Drawing 101

As I may have mentioned previously (numerous times, I'm sure), I think my little Maddy is an excellent artiste!

A few weeks ago, she finished writing her First Communion thank-you's and on each one, she drew a picture of the gift she received -- her own idea.

You should have seen the adorable rosary and bible she drew.

She even drew cash -- a $20 dollar bill and a $40 dollar bill!

She's almost completed her Drawing 101 class and she's really enjoyed it. Well, except maybe for the fact that there are 8 boys and only2 other girls in the class. And well, you know, the boys are goofy! What a surprise, eh! :)

The first week, they worked on shadowing.

The second week - self-portraits.

The third week, it was drawing animals. She generally loves to draw animals (see Muffy above!), but the instructor wanted them to draw dinosaurs. She doesn't really like dinosaurs, but still did a good job -- said the most unbiased mom ever! Ha ha!

She has one more class until the class ends and I'm not sure what's on tap for that one. But wow, I've really got to give her credit. I was a bit shy when I was young and would have fussed and whined about going to a class where I didn't know anyone. Even though, Miss M is quiet and a bit shy, she went right into class and hasn't complained a single bit.

My little artist -- I love her so!! :)

Black & White Wednesday

It's time for Black & White Wednesday!

Check out Lisa's place for some very cool photos!

Somebody has not wanted her picture taken much lately,

but luckily,

Mickey is generally cooperative.

Of course, he was trying to get away fast in his old red convertible!

And here he is in color -- speeding away!

Cousin Fun!

Maddy and I are so excited!

We have a girls trip planned and it's coming up soon!!

Windy City - here we come -- 4th of July weekend!

Oh, we do wish that my Mom and all the girls in the family could join us, but other commitments, work, family, etc. made that impossible.

Mr. Tennis thinks we are the "high maintenance" sisters (me and sissy Amy)

and I'm sure he's wondering what all we have planned! HA!

Well, there will simply not be enough time to schedule hair-straightening, facials, botox, etc. , though we may be able to squeeze a makeover and a little shopping at Nord*strom's on the schedule!

The last time Maddy was in Chicago, it was 2004 and she was 2-1/2 years old.

We met some travelmates there and had such a wonderful time together. Unfortunately, they have moved to Arizona now, so we won't be able to see them, but Arizona is on our list of places to visit!

Playing with Legos at the hotel.

[Maddy - on the right with Barney- her stuffed animal of choice at the time!]

Amy and I are so excited to have a trip together with the girls who are now 8-1/2 and 11 years old-- perfect ages! Actually, every age with these girls is perfect! They have so much fun together. Watch for a special Chicago edition of Boo Adventures coming in July!

[Grace and Maddy -- 3 years ago at pirate night! ARRRR!]

A Musical

Miss Maddy and I had an opportunity to attend a musical this past weekend and we jumped at the chance!

Maddy's good friend won four tickets to a performance of a High School Musical 2 put on by a nearby children's theatre group.

As Sharpay herself might say, "IT WAS FABULOUS!!"

Wow -- the talent in this young group was amazing!

[Maddy and Mei with Troy and Gabriella]

Maddy was a little surprised that the ensemble group did not look exactly like their counterparts in the movie! It was a lot of fun and we will definitely plan to attend more local theatre events in the future.

[Enjoying a cookie during intermission!]

Can you guess what we watched after we got home?

The film version --

complete with a lot of singing along and dancing by Miss Maddy! Fun indeed!

Milk the Moment!

Got Milk?

Guess what ---the milk moustache van rolled into our fair city the other day!

No kidding -- how exciting was that you ask??? Oh yeah, very exciting indeed!!

Why, oh why, do I think a milk moustache is cool?

With only minutes to spare, Maddy and I raced over to its location at our friendly little zoo.

Go figure, since I've been teaching Miss Maddy NOT to have a milk moustache, she had the hardest time figuring out how TO get a milk moustache from the yummy vanilla shakes provided by the "Milk the Moment" group.

"Just slop that shake up all over your mouth" they advised.

Guess who else was along for the ride and also got a milk moustache??

Yep, our friend, Mickey Mouse! Can you see it there?

He wore it proudly the whole evening!

Bonus -- it was Wild Wednesday and she got a little Dr. Seuss book on the way out.

Double bonus, as we were leaving, the milk van was packing up and offered us an unopened gallon of vanilla ice cream!

Hooray -- more vanilla shakes at our house!

Not Your Average Archaeologist

Look at her -- a little archaeologist-in-training . . . with an elephant tatt and polka-dot fingernails no less!!

Who knew there were dinosaur bones in Nebraska??

Not only does she like to "dig" for bones, but she likes to visit and even feed the camels!

Maybe she'll be able to dig for camel bones next year!!! (Tee hee - kidding!)

And the llamas -- they look cute, but don't let that fool you for a single minute! They knocked a whole container of food right out of her hands and then stomped their feet (hooves, I guess) wanting more!! Hmmph -- last time we feed those smelly animals!

Did I say that out loud?

Ooops, sorry about that!

Not to worry, we quickly ran out and washed our hands for at least 5 minutes to get those animal and animal food cooties off.

Truthfully, animals kind of creep me out.

I'm so glad the animals in the zoo are mostly behind fences and in cages -- that's plenty close enough for me!

Now, this is more to my liking!

Cute giant eggs to climb in and hatch out of with friends!

Say it with me now --

ADORABLE! :)

The Sweetest Face!

Oh my -- look at that most adorable little face of my sweet baby granddaughter, Janie Boo!

Have you seen anything more precious???

No, I didn't think so!

Look at those eyes and eyelashes!

No Latisse* needed there, even though I would totally share mine!

Last weekend was little Miss Janie's baptism.

It was the sweetest ceremony made all the more special since the

priest has known (and loved, I'm sure of it) Catherine's family for many years.

We are indeed blessed beyond measure to have this incredible baby girl in our family!

My Fave Souvenir

I'm not a big one on souvenirs --

well, except I do usually get a refrigerator magnet.

That just seems a little dorky now that I say it out loud.

Who collects refrigerator magnets???

But, there was a woman doing caricatures on the Boardwalk one evening,

and so Miss Maddy plopped herself down in the chair

with Sorcerer Mickey in tow and had her picture drawn.

(Thought I did such a great job scanning it

until I just realized I missed part of the castle

that she drew on the right-hand side.)

Oops -- visualize it there, ok!

I love it -- I really love it!

For once, a cool souvenir from Disney* and it's not a magnet!