Dance Film in Festival

Front Porch Dance's dance film "Dealing" was accepted to the Crossroads Film Festival. Wish you all could be at the premiere!!!

www.crossroadsfilmfestival.com

Happy First Birthday to our precious Emma girl!

I'm sitting here at the computer, nursing her and typing with one hand...we are so crazy about this baby! I just looked back at her wrightfield birth announcement, and it brings tears of joy as I think about her birth and all the joy she's brought to our family this past year. She truly is a delight, laughing and smiling more than any child I've ever met! We love you, Emma Lucia! May your light continue to shine!

An afternoon on Lake Austin Blvd.

This afternoon the girls of the neighborhood held a "salon" where, for a quarter, you could have your hair styled with shampoo. I got Princess Leia buns, 5 minutes of pulling & teasing, and 2 brush-tangled-in-hair episodes. 10 minutes after I'd paid and returned home, 2 of the girls knocked on my door to reclaim the elastics they'd used. Harry, as you can see in the picture below, got a mohawk. In other neighborhood news, Taku (middle, orange shirt) found our missing plasma car "at the second stop" (for the public school bus) so I rewarded him with a bag of army men bought at the Target Dollar Spot. Later Jackson came in asking for a quarter to buy some army men because Taku was selling them off in sets. And while I'm telling entreprenuering neighborhood kid stories, the other day Jackson asked to play "trash for treats", a game invented by neighbor Kristin wherein kids find stray trash and are rewarded with said treats. After seeing Jackson scoring candy, Charlie (8, not pictured. He and sister Claire-Ellen had just left for a baseball game with heads full of dried-up shampoo) began bringing me bag after bag. After about bag number 5, I asked, "Where on earth are you getting all this trash?" He informed me he'd been stowing away piles all around the neighborhood for weeks, waiting for just this moment. Smart boy.

SeaWorld Farewell

Heading into SeaWorld last week, the last trip of our season passes. We began when pregnant with MC and finished with an 8-mo. old cutie.

Maria Clementina

Friend Kevin Stuart just took a tour of Rome and spotted this in the stairwell of the dome of St. Peter's. 

B Birthday, Part 1

We had a pre-birthday celebration for Benjamin in Flagstaff last week. Here are some excited cousins:


Benjamin especially requested that Uncle Cody make a red velvet armadillo cake. He'd seen the pictures of the one from his first birthday, but was sad that he didn't remember it. Here it is, in all it's armadillo glory!

B Birthday, Part 2

Benjamin requested a Mario Kart cake this year and a Mario Kart party. Here is my interpretation of the cake...



And the party... We borrowed a Wii for the kids to play Mario Kart on.

A bit of a trouble-maker as a birthday guest...


Benjamin enjoying his cake AND his status as a five-year-old.