Tale as old as time.....

FINALLY!!!!! Here is the post I have been wanting to post for soooooooo long now!!! As ya'll know, Madi was in StageStruck's Premier performance of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". We have never been a part of a production like this before, and I'm not sure if we ever will again. I can only describe the kids, crew, parents, and the entire experience itself as simply "MAGICAL"!!!!!!!! I've been looking forward to this show for over a year now, and even told Mom about it way back in March of 2008, so that she could plan a trip out for the event. And boy was I glad she was here!!! I don't think any of us would have survived the "craziness" if she hadn't been here to help!!! I was so happy and proud to have her here, and to be able to share not only a FANTASTIC show with her, but to share what's become such a HUGE part of mine and Madi's lives with her!!! She even got in on the action and played a HUGE part in the construction of the "Little Shakers" costumes that I ended up making. THANK YOU, MOM!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!!!

Here is a little "montage" I put together this weekend. These are just a few of my favorite pictures that I took during the production. These pictures do not do the amazingly talented kids, or the parents who worked tirelessly to make ALL of the breathtaking costumes and sets justice, but I hope you enjoy!!


Madi, the "townsperson"


Madi, the "Fork"


Here is one of my favorite numbers in the entire show "Be Our Guest"... it was truly a sight to see on-stage... all of the dancing plates, napkins, and utensils!!! It's a little long, but SOOOOOOO worth view!! Madi is the "fork" that chases Lumiere off-stage!!!


Although at times it seemed like we were LIVING at StageStruck, the end result was soooo worth it, and it's an experience that Madi and I will never forget!!! BRAVO!!!!! to the cast and crew!!!!!

Caiden's 8!!!!

In the midst of BEAUTY and the BEAST, Grandma's visit, Soccer, and life in general, we somehow managed to find time to celebrate Caiden's 8th birthday!!!! Because we were soooooo busy (so busy that we ended up present shopping on his birthday while he was at soccer practice!!!), his celebration carried over into the next day. I always make cupcakes on the kids birthdays for them to take to school. However, this year Caiden had soccer practice on his birthday so I gave him the choice of cupcakes at school or after practice. He chose practice!!! And it was so cute because after practice I called the team over and told them I had cupcakes for Caiden's birthday, but they needed to sing to him first. I really wasn't expecting a bunch of 10 and 11 year old boys to agree to that, but to my surprise, on the count of 3 they all gave Caiden a very rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday"!!! After practice we headed home and had a wonderful Taco Bell birthday dinner, and opened presents. On Saturday we actually went out to eat at McCall's BBQ (Caiden's choice) and celebrated again with cake and Ice Cream! Even though it was kinda crazy/hectic, I think Caiden had a great 8th birthday!!!

The theme that seemed to surround his birthday this year, was Star Wars and Soccer!!




Yay!! Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie from Grandma and Grandpa!!!


Another action figure to add to the collection...


Caiden asked for a "Clone Trooper" cake this year. So this is my attempt....

I never could have done it without Tyler's help, though. I baked the cake, he cut and "molded" the Clone Trooper, and then I made and colored the frosting and decorated it!

Happy 8th Birthday, Caiden!!!!!

Jump Rope for Heart

This year's "Jump Rope for Heart" event took place on a Tuesday, which meant I could go!!! Yay!! It seems like the last few years it has been on a Mon., Wed., or Fri., so I was very happy that I could go this year. And at the kids' school, they only allow 2nd graders and up participate, so this was the first year that both Madi AND Caiden were able to jump! Kamrynn tagged along of course, and had fun "jumping", too!!

Fourth Grade was up first, and I barely made it. I had to take my Dad to the airport in Raleigh that morning and rushed home as quick as I could to see Madi jump!!!








After Madi was done jumping, Kami and I went home to eat some lunch and "freshen" up before we headed back for the 2nd Graders!!!




Kami LOVED the Hula-hoops!!!




A BIG "Thank You!!!" to everyone who helped Madi and Caiden out!! They were able to raise $100 together for the American Heart Association, and they couldn't have done it without you!! They received their "prizes" the other day and couldn't wait to show them off!!!



Crazy kids!!! :-)

Cutie-Pie

I love taking pictures of all my kids, and maybe it's because Kamrynn isn't in school yet and she's always around, but I really love taking pictures of her. And she loves having her picture taken. She is always saying "Mommy take a picture of me", and she'll sit and pose until I tell her "That's enough!" Her facial expressions crack me up. I recently bought her the CUTEST hat, and of course had to take some pictures. I may be biased, but these pictures were just TOO CUTE to not share!!! Enjoy!

Grandpa

We were all blessed at the beginning of this year to have my Dad come out and stay with us for about three weeks. He timed his visit so that he could be here to watch the kids for mine and Tyler's anniversary, and also be here to help out while Tyler went TDY to Vegas for a couple of weeks! With Madi and I being sooooo busy with "Beauty and te Beast", it was GREAT to have him here to help out!

The really sad thing is, is that I've noticed that as my kids get older, I find myself taking out my camera less and less when the Grandparents are around. When they were little and my parents would visit, I'd snap TONS of random pictures, now I'm lucky if I get 10 pics of the kids with G-Pa and G-Ma. Guess I'll have to remember that next time they visit.

