The State of Bunt

Well this post is mostly just to let everyone that we are still alive. No strange phenomonum has obliverated us out east. It is mostly the winter doldrums. Which is really a lame excuse considering we really haven't had much of a winter, but I am already sick of it. Every since I gave up skiing I just haven't enjoyed winter as much. We got our first real snow fall on Valentine's day and the snow is still here. We had a little bit of snow Thursday, but mostly it is around because it has been cold. I can't wait for spring when the weather is nice during the day but before the bugs are out in force along with the dreaded humidity.

Not to say that it has been boring around here. We had President's Day brunch with our friend the Smith's and Swint's. I have even considered taking downhill skiing up again as Grace is getting to the point where she may enjoy that and my friend Gary has been taking his kids for the first time this year and has invited Grace and I to come along (unfortunately it has been on Sundays).

Perhaps this is the calm before the storm. We are gearing up for visits every month from March to October. It will be fun to have visitors and for us to be visitors but there is always a lot to take care of on either side of visits. Since Michelle and I are having a battle of will to see who will post about our doings nothing much gets written and plus what has there been to write?

The best way to describe me right now is a state of bunt. I normally go through a couple week period each year (generally in December) where I don't have much desire to do anything. Even lounging is a chore. This past December it didn't happen so perhaps I have it a couple of months late.

Anyway, I can feel the winds of change coming. The feeling of inevitability, and just maybe some exciting news to post to all the world.

Hattie's 9 months old!

I don't notice or celebrate Harriet's little weekly and monthly first-year birthdays as much as I did with Grace. Mostly, it's because I'm doing so much and thinking about so much that I don't even know what day it is! Harriet is also such a fast-forward baby that I'm not even sure what it is she's supposed to be doing at what age. I do know that while we were in Utah, Harriet reached the 9 month mark. Here is what she is and isn't doing now:

She IS:
*very healthy
*very big still - 19.5 pounds and 29 inches long (60th and 90th percentile)
*eating MUCH better - just about anything off of your plate. Her favorite this week was the shredded BBQ pork out of my burrito.
*getting lots of teeth - 3 came for Christmas and one on New Year's
*sitting up extremely well
*playing a lot more
*much happier and personable
*talking a lot - dada, baba, and I swear she says doggie and said kitty once
*laughing a lot
*playing pat-a-cake and waving to people
*taking fewer naps- down to 2 today
*trying VERY hard to crawl and was much inspired by spending time with her 17 month old cousin, Sean
*standing up by holding onto your hands
*paying attention to the TV more (I know this is mostly bad, but it is good for me - especially when making dinner!) Her favorites are Elmo, Baby Mozart, and just the introduction song of Little Einsteins. She also likes the opening scene of the movie "Cars."

She is NOT:
*spitting up as much - down to once or twice a day
*taking prescription meds for her belly anymore
*crying as much during the day or when I leave her with David
*easy going - she has a very sharp little temper
*fitting into the right clothes! I am still buying baby clothes because she skips ahead in sizes and seasons from what I had for Grace. Arggghhh...
*liking baby food so much - big people food please!
*getting a lot of hair, but the hair she does have has a hint of being curly?
*crawling or walking yet, but big sister didn't do those things until 10 and 15 months, so she's got some time before being embarrassed.
*sleeping through the night anymore! she was doing 10 hours, and now only does 4... little stinker...

I also know that I LOVE her. Although a difficult one to figure out, she is a bright spot in my life. I really have connected with her and I understand her. I'm starting to forget what life was like without her and that is a good thing.

Here are some photos of Hattie with all the family she got to hang with in Utah...

January 2007

I feel badly that I didn't blog during the month of January except for my New Year's post. We were just too busy! We spent the first week digging ourselves out of the Christmas mess and the second week packing and getting ready for our trip to Utah that would last until the end of the month.

