The Geometry of Butter

My oldest daughter is an enigma.  Sometimes she's all "like, you know" and "OMG" (the G being gosh in our house).  Then there are times when you would think she's a Mensa candidate in a little kid body.  She sometimes talks like she can't imagine what it would be like to only be a 9 year old girl. 

So, for some reason unbeknownst to me, my kids claimed they didn't know what a stick of butter was.  Granted, for table butter, we usually go with the tub and I reserve the sticks for cooking, but still.  So I was trying to describe to them what a stick was vs. the tub, when my oldest exclaims in sudden understanding, "oh, you mean it's a rectangular prism!" 

Yes.  That's what I meant. 

Free time, what free time?? and other ramblings

So, who said I was going to have lots of free time once all my kids started school???  School's been in for almost 2 months now and I'm still waiting for that free time.  Honestly, I think I'm more busy now, with less down time, than I was last year when I still had my youngest home 2 days a week and had shorter child free days. 
What's up with that??

It's been good though.  I do think my youngest likes being at the school with her big sisters.  But it'll all be over before I know it.  Then she'll be in 1st grade and then second before I know it, and then my oldest will be in...*gulp* middle school.  Oh, I don't even want to think about it!

And now fall is here/coming.  We are in that awkward stage of season change here in N. GA.  Some days are coolish, some days are warm, some days start out fairly chilly and then warm up to fairly not chilly.  Do you bring a sweater?  Wear pants?  Dare I bring out the boots? 
My general rule of thumb (and yes, I have a rule of thumb concerning the weather) for what to wear this time of year is, if the high is in the 70's, jeans with short sleeves.  If the high is in the 60's, long sleeves and jean and boots if the outfit calls for it. 

There are a few signs of color.  It's coming.  At the very least, it's definitely not summer anymore.  It's flummer. 

These pictures are from last fall.  The one above was taken on one of the days my youngest was home with me (she was in preschool 3 days a week).  I often take my kids on photo shoots just for fun.  Fun for me.

The picture below is my oldest playing in the leaves.  I can't wait for the leaves to change all the way so I can take new pics.  Fall is my favorite time of year! 

The Funnies

My husband was cleaning out a bedside drawer and came across an old cassette tape.  My 9 year old, who was near by, grabbed the tape and said, "Oooo, I wanna watch it!"
*sigh*

We were quizzing the kids on the books of the Bible by asking, what's the the 2nd book, the 5th book and so on.  When my husband asked what the 4th book was, my 7 year old was a little stumped.  So, he told her.  Numbers.  To which she replied, "26?"  And he said, "No, Numbers."  "18?" 


*(in case you are unfamiliar with the Bible, the 4th book is called Numbers.  It is not A number as my 7 year old was suggesting)  We thought it was funny.

Little Drummer Girl

My youngest jamming out with daddy and Mr. Dave.

She actually kept the beat pretty well. 

Something To Do

So, remember the dresser I said I bought at IKEA last Monday?  Well, that's what I did with my time last week.  If you are at all familiar with IKEA, you know what that means...

There were just a few pieces.  That's fine though.  I had a project to work on.  And UNINTERRUPTED time to do it! 

So, it took me 3 hours of uninterrupted time to get the above picture to look like this...

I told my 4th grade daughter when she got home that it took me all day to put this together.  She said, "all day?"  And I said, "well, 3 hours."  And she said, "that's not all day." 

*sigh*  It was all day to me. 

The next 2 days, I painted and then repainted the dresser.  Then I painted the knobs. 

This was a big, multi day project!  And I was not interrupted!  (If I had been interrupted, imagine how long it would have taken me.)

And now, it looks like this.  Ta Da!

(FYI, that rug next to the dresser is actually a really pretty green color, not the bugger brown it appears in the pic.  Camera phone/instagram)

Scroll back up.  Look at what it started as.  Now, look again at the finished product.  Yes, I'm proud of myself.  And I feel like I accomplished something. 

So, in summary, my first week of all my kids being at school was pretty busy (I did do more than just the dresser).  It was a good week.  I was not bored or even sad.  It was actually pretty busy. Next week all my exercise classes start up, the volunteer opps at the school pick up and Bible study starts sometime soon.  And then there's the cooking and the cleaning and the errands.  I'm pretty sure I'll have no problem staying busy.  

