Kalie and Eloise dance a duet to Let's Dance! Gold Medal, 1st place, special judges award!
Keiley also received gold on her solo and 1st place. Kalie's solo to Come to Jesus also took gold!
Their production number was to Lord of the Dance- very cute. Amy is so proud!
Lyrical to Mirror, Mirror
This was Khloe's first year to compete. They loved getting to dance together!
It is time for Dance Competitions once again. We had a great weekend. This was the first time this studio has been to a competition because its the first year its been in existence. Well, the girls definitely held their own. They walked away with ALL GOLD medals, 3 first place trophies and Kalie and Eloise's duet also received a special judges award as well. Almost every one of their songs messed up- it was crazy, and the girls still danced well! WAY TO GO GIRLS!
At Battery Park, there was an elderly man that has been feeding the squirrels there for 16 years every single day from 9-12. He taught Kalie how to hold the walnut and wait and sure enough the little squirrel would climb up in her hands and eat the walnut. (Look closely at the picture)This was defiitely a highlight for Kalie! You never know what you will experience in NYC!
Kalie had saved her money and bought Mia, the 2008 Girl of the Year. She shopped and we all ate lunch. I love the little seats they have for the dolls. The food was great and we had a sweet special time here too.
This cabin was one room. No water (bath house or outhouse) was up the road. Kalie thought it was perfect and Karlee and Kate or Laura, Keri and Grace agreed.
When we arrived, the girls put their bonnets on the rack and began their chores of making this cabin our home.
Pa and I visited outside while the girls cleaned. Notice the quilts on the little bed on the right. These are our quilts from home. We had to bring these on this trip because Laura slept on patchwork quilts. We also went to "Oleson's Mercantile" (or walmart) for groceries. Of course, the groceries were foods that the Ingalls would have had and remember we had no stove, etc except a tiny microwave. So, we ate oatmeal, ham, etc. and we got creative a couple of times just for variety.
Laura, Keri and Grace started out in the bed together, but...
Still freezing and raining outside, we posed for a quick picture.
The family before loading up to return home. We really did have a good time. I never thought children would find so much fun in cleaning and sweeping, but they did! I think that was the favorite!
okay- its out. I drove Amy's car, and went down a little hill and got a bit over the speed limit. It really was not a big deal, but I was an out of town car in a city that is known for its police, so he pulled me over. This officer was absolutely the friendliest officer I have dealt with. He asked me if I had my liscence and asked where we were headed. I told him and explained what happened. He said he understood and for us to have a great time on our trip. Well, as soon as I got back on the road, Andrea and Amy yell BUSTED and took the picture.... And so the trip began.
and Amy got BUSTED..... not for the man, but as you know Chicago allows for some AWESOME shopping, which we experienced quite well, ha! but at one store, Amy followed me up to the cashier where she was firmly told to go back to the line and to wait her turn.... BUSTED!
Okay, okay, we really do have a mature side of us. I will never deny that we do an excellent job acting crazy, but we also have serious, mature, intelligent, etc. moments as well. We always choose a nice restaurant to try and thies year it was Mediteranean. We found this restaurant online that had a separate room called the Crescent Room that was usually reserved for private parties. We got to have our dinner in there and actually were the only ones in the room! We sat on low couches or pillows on the floor and ate with our hands. The dinner was the chef's pre fixe which we loved and it began with a traditional hand washing in warm rose water.
Andrea eating with her hands.... We had the most fabulous dishes from Mussles to Lamb to Salmon, salads, vegetables, dips and sauces- it was so good!!
Eating at the Tizi Melliou- we highly recommend it!
after the hunt, we got everyone together for a group shot and they dug in opening the eggs for the goodies!
Bunny 2: Happy Easter! Bunny 1: WHAT???? (i know, i have a wierd humor)
okay, i was really disappointed in our Easter pictures this year. We were determined to not be late (ha ha) and I didn't get to check lighting, etc. But, they looked beautiful.
It was so cold, but still a beautiful day. I love Easter morning. Especially when the sun is shining. I just know it had to be a brillant day that morning that gave our lives meaning and hope and victory over 2000 years ago!
