Ava's First Preschool Field Trip

A few weeks ago, Ava's preschool class took a field trip to the AZ Southwest Dinosaur Museum. Here are a few pics of Ava's cute class right before entering the museum. Such cute kids!


Ava's gotta get that pose just right...........

CHEESE!


Thanks to ABC Preschool for an awesome day!

10 weeks and counting...

In 10 weeks, I am going to be 30 years old. THIRTY YEARS OLD.

Ugh.

Last Friday night, I got together with some girlfriends. As we continued our sugar high into the wee hours of the morning, we got a little crazy. (See more evidence of our kookiness here, here, and here).

So, as for you, Mr. Big 3-0, as long as I can still do this, I feel pretty okay. So there!

So You Think You Can Dance!

Some of you out there may have heard of a little show called....

Well... a few friends and I are absolute fanatics, and decided to drive out to Hollywood to see the taping this week!!


Sherri, Jen, Leah, and I. Showered, dressed, packed and ready to go at 6:00 a.m. Let the fun begin!!

Uh-oh.... I got a little too excited to get there.

Uh-oh... Jen got a little sick.

(** Please note, this is a dramatic reenactment of Jen's puking. No, I did not take a picture of her as the poor thing was getting sick in the car. That would be cruel. But reenacting it later was just plain hilarious.)

By the way, have you ever sat in a car for six hours? Has it been an enjoyable experience for you? Let me tell you, all speeding tickets and vomiting aside, that was the most fun I have ever had on a road trip. Great conversation the whole way. The hours literally FLEW by. And before we knew it, we were pulling in at the hottest hotel in Hollywood (cue the sarcasm)...

The Beverly Inn.
Okay, okay...so it wasn't the NICEST hotel in town. So there were only ten rooms. So the pool was about the size of our bathtub. So there were a few suspicious stains on the bedsheets and the air conditioning didn't work. It was cheap, okay?! AND... it was just across the street from the studios where the show was being taped. Score!
Do you see CBS Television City in the background?!!?!?

So, as soon as we checked in, we got into line. Here, we enjoyed some yummy pitas (courtesy of Jen) . And we enjoyed a few crazy dance poses for the camera.
Finally, after a few hours of waiting...we got in to see the show! Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this because there were no cameras allowed. Dang it. But, we sidled our way in to the studio, and managed to get right in the front, dead center! We were just about three rows back from the stage, and it was great! We had a little chat with Cat Deeley in between takes (she is even more gorgeous in person), and she made a little joke about us "getting a cocktail" after the show. Should I have mentioned to her that we don't drink? Oh well, we just played along.

I'm pretty sure we're friends now. Don't be jealous.


After the taping of the show, I weasled my way towards where the choreographers were sitting, and I managed to meet Sonya, Louie Van Amstel, Tyce DiOrio, and Tabitha and Napolean. I did happen to mention to "Nappy Tabs" that they were possibly the cutest couple of all time. They laughed. They said thank you. They shook my hand. So, now, I'm pretty sure that I am friends with them, too. Now you can be jealous.

By this time, we were all starving for some dinner, so we went over to The Grove.



After walking around for a bit, we decided on The Cheesecake Factory (YUM).

Guess who we spotted inside?



One Melissa Sandvig (a.k.a. "The Naughty Ballerina")...that's who!!


As soon as I saw her, I blurted out, "We're 29, too!!" She laughed, and we ended up talking for like 20 minutes with her and her husband. They are possibly the nicest people alive (aside from my friend, Cat).



Anyhow, after we spent such a long time talking, we joked with her and said that we should all hang out sometime, considering that we are such hot 29 year olds. At this point, she said, and I am not kidding, "Well, where do you live?" (As in...maybe we CAN get together sometime!) We said that we all lived in Arizona, and then she said to look her up on Facebook, and we could keep in touch that way. SO..... we really ARE friends with Melissa now!! YES!!

**At this point, I am realizing that I might sound a little stalker-ish? It's okay. I've come to terms with it. That's what "fanatic" means.... right?**

Hold the phone, I haven't even mentioned that we also ran into Kourtney from Season Four! She was so adorable. I just wanted to put her in my pocket!

So, we had a fabulous dinner. Too fabulous, actually. I ate so much that I was looking a little preggers. LOL


So, after a few more laughs at the Grove,

we decided it was time to get in our jammies and cozy up at The Beverly Inn.

We did have two beds, actually. But this was the only one with the awesome neon green blanket.

The next morning, we decided to head over to Graumann's Chinese Theatre for some tourist-y sightseeing.




And boy, did we get an eye-ful.


So, after grabbing some lunch (and a few souveniers), we headed back home.



After getting Jen some Dramamine, of course.

We stopped off near Ontario to see my Daddy-o. He still works in Cali during the week. I love him so much! It was great, even just to see him for a quick stop at 7-11.