Our Utah trips aren't quite to the point where you just put in the tape and push "play", but they are developing some similar patterns and themes. Of course, we see as much of our family as we can and we visit as many friends as time allows. Our other main activities are to go for a horsey ride at our old barn, eat out at our old favorite restaurants, and do some major shopping. The local shopping where we live is ok for most things and is actually better for some things, but there is always a list of items that I just can't seem to find or get without some major effort here. So, I make a list and take an empty bag and fill it whenever visiting my familiar shopping places in Utah. It is also much more fun to shop in Utah because there, I have my sisters and mom to shop with and also lots of built-in baby-sitters. This past time, we all went together quite a bit and tag-teamed the kids as we each took turns looking for and trying things on. Here, I either have to leave my kids and go alone, or take them with me and try to shop while they whine and cry and get lost.
It sounds a bit silly for me to go on about shopping because I'm not really a "Nordstrom girl" as we use to say in high school. I am not much into fashion and purses and having the latest things. But, at some point, you do have to replace worn out jeans, buy more clothes when you change sizes, and you do have to buy gifts and let's face it, it is much too fun to buy things for little girls now that I have them! So, I do spend a lot of time shopping with my sisters.

This past month we made several trips to Cottonwood Mall. I kind of feel like I grew up at Cottonwood Mall. When we were little and lived in Wyoming and use to come to Salt Lake to visit my Grandma, she would take us to the mall. We always ate at the food court and tossed coins in the fountain. Then, after we moved to Salt Lake, only blocks from the mall, we made frequent trips with our friends in the summer as pre-teens, and then frequent trips "in-between classes", ahem, in high school. I did get caught at Cottonwood Mall when I shouldn't have been there. As luck would have it, my mom caught me every single time I broke a rule. On one particular unlucky trip, the rusty muffler and tail pipe completely broke off (but was still tethered to) my 88 Camaro in the middle of the mall parking lot - had to call mom and dad to help with that one. In later married years, I use to meet my mom and sisters at the mall early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to kick-off the Christmas shopping season. Needless to say, the mall has been a place where my family has done lots of shopping and eating together and it brings back lots of memories.

Now, I write about the mall as it completes is final closings. When we were there last month, we visited several stores "on their last day open" and passed many more that had already been closed for months. I have been told that it will be closed for good in April and probably torn down before we go back to Utah. It's weird (not being a shopping addict) that I'm a little sad about losing the mall in my old neighborhood, but I am. Oh well, the mall is not the only place to shop - we have lots of other favorites!

To sum up our vacation, we spent lots of time hanging out! (We also spent lots of time dodging viruses and spraying lysol on door knobs, phones, and toys - finally got sick for the last 4 days of our 17 days there.) The only downside of the trip besides all of our sick relatives was our canceled road trip to southern Utah to see my grandparents there. We had banked on going, but too many people were too sick on too many days to go. The best part of our trip is that Harriet got some really good time in with her grandparents and aunts. She really got to know them and bonded with them. Grace also got lots of individual attention from everyone and always comes away with her "bucket full." It's a deep bucket to fill when we get home and she has to share me with Harriet and all of the daily chores.
We'll have to come again soon before Harriet forgets everyone. Hopefully, May will be our next trip.

Here are some random January pictures. Since, we didn't go anywhere but people's living rooms, the barn, and the mall, so they're not terribly exciting, but I guess, neither are we. I actually love not doing much of anything - doing something is over-rated and doing nothing is highly under-rated.

That Darn Dog!

Anybody want me?

Well I just got home from the emergency care vet. I really wanted to use the line I have a shovel and a shotgun and plenty of space to bury you. But alas, Grace wouldn't let dispose of Velvet after we came home to find out she had eaten 2.5 lbs of chocolate (almost a lethal dose). So off I went to the vet. They wanted to keep her over night, but I was about to fork over the dough for my new mountain bike so instead she gets one angry owner to keep an eye on her for the next 48 hours to make sure she doesn't have any ill effects.

Moral of the story, no more chocolate in the house. We'll see if I can convince Michelle and Grace of that one! Or alternatively, no more dogs.

Signed,

One unhappy dog owner. Talk to me tomorrow I'll probably be in a better mood.

Global Warming?

The last two days have been unbelievable around here. I see how cold it is in Utah and how much snow they have in Colorado and I can only shake my head about the weather around here. Yesterday it was 63 degrees and today it was 69. January 6, and I am out and about in a t-shirt and doing yard work. Definately not your typical New England winter day. If this is from global warming, count me as a fan.

With Michelle teaching today, the kids, dogs and I spent the afternoon outside enjoying ourselves. We cleaned up after the dogs (not fun, but hey somebody has to do it), played football, did some yard work, and went on a 3 mile walk. Grace and Harriet loved the bike trailer/stroller. I think this was the first time that I didn't have to listen to Harriet cry even once while Michelle was gone. She loved the walk and so did the dogs. They got themselves wet in the river, did some snooping (and perhaps some eating) of goose/duck nests, and ran at least an extra mile with all of the doubling back.


