Dance Recital {2014}

Elena's big dance recital was the same day as the River Run and the Stearman summer kickoff - whew - what a busy day!!  Elena was so excited and especially thrilled that she got to wear make-up! :)

Dom was happy to sit in the room with the girls while they waited to dance and sneak their snacks! (Check out that sweet Elena button!!)  

Elena's first performance was to "Babyface" - It was adorable and she did great!!

 Next up was an outfit change into a little kitty cat! Meow!

There was a lot of time in between her numbers (waaaay to long for 5 year olds!)...thank goodness for snacks, Barbie dolls, movies and coloring pages!

 Finally ready to go!

Dom was so excited and wanted to stand with all the girls too! :)

My sweet little kitty!

Her next dance was ''What's New Pussycat'' - and it is very obvious that someone likes to be the center of attention!!

 She has come a long way in her third year of dance and we are so proud of her!

This was the first time Robert got to come to the recital (usually he is out of town as this is his busy season and he travels a lot) and he was amazed at just how big of a production it was! He secretly enjoyed watching all the dancers too! Shhh...don't tell. ;) She was so excited to have Daddy there!

But wait, that's not all! For the big finale all the girls got to go out on stage and sing along to Frozen's ''Let It Go''! It was absolutely adorable and you could tell the girls were having the time of their lives!!  

and guess who ended up front and center belting it out? ;)

So fun!!  

 Grandma and Grandpa got to come too! They were just as proud as we were!

Its amazing how much she has grown the past few years - check out 2012 and 2013's recitals.

Stearman Summer Kickoff.

After the River run we decided to head out to our favorite place, Stearman Airfield, for their annual summer kickoff! Tons of planes were there and they even brought the Searman's out for some runs. DOminic was in plane heaven. :)

 

 Of course he had to fly his planes around the restaurant too! ;)

 

 Elena thinks the planes are cool but is not quite as into it as Dominic is, but that's ok because she had a fun day ahead of her as well...starting with a delicious strawberry shortcake!

Next up...Elena's big dance recital!

River Run 2014.

This year I asked Robert if he wanted to do the River Run again as it had been a long time since we had done it (5 years ago to be exact!) and frankly I have a hard time being motivated to run unless there is a race involved! Ha! I trained the following weeks and felt pretty good and ready to go! Robert, on the other hand, did not even run more than a mile! The big day came and we headed to the race! What a turnout!

 There was a hot air balloon launch when the race started - pretty cool!

 This guy is something else - did I mention he did not train at all? Oh yeah, and he had absolutely no problem running 6.2 miles - in fact he even pushed me to go faster! (Its not fair I tell you!)

 We finished in 57 minutes which was a 9:11 minute mile pace, my goal was to come in under an hour and we did just that! Definitely faster than I had been running the past few weeks too! It was fun and challenging and I'm so glad we got to run this race together!

Memorial Weekend {2014}

The real reason for memorial day is celebrating those who so selflessly served our country. So we started the 3 day weekend with a visit out to do just that with my Mom and Elena.

I enjoy the cemetery that my grandparents are buried at so much because of the beautiful display of flags on Memorial day. It just breathtaking and I love being able to explain to Elena what all the flags mean. She now wants to join the service so that she will someday have a flag flying on Memorial day. :)

We also took some flowers out to my Aunt's grave.

Love the Garden of the Cross where they are buried.

Then we went and found my Grandma's flag -

 and my Grandpa's!

I just adore this picture of my Mom and Elena.

Robert was supposed to be traveling for work the entire weekend :( but we still planned to head out to the lake with our friends like we usually do. But the weather turned bad where Robert was at and he got to come home!!! Yay yay yay!! The kids were beyond excited!!

 But Dom was a little unsure of the cold water at first!

 But he got more comfortable very quickly!

 Elena took to it like the little fish that she is!

Then we got on the boat - and Dominic was in his element! He loved it and did not want to get off!

 Drake showed off his skiing skills and although Elena went all the way around the lake last year, she fell once this time and was done with trying. Oh well! Maybe next time!

When we got back to the beach Dom was even up for giving it a try (pulled by Robert!) He did great!!  

They have this new totally awesome giant float! Seriously a couple grown adults can stand on it in the middle of the lake! Awesome. 

They also had a surfboard! That Elena and Presley enjoyed thoroughly!

We grilled, relaxed and even got in a little grown-up time with our friends after the kids went to bed. 

 Then we woke up to this...seriously? How perfect!

Slumber parties at the lake and cinnamon rolls for breakfast = happy kiddos!!

and its a holiday so you also have to start the day with popsicles!!  

 and playing in the water!

and more popsicles!

 

Then it was time to head out to the boat again - Dominic was saying "boat, boat, more, pwease" from the instant he woke up!

 

 Dominic wanted to go on this awesome tube - and we were brave enough to let him (in fairness I went with him last night for a quick spin and he did great! Were not that crazy!!)

 He LOVED it! Did not want to get off!

 Even when the ride was over. ;)

 During the middle of the ride (and in the middle of the lake!) he threw his hands up in the air like this! Ahhh!! We all screamed at him to grab the handles and thank goodness he immediately did! I guess he was having so much fun he felt the need to throw his hands up! Silly boy!

 After a break and some snacks we headed back out. How awesome is this contraption by the way? Genius.

 

 This time we stopped to do a little swimming.

 and being the only Mommy on the boat this time - every single little one ended up on my lap! :) Gotta love a mother's touch!

Then we tried Dom on the skis one more time and this time I got a video! He just might be able to go behind the boat by the end of the summer!!

 He truly just loves the water - just like his big sister!!

 We had such a fun time and are so thankful for our generous friends Nate and Mary to invite us out! Check how much the kids have grown over the past years -- {2013} -- {2012} -- {2011}

When we hit the road to head home I think Dominic lasted about 2 minutes before he was out!

 and then we all went home and took a 3 hour nap! That lake will wear you out!  

 

Happy Memorial Day!!