Thank you to these wonderful ladies for the most fun I have had a long time. I laughed so hard and had such a great time. Show or no show, just the driving and chatting was a blast. Of all the friends I gained during my quick trip to Hollywood, these ones are my favorite!

Sisters

The other morning while I was making breakfast for the girls, Ava started reading a book to Ella.
It was so cute, I just had to capture the sweetness of it on video.

The picture quality isn't that great, very fuzzy... I was really trying to hide the camera from them so I didn't ruin the moment. And yes, once again you get to witness both of their bedheads in all their glory. Enjoy, :)

Ava Tait - Otter Graduate

Click on this link to see Ava's latest and greatest achievement...

Ava Tait - Otter Graduate

Posted using ShareThis

A Red-Letter Day

In the life of a child, there are a few major milestones. A few notable firsts that are so important, so life-changing, they must be documented to the hilt. First birthday. First day of school. Camera? Check. Video camera? Check. Blog, Facebook, Twitter? Check, check, and check.

In the life of a girl, there is one "first" that absolutely can not go unnoticed.

That is...the first dance recital.

For Ava, that day was today!


Ava's gorgeous little cousins put on a musical theatre dance camp this summer, and to say that Ava had fun would be the understatement of the century. She loved every second.


The performance was so great!

The girls all paraded in from the "stage right"... (please note the incredible princess ballroom scenery!)

Ava was a little nervous at first. There were a lot of people there, and I think that caught her a little off guard.
But then she found her groove...

And soon...she was belting out the tunes like we knew she would!



We were so proud of our little girl, and her outstanding performance.



Thanks Hannah and Hallie for such a wonderful dance camp! We can't wait for next year!

WHY?!?!

Why is it that EVERY single day we have to go from this.... ................... to this....




***sigh***

Summer Fun

Well, our summer is off to a great start.

We kicked things off this year with our annual "camping" trip with the Jones's and the Britt's (Does it still count as camping when you are staying in an awesome cabin and having s'mores on a comfy couch while the kids are happily snoozing in bed? Yeah, I think so, too...) .

While we were there... Ava caught her first fish! (Okay, Mommy caught the fish. Ava happened to be somewhere in the general vicinity. And yes, I was using the awesome Barbie fishing pole.)
And of course.... summertime = pool time. In addition to the weekly swim lessons and such, my girls are really getting the hang of lounging poolside. I love it!


"

Since the weather has been so nice, David took Friday morning off (a small miracle for such a workaholic), and we took the girls to the zoo. They absolutely loved it. And I think they loved spending time with Daddy even more than any of the cool animals they saw.




This summer Ava is also taking part in an adorable little dance camp that my niece has put together. They are learning a bunch of song and dance routines, and performing them for all the parents at the end of the month. Each week the girls in the class have had a little theme to dress up for.

Today was "crazy hair day". So Ava sported a faux-hawk. Still awesome, after getting a little bedraggled during the car ride home.

And Ava is finally starting to smile for pictures! YAY!!


Striking a pose from her dance routine...


So... needless to say, it's been a fun summer so far.

We're looking forward to whatever the next few weeks will bring!

A New Look

I'm working on a new look for my blog in an effort to rekindle my love for the blogosphere. The header needs some work...but, well... you get the idea.

I'll post some pics soon, I promise (Mom!).

The Curse of the Bumble Bee

Yes.

Bees.

Again.

I swear, we are cursed.

On Saturday, I took the girls to a little community fair in Gilbert while David was at a swim meet. At around noon, David called and simply said "DON'T GO HOME. There are bees. Lots of bees." (Cue my stomach dropping...)

One of our neighbors had kindly called the swim school that morning to let them know that there was a huge black cloud of bees circling above the ficus in our front yard. David called the exterminators immediately, and when they called him back to let him know the job was done, apparently they mentioned that there were, oh, say....about TEN THOUSAND bees that were exterminated.

Is your jaw dropping the way mine did?

Coincidentally... Ava's little friend had left this lucky little charm at our house the previous day.



Oh, and did I mention that right before the last bee incident, I had just finished reading "The Secret Life of Bees"??

That's it...no more bee-related materials in our house. Period.

According to Pagan folklore, bees entering one's home is a sign of good luck, and killing those bees will bring terrible misfortune.

Anyone have a rabbit's foot I can borrow?



Speaking of rabbits...here are a few pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses. In true Tait-style, neither of the girls would sit still and let me take a really good shot, so I had to catch them on the run.
Ella, half-laughing, half-crying after church.
Silly Ava...
Isn't the back of the dress cute, too?

These dresses are so adorable, I think I'm going to have to get their pictures professionally taken in them. But...that's a chore for another week. **sigh** I don't have the fortitude to make it through another photo shoot for a while.

Oh, and here's Ella's favorite new pastime... welcome to the world of the chatting on the phone, baby.