Here We Go Again

I'm back! 
Cause now all my kids are in school and I should have loads of time.  Maybe.  Sometimes.  For today, I have a few minutes.  Our hot water heater is on the fritz so I have to wait for the repair man to show up.  Sooo...that means I get to spend some time with you all. 

So, like I said, ALL my kids are in school now.  My youngest started kindergarten yesterday.  It was a bitter sweet day for me.  Fortunately, she went right in her classroom, all smiles, like she owned the place.  She has been around for a while, despite this being her first official year.  She's been countless times to eat lunch with her sisters, to help me volunteer at a party or something else in the classroom (even though you aren't supposed to bring siblings when you volunteer), been to carnivals, field days, and many other various school related events over the last 4 years that she's had a sister there.  But, the house is a little quiet.  It's just me.  and the cats.  and the turtle. 

Everyone keeps asking me what am I going to do with my time now that all my kids are in school.  The truth is, I don't know.  I don't have a big, grand plan.  That being said, I'm pretty sure I'll find things to keep me busy.  I'm hoping to be able to spend more time volunteering at the school (without a stow away).  I'm planning on getting my exercising done in the AM instead of putting it off until later in the day and actually doing it.  Maybe my house will be cleaner?  Maybe I'll become more organized?  I'll blog more? 

Yesterday, my first day, I went to IKEA.  I went with the intention of getting a chest of drawers for my oldest daughter's room.  It had been out of stock the last 2 visits,  so this time, I checked online before leaving and it said there were 10 in stock.  However, when I got there at 10:30 AM, there was only 1 left!  So, I snatched it up, paid for it and took it out to my car.  Then, I stopped and thought, "what else do I have to do?  why not go back in and do IKEA, WITHOUT kids??"  So, I did.  And that was most of my day.  I got home, ate lunch, straightened up a little (not too much.  I didn't want to set the cleaning bar too high on the first day), baked some cookies for the kids and then they were home.  It was a good day. 

This is my 3 darlings before school on the first day.  My oldest started 4th grade, the middle one (who is not in the middle in the picture.  She's on the left) started 2nd grade and my youngest, kindergarten.   Everyone was very excited. 

And what says back to school better than a picture of new shoes.  (although my middle child wore her nasty old tennis shoes from last year today.  I don't know why.)  2 of my kids opted for Toms this year.  My oldest went with classic chucks.  However, she has put in a request for some Toms of her own.

Getting off the bus, everyone was still smiling.  Always a good sign.

My oldest tried to escape my camera.  Does she think I'm new at this? 

And lastly, the pool bags have been replaced by backpacks on the back of the laundry room door. 
A little sad, but I'm ready for fall.  I know my hus can practically smell college football season. 

Another Blog

Check out my new photography blog;

http://mystorybookpictures.blogspot.com/2012/07/out-of-towners.html

A Break

Since it's been over a month since I've posted last, you may have already guessed that I am taking a bit of a break from Fish Out of Water.  I had hoped on telling you about our most recent trip to Disney (yes, we went again, and yes, I still love it) or my daughter's 5th birthday party that went off without a hitch, or about how it's been SO hot here and how thankful I am that we have a pool in our neighborhood, but I just haven't.  I've been otherwise busy.

As some of you know, I am a photographer.  Lately, I have been working on tweaking my photography business a bit.  So, I am posting now, to let you know that my break on Fish Out of Water will be extended.  I am going to be focusing on my business, which includes a blog of it's own.  I may, from time to time, direct you to posts on that blog from this one, but for now, you might not hear much from me.  Or you might.  You never know.  I never know. 
Thanks for reading. 

A Little Bragging

Gonna brag on my kids for a moment.

We just go their last report cards and CRCT test scores in the mail the other day.  (One kid was finishing 3rd grade and one 1st, in case you don't know/forgot). They did great.  They both got straight A's.  Actually it was straight 3's, but that's our county equivalent of an A.  On a side note, I am curious as to when they start making letter grades.  I thought maybe 3rd, but nope. 

Anyway, both girls also did great on the CRCT.  (The CRCT is the standardized test the kids take in the state of Georgia).  My oldest was one missed question from a perfect score in Math (she did not get that from me), and one missed question from a perfect score in Reading (maybe she got that one from me).  She also exceeded the standard in Language Arts and Science. 

