play.

he'll be showered with art, cards and gifts upon his return,

but he missed out on breakfast in bed this year!

emery has just completed her dance season.

she was invited to compete with the dance 

studio run at our community centre.

we love the families and leadership there.  

it has been such a positive experience for her 

(and me in my new role as dance mom).

she loves performing and has no fear being on stage, 

and i've learned to do curls, buns and stage makeup...

this image is from her rec. recital this past weekend:
 a 'serious' dance to music from james bond...

selah has given t-ball a try this year and seems to really enjoy it.

she finishes up the season this week and excited to get her first trophy

(she remembers that emery got one when she played)!

tiny but powerful...

selah also got her ears pierced earlier this spring:

don't worry - she was smiling again shortly after this moment.

her ears are healing perfectly and she's excited 

to try some new earrings on when the time comes...

jude and i are looking forward to a few days away 

this week to celebrate our 12th anniversary.

we've been spoiled the past two years with big trips (mexico and greece),

this year we're heading to muskoka.

beyond that, we're excited for summer!

so there's a little update on us,

how are you doing?

a scooby party for my girl...

as you know, selah had a scooby doo party this year!

selah and her friends made scooby collars, worked on a scooby maze,
and listened to a scooby story before we had pizza and scooby snacks...

the mood of the party changed after all the scooby snacks were gone.  

selah was hoping to open her presents and they were nowhere to be seen!

what we found was a video message from a scary ghost 

telling everyone they should go home...

fortunately there was also a clue that led us up to the girl's room,

which was full of balloons.

surprisingly there was something inside each balloon,

so we had to pop them to find out what it was!

inside one balloon there was another clue 

that helped us convince the ghost to come out of hiding.

just to be safe we trapped him with a hula hoop,

removed the mask and convinced him to tell us where the presents were hidden...

(and he would have gotten away with taking 

all those gifts if it weren't for those meddling kids!)

after opening presents, it was time for the cake!

and then one more visit from our new friend, the ghost of the presents...

zoinks!

(click here for more detail images from this party)

easter in jersey

this easter it was just the mommas and the girls 

who made the trip to NJ to see the rest of the cousins

(the daddies didn't get a long enough weekend to come).

as always, it was well worth the drive!

cupcakes at crumbs - they're so big you eat them with a knife and fork...

selah gets a swing from her big cousins

my sister and i love putting together the easter egg hunt for all the cousins.

as you will see, emery wasn't feeling very well that day...

so instead of returning to our favourite egg hunt location,

we did it on the front lawn.

selah was the first to spot the eggs that uncle rich hid

poor emery only lasted about 2 minutes outside

above is the after egg hunt cousin shot.

(emery cried when she saw this because she wasn't in it...)

~

fortunately we took another group shot before we said our goodbyes.

i love these kids, 

and it's obvious that they love each other too!

great memories are made for these cousins in jersey.