Finale

It's May and that means the end of a school year, the end of a year in dance, etc. We've been busy the last few days with all the festivities!
Anna Claire took tap and ballet this year at school. She l-o-v-e-d it and has asked to continue. Saturday, she had her recital - so adorable. She doesn't have a shy bone in her body and loves to move, so she was in heaven the whole time!

 Flowers and a trophy - she was pumped!

 I was so excited that my mom was able to be in town for this, and Mrs. Sharon joined us as well - AC is a blessed little girl!

 Her dance teacher, whose mother opened this studio seventy years ago, is a crack up! Like most dance teachers, this is her life! We were sitting in front of the huge mirror in the studio and the whole time she would talk to us, she was looking at herself in the mirror!

Here are a few pictures that another mom took and sent to me :)

 

 I have a feeling there will be many more dance pictures in the future. Just the other day, AC said, "I tried soccer and I tried dance. I liked them both, but I REALLY want to keep dancing. Soccer  - not so much." Haha!

And here a couple of random ones.....
Remember the love/hate relationship between Sophie and Anna Claire (AC loves, Sophie hates)....well, it continues.....

 Last night we went to dinner to celebrate all of AC's exciting accomplishments. As we were leaving the restaurant, I said "Let me get a quick picture of you", and this is the result....the girl loves to strike a pose. :) And please notice the 'click clack' shoes, as she calls them. She begged and pleaded to wear them to dinner and we gave in. She couldn't have been more thrilled!

Today, AC had her end of the year program at school. She couldn't believe she was allowed to wear sandals to school. This made her day. Before going to school this morning - this is what she calls her "Sharpay pose" -thanks to the Disney movie Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure!

 And this one....mercy. She looks so grown up! It's killing me!

 Waiting for the program to begin....

After her program and lunch, we went back over to her classroom for their 'art show'. The room is filled with various art projects the kids completed throughout the year. Whoa. They were busy this year! And what are we supposed to do with 47 art projects?
It's hard to believe AC will be finished at this preschool on Friday. She has attended the same place since she was 9 months old! She has loved her time there, but she is very excited about attending her new school in the Fall. Before we left today, we took some pictures with her teachers (past and present).

 AC's teacher this year, Mrs. Debbie.

 The preschool director, Mrs. Cherrie

 Two of AC's teachers from previous years - Mrs. Tamara and Mrs. Kelly

 And Mrs. Cathy - AC's first teacher when she was only 9 months old.

The Toys Are Back in Town......

So, at the last minute, I scored some cheap tickets to see Toy Story 3 On Ice. Brad was going to be out of town, so AC and I had date! I think this picture sums up her enthusiasm for the show! And the Jesse hat was her 'souvenir' for the event!

This show was great and captured all the wonderful details of Toy Story 3. I'm not gonna lie, though, the trolls creeped me out a little bit......

And in the theme of honesty - I spent much of the show trying to figure out how Slinky skated. Is there a person in his back half? How do they get in either half? So intriguing to me.....

I can't ice skate to save my life, so to see someone wearing a huge Rex costume and skating at the same time is beyond impressive!

"The Claw...."

Not the best photo of Barbie - but please look at her leg warmers/ice skate covers - made to look like pink high heels. Love the details!

And Ken's costume - hilairous.

Moving right along - AC has had 2 great soccer games the past two Saturdays. She 'gets' the game and also likes to cheer on her team while she's waiting to play. She will tell you she doesn't like soccer, but once she's out on the field, she gets right in there and plays with a smile on her face.  

Mother's Day at church:

In the Woods

Last weekend, AC had soccer pictures before her game. Crazy me thought they would be right next to the field, so when we showed up, I was a bit confused as to why no one was there. Until I looked over towards the wooded area behind the fields....everyone was gathered there for pictures. So we hiked to the woods (ok, that may be a bit of an overstatement) for pictures.
AC had her friend, Hannah, spending the weekend.

I'm so curious as to how these pictures will turn out. I assume her feet will not be showing in the picture, seeing as how she is standing on a piece of cardboard. And the background -really? I had already pre-ordered a package of pictures, so I wasn't taking pictures of AC getting her picture made so that I wouldn't have to purchase some; however, this one photographer helper kept moving herself in front of me trying to make it where I coudn't take a picture. If she didn't want me to take pictures, then she should have asked me....but she didn't, so I had fun moving around and watching her follow. Simple Saturday morning fun.

Sunday night, our church had their Caravan closing ceremony. Here's AC with some of the kids in her Benson Buddies class.

 Receiving her awards for the year.

Enjoy a couple of videos of AC singing during the ceremony. One is from my phone and the other from my camera - not the best quality of video, but it's all good. 

And Mom- those are not her shoes. The girl next to her was having shoe troubles, so she and AC just swapped shoes for the ceremony.