About the only thing I didn't get to do today was go on a bike ride. I just am getting older, fatter, and more out of shape every day. I generally have cold weather as an excuse but not this last week.

Merry Christmas 2006!

Sorry it took so long for us to write about Christmas. Our post-Christmas week was just about as busy as our pre-Christmas week. Then, to make matters worse, it has taken 3 days and many more attempts to get the pictures loaded onto blogger (I know - I should have just done them on the flickr button...)

Harriet had her first Christmas this year! She wasn't old enough to understand it, but she was old enough to have some fun. It is always great for a parent to have a baby at Christmas time because you really think about what Mary and Joseph must have gone through to get Jesus here and all they did after he was born to raise him. I wondered "did baby Jesus have reflux?" Then, listening to the words of a carol I had forgotten "no crying He made", I guess he wasn't too fussy of a baby.


Our fussy baby Harriet did like looking at lights, playing with bells, and ripping wrapping paper. She really liked playing with her new toys too on Christmas day. I think she had gotten a little bored with the ones she had and was excited to have something that caught her attention again. She was lucky to receive the "coveted" Tickle-Me-Elmo Extreme from Mo Debbie and Grandpa Lyle. I hadn't even heard about the toy when it was going like hot-cakes in toy stores and being sold for fortunes on e-bay, but her grandma hooked her up and she's now the coolest 8 month old in town (we're pretty sure she was the only kid in our tiny town to get one!) Her favorite present was probably the gift from her sister Grace - a set of stacking cups from the grocery store. She loves holding them, hitting them together, and chewing on the edges. Grace was very proud to have given her sister a gift that was enjoyed so much.


Gracie probably had her best Christmas yet. She was the most fun for us this year. She was utterly, entirely, and hopelessly spoiled from every direction. She's just at the right age to be totally entranced by the magic of Santa and the wonder of each holiday tradition and can't get enough of the decorations, lights, and counting down to the big day.
She also was a little light of Christmas spirit in our house. Even amidst her constant reminding of what she had asked Santa to bring, she was equally interested in the Nativities, having a birthday party for baby Jesus, and understanding of others who might not be getting as much for Christmas. She helped me with a sub-for-Santa sponsored by our town. We went to the library and chose tags for two little girls who Santa needed help with. She was way into helping Santa get to the little girls who wouldn't otherwise receive something. She helped me shop for, wrap, and deliver the toys back to Santa's box. I am actually pretty amazed at how much she understood and cared for the spiritual side of Christmas in comparison to the other things. She also helped her daddy shop for me and was very excited to tell me where they got each thing as I opened it.

Santa was good to David and me as well. I got a new riding helmet (my first new one in at least 13 years) now that I'm back to riding weekly. David got a manly cordless drill and can't wait to find something that is loose that might need a big screw drilled into it. He looked all over on Christmas day for something to try it out on, but didn't find anything cool enough. We also got lots of new things to cook with. David is being VERY careful with his new pots and pans from his parents and I have received strict instructions on their use and care. I sure hope he is the first one to scratch one of them and not me!

We were invited on Christmas Eve to spend the evening with our friends, the Bahe's. (This is Harriet and me with my friend Shawn Bahe.) They are an extremely musical family and live in the "servant's quarters" of a house circa 1800's. It was a very charming place to have a Christmas party. It looked just like a Victorian Christmas card. They sang (and we mouthed) lots of carols, played some songs on these cool hand-made chimes, listenened to some great stories, and watched the kids act out the Nativity. Grace was the shepherd. She was bummed to lose the role of Mary to another girl there, but then was equally happy to be in charge of the sheep.


Christmas Day was spent entirely at our house. We didn't go a single place, but just played and watched movies all day. It was GREAT! Then, David cooked a big fancy turkey dinner for us that night.
We have to make a small note about Shadow and Velvet too. They have been very good dogs all year, especially with the addition of another baby to the pack. They have been kicked out of every room that was "theirs," kicked off of every piece of furniture that they might have been allowed to sleep on, and have had their walks taken away from them as David has been too busy helping me with the kids at night to do it (he had tried diligently to re-start the walks this week, but they have gone 8 months without their nightly hour of adventure.) So, as a family, we got the dogs new fluffy nice beds with their names embroidered on them. They are so very grateful for the gifts. They have hardly been found anywhere else in the house since Christmas morning. We are just glad we could give them a little bit of joy too...they are really good girls and are so patient with the kids - they deserved a little reward for sure.


