Juliet's Ice Cream Social Party

My daughter Juliet turned 10 this month, and we had an Ice Cream Social Party to celebrate!

My hubby made a couple of life sized ice cream cones (not pictured) and this ice cream truck. So cute for pictures!

We had a cake and sundae stand, with ice cream toppings and this adorable cake.

Here is the milk bar, complete with white, strawberry and chocolate milk. You may also notice the design "Ice Cream Sundae" on the shelf - I couldn't resist adding it to the party. It fit the theme perfectly!

And here I am with my birthday girl :)

The Nutcracker

So this past weekend was Nutcracker weekend! This is Juliet's 4th year participating in her dance company's production of the quintessential Christmas ballet. And so it has become a part of our family's holiday tradition at this point - and we absolutely love it! Above is a picture of her dad and I with her after the show.

This was a picture of her taken onstage in her Arabian costume during dress rehearsal.

And here she is dressed as an Angel.

With her two best friends dressed as Party Girls onstage.

Doing leaps as Candy Canes.

Taylor Swift Concert!

So last night Derrick and I took Juliet to her first ever concert - to see Taylor Swift! Juliet absolutely loves Taylor and had been looking forward to this for months. She sounded wonderful and put on an amazing live show. We had great seats and this is a picture I took of her during the encore.

We had a wonderful evening and Juliet said it was the best night of her life - so thanks for coming to Phoenix Taylor!

Old Tucson

We spent the day out at Old Tucson today. It is one of those cool places unique to Tucson. It is a working movie studio where many Hollywood westerns have been filmed throughout the decades. It is one of my mom's absolute favorite places and my kids love to put on their cowboy/girl gear and go hang out for the day. This time we had the kids take some of those old time photographs. They loved it and really didn't want to take the outfits off :)

Juliet as a saloon girl.

Sean as a gunslinger.

Huntington Beach

My family and I spent the latter part of last week in Huntington Beach. We were there with Juliet and four of the girls she dances with as part of Discover the World Marketing's 30th Anniversary and Conference. The girls were part of the entertainment for the event, dancing at several different times. They had a blast! And when they weren't dancing we got to hang out by the pool and at the beach. Such a fun trip!

The Discover Divas (as they were called). Too cute!

California Girls :)

And here is Sean enjoying some pool time :)

Juliet at Competition

As many of you already know, my daughter Juliet is a dancer. This past weekend we went to Phoenix as a part of her studio's competition dance team. This is a picture that was taken during one of her dances. She did so well, and I was such a proud mama!

The Nutcracker

Hello everyone! I admit that I have been a bad blogger as of late. I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday. It has been such a busy month for our family. My son Sean's birthday was in late November followed by Thanksgiving. And then December was packed with all the usual holiday activities, including Juliet's participation in her ballet company's production of the Nutcracker. This year she was a Party Girl, Arabian dancer, and Candy Cane. She adores the Nutcracker and it is truly a joy for us as a family to watch her.

My Kids

So my mom has been playing (and learning!) a lot with her camera recently. This is of course to my benefit since she uses my kids as her models, and then I get lots of great pictures of them! She took this picture of Juliet, Sean and Luke that I just love.

Recital Time!

So, my very busy week with Juliet's dance recital is over, and I have to admit I'm a little sad. I loved watching her perform but knowing it was the last time she would do those dances was a little bittersweet. Before too long though, they'll be working on dances for next year, and I can't wait to see what she'll do next!

She of course had a great time with her friends. You can always count on a bunch of 8 year old girls for lots of excitement and drama!