Happy 35th Birthday, David!

Happy Birthday to our loving, patient and hard-working Daddy and husband! We spent the day spoiling daddy with a yummy breakfast, gifts, brunch after Mass, swimming and cake! We tried to make the day as special as he is! We love you, David!

Playa del Carmen!

Many thanks to my parents for taking care of our girls so David and I could getaway for a couple days during our stay in Naples. They took good care of our girls while we visited Playa del Carmen. We stayed for at the Secrets Maroma Beach Resort for 3 days and 3 nights and it was awesome. The beach was beautiful, the property was very clean and accommodating, and there were several impressive amenities...we truly had a great time. It's always nice when we can carve out some time for ourselves as difficult as it can be with young children. 

Florida!

We spent 10 days in Naples visiting my parents and it was glorious! We had the best time! We enjoyed the pool, beach, fishing, shopping and good dining. So sad to leave but we made lots of memories! Thank you Nonnie & G-Pa for another wonderful stay. You always make us feel so welcomed and loved! We look forward to visiting again soon. 

KAR Nationals in Biloxi

Gabriella, Nonna & I spent a week in Biloxi, Mississippi, for Kids Artistic Revue National Finals. It was a great experience and Gabby and her team were amazing! Below is a review of all awards and titles:

Gabby's jazz solo I'm Trouble placed first place in the jazz category and second overall out of 59 entries. Amazing!

Gabby & Cate's jazz duet (photo on top), Baby, I'm A Star, placed first in category and first overall! National Champions!
The large group jazz number (below photo) Dive in the Pool placed first in category and first overall. National Champions! This dance was one of the few invited to compete in the National Finals on the last day. Awesome! 

Gabby competed in the Petite Title competition on Thursday night. She did wonderfully again! She received first runner up!

This is a photo of all the title winners and runner-ups. So proud! 

The lyrical small group, Story of My Life, placed first in category and first overall. National Champions! I loved this dance and will miss watching it on the stage. 

The group production, Jocks, placed second overall. This is a photo of the group together with their Dancer Against Cancer t-shirts. The KAR organization provides thousands of dollars each year to dancers and their families affected by cancer. They do this through their fundraising year round. We were proud to be part of it this year at the regional and national competitions. 

When she wasn't dancing, Gabby had fun with her dance friends and with Nonnie and me. :)

We are so incredibly proud of Gabriella and her commitment to dance. She was simply unbelievable at nationals (and all year-long at regionals, too). The last few years at South Tulsa Dance Co. have been amazing and we are so sad to close this chapter. She received stellar training and support and formed special friendships as a member of THR!VE, and it was well worth the commute to Tulsa for her to finish her mini "career" at STDC this last year. We couldn't have asked for a more successful nationals experience before parting ways with Ms. Keally and the phenomenal instructors and dancers at STDC. But, we move forward with excitement and look forward to new experiences at her new studio in OKC. 

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.! We are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world.

Christina's got some bling!

Today Christina got her ears pierced! She has been asking for months to have this done. We told her we would have them pierced if she became potty trained. This bit of "bribery" helped with this milestone immensely, but even after a couple months of no accidents, I  stalled, like I did with her older sisters, to make sure she really wanted to go through with it. And she liked to remind us every time she sat on the potty that she was potty trained so she wanted to get her ears pierced. She has been persistent. So, while her sisters were at our church attending a summer educational program, Christina and I spent the day together, which included a stop at the pediatrician's office to have the piercings done. And here she is:

She was incredibly brave. She was excited even though I warned her it would pinch and hurt a little. After the first piercing she didn't make a peep but big crocodile tears formed in her eyes. The nurse quickly held up the mirror so Christina could see the sparkling earring. I gave her a big hug and then she sat still for the other ear's piercing. Then we had her glance in the mirror at her new look. She loved it but still had tears forming. It was bittersweet for her.

I treated her to an ice cream sandwich and candy from the pharmacy on the ground level for being such a brave girl. I'm going to admit that I cried, too, for 3 reasons 1) It hurt me to see her surprised by the pain even though I had been warning her for months that it would be uncomfortable 2) She was brave. She tried to hold back the tears and did that silent cry that gets me every time. She didn't resist the second piercing for one second. She knew she committed to this and she had to follow through. It didn't take any convincing from me or the nurse. That is big girl stuff 3) She is my baby and there's a very likely chance that was my last first ear piercing experience with one of my daughters.  I am so blessed I have 3 daughters I got to experience this with. All 3 were brave and beautiful. My heart is full.

Summer Happenings

It's summer time and we're loving it! Our days are full of some activities and camps, a lot of swimming and lazy days, too! We're loving it! 

Pool time with my bathing beauties

We went to an OKC Dodgers game and had a lot of fun despite the rain delay.  

After the game we got a picture with one of the mascots, Brooklyn. It was a humid night (if you didn't notice by my hair)!

Christina is taking her first tumbling class this summer and loving it. Here she is on the beam.

The other day I was in the kitchen getting lunch ready and the three of them came down to surprise me. So sweet! They love matchy-matchy. 

Adriana had her last t-ball game the other night. It was a really fun and successful season. She did great! Pink Flamingoes are awesome!