Cara's first day of dance

Cara had her first dance lesson today.  She was so excited!  Her sister has been taking dance since she was 5 years old, so Cara has had a blast playing dress up in years of old dance costumes.  We went to Target on Sunday to buy a dance outfit for Cara.  She had to put it on the moment she got home, nap in it, and she swore she would be careful during dinner if she could keep it on while she ate.

Her lesson started at 4:15.  A called me at work and said, "You'd better hurry up, she's freaking out that you will be late."  And we were just a little late, but the teacher was still just explaining the basics of how lessons work; Cara didn't actually miss anything.

 Cara waiting for me to come home from work:

 She was sooooo happy after her lesson!  She kept saying all the way home, "That was so fun!"  I think she's really going to have a great time with dance lessons this year.



A's Homecoming Dance {Sunday Snapshot}

A's Homecoming dance was last night.  She's a junior this year, but doesn't attend high school this quarter because all of her classes are at the community college for Running Start.  If she keeps her hard work up, she'll graduate and earn her A.A. at the same time.



The theme of this year's dance was masquerade.

 Aren't they cute?  Her date is a former student of mine, so I know he's a good boy! ;)

 I just love this picture of her.

I can't wait to hear about the dance, but she's still in bed so I guess I'll have to wait.

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Trip to Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch

Grandpa has the fruitstand all decorated for Halloween complete with the straw maze and straw pyramid with a slide.  Cara already played out there the other night, but I brought my camera with me today.

 She wasn't interested in going through the maze today, so she just climbed the straw pyramid and went down the slide.

 I had to add this picture from her first trip down the slide.  She looks so different!  Last year she wanted to do it, but was scared.

 Cara loves the camera, so she's almost always willing to pose for a photo op.

 Posing with B at the top of the pyramid:

We didn't stay too long.  I had to get home to help A get ready for the Homecoming dance.  I will post those pictures tomorrow.

First time at the Central Washington State Fair

Saturday night was Cara's first trip to the state fair.  I wasn't really sure how she would do.  B had a football game at 1:00 p.m., which cut into Cara's nap time.  We did squeeze in an hour nap before we left, but she's used to taking a 2-2 1/2 hour nap.  I was also concerned about all of the walking she would have to do.  It's a pretty long walk into the fair and we told her she needed to walk the whole time.  It was about 80+ degrees outside and no one was going to carry her.

 She wanted a corn dog.  She talked about eating a corn dog for two days before we went to the fair.  Getting a corn dog was the first order of business.

 I  wish I could say she ate the whole thing, but she only ate about half of it before she lost interest.  There were just too many things to do and see.

 Cara and her brother had their picture taken at Grandpa's fruitstand display.

 Eating an elephant ear on the grass with Daddy.

 On to the rides!  I wasn't sure if she would do it.  We tried to get her to ride a pony.  She would go up to the entrance and say, "Help me pick a nice one."  Then when she got closer she would say, "Not yet."  She did this a couple of times before we finally left the pony rides.  I didn't know if she would do rides, but I figured when she saw all the other kids on rides she would go on them, too.

 She loved them!  Especially the swings.

She did walk the whole way and never asked to be held.  We only had one melt down.  On the way back to the car, she wanted a blow up dolphin on a stick.  We said no and she cried and cried.  B got her to stop by promising to print off dolphin color pages for her when we got home.

She had a really good time.  When we got to the car she said, "I like this place!"  Wait til she gets to go to Disneyland! :)

A's Day (Sunday Snapshot)

I don't think I've taken pictures of A by herself since her 16th birthday.  She's a junior this year and starts Running Start tomorrow.  With this program she will be able to complete her high school education and earn her A.A. at the same time.  I won't get to do "first day of school" pics with her tomorrow, so these will have to suffice.

I can't believe she will be 17 in December; I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.  She makes my job as a momma so easy.  She's just a really good kid.

 She's giving and kind-hearted.  She's helpful and doesn't argue (most of the time).  Her grades are awesome; way better than mine or her dad's.  She has to try hard to earn them, too.  And she does.

 When I found out I had the ovarian tumor this summer and had to have it removed, she was an amazing helper around the house.  She really stepped it up.  She worked all summer and picked up the slack around the house.  She never complained-not one bit.

 I may be biased, but I think she's gorgeous.

 Is she perfect?  No.  Lord help us all if she doesn't get a good night's sleep! ;) 

When she leaves for college in two years I'm going to bawl like a baby.  I don't even want to think about it.  I'm just going to enjoy the heck out of the next two years.

For more Sunday Snapshots, visit Stefanie's blog:

First Weekend of Grid Kids

Yesterday was B's first grid kid football game of his last grid kid season.  He's in the 8th grade, so we're finished with grid kids after this year.  Miss Cara didn't come along because she was invited to go see Shrek, the Musical.  We watched the movie Shrek on Friday night so she had a little background knowledge before seeing the musical.  She was excited to go and had such a great time!  She came home and said, "Shrek is a yogurt and Princess Fiona is a yogurt, too!"  Yogurt?!  So we ended up teaching her the word, ogre. :)

 After dropping Cara off to go see Shrek, we headed to Sunnyside to watch B's first game of the year.

 He's number 40.  It was mid-90's at game time.  I'm glad we thought to bring the beach umbrella for a little bit of shade.

 Maybe if I don't make eye contact, she won't take my picture...

 I finally got a smile out of him before we went to the car.

They won their first game and B was happy about that.  Hopefully they have a great season this year.

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Cara's First Day of Preschool

Today was Cara's first day of preschool.  You can tell she was a little nervous by the stiffness of her smile.  This was the most natural smile I could get out of about 6 pictures.  Last night she kept asking, "And you're going to leave me there ALONE?"  With some serious emphasis on the word "alone."  I just kept telling her I was in the next building over and that Grandpa would pick her up.

A and I walked Cara in to preschool, helped her take off her sweater, put on her name tag, and hang up her backpack.  She was the first one there.  Teacher S said she could play in the circle until other kids got there, but he obliged us with a pic! ;)  Cara wasn't nervous once she got there.  No tears or anything, she just took off to go play.  Not sure what to make of that.  Should I be worried that she was fine for us to leave? 

I asked her how her day went.  She said she drank milk and ate jelly and that she learned how to read.  Well, since she's already conquered reading, I wonder what she'll do tomorrow! ;)