The Ballet

Jessa spent some time alone and with her friend Laura getting geared up for a free performance of the Nashville Ballet on Sunday at Belmont University.

 
I had a little trouble getting to the show myself, but as you can see, I pulled myself together  in time for the Sunday performance!

And then, before we even knew it, it was time to go to the show with our constant Tennessee playmates. Mom let Jess wear a tutu, so she felt extra special.  I asked about some big kid dress up, but Mom said that really only works when you're two.  Too bad!

Waiting for the show to start with Jack!

The Ballet was wonderful! The dancers acted out Aesop's Fables, which gave us lots to talk about after.  They were so good! After the show, the dancers invited us on stage for a little dance lesson.  I chose to watch from my seat. I get very uncomfortable when I think people are watching me.  Marina and Jess do not feel that way.  You can't see Marina in the crowd of sweet little girls, but she's in the mix. Jess and Laura managed to get right up front.

 

After the show, we blew off some steam at the nearby dinosaur park.

 

Next weekend, it's free admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame! Of course, we wouldn't miss it!

Playing basketball

Basketball! From the little leagues to the big leagues!
Here's our Marina keeping up with the 6 and 7 year old boys (umm.. sort of. This is a picture with our buddy Jack, who's Laura's big bro.  You can see what our dear sister is up against in her league!
But the good news is, she loves it.  She never, ever gives up, and she's usually smiling.

She was smiling on Sunday too, when Dad took us to the women's game at Vanderbilt!

 Aside from amazing basketball, we had free cotton candy, bouncy house fun and tatoos!

We even got to see the players after the game and practice from the free throw line.  All this for $1 a ticket! Yay for women's sports! I think.

We also took some time to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We made this craft with a couple of friends.  It means that we have many colors, but all made with the same color heart.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We also celebrated another day of Girl Scouts.  I really enjoy Girl Scout time.  And I love selling cookies too! 50 boxes! Yay Me!
 

gymnastics and a snow day

The weather is getting colder, so the sisters are finding fun inside a lot these days.  Here are some pictures from their gymnastics free play with Grant and Laura.

But of course, sometimes cold weather comes with snow!  These are pictures of our first snow.  We didn't get much, but we made the most of it! 

 

Jessa wants you to know that she has fully acclimated to life near Nashville. 

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to Maddie!

Happy New Year!  Here are some very sweet pictures from the Noon Year's Eve party at the Vero Beach Children's Bookstore! Crafts were followed by a parade and then snacks.  To top off all of it- the staff at the bookstore got out their bubble wrap, and we welcomed 2012 to the tune of bubble pops and Aud Lang Syne.  If you could have closed your eyes for a minute in all the ruckus, you might have been transported to another time (like 12 AM, rather than 12 PM) and place (a place where it might be acceptable to be up until the 12AM).  But when you opened them again your kids might possibly be covered in juice, so most moms did not do that.

 

 After we got home, we enjoyed some bubble time with Grandma in the driveway.

2012 started with a bang.  And a fit.  It was a little warm that first day of the New Year, and Jess was not prepared for the 80s.  Not even an sun-brella could lift her mood.

But, a boat ride did! Here's our baby fully recovered!

On January 2, we celebrated my seventh birthday at Disney World! Jessa was happy enough about that, I think! Here she is at the gate.

We do Disney the same every year, and it seems to work for us, so we'll share our strategery:  We wake up early and try to get to the park (about a 90 minute drive from Vero) at opening.  This year, we were a little behind schedule, so we got there about an hour later.  This was OK though, because the park was open until midnight on January 2!

SO-first thing we needed to get was my special Birthday pin.  This special pin means I got to hear "Happy Birthday!" 50 million times!

After tickets and pins, we play, play, play! From 10:30-4, it's teacups, roller coasters, Dumbo and Alladin! We do it all! Marina is big enough now to ride the big coasters, and she likes them better than even I do!

We break for lunch around 1pm.  Disney does not mind if you bring your own food, so mom feeds us on the cheap- from the backpack (nice, Mom).  Lucky for her the Disney folks will sing "Happy Birthday to You" whether you pay for lunch or you don't.

Jess usually starts to fade around 4, and I get a little spastic after all day playtime, so this year, as in years past, we packed it in around this time to check into our hotel.  Our hotel is off site, on account of points and free-ness, so we rode the tram, got in the car- and low and behold, Jess did not need a hotel after all!

Dad drove us to the hotel, had Mom give us some quiet time in the room, while he took Jessa (just like this) to the Burger King, got us dinner, then got Mom and us back down from the hotel room after a 45 minute break/detox, and road back to the park.  All the while, little Jess slept and slept.

It's a good thing too, because we had some friends to visit at Disney when we got back!  The Sloops, our old friends from NC, were there!

So we played and we played and we visited and we road our rides at night- with very low crowds.  This is the part we look forward to every year! Disney is not crowded at 10pm, and we run around and hop on and off rides and have more fun that a little kid can imagine!

We didn't stop riding rides until the clock struck twelve.  And then?  We had ice cream sandwiches.  You know it's a good day when mom pays Disney for food! And no one tantrumed, and no one collapsed.  It was just about the funnest night of my life, next to last time we did it.

And then, we crashed in our room around 1:30.  And I mean crashed! At nine, it was up and back to Vero to celebrate January 3rd!  I am officially seven!

Aunt Rose got us all clip on earrings for my birthday AND she brought Marina over her old vanity.  We like mirrors!

On Wednesday, we hit the road again, to get back to Tennessee in time for school on Thursday.  Whew! Here's Marina killing time in hour 12!