Dancin' in the Street {2013}

Last weekend, the little pumpkin danced in her third recital! I skipped out on being a backstage mom this year and boy, was it nice to just enjoy the show - ha!!

This year she was in a ballet/tap/jazz combo class for slightly older girls.  She was the youngest in the group but she was able to keep up and did great!  For the recital, her class did a jazz number to Dancing in the Street.

I'm so glad that I took a few minutes to snap these shots of Grace the night of the dress rehearsal because the day of the actual recital she was not feeling 100%. She was a trooper though and danced beautifully!

Goodness, this is like looking 10 years into the future...her own pose.  *I think we're in trouble.*

Grace, I love that you give it your all when you're dancing.  We love to watch you doing what you love on that stage.

Grace and Savannah...best friends!

Little brother had to {reluctantly} squeeze in for at least one pic!!

With her fan club :)

Through the years...

Keep that light shining bright within, my sweet girl!

Dear Grace,
Congratulations on completing your third year of dance.
We are SO proud of you!
XOXO,
Mama, Daddy and Hudson
 

Sailing into FIRST!

Well, it's official...we are now on SuMMeR bREaK!!

I will post the littles' first/last day of school pics in the next couple of days but first I have to share the super fun end-of-the-year party my Co-Room Mom Alicia and I put together for the little pumpkin's kindergarten class. Hudson's last day of K-3 preschool was a luau but it was kids-only so I don't have pics :(

Since Grace's class theme was "Whales", we decided to tweak it a bit and go nautical with this...

..and ended up with this!

So excited on Party Day!!

We recycled {last year's} party favor gift idea to send these to her classmates...

Printable via {here} and if you're looking for an inexpensive end of the year gift, this one was just $8 for 20 kids!  (straws at the dollar store 5/$1.00 and kool-aid from Target 5-pack/$0.85)
I made these cute little tags for every child...

...and attached them to {these} fun canvas bags from Oriental Trading!

The parents sent in favors to put in the bags.  This was some of the loot...

One of the parents sent in this fun pool toy with Ms. V's favorite saying - love it!

The littles have been blessed with wonderful, Christian teachers thus far.  I can't tell you enough what an answered prayer that is!!  Ms. V collects James Avery charms and I knew this little anchor charm would be a sweet addition to her collection.  Not only did it go perfectly with our theme, but anytime I see anchors I always think "anchored in the Lord".

We decorated the room with flags...

had sailor hats for all the kids...

...and we couldn't leave Captain V out!

We kept the menu simple but the kids loved it! 

Hot Dog Sailboats...

Catch of the Day goldfish crackers...

Patriotic Fruit Skewers...

And some adorable little Whale Cookies...

...all tied together with simple cups and flatware.

We gathered our little sailors for - what else - the Sailor Relay Race!

They weren't excited or anything...

The Red Team was off to a good start...

 But the Blue Team wasn't giving up easy...

In the end, the Red Team managed a win!

But both teams enjoyed some fun treats!

The sailors in the Whale Tank had a super secret surprise for Ms. V...

I can't believe all of you kept this sweet picture a secret!!

Time to enjoy those tasty treats!

One last special treat...

Snowcones!

Yum!!

Memories...

Final class picture...
{we missed you, Jeffrey!}

THANK YOU Ms. V for making this a year all of these littles will never forget!

And with that, another milestone...the little pumpkin is now officially a FIRST GRADER!!