My middle child who took a "practice" version of the test also did really well.  Since her version was only practice (first grade is not required to take the CRCT but our school has the kids take it so they will not be totally unfamiliar with it when they get to a grade when it is required), her results were not quite as specific.  However, she did exceed the standard in both Reading and Language Arts and was just a few points away from exceeding the standard in Math. 

We are very proud of both of them.  We have been very blessed as a family that so far, school has not been a struggle for anyone.  I know we have a long way to go and that may change some, but I think we are off to a pretty good start.

This picture was taken on the last day of school. 

Career Advice

My oldest daughter asked me the other day why do people at school keep telling her she can be anything she wants to be when she grows up.  I explained to her that not that long ago, women did not have all that many choices when it came to career.  I guess we've done a fairly good job of moving past that because in her 9 year old mind, in response to all these grown ups trying to be sure she knew she was a woman and people should be able to hear her roar, she was like, "duh." 

So my 4 almost 5 year old says she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up.  Awesome.  And a cute cowgirl she would be.

Old News

Yea!  It's summer!  (cause school it out here).  However, I am not prepared to do a summer post quite yet, so I will fill you in on some old news.  I think it was last week, we had a really bad hail storm, the worst I've ever seen.  Not so bad in size but very destructive in quantity and velocity. 

Of course the first thing I did was to grab my camera. 



The is the view out our front door.  Because it had been hot outside, the cold hail mixed with the warm ground made a very dense fog/steam effect.  It was kinda cool.

You might not know it to look at it, but this is our driveway.  (going off to the left)

It's kinda hard to see in this picture, but the hail stripped our poor Crape Myrtle of most of it's leaves.

And the aftermath.  There is supposed to be a sidewalk here.  The hail brought down with it lots and lots and lots of leaves.  The air was thick with a fresh pine smell.  As my kids said, it smelled like Christmas.  It did.  You could even smell it from inside. 

Our driveway was a MESS.

And this is our driveway after I spent about 45 minutes blowing it off.  This wasn't like blowing dry fall leaves.  These were heavy, wet, green leaves.  The poor blower could only handle so much before I had to help it out with the rake. 

The End of an Era

I have been becoming more and more aware lately that my little kids are growing up and I am on the verge of not having any little kids anymore.  And I can do nothing to stop it. 

Part of that is probably due to the fact that my youngest will start kindergarten in the fall.  And then I'll be all alone.  I was trying to explain it to my husband the other night.  For the past almost 10 years, my life, my job, has been about caring for at least one little one here at our home.  10 years is a pretty long time to have one job.  I've never had any other job that has lasted that long (neither has my husband for that matter).  And in just 2-1/2 short months, my job will be changing.  I'm not sure what it will entail, but I know it'll be different.  And they will be different. 

I feel like I am living that Subaru commercial where the dad leans in the car window to give, what we first see as a little girl, maybe 4 or 5, the car keys and instructs her on how to drive safely. Then they cut to the next frame and you see that the little girl is actually a teen ager and that the little girl is just how the dad still thinks of his daughter, illustrating how fast they grow up.

Today, my youngest graduated from preschool.  She's done with little kid school.  In the fall is big kid school.  I don't know what I'm going to do when she graduates from real school!!

They will all be big kids.  I know some of you with teens are probably laughing at me because comparatively speaking, mine are still little. But they are not little like they used to be.  They are not babies.  They don't need me like they used to.  Only one still calls me "mommy."  My oldest (who is only finishing up 3rd grade) has already set out "guidelines" of things I can do in public and things I cannot.  I try to respect these guidelines.  Right now she still wants me around, I just have to try to make sure we can keep it that way.  At least 2 out of the 3 will still hold my hand.

So, for now, I am trying to cherish the little things, like the way my 4 year old likes to tell me the same stories over and over again that make no sense and how my 7 year old literally races into a room when she has something to say, or how my 9 year old talks nonstop even when it seems obvious to me that I can't possibly hear her, she's still talking.   And how every time I leave the house, even if it's just for an hour long exercise class, they all want "huggies" before I go.  So, I'm try to cherish these things from my little ones... while I still can and hope that somehow, a little bit of this will last forever.

And no, this is not enough to make me want to have another baby. 

My 4 year old (in the middle) with 2 of her good friends from preschool and church at their school graduation party.

