Seriously!

Every time I view my own blog here, I think to myself "we need an updated family picture!"  Which is all fine and good except I have bad hair and am waiting patiently for my long-lost and much-waited-for hair stylist to return to the land of hair styling or fit me into her crazy schedule - which hasn't happened yet.  So I can't make an appointment with our photographer until I know when my hair will be back to super cute.  The waiting might kill me and Erica might be two before it happens!  Maybe I'll just have to suck it up and let my Chi do it's magic to rid me of bad curls for semi-cute hair and just schedule the photos!  I am so not a patient woman and this is killing me!

Spring!

The best part about spring is that now we can gather in the driveway with the neighbors on random and spontaneous occasions just to shoot the breeze.  I think of it as the neighborhood coming out of hibernation after the long winter.  We spent a lovely hour with the neighbors last night on one such occasion.  I was stinky and sunburned from my two and a half hour run in the cloudy afternoon - who remembers sunscreen when you don't need sunglasses! - and thoroughly enjoyed chasing Erica and her BFF from next door away from the road while trying to have adult conversation.  Erin was a big sister in perfect form chasing the babies half the time to give the mommies a break while the daddies stood looking on with beers in hand ready to step in if they actually ran toward the house instead of toward the road.  Erin was outside helping Clint with the yard work - she's grounded and couldn't play with her friends so I think this was her brilliant out-of-the-box way to get outside - and came in to tell me that there was a party going on and that I needed to come out.  Mark my words, she will always be some kind of party planner or coordinator of her social scene!  Erica was happy to trade climbing up and down on the couch - her new favorite pastime - for running toward the street giggling while people chased her.  We have such amazing neighbors and I can't wait for the rainy season to be over so we can enjoy the outdoors even more!

Dance season in full swing

We are two competitions into this dance competition season with three more to go.  Erin, who you'll remember had a very hard time adjusting to her old studio closing last year, said to me the other day that she is so happy she is at Synergy.  She still misses the friendships she developed at Stars but she likes the dancing here at Synergy much better.  Mom likes knowing that all the hard work and effort I spent running around over the summer to find the perfect dance studio resulted in the very best decision, even in hind sight.  Synergy has exhibited total domination in the first two competitions - to the point that it almost gets embarrassing as they are reading first place after first place... almost.  But even better is the way Erin has grown as a dancer in the past year with the amazing technique and instruction and drive to push each dancer to the best of their ability.  I never want it to be about anything competitive - winning isn't what it's about - and it is so nice to see her still flourishing and loving to dance and tumble.  I hope she never grows tired of it because I will never grow tired of watching her.  Of course, Daddy would rather save the money we spend every month for dance and spend it instead on a boat.  But, as Erin shot back at him the last time he said it (in a super sassy voice...) "I can dance all year, Daddy but you can only boat for a couple months in the summer so it isn't a good trade".  That's my girl!  My beautiful dancing girl!