Let the Children Come

Ashlyn had so much fun at the dress rehearsal for her dance recital! There were a ton of 3-5 year old little girls (and a boy or two) running around, looking absolutely adorable in their costumes. Hearts In Step, Ashlyn's Christian dance school, had three two separate recitals--one for the "babies" (3-5 year olds) and another for the older students, which was performed twice. Interspersed throughout the little girls' recital were performances by some of the older students, so they were a part of the dress rehearsal as well. After Ashlyn's class's rehearsal, she would NOT leave the auditorium (even though we were both SO hungry!) until all the classes had done their dances. I just love the bottom middle picture in the collage above of her watching the older girls!

I loved watching Ashlyn's recital--I was the epitome of Proud Mama! The theme of the recital was "The King Is Waiting" and throughout the performance, pieces of the Lord's Prayer were up on the screen behind the students. Ashlyn's class danced to the sweet song "Let the Children Come" by Hillsong. Throughout the year, the students were learning about the Lord's Prayer, in age appropriate ways. I feel so blessed to be able to have Ashlyn taking dance lessons at such a God-honoring school and with the most fabulous teacher, Sarah Grace!
Our neighbors, Brian, Kristi, Elizabeth & Leah came to watch Ashlyn dance. They were so sweet--they even brought her flowers! Elizabeth loved the recital and has decided to take ballet with Ashlyn in the fall. The girls couldn't be more excited!

Hey Babe, wanna ride?

A wedding...minus the bride and groom

Some good friends of ours got married outdoors at a beautiful park. Kyle was involved in the music portion of the wedding, so we attended the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner and brought the kids. You know me, I couldn't resist taking (and, ok...maybe staging) a few pictures.
I got a few pics of the bride and groom, but was way more into chasing my kids around the ponds and waterfalls. Sorry Ben and Krista!

Umm...

It was Parent Watch Week at Ashlyn's dance class and we moms had a great time busting out our cameras and video cameras, flashing away like the paparazzi. It was so fun to see how far our girls had come.

Ummm...then there was Maguire. At the dance school there is a "borrow bin" of shoes in case someone forgot or doesn't have shoes. Maguire loves to play in the "borrow bin" and Parent Watch Week was no exception! He didn't want to be left out, so he grabbed a pair of tap shoes and stomped his feet in front of the mirror. Ha ha ha {sigh}...Oh Maguire, what are we gonna do with you??

Beacon Hill Ballerinas

As sort of a dress rehearsal to the dress rehearsal, Ashlyn's dance class (along with the rest of the preschool and primary classes) performed their recital piece at Beacon Hill nursing home. I wasn't able to attend because I was co-hosting a bridal shower, but Kyle, Maguire and Kyle's parents went to support her. Imagine my surprise and pride when I called Kyle to see how it went and he said she was the ONLY one in her class to actually dance! She's got a little more of her daddy in her than we realized :)

Maguire, Ash and Aubrey. It cracks me up how Maguire is looking at Aubrey!

Sarah Grace (the BEST dance teacher EVER!), Lydia, Aubrey, Nadia, Lydia, Becca and Ashlyn

The only one who danced!

In John Deere Green

Maguire goes absolutely nuts to ride on the John Deere with Kyle! I always assumed he'd enjoy the tractor, but I don't think I expected quite this obsession. Luckily my cousin Jen's little guy likes John Deeres as well, so we've gotten a few green and yellow hand-me-down T-shirts. The only problem with that is once he puts one on, Maguire doesn't want to take the "chacker" shirt off--he wants to sleep in it and keep it on the next day. Ah well...I used to care about things like that ;)
He's just 2-1/2 now, but I'm sure the time will be here before we know it that he'll be cutting our lawn by himself!

The week after school ended the classes had class picnics. We had a great time at the park! I'll admit I was a bit paranoid about the river because Maguire insisted on escaping down to the river any chance he got! And when he wasn't trying to get to the river, he was escaping to the parking lot (no doubt to get to the car which contained his binky) so that one of the dads had to bring him back to me! Good grief...not too attentive, am I? Either way all the kids had a great time and it was a fun "last hurrah". We will miss so many things about 3-yr-old preschool including the teacher, the kids, and the parents.

My sweet 3-year-old-preschool graduate!

Elizabeth and Maguire "sword"fighting with sticks

These kids are gonna MISS Mrs. Stoufer! They ALL loved her like crazy!

For Mrs. Stoufer's end of the year gift, another mom and I put together a photobook of the entire year for her. It turned out awesome and she loved it! We also got her a gift card, but that's not as "fun" :)

The whole class

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA lately! I'll try to slowly update my blog...mostly so that I don't forget what's happened in my life ;)

Last Day

...Of preschool! I can't believe my baby is done with her first year of preschool! I've decided that I'm an end-of-the-year-crier. Some parents cry on their child's first day of school, but I think I'll be one of the moms who cries on the last day. When I think of all that my kids have done, how much they've grown over the past year, how much they've learned, how much I'm going to miss (or not--who knows?) their teachers & the kids/parents in their class...I just get emotional!

Ashlyn and I both loved Mrs. Stoufer! I will definitely miss her...but I look forward to when Maguire will have her in a year :)

At the final chapel, Pastor Love (LOVE him!) gave each child a blessing: "May Jesus bless you and keep you happy."

While we will not be sending our kids to Christian schools (financially it's not really an option, plus we're in an incredible public school system), I am so grateful for the opportunity to send them to this Christian preschool, even for just a few years. The chapels have been wonderful and the teachers are committed Christians as well. The most incredible thing Kyle and I have witnessed with Ashlyn this year, due mostly to Pastor Love's chapels, is that Ashlyn has learned to pray the most heart-melting sincere prayers. She's our little prayer warrior--she almost always volunteers to pray before meals and bedtime and remembers to pray for things/people that we sometimes forget.
I'm so excited that Maguire will be able to attend (one day a week) the same preschool in the fall. He'll be in the Young 3's program on Fridays while Ash will be there M/W/F. Mac is pumped to be going to school like a "big boy"!