Bad Words and Cute Kids

There are some words that might kids are not allowed to say...
Of course, there are your regular, run of the mill cuss words that everyone knows that kids (or adults for that matter) shouldn't say.  I don't need to tell you what they are, right?  Well, I'm not.  If you don't know, then... I don't know what.
But in addition to those, there are a few words/phrases that my kids are not allowed to say.  These are not "bad" words in and of themselves, it's the meaning behind them coming from a kid that drives me crazy.

"No fair"-  I'm gonna say it.  Life is not fair.  In the words of a sign I saw hanging in Zaxby's, "Put your big girl panties on and deal with it."

"That's boring"- I'll admit.  I can sometimes be bored.  But I don't have to be.  And neither do my kids.  And honestly, the times I've heard my kids say this is not really because whatever they are referring to is even actually boring.  It's because they are lazily not even trying to appreciate it.  I want to teach them to try to appreciate most things in life, to think about things, not just expect to be wowed. 

"I don't care"-  This phrase just sounds rude to me.  Why don't you care?  You should care.  Care. 


I know there is at least one more, but I can't think of it right now.  I'll do an amendment to this post if it comes to me.

This picture shows 2 of my kids NOT saying inappropriate things.  And it's cute.

Happy Birthday

Happy 7th Birthday (last weekend) to my sweet girl! 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice?

I think most people see us as a family with all girls and think it must be all pink and princesses and tea parties at our house.

I'm here to say, not so. 

Our girls have taken to after dinner wrestling matches.  Two girls wrestle while the third judges.  After a couple of minutes, the judge will declare a winner and then those two will fight. 

Now, probably because they are girls, 6 out of 10 times, the wrestling match ends in tears, but it's all good fun.  And besides, I'd like to see a boy try to wrestle in a long skirt.  That takes talent!

My 7 and 4 year old wrestling.

The Curse of the King Size Bed

When we first got married my husband wanted a king sized bed. I did not. For some reason, I wanted to be close to my husband and at the very least be able to tell he was in the bed with me. That was 11 years ago. We now have a king bed. We've had it for a few years now. I will never go back. I can admit it. He was right, I was wrong. We should have gotten a king from the get go. It's the best of both worlds; close when you wanna be, space when you don't.

However, there is a drawback. I've gotten so used to our nice, big bed that now, when we travel, unless we are blessed with a hotel or family member that has king bed (and we rarely are), I can't sleep. There's just not enough room. A queen doesn't work like it used to.

We recently traveled to Texas for my brother in laws wedding.  We stayed in a pretty nice hotel.  However, whenever we stay with our kids in a hotel, we usually get one of those rooms with 2 beds and neither is a king.  At least they were queens.  So it wasn't horrible.  But it wasn't wonderful either.  And I was tired, so you would think I would have been able to sleep anywhere.  No so. 
And a full size bed... well, I won't even try that anymore. When faced with a double bed, we would rather opt for separate rooms. My husband, bless him, says he can't sleep without me and would be willing to give it a try. I just can't. Double beds were not made for regular size people. I don't know where the term "double" came from but it's not double anything.

So, we (I) are under the curse of the king size bed. It always makes coming home after a vacation a little more sweet.

A Good Smell

It's starting to smell like summer.  I can't quite explain it.  It just is. Can't wait until the pool opens. 

I Hate Going to the Post Office

I went to the post office the other day. Twice. In one day.  The first time they told me my package would be $35 to mail because although it did not weigh that much, the size of the box hung over the edge of their little scale thing and so the price rose from 9 dollars and something to 35. $35 to mail a stinking package!! *breathe* The whole point for me to mail it in the first place was so I could save myself some valuable suitcase space when we fly to Texas this weekend. (I was mailing puffy flower girl dresses). I could have flown them in their own suitcase for cheaper than that.

So I said, no thank you, and left in search of a smaller box.

I did find a smaller box. I had to squash down the puffiness of the dresses, but they fit. Then I returned to the post office. Unfortunately it was around lunch time. You know what that means. The post office staff all but disappears leaving one and a half people behind to work the office during a time when, rightly so, a lot of people go to the post office. Why so many people at lunch you say? Cause it's their lunch break and that's when they have time to go. Evidently, every other place of business in the universe understands this and does their best to accommodate a larger crowd. The post office, who as we all know is run by great business minds, *heavy sarcasm implied*, does the opposite and cuts it's staff at lunch. After all, they gotta eat too, right?

