Recital Pictures

Here are some pictures of the dress rehearsal for Maddie's recital (could not take pictures during actual recital) and pictures the night of the recital.

Maddie's class taking a bow at the end
Maddie with some of her dancing buddies

Maddie doing some moves with her tambourine.

Here is Maddie before the recital with her cousin Jessi who danced at the same studio until she graduated last year. She worked there this past fall and is working there this summer as well. She actually helped with Maddie's class the night of the recital and got to go out on stage with Maddie for the finale where they took a bow.

Here is Maddie with her dance teachers, Miss Charlene and Miss Katie.

Gaga and Apple came to watch Maddie dance.

Mimi and Poppa came to see her.

And her great aunt "Tiger" and of course Jessi.

Davis stayed with Matt's grandparents, but we wanted a picture with him after the recital as well.

There were some painted horses around Cary Academy, so we decided to take a couple of pictures of Maddie posing on the horse. She loved all of the pictures and wearing the makeup.

Maddie had an extra headband, so she wanted Davis to wear it.

Sesame Street Live!

A few weeks ago we saw that Sesame Street Live was coming to the RBC Center here in Raleigh. The thought of going had not really crossed our minds until we found out that all of the seats on opening night (with the exception of the floor seats) were only $12. We decided that that was a price that we couldn't beat and hoping that the kids would have a good time, we went ahead and purchased four tickets. We never would have guessed that we would have as much fun as we did. The week of the show Maddie (and Davis to some extent) were both excited. But when we hit the concourse of the RBC Center their excitement level went through the roof. They saw Sesame Street balloons, souvenir stands, and signs all over the place and it seemed as if they both thought they were actually on Sesame Street. Davis was running around with excitement constantly repeating "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo, Elmo!" We also ran into the boy from Maddie's dance class dressed in his Elmo pajamas. He and Maddie had their picture taken together and then it was inside for the show.
The show itself was fantastic. Both of our children were mesmerized by the characters, the singing, and the dancing. They were completely engaged for the entirety of the show. The only disappointment Maddie had was having to leave without being able to give Elmo a hug. (I guess next time we'll be coughing up the dough for the floor seats, huh?) Here are some pictures of the big night that we thought you would enjoy.

Dancing with Maddie and Davis

Our kids love to dance! And we love watching our kids dance! We thought that you all might enjoy some of their recent dance moments as well.

The first video is of Maddie and Davis dancing along with Dancing with the Stars:

The "Chicken Dance" at the BBQ:

The "Cha-Cha Slide" at the BBQ:

And a clip from Maddie's Dress Rehersal (Amy had Davis on her lap while she was filming, which explains the two or three occassions when the camera isn't directed towards Maddie, but still a great chance for you to see Maddie in action):

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Pictures are worth a 1,000 words - so I'll do my best to keep the words to a minimum. (Besides, we know you're just here to look at the pictures).

There was a little dancing . . .

a little fishing . . .

a little construction . . .

a little camping . . . (not really - it was more like playing in a camper)

a little jet skiing . . .

a little boat riding . . .

a little tubing . . .

a little dance recitaling . . .

and a lot of fun!!!

Babysitting our buddy

Earlier in May we watched our friends' little boy so that they could go to a rehearsal dinner. He is 14 months old and we try to have a playdate with him and his mom about once a week. We all had a great time and you can tell from the pictures that the kids love playing together. They played in their room with the different toys, did some dancing and then we pulled out some pots and pans and cookie sheets and magnetic letters. They had a ball with these!

Here Maddie and Luke are dancing together :)

Pullen Park

We are very blessed in Raleigh to have lots of good parks to visit. One of our favorites is Pullen Park, so a few weeks ago we took the kids on Matt's day off. Pullen Park has a carousel, a train, boats, a playground and picnic area with a pond . It was a little chilly, but the kids didn't seem to mind! Here are some pictures from our family outing. Maddie riding the carousel. She was on a rabbit that went up and down and loved it!

Davis started out on a horse, but as soon as the carousel started moving he was reaching for me and shaking with fear. Our little boy that jumps from couches and loves for his daddy to throw him "uh-high" was not too sure about these horses and other animals that move up and down. I tried to put him on a giraffe that did not go up and down, but he wanted none of it. I just ended up holding him and leaning and watched Maddie while the carousel went round and round. There were a couple of times he tried to get down - I think he just wanted off! Maybe when he gets a little older we can try again.

Next, we walked over to the pond to look at the ducks, geese, and even some turtles. I have a cute story about feeding the ducks I'll tell you a little later.

There is not a whole lot of playground equipment at Pullen Park, but the kids enjoyed "riding" the truck and the lion and sliding down the slide.

Matt with the kids on the train - I think Davis was a little hesitant after the carousel ride.

Here is me with Maddie and Davis on the train - they both loved it! After we rode the train we went and had a picnic lunch. We saved our bread crust to feed the ducks. The kids really enjoyed this - especially Davis who loves to throw everything! As we were finishing throwing our bread a couple of ladies from an assisted living facility came up and Davis started giving them the eyes and one of the ladies gave him her snack crackers to throw the ducks. Right about the time he finished one of the "chaperones" with the lady came up with a whole loaf of bread. We felt bad that the lady may have given up her afternoon snack for Davis, but she didn't seem to mind. They actually seemed to get a kick out of watching Maddie and Davis throw the bread and crackers to the ducks.

Matt took this picture so you would get an idea of the size of train that we were on and how it rides around the park and over bridges.

Last of the Easter pics

It was too cold outside, so we just took a few pictures inside before the kids went down for their naps.



With Mimi and Poppa - can you tell Davis is saying "Cheese!"?

Davis checking out his basket

Maddie checking out her Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy.

Maddie trying out her new magnetic fishing pole.

Davis taking a shot on his new "basketball goal" - the boy loves balls and because of the limited amount of space we felt this was the best way to go.