Tiny Dancer

Arianna's dance recital was a hit. She was such a big girl and she made the entire family extremely proud of her. We all watched in amazement as she took to the stage and danced her little tush off. After the dance she collected bundles of flowers and we all left to attend an after-party at Cousin Mikayla's house. Times like these are truly priceless.

Getting the girl ready

Hair is all done!

Time for makeup! (On a three year old.... crazy!)

With Dallie all dolled up!

With Gramps

Meme, Arianna, Auntie Nat and Cousin Mikayla

Arianna, Cousin Mikayla, Rylan and Cousing Matthew

Arianna and Meme

Cousin Kayla, Rylan and Arianna

Dress Rehearsal

My girl is getting ready for her big day, Sunday May 17th, in which Arianna will make her debut as an expert in ballet. This past Saturday was her dress rehearsal where the girls practiced being on the big stage! Seeing as we cannot take photos of the actual performance, I took plenty of pics during rehearsal to show off. We can't wait to see the girl in action!

Easter Bunnies

We had a wonderful Easter! Rylan and Arianna loved their Easter baskets and could not get enough candy (although I sure had my fill). Mem, Dallie, Papa, Liam and Chase all came over to help the us celebrate the morning and we enjoyed watching the kids tear the house apart during their hunt for dozens of Easter eggs. The amount of candy the kids collected was a bit obscene. I had to keep sneaking candy out of their baskets and hide the goodies in the kitchen cabinets so it would not all get eaten at once. The sugar high the kids were experiencing was getting out of control and I had to put a lid on it by telling them the candy was all gone.

Here are some pics from the days events:

Newport News

Our family recently visited Newport Rhode Island a few weeks ago. It was sort of nostalgic being back in that small state as Ryan and I had lived there when we were first married. Verizon sent me to work the Providence campaign for a little while until I had the desire to move back to Mass and thank goodness I did because I became pregnant a month or so after moving. The trip made me think of all of the good times we use to have with all of our work friends; going out all of the time and not having much responsibility in our home lives. I do miss those fleeting moments but I love where I am in my life right now. I am just glad I have been able to have so many exciting experiences and opportunities that I will be able to share with my children as they get older.

Anyhoo, enough of living in the past. The visit was so much fun and the kids had a great time. We stayed right on the ocean in a townhouse called the Oceancliff Resort. At night we had a great view of the Newport bridge all lit up. We took plenty of trips to the different area parks and I brought my parents along so Ryan and I could go out for nights by ourselves and have some alone time.

Unfortunately I broke my camera while at one of the parks. I was lifting up Rylan and my camera fell out of my pocket and smashed on the ground. I was able to take a few shots of our time there, but wish I could have gotten more.

The Oceancliff

Arianna's first day at Preschool

Today was Arianna's first official day at preschool. It was all she could talk about this past weekend. When we took her for a tour last Friday, she fell in love with the school right from beginning. Arianna's teacher, Mrs. Ginny, really got her involved in some super fun activities with arts and crafts and she wanted no parts of leaving to go home. I seriously had to drag her out the door with remnants of crafts in my hand.

This morning Arianna woke up and told us all that she was a big girl now and was going to preschool. We got her ready and took her to school, which by the way, is right across the street from us. She seemed a little shy when she stepped through the school doors, but seemed to warm up as soon as she saw her teacher. I snuck out the door when I noticed that she was starting to become emersed in a game. I was not about to make a production about leaving or she would not be happy. I am currently at home writing this a half an hour after dropping her off so I will be sure to inform everyone of how it went.

Here are some pre-preschool pics from this morning: