Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm so lucky to have remained close to the same group of girlfriends since high school (actually 3 of them since elementary)! After we graduated college, we agreed that we would get together at least once a year for a trip...we successfully went on one two years after we graduated college and haven't been on one since...until now! Now that we're all married and half of us are moms, we were all anxious to get together for some much needed girl time. So we opted for a trip to Hot Springs at the Arlington Hotel. Although the trip was very short, we still had a blast! There was so much to catch up on now that we're all "grown up".

We ate dinner at Rolando's. If you haven't been, it's delish! It was so crowded that we were practically sitting on top of the people next to us. Don't you love Aaron and Leslie's view?

My bestie, Sarah, even came down from NW Arkansas...

...just so we could take our traditional picture. You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose...except for me and Sarah. Ha! We've struck this pose since high school (too many times to keep count of).

Rickie, Ashley, and Kathryn are some of the sweetest girls to have as friends.
I love these girls!

And I love getting to be silly with them!

And I love just hanging out with them!

Thanks, girls, for a fabulous getaway!

Where's BenBen?

Did you notice that Benjamin wasn't at ME's dance recital? For obvious reasons, I chose to take him to Uncle Bebo and Aunt Kari's house so he could play with McKenzie. He really loves his Uncle Bebo, so I don't think he missed out on anything despite his expression below!

Watch out Dancing with the Stars!

Today was a BIG day at the Dees household...ME's first dance recital!!! And to start the day off, in honor of Sarah Gilmore, we skipped church (I know that sounds bad) and rolled ME's hair.

Here's proof that I really tried to roll her hair...I even sprayed the heck out of it!!!

ME's attitude made me really nervous when we backstage getting ready for the recital. She was soooo not interested in putting on makeup (which is totally not like her any other day of the year, btw!), wearing her costume, or taking pics as you can see above.
However, coloring seemed to be on all of the dancers' minds.

ME: "Really, Mom? You have to take this pic now? I have some toloring to do!"

Although ME didn't seem like she was really up for performing today, she actually blew us all away when her class came out on stage! She performed better than she had ever done at any of the dance practices!!! I'm so glad considering she had another entourage show up, too! Thanks, SuSu and Big Ben for coming to see ME's debut!

And she loved getting to pose with all of her entourage members, too!

My favorite moment...getting her first dance flowers from her daddy!

Happy 4th Bday, Claire and Lila!

After dress rehearsal today, ME and I went to a double birthday party for Claire and Lila at Pigtails and Crewcuts. The girls got to dress up as princesses, get their hair fixed and nails painted, while the boys got mohawks. ME was very tired, but she still had a good time with her friends.

ME was excited that she and Claire chose the same princess dress. She just wasn't excited about wearing it!

Davis got a cool green mohawk. I love how ME is in the background checking him out!
Davis is probably smiling because he knows his daddy would never touch that stuff!

I love that we have a little princess!

ME: "I wish I could get my hair curled".

All of the other girls got their hair straightened...ME got a hair bow. The joys of straight hair.

ME's 1st Dress Rehearsal

I can't believe that ME just finished her first year of dance and we just got back from her first dress rehearsal! It's funny how things look so different in your eyes as the mom rather than the participant. I had so much fun getting to watch her practice on the big stage at Robinson. It was hard for me to not get up there myself, but I'm sure Miss Tommie and Miss Sheri would not have appreciated that. ;)

Doesn't she look like a natural?
But don't be fooled...after each step, she would strike this pose.

Until she got to "widdle" her hips...her favorite move.

ME had an entourage at her rehearsal. McKenzie had so much fun watching all of the pretty girls dance and she would wave at them when they walked off the stage. Do we have another dancer in the family, Uncle Bebo and Aunt Kari???

McKenzie and Benjamin were just as fun to watch as the girls on stage.

I loved watching them all try to find their spots but keep their on the teachers at the same time.

The infamous posing outside of Robinson Auditorium. I can't tell you how many times I stood here myself.

Daddy Mike even got to come watch our little dancer practice.

Benjamin loves his Ron and playing in the "wawer"!

Memorial Day 2011

Thank you to everyone who has ever fought for our country!!! We so love our freedom and are very appreciative of having one more reason to hangout with our family!

If you could only hear her say The Pledge of Allegance...your heart would melt.

Instead, you get to see Benjamin having a meltdown over not getting another bite. Ha!

So he opted for some goldfish.

McKenzie, on the other hand, helped LaLa make homemade ice cream...mmm!!!

After we ate with my family, Drew and I took the kids to the river to watch the fireworks. Just an FYI, don't ever go right at 9, because they never start on time. Ugh for those of you that have little ones like us! Luckily, there was a GREAT hill to slide on to pass the time!

I lost count of how many times we went up and down this hill. It counted as my workout for the day.

Benjamin was like the Energizer Bunny. If only I had half of his energy!

Benjamin had more interest in sliding on the hill instead of taking pictures.

Benjamin: "Fine, Mom! Take this picture and let me go. I have a hill to slide down!"

Two of my loves!

Haippy 3rd Birthday, Carter!

We went to "Carter-bug's" birthday party at his grandparents farm. It's always so much fun getting to ride horses!

Check out this little cutie! He's patiently waiting for everyone to finish singing to him so he can go have more fun.

Little Miss Sassy can always find time to pose for the camera.

Of course, Benjamin found a horse to ride. He liked this way better because it required no helmet!

ME preferred this style of horseback riding as well.

Poor ME...no girlfriends. But I think she's doing a great job of keeping those boys in control, though.