Merry Christmas to every creature, one and all!

Visitors from the West and Birthday Celebrations!

This post is a little out of order. I realized that I never "blogged" about my mom and sister coming to visit last week-end. It is always VERY nice to have people come and visit us, and this was no exception.
The first night they were here, we went to Concord's town Christmas festival to see their tree lighting. It's such a historic town - arguably one of the most historic in our country. We had a tour of the Colonial Inn (est. 1716 - still running as a hotel and restaurant) and Grace had her face painted in the "Thoreau Room."

The next couple of days, we had a great time just hanging out and doing lots of Christmas shopping in the tiny towns around here. Santa toured our town and Grace got to tell him face-to-face what she wants for Christmas (after not sitting on his lap at the festival.) He told her to keep her room clean. Her room is always clean - I asked "did he say anything about your playroom?"

Grace stuck like glue to her Aunt Em. They are soul mates of sorts. They are so similar. Sometimes I slip and call Grace "Emily" because she reminds me of my little sister when we were all very young. Sometimes I feel like I've just added 2 more sisters to my family rather than 2 daughters/nieces. We do make a tight bunch though and it is so fun to be together, but so hard to be apart too. Grace has had an especially hard time this week without "Em" and can't wait until we can go see everyone again in a few weeks...

We also did some early birthday celebrating. I turned 31 today - no particularly important number to celebrate, but any time you pass the milestone of adding a year to your life, it is significant (and I can't believe I'm "freakin' 31".) My mom and Emily did tend the kids while David and I went out to dinner by ourselves (only for the 3rd time since Hattie was born), so that was really nice. Then, we also had a family party the next night.

Tonight for my real birthday, David and Grace (and Hattie) made things really special. After opening all my gifts for me, Grace chose to have a candle-light salmon dinner (what 3 year old chooses salmon and salad over cheese ravioli?!) and helped her daddy get it ready. They also made me a birthday cake - I think the first David has ever made. He tried very hard to make frosting, but I stepped in to help when I saw the lumpy chocolate soup he was whisking around in the bowl trying to convince himself it would eventually spread with a knife. But as we said - it was the best cake ever because it had the most important ingredient - LOVE. Sounds cheesy? Wait until you eat a piece of cake made by your darling little blonde girl and your husband who has taken her birthday shopping for you and has helped her make a salmon dinner for you (also made raspberry waffles this morning.) You'll be able to write a hallmark card about it too.

A Star is Born

Grace had her big stage debut Friday night. She and her friends from dance class performed a tap dance number to the song "Frosty the Snowman" at the local junior high school auditorium. She is in a class that does both ballet and tap, but since they have only been dancing for 4 months, they chose one medium for the first recital. She will do a ballet and a tap number at the big spring recital.

I have to say I am not a good stage mom. I get way too frazzled about things and there is so much to do and worry about and remember to bring. We wish that Aunt Em would have been able to come and be our make up artist! I haven't applied (or owned) blue eyeshadow since 1988, nor black eyeliner for that matter, but we did get it put on and even had the best rosy cheeks because I found this really cool lipstick wand thingy at the drugstore.

After much preparation, practice, and primping, Grace proudly went onstage first to do a dress rehearsal and then to do the real thing. Her dance partner got scared and decided to sit down on the stage for the first half of the song. They were supposed to clap hands together, but Grace was a trooper and just pretended that her partner was participating. She was a great actress and just went with the flow. She was also very serious in trying to remember her steps. Her dance teacher (also the studio owner) was in front of the stage helping them along and Grace was sternly focused on her to make sure she was doing the right things. No fake smile for her... she was too busy concentrating, but the smile after she was done was completely genuine and she was so proud of herself. We are so proud of her too. I really couldn't believe that she was so fearless about the stage and so intense about her dance steps. Also, for a kid who won't have her hair done to save her life, she was surprisingly excited about having her hair and makeup done (and her make up refreshed many times) for the performance.

As tradition stands, it is proper to give a dancer some flowers after they perform. Many kids were getting them at the recital, but we had left ours in the car so that we could give them to her later. She was SOOO excited to receive 3 little pink roses as a tribute to her performance. She wants to keep them forever, so they are now drying in her bedroom.
I am just so excited to have a little girl who I can do these kinds of things with and who is so beautiful and smart and talented and kind. (Sorry folks - I have to brag here...) She is so amazing and teaches me so many things about how you should be and how you should look at life. Gracie - you are my star.

