We saw Mark's brother Brad to the airport as he is off to serve our country. We are very proud of what Brad is doing but will miss him while he is gone. Hopefully, we will all be able to take advantage of the changes in the technology so we can have more communication with him via video calls and email while he is gone. Keep Brad in your prayers and hope he comes home soon!
Grandma and Grandpa came to St. Louis for a long weekend. We got the added bonus of getting to visit with Uncle Todd. Nevaeh got to do a mini piano recital and both girls did a love dance performance for their captive audience.
On Saturday, we enjoyed a beautiful day at thezoo and both girls go to choose a stuffed animal to take home with them (one can never have enough stuffed animals). On Sunday we picked up Uncle Todd and had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Company and then had to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. The time flies but we were thrilled to sneak in a little visit before we see them again at the beach in July.
I realized that I have almost no "real" pictures of the girls together. I just bought some nice frames and when I went to find a picture of the girls together that I thought was worthy to put in the living room, I didn't have much to show for the "investment" in this little photography hobby. I decided that I would do pictures of the girls in their Easterr dresses. I was really happy with this shot!
Maryn was a very good sport tonight when Mommy insisted on getting a picture of Maryn in her cute little sailor hat. She was a moving target but I managed to get a darling shot of her sweet smile, wearing the cute hat.
Nevaeh had her Girl Scout Father Daughter dance tonight. I volunteered to do the photos of the girls and their Dad's and got a little more than I bargained for... or perhaps it might be more accurate to say that they got more than they bargained for. It was a Fiesta theme and we build a full scene for our photographs. My dear friend Julie was a huge sport and volunteered (got roped in) to help me. The organizer came over after we had our "set" built and said "Wow - in the past we've had a Mom with a digital camera standing by the door taking pictures as people came in". Nevaeh was my helper for the first part of the evening (despite our urging her to go and have fun with her Daddy). She was very excited about helping all the girls choose a prop for the picture. She was particularly excited about the little blue parrot. I had 2 solid hours of photos and 66 girls later it was time ot go home.
Nevaeh and her Daddy had a wonderful time and I am so glad that she has these special times for just the two of them. Here is the link to all pictures from the evening.
We decided to take advantage of our timeshare this year and spend Nevaeh's Spring Break in Orlando. The plan was that we would go with some friends and go to the parks 2 or 3 days and then lounge at the timeshare the rest of the week. Needless to say, that is not how things played out. Somehow our relaxed vacation turned into a 6 day, 6 park adventure.
Day 1. Magic Kingdom:
Day 2. Disney Studios
Day 3. Animal Kingdom
Day 4. Epcot
Day 5. Back to Magic Kingdom
Nevaeh had her "birthday week" this past week. The celebration started last Saturday. The girls and I made cupcakes in preparation for Nevaeh having a few girls come over for pizza, play and a little slumber party. The girls helped make the cupcakes and as always were particularly helpful when it came time to clean up.
The girls arrived in the late afternoon and they played, had pizza, decorated cupcakes, played some more and 3 of Nevaeh's friends spent the night. The evening was deemed a success when all 3 girls stayed all night without having to call their parents to come get them in the middle of the night.
Nevaeh's actual birthday party was today at the Magic House. Neveah had a "Fairy Tale" celebration in one fo the party rooms and the girls made crowns, magic wands and decorated cupcakes. Most of the girls were able to stay after the party and play together. They had a fabulous time and Nevaeh had a great birthday week!
We had a little road trip this weekend. We drove to Memphis to celebrate my Grandfather's 96th birthday. Dad and Judy meet us in Memphis and even Uncle Todd joined us on the road trip to make the weekend really special for Grandpa. Friday afternoon, Mark and the girls took advantage of the hotel pool before dinner Friday night to one of Grandpa's favorite BBQ restaurants in town . We got time with the family Saturday morning but also got to enjoy the Memphis Zoo and local Children's museum in the afternoon. Saturday night was the big birthday celebration. Two of grandpa's former boy scouts and friends of my dad's joined us for dinner and really made the night special for grandpa. We drove home on Sunday and were grateful that Maryn was such a good traveler for the 5 hour road trip. I hope I lucky enough to live 96 years in good health and have my family there to help me celebrate!
Tonight was the annual Father Daughter Enchanted Ball. This was Neveah's 3rd year at the dance but it was Maryn's first. We weren't sure how Maryn would do but we talked alot about the special night and she seemed pretty excited when we got her special dress for the big event.
I set up my studio lighting to capture the perfect picture of Daddy and his darling daughters. A few other girls and their Dad's got their pictures done before the dance as well. I think it captured the essence of the relationship with Mark despite the fact that it wasn't exactly what I was going for.
Mark said Maryn was on the dance floor most of the evening and if I can really get myself up to date on my Blog, I will post a little video clip of the dancing queen. Nevaeh was a bit more selective but danced with Mark off and on throughout the night. I love that Mark has this tradition with the girls. I think they are all so lucky to have this amazing father - daughter bond.
I got to shoot a few pictures of my beautiful ballerina girls tonight. I got one shot of the two girls together after 20 mintues of setting up all my lighting equipment and Maryn (my prima donna) walked off the set. I was happy to get the shoot!
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