American Idol Camp

We got a flier in the mail back in the spring from a dance studio in Frisco advertising a number of camps they were doing this summer. We thought about signing both girls up for one, but goodness they’re pricey! They had an American Idol camp that emphasized singing and dance that I thought Ellie would like, so we signed her up! I had no idea what it would be like exactly…

Turns out they go from 9-3 Monday through Thursday and spend the week learning a group song and dance as well as practicing a snippet of their own SOLO song along with some art and play time. There would be a play/performance at the end of the week. I wasn’t sure Ellie would do the solo song. She’s outgoing, but she definitely has a shy side. She came home from the first day and LOVED it. She was so excited about her day and had so much fun. We had a task that night which was to select her solo song. We were supposed to send her with two choices. She and I talked about it, and we decided to go with Once Upon a Dream from Sleeping Beauty (1st choice) and Time of Our Lives by Miley Cyrus. They chose the first one, so we got her to practice at home all week. She wouldn’t practice with her teachers, though, so we had lots of talks about being brave and James and I kept our expectations for the performance low!

She was also supposed to have a costume of some sort. They emphasized not going out and buying one, but Ellie was due for another dress up dress anyway, so I told her since she was singing a princess song that we could go to the Disney store and pick out a dress for her to wear. (I was really mean and told her we’d return it if she wasn’t brave and didn’t sing her song. Rude, right?! I didn’t mean it…) At first she picked a yellow Belle dress (the Sleeping Beauty dresses weren’t in yet), but then she changed her mind and wanted the Cinderella wedding dress. Um, a little over the top for this little show, but I let her get what she wanted. The joys of motherhood….

So, without further ado, I give you Ellie in her first American Idol performance! The little girl next to her was a friend who went up there with her to help her be brave. :) (Listen closely to Emma at the beginning – how sweet!)

 

And here was the group song. You’ll see that we were having some issues with our little veil, so we weren’t SUPER focused on the dancing part. This is just the first half or so, but you get the idea. The last half is very similar:

And for your added enjoyment, here’s both girls singing the song earlier in the week. (We played the song a LOT around our house this week!) This one comes complete with 3 year old nose picking and all:

First Trip to the Dentist

James took the girls to the dentist on Friday for the first time (without me – it was hard not to join them!) From all reports, they did SO great. Check out these precious little photos – and yes, I know we were pretty late on Ellie. Looks like she’ll live to tell about it. :)

How cute is that??

They were so excited to get their own new toothbrushes, too!

Texas Summer Getaway

Since we just did Disney in January with the Cornwells, and since we’re preparing to add to our family this year, we didn’t plan any other trips this year. When we were invited to join the Van Horn clan on Lake Travis for a couple of days around the 4th, we added a little trip to San Antonio before that which quickly became our little summer getaway for this year. We spent two nights in downtown San Antonio and checked out the Riverwalk. We had fun, but it was a little too hot. We did the required boat tour with the girls and went out to dinner, but that was about all we could take of the heat. We quickly retreated to the hotel pool on Friday evening and then got a good night’s sleep before hitting up Schlitterbahn the next day.

 

On the boat ride

They’re so cool they need to wear shades

We were at Schlitterbahn by opening at 10am and stayed until they closed at 8pm. We had the best day! I love that place… The girls did so great and were so brave. They both loved all the long tube rides and weren’t nervous about the little slides down at all. We made one mistake in waiting two hours for a ride that wasn’t worth near that, but the rest of the day we didn’t wait long at all and had a great experience!

Sunday morning, we slept in and then were planning to head out to Lake Travis. Ellie gave us a big scare that morning in that she was super sleepy and lethargic and couldn’t really put complete thoughts together. We were getting really concerned, but we decided to get some fluids and breakfast in her before taking her to a clinic. Halfway through breakfast, she perked back up completely and was back to her usual self. Whew! Turns out we thought back through our day at Schlitterbahn and she never really ate all that well. We tried to keep her hydrated, but it’s hard when you’re out on rides all day. Ugh – scary, but at least she was ok quickly.

We went on to Lake Travis to meet up with all the Van Horns, their kids, and Mom and Dad. The house was gorgeous, and we had a great time mostly just relaxing by the pool. The girls did go out on jet skis with Dad and James, too. They were both so brave again and loved every minute of it. Here are the photos from being there:

Emma loves her Uncle Bill! Still prays for him and “Uncle Penni” every night!

Ellie and Crouchburger having some good QT.

The view from the patio (ignore the towels). Not too shabby!

  Ellie’s birthday present from Aunt Penni and Uncle Bill – a charm bracelet! She loved it.

About to head out on the jet ski with Crouchburger

Ellie with Daddy

 

We had a great relaxing time. Thanks, Van Horns, for the great time! It was fun to see everyone!

Play Dates

Before the Woodbury Fam had to head back to London, we got in one more play date with them! We didn’t get any great shots of them, and Truett was NOT interested in being photographed at all! Geoff was already back in London, but it was great to see Shelley and the kids! So crazy that the next time we see them (near the holidays), we’ll be a family of 5 introducing them to our newest little guy!

We’ve also started a weekly summer play date with the Garland and Kelly girls. We love our time with them, and the girls play together so well together! The Kelly girls missed the one below, but how cute are those littles together!

Sweetness

When Emma is in the car and gets tired, she has trouble deciding whether she wants to sleep or listen to the movie. Love it…