Sophie's Dance Recital

Sophie's ready to go

We accidentally left the roses we had bought for Sophie at home so we gave these to her after we got back from the recital. As you can see, she still loved them!

Sophie & me in the dressing room area before the recital (sorry for my goofy smile)!

Sophie and Gracie, one of the girls in her class

Sorry for the delay in posting! We have been staying busy but haven't managed to take tons of pictures. We've had swimming lessons, visits with friends and family, preparation for the recital (extra practices, etc). Now, the recital is officially over and I can't believe how fast the summer is going. Sophie's group and all of the classes worked so hard to get ready for the dance recital. They put on a great show! Their dance recital was at TPAC in downtown Nashville so it was a very big deal! Both sets of Sophie's grandparents, alongwith our immediate family were able to come. The recital was 3 hours long (though they had told us 2 or 2 1/2 hours). Abbie was mesmerized by all of the different music, the costumes, all of the people on stage, etc and she actually did great sitting through it with only a couple of breaks. We were so proud of Sophie! This was her first year to take dance. Her group performed to the song "Almost There" from the Princess and the Frog. She was so worn out when their recital was over but thankfully, their performance was in the morning. I truly enjoyed the recital, seeing all ages perform. All of the little girls were so cute. They insisted all of the girls wear red lipstick which was kind of startling when you're looking at your little girl up close. On stage, the makeup looked fine though. Sophie's told us that she's not taking dance next year so we'll see what she chooses to be involved in next. Right now, she's saying that she'd like to play soccer in the fall but we'll see.

Matt's parents, Tom & Teresa, were able to spend the weekend with us and tonight they returned home. Sophie has gone with them (by herself) for the first time. I know that she'll have tons of fun in Virginia spending time with them and her Aunt Leia but we will miss her here. I am hoping that I can potty train "Miss" Abbie while Sophie's out of town. She's been doing fairly well already.

Going to the Chapel

Martha & Abbie-so silly!

Wow, I'm getting married today!

our girls at the reception

Matt R. & Martha are about to take off!

Saturday was a very busy day. The girls and I had a light breakfast but then took off for a bridesmaids brunch at the church. I didn't come back home after that until late that night. At the brunch, many of my aunts, cousins, Martha's friends, and bridesmaids were in attendance. All of the food was wonderful and it was good to see everyone. Martha was calm and happy. She let Abbie under her veil and then Abbie wanted to keep doing it. Sophie enjoyed trying to take a few pictures of people with my camera and then the batteries in my camera died so I didn't get any of the family shots on my camera. Anyway, it was a very busy day-with people getting their hair and make-up done, taking pictures, etc. The photographer really wanted to take pictures offsite at Ellington Agricultural Center even though the temperature was in the 90's and it was very hot! So, we went over to Ellington. Matt had taken the girls for a little bit to give them a break before the wedding but then I was trying to get them back to the church so that they could ready for pictures. It was really a bit crazy trying to get everyone to Ellington, etc but in the end, we got it done. Sophie's hair turned out really pretty. Martha's friend, Kristy, was kind enough to agree to fix both of my girls' hair and she did a wonderful job. Sophie's hair is super straight like mine. I was excited that her hair turned out. Anyway, I'll try to stop rambling!

I didn't get any pictures from the actual wedding due to a little camera mix-up so I'm anxious to see the photographer's and I've enjoyed seeing other people's pictures. However, the wedding turned out to be beautiful. Martha looked beautiful and they both looked so happy! My girls did wonderful as flower girls. Abbie made it down the aisle and then, Matt was sitting on the front row so he took her to sit with him and his parents. After a little bit, his mom took her out in the lobby to walk around. My goal had just been for Abbie to make it down the aisle and she did it! She had so much fun! Sophie did wonderful too! The reception and everything went well. There was plenty of food, a photo booth that people could go in and have their photo taken, a really cute slide show, etc. I enjoyed being able to visit with many family members and friends. Congratulations, Martha & Matt! We'll miss you while you are living in South Carolina! Come back and visit us often. =)

The Rehearsal

I love this picture of my girls!

Grady (with his humongous shoes on) and Sophie

the happy couple at the rehearsal dinner

a siblings pictures-Phil, Martha & I

We've been preparing for this past weekend for over a year now. The weekend of June 12th finally arrived-the date for Martha's wedding (my sister). We had the rehearsal at the church on Friday night. Matt's parents decided to come in from Virginia for the big day. We all did a couple of run throughs at the rehearsal. Abbie ran around and around the 2nd time as she came down so I really didn't know how she'd do for the actual wedding. (Both of my girls were the flower girls and Grady & Nolen Guthrie were the ring bearers). It was too funny on Friday night because Grady (age 5-shown above) tried on his tux which my dad had picked up since they were out of town. Inside the garment bag with the tux they included men's size 13 shoes which were gigantic on him. I had to get a picture of that. =) He and Sophie are buddies because they were in the same preschool class for the past 2 years. I didn't get a good picture of Abbie or Nolen from that night on my camera but they were both so cute.

