Dance Recital 2022

Dance Recital Day is always such a fun day in our house. It's a day that always has me saying a prayer of thanks that I was blessed with daughters to raise. The girly fun and bonding never gets old!

Katherine came into my bathroom early the morning of the recital, posed and yelled, "Dance Recital Day!" Her excitement and zeal for life is one of my favorite things about her.

We had a FULL day of dancing. The girls were in different recitals this year, so that meant two recitals and two dress rehearsals. Katherine and I headed to the PAC early that morning. 

Then I dropped her off back at home and picked up Elisabeth for her rehearsal. 

She found her friend Emmalynn after the rehearsal. 

We had a small break from recital events in the afternoon before it was time for hair and makeup for both girls and pictures before we headed to Katherine's recital. 

Pretty, pretty girls (inside and out!)

Finally, after months of waiting, Katherine was finally ready to dance on the big stage. She always has the biggest grins when she's performing. 

She had some sweet girls in her dance class this year. 

This boy and his brother were such good sports to sit through three hours of dancing on Saturday. 

I smiled throughout Katherine's entire dance. She performed so well and was so joyful during the entire dance. She's a spark of joy!

We ate pizza in the parking lot in between the two recitals. 

Then it was Elisabeth's turn. She's been saying for weeks that this is her last year of dance, so this (her fifth recital) was bittersweet. 

Elisabeth's dance was cute. She did a great job with all the complicated steps and moving across the stage. The fringe on her costume was one of my favorite parts. 

The girls had a great cheering section for their recitals. 

Recital Day 2022 was a success!! It's a joy and honor to raise these two girls and cheer them on in their passions. 

Nathan's 11th Birthday Celebration

We had a great birthday week celebrating our 11 year old. Nathan specifically planned a lot of his birthday details. On the day of his birthday, he opened his gifts from us. He requested a new scooter for his birthday. I think he was happy about it. 

He's also signed up for a book club next school year, so I bought him all the books for the class and gave them to him also as a birthday gift. 

He asked for monkey bread for his birthday breakfast.

His plan for his birthday was to have a picnic lunch and play at the skate park for the day with his new scooter. Unfortunately, rain changed those plans. Instead, we invited the Pashkovets over to play for a couple of hours and join us for lunch. 

Nathan spent Thursday evening celebrating with my parents since Thursday is our family's heavy activity day with gymnastics, dance, and karate. He ate at Braums with them and stayed at their house for a few hours. 

Nathan's friend party was on Friday evening. For the last several years, he has asked to have friends over to play at our house. He tells me the food he'd like, and that's all the planning that's involved. He's making it easy on me. He does always ask for Lego gummies. I've been making them every year since his sixth birthday. We joked that I'll be making them still when he's thirty. I'd happily do that for him!

We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, fruit, Lego gummies and root beer floats for dessert. 

The few girls at the party separated themselves from the loud, rowdy boys. 

These boys might be loud, but they are also wonderful, sweet boys. I'm so thankful for the quality friendships Nathan has built over the years. 

After dinner, about half the boys headed upstairs to play video games, and the other half played on the trampoline. They played rough, but I think they were all having fun. 

We took a break for root beer floats and presents near the end of the party. 

Nathan asked for cash for his birthday as he is saving up for some big Lego sets. His friends generously added to his Lego fund. 

We survived the party with no injuries and all children accounted for. Whew! The hardest part about birthday parties at this age is keeping everyone alive, ha!

Daniel and Leon stayed for a sleepover after the party. I caught them all reading in bed. 

We had pancakes for breakfast Saturday morning. Elisabeth got to sleep over with Ilona Friday night, while her brothers were at our house. 

Nathan asked to go to Red Robin to continue his birthday celebrations on Saturday. That boy knows how to celebrate!

Finally, for his last celebration, we invited my parents over for tacos and brownie sundaes on Saturday evening.

Saturday night Nathan came up to me and told me it was the best birthday ever. I love him and can't ever resist celebrating him. Cheers to ELEVEN years!
 

ELEVEN Years Old!

Nathan Wilson, you are 11 years old, and I can't believe it! You are growing into a young man before our eyes, and we're so proud of you. As an eleven year old, you are smart, diligent, kind, passionate, friendly, and thoughtful. You bring so much joy to our family and help hold us together. 

You are loving and excelling at homeschool. You tell me that you never want to go back to brick and mortar school. You are a diligent and hard worker everyday with school. You know what tasks you have each day, and you work hard at them, so you can have free time in the afternoons. I never have to remind you to stay on task. You are very self-motivated. I think that's why you enjoy homeschooling so much. It gives you more control and independence in your days. Your favorite subject it history and your least favorite is language arts. 

In your free time, you build Legos, make stop motion videos, read, practice football, play with friends (usually the neighbors across the street), and also usually play with Katherine. Your main interests are Roblox, legos, Boxcar Children books, and football. You love to build, engineer and create new projects and direct performances and shows. 

You are the sweetest big brother to your siblings. While you grumble and argue with Samuel and Elisabeth some, the larger age gap between you and Katherine brings a completely different sibling dynamic, and it is precious. She adores you with every part of her, and you will do anything to protect her and make her happy. Your bond with her is something I hope continues the rest of your lives. While there is some sibling rivalry between you and your other siblings, you are also very close with them and you all play together often. You are a leader and a wonderful role model to them, and I'm very grateful for that. 

Your best friends are Daniel, Leon, Wyatt, Caden, and Caleb. You play with each friend differently which has been fun to see. You and Wyatt can never get enough Roblox time, while with Daniel and Leon, you are usually playing outside engineering some sort of project. You have formed some great friendships that have been an answer to prayer. 

You played flag football this Fall which is one of your favorite things, and you've been trying out acting classes this Spring. You've always enjoyed putting on plays and shows and performing, so we'll see if this is a fit for you. 

One of your favorite things to do is share information with anyone who will listen. You are outgoing and talkative, and love to have conversations. I've noticed recently that many times when the other kids have friends over (who doesn't have a sibling your age), you'll come downstairs and visit with us moms. I think you can be shy at times in a big group, but in one-on-one situations, you are outgoing and friendly. You always want to tell me anything you've learned from a recent YouTube video or book. I know all the latest Lego sets coming out and all the random Disney and Universal Studios trivia because of you.

You are affectionate and kind- noticing the needs of others and always happy to share hugs. You hold my hand when we're out shopping or running errands, and every time I smile at your sweetness. You get excited about everything and make life way more fun for all of us. What a joy and a delight you are to our family and to everyone who knows you.