And then there is the oh, so friendly faces you are greeted by after you have waited in line for 20 minutes and watched 5 people go through the old man's line while the lady with the 'tude on her face gets through ONE person.

Customer service anyone???

And they wonder why they aren't making any money.

So I mailed my package. $9.40. Exact same thing in the box, but a $25.60 difference.  ???

**Update;  To the credit of the USPS, my very important package did arrive and on time.  A very sincere thank you.

Us

I like this picture

Play Dough and Princesses

I've mentioned before how much my kids like play dough.  I know some parents are a little scared of it because if it gets dropped on the carpet and then stepped on, it's there for good.  And yes, that's happened to us.  In fact, we just replaced play dough riddled carpet in our basement.  And until I can get a suitable mat to put under their little art table that goes in the basement, they will not be playing with play dough down there any time soon. 
But, I still love play dough.  It entertains them for a really long time and I am always amazed at the creations they come up with.  For example, my middle child created various Disney characters this afternoon.  Just check out this detail! 

This is Jasmine from Aladdin, laying on the magic carpet.

My 4 year old had to get in on the action.  She made a sleeping mask.

This is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, complete with her spinning wheel. 

This is the girl from the new Disney movie, Brave.  This movie isn't even out yet,  but the girls have seen enough commercials that they know a little about what she looks like.

This is Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Lumiere, the candlestick (the red thing is a couch.)


This is Rapunzel, from Tangled.  Notice the briad in her hair complete with flowers (as seen in the movie).  The thing to the right is a bridge.


This is Tiana from Princess and the Frog.  Since she spends much of the movie as a frog, she is sitting in the water amongst the lily pads.

And just to wrap things up, this is the leaning tower of play dough (similar to the leaning tower of Pisa). 

Here and There

It's hard not to let the kids stay up a little bit later now that it stays light later.

I mopped yesterday.

I don't believe in homework (or leprechauns)

I love croissants.


I would love to have a croissant in France.

Is it bad that sometimes during my boot camp class when the teacher says during an exercise, "you should be feeling this in your quads" and I feel it in my calves??

I am sad that I have to sign up my youngest kid for kindergarten in a couple of weeks.

Now that we have "the cloud" I get dings on my iPad every time my husband has set a reminder for himself on his phone. I've already gotten 5 dings today and it's not even 10:30 AM. He's a busy guy.

I am wondering if I should get Rosetta Stone to relearn French (4 years in H.S.) or Spanish so I can talk to the painters when they come to our house.

I spring cleaned my kids drawers today. All long sleeves were replaced with short.

I wish we had a beach home to go to for spring break.

I HATE the word staycation.

Yeah for Spring!

Ahhhh, Florida

If you read my previous post, you know we just got back from a trip to Florida.  There's just something about being in the sunshine state.  To me, it seems to run at a much slower pace than we do here in the outskirts of the ATL.  It's quieter.  It's peaceful.  I don't know if I feel that way because I associate it with a less complicated, less stressful time of life, being that I grew up there and as a kid was mostly oblivious to the stinkiness and crud that life so often throws at us grown ups.  It may be that I feel that way because nowadays, when we go to FL it's for vacation or at least a time to get away from the everyday grind.  Whatever the reason, it's nice. 

My parents (who live in FL and are who we stay with while there) live in a town that although is not all that small number wise, it still has a small town feel to it and it's far enough aways from bigger cities that it's not really all that affected by them.  Some days, I long for that small town, lazy, slower pace feel.  I wish my husband didn't have to commute to work everyday.  My dad's office is maybe 10 minutes from my parents' house.  That would be nice. 

The town they live in is in a great location too.  45 minutes from Disney, an hour from the beach.  Nice. 

I do love where we live though.  Because we are so close to the city, we are afforded a lot of amenities that people in a small town are not.  I love the season change we experience here.  I love that we are so close to the mountains as well. 

My parents talk from time to time about moving up this way, but then where would we go on vacation (for free)??  Where would we go to relax and get away from it all (for free)??  Right now, we have our own little vacation home in central Florida (my parents' house).  It's nice to know it's there. 




My parents town is known for it's many lakes.  One of our favorite things to do when we visit is to go feed the ducks and swans (and evidently pelicans).




Being that it was not a beautiful, sun shiny day, the poor ducks had not been fed all that much so they were very excited to see us. 




