Final Soccer Games

  Both Hayden and Sydney played soccer through our town's soccer league this year. They played in the fall and again in the spring, but they are two different seasons here, and you generally have different players and coaches for each season. To celebrate the last game of spring soccer, each team had a pizza party and the kids received their medals.

Michael Turns 39!

  Michael's birthday was just ridiculous this year.  The children were still in school because school did not end until the 23rd of June in New York and we had the craziness of all that going on.  His work schedule was ridiculous, he had not been home to eat dinner or see any of us in days.  In fact, he worked until after midnight on his birthday and did not even bother to tell anyone at work that it was his birthday!

  Meanwhile, I kept asking him what he wanted to do for his birthday celebration to which I got no response. So the 8th of June rolled around, and he had no cake, no presents, no plans, and he came home after midnight.  Finally he told me, "All I want is a coconut cream pie."  Pie!!? Seriously, that is what you want for your birthday? Done.  Of course, there are no Marie Callendar's in New York, so I made a pie from scratch- the crust, the whipped cream, all of it.  I made it the day after his birthday, and he was kind enough to pull away from work, come home for about 25 minutes, eat a piece and go back to the office.

 
  I am just glad he had the energy to blow out the candles, maybe that is why there are only three? Why would we only have three candles on there, one for each 13 years?! Were there only three left in the cupboard? Could we not be bothered to put any more than that on? Of course, 39 candles probably would have lit my masterpiece on fire.  But the downside to this whole thing is that after 17 years, Michael found out that I can make really good homemade pie- he wasn't suppose to know that.  How I miss Marie C's pies and stacking up all the tins in my cupboard until I would finally take them back in to get a refund on the tin deposits and have more than enough for a free pie!  I love Razzleberry and German chocolate and French silk, not to mention banana cream... on second thought, it is probably better on our budget and our waistline that we have moved away from Marie's!  But it was so great at Thanksgiving to just go and pick them up.

Maura's Preschool Moments

Earlier in the year, Maura had been sick and was not able to ride the bus to the pumpkin patch field trip. This was a major disappointment to her and I heard about it all year long. So when the opportunity came to ride the bus to the zoo, she was so excited. This is a picture of Maura and her cute friend, Keeley, they were told to wear red so that we could identify the kids in her class easier.

This is some of Maura's class piled into a wagon at the farm area of the zoo. Miss Anna was one of her teachers and is in blue.

Zachary, Maura and Keeley were buddies all day long. They had a great time finding all of the animals in their exhibits and we even ate a picnic lunch while we were there. Maura rode the bus both ways, but I caught a ride with some of the other moms.

Maura has a summer birthday and was excited to celebrate her birthday before the school year ended. So even though it was not really her birthday, we made pink cupcakes for her "unbirthday" celebration at preschool.

Well, eventually the fun had to come to an end. The year was over and Maura was graduating from preschool. She had gone the entire year from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and now she was ready to advance to kindergarten. Our baby is growing up, and I am going to miss the art projects and those silly preschool songs!

Dance Festival & Recital

Our Little Red Riding Hoods did a great job. Sydney loved being on stage with her friends Anna and Morgan.

Little sister, Maura, was mesmerized by Sydney's performance.

Another shot of the ballet performance. Miss Katie hand painted bobbie pins red to hold their hoods in place!

The actual dance recital was in June at St. Francis High School. The whole family sat in the audience and watched the Saturday show, but during Maura's show I was downstairs with her class when she was not on stage. It was nice to enjoy the shows two different ways. Maura had a wonderful class and I liked all of the other dance moms as well as their darling daughters.

I loved the pink tutus, the girls were all so beautiful in their outfits!

Maura was introduced to the world of Zhu-Zhu pets by her friend Claire.

Choir Concert, Art Splash & More

To fulfill his music requirement for sixth grade, Hayden joined the chorus. They performed a Christmas and a spring concert. This one was in the auditorium of the middle school and they did a great job.

Well, I had to threaten him with his life, but I finally took a photo of him dressed up for the concert. Maura refers to this shot as "Handsome Hayden." She even had me print a copy on our printer so that she could tape it to her closet door.

Both Hayden and Sydney had some of their artwork chosen to be showcased at the district wide art show called, "Art Splash." Michael and Sydney were in North Carolina that weekend, but Hayden, Maura and I went and enjoyed the exhibits and the harp music. It was held at a local bank. Sydney's entry was scratch art and she had drawn a butterfly.

Hayden blew me away with his entry. It was a detailed oil pastel of a poinsettia and it was titled, "Mexican Christmas Gift." I met his art teacher, and she was thrilled with his piece. It was centered right at the entrance of the exhibit and even printed in the program. She joked with us that Hayden was now a published artist! My junior high art class was disastrous for me, but Hayden has amazing raw talent that is already being noticed.

Sydney was asked to make a musical instrument. She was determined to make it out of recycle items or objects around our house and she succeeded. Michael and Sydney designed this drum set and she was awarded "most creative instrument."

Mother's Day 2010

I received a surprise on Mother's Day this year. Our ward reorganized the Relief Society Presidency. A new president was called and I was asked to serve as her first counselor. It was a shock to me and a little overwhelming. We had only been in the ward for about 10 months and I really did not know that many women in the ward, but I accepted the call, and our entire presidency was set apart on Mother's Day. By the time I got home it had already been a long day, but I wanted at least one photo with my kids. Michael made a great meal and the girls had made projects in school, but Hayden has outgrown that stage, being a cool middle schooler and all.

Dance Photos

I have assumed many titles and roles as a mother, and I have to say that I enjoy being a "dance mom" even though it is very exhausting at times. Both of the girls take dance and they had three different classes this year. Sydney took jazz and ballet, Maura was in Broadway Babies, which was a combo of ballet and tap. It involved many pairs of dance shoes, costumes and tights. When photo week came around in May, it was flat out exhausting and I learned to carry a bag with all sorts of hair accessories, hairspray, bobbie pins, extra tights, lipstick, etc.

This is Sydney in her costume for her jazz class. They danced to the 1980's classic, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." She really liked the colors of it.

It is always hard to get the girls' hair up and keep it up while they dance. Luckily, this was just for photos.

This is Sydney in her ballet costume. Her class danced to "Little Red Riding Hood" and they carried baskets on stage and everything. I loved this costume and watching her perform this routine.