Will's Big Debut

Will has been taking ballet and tap at Balletmet for several years now.  Always in the past, when the year ends, parents are invited to the last class to watch a little here's-what-we've-learned performance.  This year Will was advanced enough in ballet to participate in the Spring Performance- a three performance production put on at the Capitol Theatre to showcase all the levels of dance instruction that go on throughout the year.  And because Will is one of the rare male ballet students, he performed in all three shows in a dance number that included all the boys at Balletmet from Ballet I on up.  

It was really and truly amazing to see Will up on the stage dancing with the other boys.  I got goosebumps, tears came to my eyes, and I clapped and cheered like a maniac when the curtain fell. 

But it wan't just me- everyone in the audience whistled and yelled. The boys' dance was definitely a highlight of the show.  I overheard people talking about it at intermission and before and after each of the shows while my heart swelled with pride.

Best of all- Will loved it! I think he mostly liked hanging out with his buddies down in the dressing rooms when they weren't on stage.  After the Friday night show he couldn't wait to go back for the two shows on Saturday.  Seeing him have such an awesome experience was a memory I hope to hang onto for a while.

A dressing room selfie before the first show 

(mom's weren't technically allowed in the dressing rooms but you know us stage moms)

Will after the second show

Photography was not allowed during the performances, but Soren drew a pretty realistic representation on the iPad

Brayden Walsh

On April 30th my nephew was born!

Welcome to the world, Brayden Walsh Plummer!

We haven't met him yet, but in June we are going to his baptism. 

Can't wait to cuddle this little guy!

He Did It!

Soren graduated from Pre-School.

With pomp and circumstance he donned his cap and gown

Lined up with his classmates

Crossed the stage

And officially became a Kindergartener.

Rick and I both made him promise to stay small so I guess it's okay for now that his mustache is a juice mustache.

Goosebump Alert

A few months ago, Soren and I were spending a quiet Saturday morning building with Legos together and we had the following conversation:

Soren-  "Do you remember when I died?"

Me (trying to sound nonchalant)-  "No, I don't remember that. What happened?"

Soren-  "Remember? I fell out of a tree. And you put up a stone sign near where we lived."

After a little while he said, "It took me a long time to find you and get back into your tummy."

Operation Pink Flamingo

Rick turned 57 this year so I knew we had to celebrate in a big way.  

I will be eternally grateful to my friend, Angie, and her family who let me deliver 57 pink flamingos to their house

which they then assembled

packed them up in the trunk of their car

and delivered to our house under the cover of darkness so that Rick could awaken to a crazy pink surprise!  

He was tickled pink (heehee) and all the flamingoes are still in the yard

It looks like a regular Queen of Hearts Garden Party around here.

Right To Read Week

I wasn't going to enter the family cake contest for Right To Read Week at school this year.  There's just a lot going on right now.  This year's theme was weird- another throw back to 1865 in honor of the parish's 150th anniversary.  But seeing as we have won the contest the past few years and had a reputation to protect...

I totally cased this cake from Pinterest and found a book called 'Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig'

And smoked it. Again.

BAM!

Spring Campout

We returned to Camp Lazarus for the Spring Cub Scout Campout.  True to his word, Rick elected to spend the night in the comfort of his own warm bed so it was just me and the guys.

But look at this awesome camp site Super Mom set up!

In contrast to the Winter Campout, the Spring Campout included a lot more outdoor activities:

hot dog roasting

crawfish hunting

and an evening hike with owl spotting

Our Pack also did something really cool: a Flag Retirement Ceremony

I have to say I am a much bigger fan of Spring camping.  This was the view out of the roof of our tent in the morning.

And this was the sweet group of boys we shared the experience with

And don't worry- Larry, the crawfish, was returned to his natural habitat so he can live to play with future

 Boy Scouts another day.

Easter

We drove back to Ohio on Good Friday which seemed like a fitting way to spend a quiet day of reflection. Will pointed out the flaw in my thinking, though. By driving to South Carolina on a Friday during Lent and driving back on Good Friday, I had deprived my family of one of their favorite car snacks: beef jerky. Sorry, guys. Small sacrifices.

Luckily, our Lenten sacrifices were soon rewarded.  We woke up on Easter morning to find the Bunny had visited. 

It was hard to wait until after church to hunt eggs, but when the egg hunting began, it was a sight to see.

Happy Easter!

Charleston- Beach Time

On this trip to Charleston we stayed at Folly Beach, which was like visiting an old friend.  Folly is the beach where we hung out back when we were locals.  It was nice to see that is hadn't changed too much.  

The beach house we rented was a dream- the decks on the front of the house overlooked the ocean; the decks on the back of the house overlooked the marsh.  We had breathtaking views of all the sunrises and sunsets.

And loads and loads of beach time

Charleston- Charles Towne Landing

Charles Towne Landing is one of our favorite places to visit when we are in the Low Country.  It is a re-creation of the original English settlement in South Carolina with miles of beautiful walking trails, a wildlife park, and a replica of a colonial cargo ship.

 

Charleston- The Charleston Aquarium

We visited the beautiful aquarium and communed with many wild creatures, including albino alligators, lemurs, and eagles

Also mermaids

And Moray eels.

Charleston- Cooper River Bridge Run

We lived in Charleston during my high school years.  Charleston is a beautiful city that makes you wonder why anyone would ever live anywhere else.  Every year there is a 10K run over the Cooper River Bridge which spans the Charleston Harbor.  I ran that run several times... but that was (ahem) many years ago.

  

We love  to go back to Charleston every chance we get.  My brother goes back almost every year to run the Cooper River Bridge Run.  This year (long story short) I ran with him.

It was an amazing experience.  I was mostly amazed that I was able to run most of the 6.2 miles.  It helped that we paused for a few rest breaks to take selfies.

I was amazed to see this hero running in full gear... and to find out that his name is Smiley! (No, I didn't recognize him from the family reunion; it was printed on his uniform).  We greeted each other as cousins and ran together for a bit.

I was truly amazed to bump into my amazing friend, Stephanie, who was a resident at Children's Hospital a few years ago and now lives in Charleston. She ran dressed as shark for some reason (I didn't ask. I just figured that was something awesomely athletic people like her do).

We celebrated with some of my favorite kind of selfies: 

Finish Line Selfies!

Just To Recap

There were a lot of good snows this winter.  And we just happen to live very close to the best sledding hill in Columbus.

Will catches some air

Soren in mid-wipeout

The moment before stuff just got serious