After the rehearsal, Matt's parents took our girls home so that they could eat and get ready for bed while we headed off to the rehearsal dinner at the Old Hickory marina's restaurant, the Black Pearl. Matt V. finally made it back to Nashville after several flight delays so he was just there for the very end of the rehearsal. We had a wonderful dinner at the Black Pearl! The next day was going to be a busy one. (More pictures to come.)

Memorial Day Weekend

Abbie and Sophie riding the 4-wheeler

Sophie and Abbie with Matt's great-aunt Lola

Paw-paw Tom and Mimi with us at the lodge

When we left Lexington, we headed on up to Vanceburg, KY where Matt's aunt and uncle live. The girls had a wonderful time riding 4-wheelers at their house and we had a delicious dinner. We stayed with them on Friday night and then headed over to visit Matt's mom's side of the family on Saturday. Matt's parents met us in that area. We stayed in the Greenbo State Park for the rest of the weekend. The girls enjoyed visiting their cousins, checking out the pool at the lodge where we stayed and a relative's pool and just hanging out. Abbie refused to take a regular nap the entire trip so the only time she would fall asleep would usually be around dinner time when we got in the car to go somewhere. That was a bit frustrating. All in all though, we were glad that we could go and see Matt's grandparents, parents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. We enjoyed staying the state park this time. Both of Matt's grandparents are in their mid to upper 80's and his granddad has Alzheimer's so we have to enjoy the visits that we have with them especially.

The Explorium

Here are the girls-ready for the Explorium to open.

Sophie trying out a stationery bike

Sophie's trying to make a huge bubble in the "bubble room"

silly Abbie-what kind of face are you making?

A few days before Memorial Day weekend, we travelled to Lexington, KY with Matt so that he could do some work there for a couple of days. We stayed in the Hyatt downtown which was nice because we could walk right across a little bridge to the Explorium, their children's museum. Our hotel had a wonderful breakfast buffet so we checked it out and then got ready for the Explorium. The main downside was that were tons of school groups. I was kind of disappointed with that because some of the kids were much older and NOT on their best behavior. Anyway, all in all we had an OK time there but in my opinion, Chattanooga has a better children's museum. They had a whole exhibit on horses, a bubble room which was pretty cool, a room filled with big blocks you could build with which the girls enjoyed and more. Some of the exhibits were kind of over their heads but it also had some of the typical stuff (water play, doctor play area, grocery, etc. There was also a food court within an indoor mall right by our hotel so that was very convenient since I didn't have a car. The girls enjoyed the indoor pool both afternoons we were there and we had it all to ourselves. =) While we were in the Lexington area, we were also able to get together with Matt's cousin, Mark, and his children. Their boys enjoyed playing with our girls but I didn't get that great of a picture. We had hoped that we might could visit the Kentucky Horse Park before heading on to eastern Kentucky but we woke up to a very rainy Friday. We'll just have to go back sometime!

Showers...

Abbie's got an umbrella-she's ready for showers. (ha, ha)

the girl cousins on the Waggoner side (minus Abbie who was taking a nap)

me and Martha

Ashley, Beth (best friend of Martha's and future sister-in-law), Martha, me, Keri, and Stephanie

I can't believe that my sister, Martha, is getting married next weekend! Over the past couple of months, there have been several showers for her. I've attended many of them. These pictures were from two weeks ago when she had 2 showers that I attended and/or helped give. The first pictures were from a family shower. Then, the last picture was from Martha's lingerie shower given by the bridesmaids/close friends. We had a good time at both of the showers.

Sophie's Graduation

Sophie & Emma, one of her buddies

Grady, Nolen, Aunt Martha, Sophie & Abbie (all 4 of these kids will be in Aunt Martha's wedding in a few short weeks! Grady and Sophie have been in the same class for the past 2 years.

Paula & Sophie

Paw-paw, Abbie, Aunt Martha, Sophie & Paula

Sophie had her preschool graduation on Thursday night. That evening it was pouring down rain when we headed to the graduation but we made it there in one piece. At Sophie's graduation, they played a video that included pictures taken throughout the school year. Miss Jody, the director, shared a couple of sweet little poems at the beginning and then each age group sang a song or two. Then, one by one, the kids walked across the front, got a hug from their teacher and a preschool certificate. This year, Sophie got to wear a cap and everything! (no gown though) Thankfully, I didn't cry though I'm sad about sending her off to kindergarten in the fall. Also, Sophie has had Miss Sandra for the past 2 years. We will miss her next year! As each child's name was called, they also told what each child wanted to be when he or she grows up. Sophie wants to be a "baby doctor". =) It was a late night for our family. After the graduation ceremony, we visited with people and had snacks. We were proud of our Sophie!