A Year in Review

With 2006 coming to a close I thought that I would make a little video montage of the happenings of 2006. It has been a good year to us and we will soon have our top 10 items of the year as well. This was going to be a small project, but in process it morphed into something a little larger than intended. For now enjoy the 15+ minutes of pictures and good tunes. If you were lucky enough to be in the video congrats. Otherwise, I guess you need to spend more time with us!

Those Cougars are naughty...

So says Grace and I believe her. She has been lucky to never have tasted the bitterness of defeat in the big game until this year and that was her response. "Urghhh, those Cougars are naughty." While two minutes after the game was over Grace was recovered and playing with her toys, Dad and Mom (especially Dad) were still brewing. How does the defense give up 3 tds including a drive of 90 yards and a 75 yard, 69 second drive to lose the game with all naughts on the clock? The prevent defense is how. The U. was unable to get any pressure on Beck for most of the game and it is like they gave up in the fourth quarter. It wasn't just the last drive, but it seemed that most of the fourth quarter they had given up pressuring Beck and only rushed 3. This gave Beck approximately an eternity to complete each pass and the result? BYU 33, Utah 31. The once feared U. defense would never have allowed this, even this year's D. should have stopped the last drive.

Now the U fans have to say wait until next year, but I still stand by my statement made 2 months ago. Neither BYU or Utah are any good this year. BYU may be ranked, but I know who the real BYU is and they aren't very good.

GO UTES!!! In defeat I just bleed even more crimson.

This one is for Jared

Well while I am in a blogging mood I better finally get this one done. I was suppose to do it 3 months ago when in Utah, but for some reason it never happened. I have promised Jared I would get to it and now I finally have.


One of the highlights of our vacation to Utah in August was the chance I had to go camping in the Uintas. The Uinta mountains are one of my favorite places. The desolation, the solitude, the communion that takes place is divine as I find myself in one of the last refuges from roads, cell phones, and the hustle and bustle of life.


Jared graciously invited me to go camping and we had a great time. We did a little geocaching, we fjord the river, we hiked, we played horse shoes, and we had a great time.


Jared posted about our trip a while ago and talked about his victory over me in horseshoes. All I can say is that Jared has some black magic voodoo curse on me. It started back in 7th grade during shasta day competitions. Coach Ranck at Bonneville would have basketball camp and once a week we would have Shasta Day where the winners of certain events would get a nice cool drink. One of the competitions involved one-on-one play. The guards would play against each other and the big men would play against each other. Then the winner of the guards and the winner of the big men would play each other for all the Shastas in the cooler. I can remember playing Jared at least twice in this competition and both times I lost. It wasn't his size on me, or his better basketball skills, it was the black magic voodoo curse that he was hexing me with. This has continued to this day whether it is a game of horse, fantansy sports, or horseshoes out camping. Jared has the magical ability to pull out a victory even when he looks desperate.

While I did lose to him 4 out of 4 while camping, I think that the curse is finally showing signs of weakening. I beat him in fantasy basketball a couple of weeks ago (the battle of the cellar dwellars) and I think he will be in trouble if we meet in the fantansy football playoffs. Horseshoes anyone?

The beautiful New England fall

Well after suffering through a miserable autumn last year, this year has lived up to the typical New England fall billing. The hurricane season has been practicall non-existent so we haven't had to deal with much rain and the weather has just been perfect for both fall colors and to still get outside and have some fun.


For the last 3 months, I have been in charge of Grace and Hattie on Saturday afternoons while Michelle has been busy working. It started out with Harriet crying and screaming for most of the time and trips half way through to get to the barn so that Michelle could feed Harriet while Grace and I just wished for some peace and quiet. Now Harriet no longer requires nourishment straight from the source (although still her favorite) and she is much more content with Dad and big sister Grace.

Her progression and the weather have really allowed us to have some fun over the last few Saturdays. We took our first bike trailer ride, we have raked and played in leaves, and we have just had fun without having to listen to the crys and screams of a 6-7 month old. All of this has added up to me now looking forward to Saturday afternoons with my girls. Yesterday we all got comfy and watched some football (should be read as, took a nice nap on the couch together). Grace and I used to do this all the time when she was Hattie's age. Grace even helps me fix things around the house and watched over Hattie while we get little projects done. I think she has gotten a Bob the Builder bug in her and she wants to use hammers and screwdrivers to build and fix things. Better than dolls, right?


