A Musical Throwback Thursday!!

It's time for another Throwback Thursday!

This time it's a musical throwback.

Maddy became interested in the ukulele

back in 2010.

I didn't even realize it was that long ago -

but luckily, my blog kept track for me!

Summer 2010

She continued with weekly lessons all these years!

She is extremely proficient now at the uke and learned all the oldies --
Beach Boys, Beatles, Stevie Wonder, the Spinners!

Summer 2012

Fall 2012

She moved on to other ukes and the latest was this most adorable 

Pineapple Uke!

 Last week her instructor said she has mastered the uke and finished just about

all of the uke music books in the store, so . . . 

time to move on to a guitar!

Can't wait to hear the oldies on her guitar! 

TGIF a/k/a Finally Friday!

Hello Friends!  Happy Friday -- 

are you ready for the weekend??

Pool at our Disney resort

We've had such incredibly hot temps for so early in the year

and high humidity to go along with it -- some days

the heat index has been 105 or more!

Oh dear -- the only place to go when it gets

that hot . . . the pool!

Pool back at home

Do you have any special plans this weekend?

Maddy and I are taking the two oldest littles 

(Janie who is 6 and Walt who is 5)

to Paint Yourself Silly!

I really hope they don't paint themselves

or each other! :)

It will be interesting to see what each selects to paint!

I'm sure it will be a fun time -- and I believe

it will be Walt's first painting experience there.

On Sunday, we are headed to an 80th birthday

brunch for our incredibly sweet neighbors - Marcia and Jim.

Their daughter is hosting it and Marcia told me

the mimosa bar is already set up! Yessss! :)

There's a movement underway to stop at the outlet

mall on the way home from brunch!

Can't go wrong with mimosas in the morning

and shopping in the afternoon.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!

xoxo

Throw-Back Thursday - Father's Day

 A brief interruption to my vacation posts . . . 

a little Throwback Thursday of Miss Maddy

with Mr. Tennis on Father's Day in 2009!

Father's Day 2009

And another oldie but goodie from a 

Father/Daughter dance in 2010.

I just had to include it as her dimple is showing!

Ahhhh -- the good old days 

the "bob" haircut and hair bows!  

Happy Father's Day Mr. Tennis -

you are one in a million and

we love you so!

It's Magic -- The Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is really my and Maddy's favorite park.

We love Epcot and enjoy Animal Kingdom

and Hollywood Studios,

but our No.1 fave is always

Magic Kingdom!

Knocking on the castle's door!

We spent a few mornings at Magic Kingdom,

hitting the rides, having some breakfasts 

and generally enjoying our time

away from the worries and stresses

of the real world.

The pool called our names in the afternoon to escape the heat!

Who wants a balloon???

We still love seeing the characters!

We rarely are hunting down the princesses,

but if there's a short line for 

visit with a Disney Character,

we jump right in!

The Fairy Godmother is so sweet!

We are saddened by the heartbreaking news of the shooting
and loss of life in Orlando.
Praying for Orlando.

Catching Up -- The Orlando Report

Greetings!

Still attempting to catch up and I feel more behind than ever . . .

behind at work,

behind at home, 

behind in blogland! :(

But,

 I will attempt to get all caught up as this blog is

my scrapbook for us and fun to look back on later!

Soooooo, we went on vacation!

The day after graduation, Maddy and I hit the road 

to our nearest big airport and the next morning

sleepily climbed aboard the 5:30 AM flight!

Why do I always think that is a great plan????

We landed

around noon in beautiful and sunny Orlando!

We stayed at one of the lovely Disney resorts located in the

Boardwalk/Epcot area.

We hit the ground running and headed to Epcot for

some rides and characters and shopping!

It was time for a return to see the only Mouse

I've ever liked - Mickey Mouse!

It felt so nice and warm and toasty there.

After a couple days, I changed my tune and thought it felt beastly hot,

but on arrival, we were in heaven!

The Flower and Garden festival was in its final days,

but we were able to see the fabulous topiaries!

Try copying that at home!

Stay tuned!

Catching up - 8th grade Graduation!

Happy June!
Sorry for the little absence - I was out of town for a few days!
I attempted to blog from my iPhone and/or iPad, but
guess I am not quite techie enough to figure it out.
I could not get photos to load and  . . .
we all know a photo is worth a thousand words!
Oh well, I'm back!  :)

Miss Maddy graduated from 8th grade last week!  It was a lovely ceremony at church, 

but first we had a dress emergency!!

Maddy planned to wear a white breezy dress with her denim jacket
(to cover up a bit as required).
 After she put it on, we realized the denim jacket would not work
with her graduation gown!!  

Oh no!!  What to do????

Graduating class of 2016 -- the girls!

 Plan B's dress did not have sleeves long enough to meet her teacher's requirements.  

So, we quickly figured out a Plan C - a dress she wore in 7th grade still fit and had 3/4 sleeves 

and no collar, so it worked with her graduation gown! 

Whew -- crisis averted!  

Unfortunately Mr. Tennis and Connor were out of town and couldn't be there. 

Blame me -- I made their reservations, but didn't realize they would be
out of town for graduation. 

Luckily, Maddy's oldest brother, Philip, was able to attend!  

After the graduation, the school held a cake and punch reception
 downstairs in church 

so parents and graduates were able to gab and grab some photos!  

Nearly all of the graduates had been together since kindergarten!

Isn't that the sweetest!

Entire 8th grade graduating class of 2016 -
Cathedral of the Risen Christ

They really all grew up together and have made
 so many wonderful memories from K-8! 

Most will go on to high school at our local Catholic High School,
but going from a total of 34 students to a class size of probably 500
will be a real change.

They are up for the challenge I'm sure.

Now it's time to enjoy summer and prepare for high school!
Congrats to the graduates!

Sing, Sing a Song - Jr. High Final Choir Concert

The final choir concert for the junior high at Cathedral 

happened the other night!

8th graders in choir

It was so lovely!

Seriously, is there anything better that warms your heart and soul than hearing 

junior high students singing and giving praise in Church?

A number of parents attempted to video the

concert with the iPhones.

Mr. Tennis did a short portion, but then I quietly reminded

him that it's really distracting for others behind you.  

Plus, you're not really enjoying the moment when you're trying to hold your iPhone steady!
Last year, a woman in front of me held up her iPad the entire
concert!  Looked to me like the best images she was getting
was of the bald guy in front of her!

One of the really big things about the concert is that the students

do not have to wear their uniforms!

Yippee - -a chance to wear a dress for more than 

one occasion!

But wait . . .

does anyone else have a difficult time finding appropriate

dresses for 14 year olds that are not dorky

and do not look too kiddish or too old ladyish?

Please, tell me I'm not alone!

Luckily, we have a found a couple that work

with a denim jacket (as they are too bare), 

but Maddy and I are wondering . . .

where are the cute dresses for girls her age

that meet the criteria above?

So, now talk amongst yourselves and give me your advice!

Coming up soon . . .

8th Grade Graduation!