8 + hours in a car with 4 little ladies

Our first roadtrip of the summer season. 

Rookie mistake. 

I let the little ladies pack.

They had robes, slippers, stuffed animals, and no toothpaste.

So they had to use my boring, no princess, mint.

Then we drove, and drove, and drove, and drove. It took us just about 4.5 hours and we only needed one potty break...pretty good!

And it was all worth it!

We ventured up to see my cousins in Osceola, WI.  My cousin Pam's son graduated from HS and since I didn't actually take any pictures of the graduate, I 'borrowed' this one from his sister's FB.

Quite a crew!

 The little ladies had a great time playing with my cousins kids.

 And Lacey has a new bff~their dog Badger.  He was very patient and she was very bossy.

 Lacey's other bud for the day was Alex, my cousins son...apparently Lacey would like a big brother...sorry babe~we only have ladies.

The bonfire in the evening was perfect for keeping 'skeeters' away and roasting up marshmallows. The grand finale for the evening involved a christmas tree. They refer to it as 'dumpster diving for trees' After the holidays, they drive around and load up christmas trees that have been discarded and tuck them into their forest. Then for bonfire entertainment they pull out the now dried out prickly skeleton of a tree and toss it on the fire. It was like a giant sparkler! Amazing!

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Back at the motel we did some swimming.

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The next day, we checked one off the bucket list.  Visit another state.

We hopped over the Saint Croix/Mississippi River and stood in Minnesota for 10 minutes...just enough time to take some pictures of Taylor at Taylors Falls.

 My little lady and the big river.

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On the way home we stopped at momma's college alma mater.  I haven't been in Eau Claire for at least 13 years...but some things remained the same. 

The bridge.  I walked this bridge with temperatures below 0 and wind chills pushing -20 with barely my eyes peeking out underneath all my winter gear.  It's much more pleasant in June.

My second education occurred here...

And my third education occurred at the restaurant I worked at throughout my college years, which is now an empty lot...R.I.P Chi-Chi's~I still have the occasional waitressing nightmare where everyone wants to order at the same time and I'm pretty sure that I'll remember the dining room table numbers for the rest of my life.

After the nostalgia, we stopped for some Father's Day lunch...it was delish!

Our first road trip of the summer was a success.  The car ride home had a few more potty breaks than the way up...I'm guessing it was the swimming...extra water by osmosis. 

But next time I'll do the packing.

Recital Time

Weeks and months of tying tap shoes and ballet slippers came to an end today surrounded by sequins, ruffles, and feathers.

The girls were up very early this morning...they were so excited and I think a little anxious as well.

And as schedules go today was a doozie!

I was up until 3:00 am the night before practicing the spelling lesson I had to teach for my grad class...so their sparkly eyes at 6:00 were slightly unwelcome, but necessary.  We got going, showered and I did their hair before I left for Whitewater with strict instruction to not lay down or touch their hair for the next five hours~totally do-able!
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Chris and the grandmas on lady-to-lady defense took the girls to the dress rehearsal, had their pictures taken, and fed them lunch.  I pulled into the driveway with 3 minutes to spare and we were off to the recital!  Thank you soooo much Grandma Sue and Grandma Dar!

Lacey and Morgan with Miss Kristi~the dance teacher.

Molly is such a pro at this point...she had her stuff together, she knew her costume changes, her routines, and is right at home among the crazy mommas sewing, pinning, and spraying.

This was Lacey's first year in dance and she did an amazing job.  She knew her routine well and was very patient.  They danced to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  And what little girl doesn't love a  sparkle and a tutu!  (Though they were a little itchy in the beginning)

Lacey with her little neighborhood buddy Lily...they are quite a pair!

Morgan is sharing ballerina secrets.

This was Morgan's second year and she danced ballet to "Rainbow Connection".  Morgan sitting with her little friends backstage.

After applause, bows, curtsies,and flowers we headed back to the house for picture studio.  I just couldn't get enough cute pictures of my beautiful ladies!

Molly danced like a rockstar...girl has some moves!

Ballet was "Who Says", tap was "Rockin' Robin", and jazz was "Seize the Day".

She is shy in so many places and situations, but on the stage she shines. She smiles and composes herself with such grace~I couldn't be prouder.

Growing up so fast and into such a little lady!

June 2, 2012 "The Child Inside"