Anyway, here is hoping to a mild winter and some outdoor fun. Oh and by the way, the leaves may be beautiful up on the trees, but the curse of New England autumns, the dirty little secret, the skeleton in the closet, is that those leaves fall off and must be raked. I have raked and raked and raked some more and it never ends. If I have to rake one more leaf this fall I might just go insane.

One step from the garage?

Michelle recently blogged about turning the den into a playroom and mentioned that I was also very happy about it as I now no longer have to stumble over trains in the living room. This is true; however, I am wondering how long the current configuration will last before the computer is banished to either the garage or the basement. Just in case I have been cleaning up and organizing the basement (since that is the only room I can claim for my own) for that possibility. For the moment I can't complain about my new digs. I have a nice view out the dining room door across my deck. The great thing about a laptop too is that it is portable. I find myself often disconnecting all the cords and sitting on the couch multi-tasking (email, web surfing, and tv watching--oh the gluttony!).

I may be in some luck that the computer will stay in the main house, Michelle actually uses it more than me and is even more addicted to email than I am. As long as I can keep that going I think I will be safe.

Keeping the chill out

I have been meaning to blog this for three weeks, but I have been prevented from doing so by the typical excuses (insert your own here). Michelle and I have been meaning to replace 3 of the 4 older windows still left in our house, but have been putting it off for one reason or another. One reason, was cost. We had Home Depot come in and give us a quote and they basically wanted my first born and a second mortgage on the house in order to install what turned out to be 3 windows and only 5 hours. However, after a storm earlier this month that was accompanied by a lot of wind, I decided I needed to do something so that the shade does flutter in 6" into the house every time the wind blows.

Luckily for me, my friend and co-worker Dan convinced me how easy it is to install windows. The poor guy even offered to help not realizing that I was desperate and would not turn down his offer of help. Upon taking out the first window we discovered that the wood was in pretty bad shape and would need to be replaced. This required a trip to Home Depot to get some wood. Other than that things went fairly smooth. The windows we replaced must have been original to the house (1940), and were the old weight and pulley system. This meant there was a huge (2"x4") pathway for the weights to move up and down. This was only one more reason to replace the windows. So I filled the gap with insulation and after a little over 5 hours we had 3 new windows in place.

Now I can sit back and enjoy the savings. I probably will recover the cost of at least 1 window just this winter in heating oil savings. After 3 weeks I can tell a huge difference in the furnance pattern and how warm the house stays at night. Even Grace who really was attached to her old window thinks the new ones are great.

And the best part is, the three windows were installed for 1/6 the price quoted to me by home depot.

Thanks Handy-man Dan. Now if only he can help me with the hot water heater, the deck, the eaves, the painting, the ...

In the tradition of the Nutcracker...

Grace and I went to our second Nutcracker together tonight. I'm so glad I can carry on this tradition started by my grandmother. The Christmas season for me always feels more like Christmas once I've seen it. I guess this is the first year in about 25 years that my grandma won't be going and taking grand-children.

Since Hattie is much too young to take to the ballet, David stayed home with her and Gracie and I had a mommy/daughter date. Since the little stinker won't ever dress up or do her hair, this was a rare occasion for me to get her all gussied up and looking like the princess she is. (She will do her hair for dance class still though...)



David bought her the most gorgeous princess dress when he was in Salt Lake this fall. We saved it for the Nutcracker. Since the performance we go to is a more low-key and local one, people don't get as dressed up as they do down town in Boston. You see everything from jeans and tennis shoes to very fancy dresses. We definitely err on the side of being very dressy, but it is just too much fun to take a little princess to see the ballet.

We love our little ballet company and it's nice to support something local. They do a great job and again had some pro's come in for the big dances. Grace says her favorite parts this year were "the girl who did a passe while turning", the mice, and the music. She absolutely loves the music and didn't know what to do during the pauses when the music stops.

I think Gracie had a new appreciation for the show this year too since she has started taking dancing lessons. She is excited that she will be having her first dance recital in December. They haven't learned enough in ballet to do a performance yet, but she's going to do a tap number to "Frosty the Snowman." Should be darling!