Spring 2017 Ballet Recital

The girls had their end of year ballet recital recently. My family and the Sharps were all there and the girls both did a great job.  Here are a few shots from the dressing room before the show started.

Striking a pose

Sophie with some of her friends pre-show.

Lauren and her friend Hofsa, who also goes to Bala House Montessori with her. 

Coming to the End of First Grade

The other night Cynwyd Elementary School hosted parents for an Art Show of the kids work, all based on African Art. 

Sophie with her clay sculptures and homemade drum.

Standing below her African shield. 

And yesterday her first grade class hosted a Poetry Party where each kid stood up and read a poem they wrote. Here is Sophie's about the end of first grade

Easter 2017

Two days after we got back from the Disney Cruise it was Easter. 

The girls dying Easter eggs. They were interested for about 10 minutes, then I had to finish the eggs. They were beautiful ;)

That afternoon we spent at the Torresdale Golf Club for brunch and an Easter egg hunt. Here's our mini clan (with sun in our eyes). 

And here's the whole clan: Zoe, her boyfriend Elliot and Elliot's mom, Lydia, Dave, and Kathy. It was an absolutely beautiful day - the first of hopefully many to come in the next few weeks! 

Spring Break 2017 - Disney Cruise!

This year for Spring Break we took the girls on a Disney Cruise. We left early Monday morning for Orlando, drove an hour to Cape Canaveral, boarded the biggest ship I've ever seen, and spent 4 days cruising to the Bahamas and back. It was pretty amazing. The general theme of the week of Princesses - we all got our fill. Lauren was in dress up heaven, and although Sophie is getting a little old for princesses, she got into it on board (how can you not?).

The girls had a meet and greet with all of the princesses at the bottom of the grand stairs. Here they are with Belle. When not wearing a bathing suit Lauren was wearing her own princess dresses. Like I said, princess heaven. 

The ship made 2 stops - Nassau, where we didn't get off; and Castaway Cay, Disney's own island, where we did get off. We spent a few hours swimming in beautiful, clear water. Sophie and Dave went snorkeling and the girls got their hair braided (you can see in this picture). That morning Dave and I also did a 5K on the island while the kids hung out int he kids-only area. 

The girls also got Princess makeovers in the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique - Lauren decided to be Princess Minnie and Sophie was Princess Tiana. Here's Lauren in her Princess Minnie dress with the celebrity herself. 

And the last princess thing we did was tea with Tiana, Cinderella, and Belle. Here are the girls with Tiana. Yes, it was all a bit over the top, but we couldn't resist. 

Spring 2017

Spring is in full bloom in Bala Cynwyd. The trees in our front yard are in full pink bloom and all of the bulbs Dave planted in the fall are coming up. Our yard might be the most colorful in the neighborhood. 

Sophie is extremely proud that she can climb this tree by herself now. She's been taking rock climbing for about 4 months and has gotten pretty strong. 

Here's the Brentwood "Bike Gang." Maya, Emma, Lauren, Eleanor, and Sophie (Benson too). 

Lauren outgrew the glider bike, but isn't quite ready for 2 wheels yet, so we put the training wheels on Sophie's old bike, and she's loving it. Now that the weather is nice she's outside every day after school and on the weekends riding up and down Brentwood Rd. 

Her first ride with the new wheels 

Lauren's Big Hair Cut!

I took the girls to get spring hair cuts a few weeks ago and Lauren decided that she was ready for a big cut - 10 inches! I was nervous and both the hairdresser and I asked multiple times if she was sure, but she was. And she LOVES her new hair! Walking back to the car from the salon she was asking random people on the street "don't you like my new haircut?" A few weeks out she's still happy with it - and so am I - so much easier to take care of! 

Happy 7th Birthday, Sophie!

It's been 7 years since this amazing girl was born. Some of the days have felt extremely long, but most have gone by in a flash. It turns out she's a stubborn, empathetic, happy, smart little girl who has given us 7 adventure-filled years.

On her birthday, Dave and I went into her classroom in the afternoon to read a book to the class and then she gave all of her classmates bubbles to take home.

Handing out bubbles. 

And then, to celebrate 7 years, she decided that she wanted to get her ears pierced. We ended up at a Piercing Pagoda the same spot (in Va.) that I got my ears pierced 30 years ago. She was extremely nervous, and Dave and I expected some (lots) of tears, but she was a trooper and didn't shed one. Then we went to Benihana for teppenyaki - her favorite.  

Putting on a brave face

The action shot...

That night we had a little family party with our new family addition, Lydia, our au pair from Germany. She's been living with us for two months and it's like she's been here for two years. She made a beautiful rainbow birthday cake for Sophie.

The rainbow cake

Two days after her birthday she had an ice skating party (for the second year in a row) with her friends. She's pretty good on skates - which is great, because we haven't really gone too many times this winter. I on the other hand didn't even attempt to put on skates, like I did last year. It was better for everyone. 

The expert skater

We got a rainbow cake from the best bakery on earth: Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill.