Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Contest + Scoop

First, for the contest.  You must enter.  In insist.  Plum District is my all time favorite and $1000 will go far, peeps!

Link HERE.  Do it.

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Next up, babies on the beach.

Davidges and the Starneses.

Trouble.

But, look at that beautiful California sunshine.  Lord have mercy, I love where we live.


My favorite view?

Baby booty peaking out of her suit.

Why can't this look be as appealing on me?

Del Mar is on Camp Pendleton, the Marine base.  I love how well they treat our military.

In other news, we had to say goodbye to the McNamaras again.  I love these peeps.  And, I hate to say goodbye to them.


Tears.
They are the goofiest of goofy and I love them to pieces.



Next up, camping trip!

Who wants to share a tent with this crew? 

Just let me me know and we'll make space!


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Summer is Finally Here!

Kids were out of school over a week ago,but we still had the dance recitals looming on our calendar.

Since they're over and done with, we can now celebrate summer!

The weather has been just about perfect here.  Sunny, but not too hot.....a cool breeze in our back yard and at the beach, too.  Not a single complaint here.

Kids have been swimming in the backyard nearly every day.


Water wrestling, too.  Laine always instigates.



Sliding always seems to be the most fun.




We were so lucky to have the McNamaras in town for a couple of weeks.  They tied up some loose ends with Preschool graduation and then the recitals, too.


My heart has been broken since they left for Sacramento. 



Love these wacky kids.



Father's Day came and went.  We decorated the mantle in our usual fashion.




Used some free printables to make other parts of the cook out fun, too.




I took the kids to the beach sans Blake yesterday. 




Little ones are learning to surf.








OK, so she's an inch above sand here, but she's got the pose down!




Jackie is trying, too. 

Soon enough we'll have three blondie surfers.

So very "California".  Don't you think?




Lots of summer travel coming up.

Spending a few days camping on the beach at San Onofre.  Carter has been before, but we've never camped on the beach as a family.  It's the real deal, folks.  Tent, campfire, etc, etc.  I can't wait to sleep next to the sounds of the ocean.

A few pics of upcoming fun:





Looks lovely, huh?

After that, plenty more travel ahead.


Destin/Seaside/Water Sound Florida with a big surprise for the kids regarding travel to see family.  It's going to be fantastic!  They have no idea.


Hope your summer is turning out wonderfully!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dancing Queen - 2012 Recitals Recap

Lainey being in dance has brought out my insecure side.  

Few things in life intimidate me.  Dance moms do.  Sizing, ordering, sewing, etc.......those things do, too.  My mother avoided all of these things, so I'm sure part of my insecurity is pulled from that memory.  But, Lainey wanted so badly to do tap and ballet.  I knew I had to figure it out.

She started lessons in January.  We've been at the studio every Thursday since then. 

Recitals started this past week.  It was a lot of hard work, but worth every bit of effort.  We had a blast!

Pre-rehearsal......labeling everything, organizing her bag and setting out our game plan.

You don't even want to know what this costs. 


Allison and I took the girls Friday night to the show.  Here is Laine pre-costume.  Lamby was with her, of course. She was nervous.


They did it!  

Here are our sweet girls after the show.


Saturday included both of our families, out of town guests and our sweet neighbor, Daryl.


All of our photos are from times outside of the actual performances.  No cameras allowed!  We get to purchase the prints from the photographer for hire.  

Those should be cheap.


Rylee doesn't care much for dance.  Cailyn loves it.

Lainey?

She's completely in her element.  She loved every second.


To a fault.

I don't know where she gets her enthusiasm for life.


This is what back stage looks like.


Lainey danced to Wonderful World (tap) and Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins (ballet).


 Here we are after the Saturday shows.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

How cute is that costume going to look at Disneyland?


Jackie was waiting with flowers for the girls.
 



Our crew.


 The family.


So proud!



I was not a fan of the faux curls off stage, but they do look great in the spotlight.


We treated her to some sugar after her last performance because she's been dieting since January.

Kidding!


Lainey wants her ears pierced for her 5th birthday.  We've waited until she asked to have them pierced.  Still not sure if I'm ready.

Daddy held her clip on diamonds after the show.  They hurt!


I wanted a picture of the dads and someone suggested we take one of their empty wallets instead.

Looks about right.


En route home.  Our tiny dancer was worn out!


I can't wait for her to do it again.  We'll take the rest of the year off and start again in January.

Although I went into it kicking and screaming, I learned a lot and absolutely loved watching this child's face light up with every part of the production.  She came alive on stage.  It was a joy to watch.

Who knew?  Me, a dance mom.  

Off to watch Toddlers & Tiaras.  

What?

Aren't pageants the next, natural step?





Wednesday, June 13, 2012

From Pre-School to Pre-Kindergarten

Lots of celebrating at the Starnes house lately.

A 6th grader, a 1st grader and now a Pre-Kindergartner.





We started the day off at Rylee's with a few tears.



Don't worry.  Nothing was entirely wrong.  These girls just shed a lot of tears.  For unknown reasons.

I can't wait for their teenage years.

Preschool Graduation included a play for our little bugs.


It was so cute.


Cailyn had no problem getting comfortable.


She was so precious.

Love, love, love her dress......sent to us by Aunt Mary.
We're officially done with school for the summer.

But, our lives won't be schedule free until Saturday afternoon.

Currently, we are engrossed in Lainey's Ballet and Tap Recital.

It's a whole new world, and I'm quite intimidated by it. 

Costumes, rehearsals, make up, sewing and more.

Stay tuned for a dance recap and tales from the performance. 

It should be interesting!