Thanks again Dad, for all of your help while you were here, and for another great visit!!! I am so lucky to have a Dad like you! :-) I love you!!!! Can't wait to do it again!!

Paramount Gala

On February 14, 2009, the Paramount Theater had it's 1st Anniversay Gala Celebration. Back in 2005 the Paramount Theater burnt down a week or so before StageStruck's performance of "Peter Pan". It was a HUGE community effort to rebuild the theater. Last year, StageStruck was able to be the first group to perform in the rebuilt Paramount. So this year, they had a 1st anniversary celebration. Hailey Best is an AMAZINGLY talented StageStruck alumni, who is currently spending her Senior year of High School at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Madi has known her for a couple of years now and absolutely adores her!! Hailey was asked to perform at the Gala, and she thought it would be fun to have a couple of younger StageStruck kids perform with her! Madi and I were both THRILLED when she called and asked if Madi would want to perform with her! They sang the song "Practically Perfect" from the Broadway version of "Mary Poppins". I wasn't able to upload the video on here, cuz I guess the file is too big, but I did upload it onto YouTube, so you can see their performance here. This is just their dress rehearsal performance, as I wasn't allowed to film during the real thing. Don't you love Madi's shoe choice??? She's trying to start a new fashion trend... Crocs with dresses! :-) As you can see from the pictures, she had a different dress during the actual Gala as well. Liam, the little boy, was in "Velveteen Rabbit" with Madi, and is a great little performer, as well!!!

Madi, as "Jane"


"Jane" and "Michael"


Madi, Hailey, and Liam


Madi and the amazing Kate McMillan!! She was "Belle" and has been accepted at the #1 school for Music Theater in the country... Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. I'm sure her name will be in lights in the very near future!


Madi thought it was pretty cool, because she actually got to perform TWICE!!! The cast of "Beauty and the Beast" opened the Gala with the song "Belle". So she performed in that, and then ran back to change and get mic'd up for "Practically Perfect". What a great night!!!! Thank you Hailey, for such a wonderful experience!!!!

Backstage with friends before "Belle"




Warming up their BEAUTYful voices!!

Beast of the East

Caiden, and the rest of his U-11 Goldsboro Sting Soccer team, participated in the 2009 Beast of the East Soccer Tournament the first weekend in February.

The GOOD:

Tyler made it back into town (from his two-week TDY in Vegas) just in time, AND Grandpa was still visiting!!!

The BAD:

The previous week in practice Caiden claims he was slide-tackled by a teammate, and one afternoon when I picked him up from school I noticed he was limping pretty bad. So off to the Dr. we went. Caiden had a mild sprain, but the doc said if he rested it ALL week (i.e. NO practice) then he could possibly play in the tourny.

The UGLY:

Caiden's ankle was better, but nowhere NEAR 100%, and so he really didn't play much at all, and when he did, he wasn't himself... I think he was a little nervous he would re-injure his ankle. And to make matters worse... we lost all three games.

Oh well... it was a GREAT experience and great for team bonding!!!

Pre-Game Warm-Ups


Caiden, getting some game-time action.


Kami, catching some rays


Kami and G-Pa


Poor Caiden... being only "8" on a team of mostly 10 and 11 year olds does not always have it's advantages. He always manages to get matched up against the biggest kid on the opposing team.


But this NEVER slows him down or hinders his determination!!!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!

We had such an exciting, albeit COLD, winter this year in North Carolina! Our first sign of "snow" was actually a week before Thanksgiving! It wasn't anything major and didn't even "stick", but it was definitely a sign of things to come for the winter.

We experienced our biggest snowfall yet, since living here in Goldsboro, this past January. It was actually Inaguration day, and the kids were home on a winter break, and what made this particular snowfall even more magical, was that Grandpa (my Dad) was still visiting from sunny California!!!

Being a California girl myself, I must admit that this was probably the ideal snowfall for me... GORGEOUS to look at, fun to play in for a bit, and melted away within 72 hours!!! I think all in all we received at least a good 6" of snow. The kids had a blast, and made multiple trips outside to play. You see, since we aren't accustomed to snow, we don't have to proper attire, so the kids would go out and play for about 20 minutes, their clothes would get wet, they would go from happy/smiling, to freezing, crying, whining FREAK OUT mode in a matter of seconds, we would have to run inside strip off their clothes, put on warm, dry clothes and pump some hot chocolate into their bodies. FUN TIMES, I tell ya! It is for this reason that I am glad we don't deal with snow on a regular basis, although maybe if we did we'd be a little more prepared and used to the snow! Anyways... enjoy the pictures from our Winter Wonderland!!!!

Before....


Round One... The snow was finally starting to come down pretty good!!!


Madi soooo happy to have SNOW!!!


I LOVE these pics of Kami and Caiden with their snow-covered eyelashes!!!!



Snow angels in the front yard. There was still a lot more snow to come!!!


During....


Round 2.... There was a good amount of snow on the ground, snow was STILL falling, Tyler came home from work, and everyone headed out to play!!!

Kami's 2nd Snow Angel attempt!!!


Tyler taking time out from teaching the kids the art of snowball making, to pose for a picture!!




Grandpa building a Snowman!!!


Me, Dad, and Pepper


After....


Our mailbox!!!