This is a picture of another one of my favorite places in their small town.  It's these beautiful gardens on the edge of one of the lakes that are just very peaceful.  They even have classical music quietly playing in the background.  The kids want to know if we can make our backyard look like this.  (This picture does not do it justice).



A Fun Day at the MK

A gloomy yet magical looking castle

This past weekend, we surprised the kids with a trip to the Magic Kingdom and it was fabulous. The only non fab part was that we only got to go to the MK and only for one day.

All along, they knew we were going to Florida to visit my parents. They also knew we were going to "Disney." I put that in quotes because my kids' idea of going to Disney and other people's is different. We go to FL at least twice a year to visit my parents.  Every time we go, we make a trip over to Disney.  My parents live only about 45 minutes away so why not.  But when we go so often, we don't actually go inside any of the parks.  We do the outside of the parks stuff that is either free or relatively inexpensive.  Most of the time this includes riding the monorail resort line (it makes stops at 3 different Magic Kingdom hotels) looking around at some of the intricately themed and beautifully decorated hotels and spending some time looking around at Downtown Disney. Sometimes we visit the Boardwalk that is near Epcot and rent a surrey bike (more like a bike cart that has benches that can hold a whole family) and ride it around.  Sometimes we sit on the beach at one of the hotels and just let the kids play in the sand.  I could go on and on.  There is actually quite a bit to do without spending much money.  So that's what we usually do when we say to our kids that we are "going to Disney."  That is what they thought we were going to do.  It's what we always do.  And while they get excited about it and always beg to go whenever we are in FL it ain't no Magic Kingdom. 

So to surprise them and say we are going to Disney would have gotten us a, "ya, we knew that."  When we told them though that we were going to Magic Kingdom (we waited until we were actually inside Disney property) they didn't really believe us.  It took a few seconds of "mom, are we really going to Magic Kingdom?"  and "can we ride the rides?"  and "are you serious?" for it to actually sink in and for them to get excited. 

It was a really fun day.  The weather could have cooperated a little better but wasn't really all that bad.  I was a little nervous because the forecast was for 60% chance of rain and I was like, NOOOOOOO!!!!  But it wasn't that bad.  It sprinkled on and off pretty much all day, but it only sprinkled and really not all that often.  And the cloud cover kept the temps down. 

We got to do almost everything we wanted to do.  It was actually a pretty productive day.  And since our kids are a little older than the last time we went, no one needed a nap break in the middle of the day and everyone walked of their own volition!  There was no maneuvering of a stroller through crowds.  No one had a meltdown 1/2 way through the day. I was especially proud of our 4 year old.  We got there about 9:30 and left around 10:30.  My husband had his pedometer with him and clocked 21,000 steps that day.  21,000!!!  That means our 4 year old with her much smaller legs probably took twice as many steps as her daddy.  And she did great.  A couple of times she told me her feet were hot or her toes were burning (I think that meant they were tired or sore) from all the walking, but she didn't really complain about it. 

Anyway, without getting into a lot of details that you probably don't really care about, it was a really good day.  And yes, it was magical.  I love Disney World.



Just before entering the Magic Kingdom




I took this cool pic of the castle as it changed colors while sneaking out behind the carousel while we were waiting to meet Princess Tiana.




We were not planning to stop to watch the Electrical Parade but when we walked out of the Country Bear Jamboree, it was like someone saved us a seat.  There was a wide open, front row spot right in front of where we walked out and just as the parade was starting.  So we figured, why not.



First Date

Everybody say Awwwwwww!!!

Friday night was the Valentine's father/daughter dance at the local Baptist church. Fortunately, my husband had not one, not two but three dates.  My girls were SO excited.  The mother/daughter part was when I took them all shopping for a new dress.  This is something I don't usually enjoy with all three at one time but this excursion was relatively painless.  They all found a mom approved dress on the first try.  And they matched!!  And Paul already had a tie the exact same color!!  We were 3 for 3 for 3! There were some tears the next day though from my middle child when I told her she could not wear that dress to church and that she had to save it for the dance which was a week away at that point.  Actually there were a lot of tears.  But she got over it and then was all the more excited for the dance. 

I heard that it was loads of dancing, jumping, sweaty fun.  I wish I could have been there to take pictures but mommy's were not allowed and with good reason.  I would not have wanted to take away from Paul's time with his girls.  I think they all had a real good time.  I am glad Paul was able to spend this special time with them and they with him.  We are a very fortunate family all around.

They all got corsages from dad.