First Birthday party of the day!

This morning at 10 am Mana and I went to RK's (niece) birthday party. She had a bike party. They had a bike track chalked out on the driveway. It had a starting line, pit stop, fan stands and more. The kids wanted to stay out and ride just about the whole time. It was a great party.

Pictures of the day...

"The Birthday Girl" "My Cool Nephew""My other Nephew"
He is cool also!! :) "The Parade""Mana at the Pit Stop"

Women vs. Men Softball Game

Today we had a women vs. men softball game at the church. A lot of people showed up. They had free food and drinks. It was tons of fun. My hubby played softball. I just took pictures. I do not like playing sports. I have never been very good at them. I brought Bella so she would not have to stay in her crate long. She was very good. She loved meeting everyone. Mana did well keeping watch over her. The men ended up winning something like 22 to 13. Everyone had a good time. Hope we do this again really soon. I did not get a lot of great action shots. I did better taking people pictures. That is what I like the most. There is something about capturing someones personality in a picture that I like.

Pictures from today....

"Joseph""Joseph pouring water on Debbie"
"Heidi" "Watching the Game" "My Hubby" "Jamie taking Pictures""Maranda & Lauren" "Playing the Game" "The Cutest Ones There" "All that Played the Game" "Bella Loves Ice!!"

Women's Game Night for August

August 7

We started back with our Women's Game Night. We always have the greatest time. Tyrone is the only guy that joins in. We needed him to participate several times ago and he had so much fun that now he is a regular. This time we played Apples to Apples and Baffle Gab. I had never played either of these games before.

Pictures of the day....

Bella & the Blueberry

Bella does not like to jump down from the chair. She will bark. Mana had a blueberry to give her if she jumped down.

Video of Bella

First Trip to the Art Musuem

August 4

Since Mana has not had much of a summer, I told her that we were going to go somewhere fun that she wanted to go. She chose the Museum of Art. Yes I know, I am an art teacher and my child has never been to the Museum of Art. It is sad. She has been wanting to go for about a year now. We decided to go eat at the downtown Chick-fil-a and then to the museum. She loved the interactive exhibit. She had a great time walking through all the halls and looking at all the different kinds of art. Her favorite was the Japanese art. My favorite was the contemporary art and the children's art exhibit. I loved the glass exhibit as well. I am glad I could spend some educational and quality time with my daughter.

Pictures of the day...

"Interactive Exhibit" "My Favorite Pieces of Art" "Mana being a Statue"

Silly Pictures with Joseph

The Last Show

August 2

Sunday was the last show of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". It was bitter sweet. Mana and I enjoyed the whole experience of her being in her first professional theatre production. I was very proud of her. I think she has grown from the experience in many ways. I saw her deal with different situations that came up. I was surprised at the way she handled them. I watched her learn an amazing amount of music and choreography in three short weeks. This experience has made me appreciate theatre even more then I did before. These actors work hard!! They have a love for what they do. They have too!! The last show went great. The whole cast had a boost of energy like no other night. They were giving their all and it showed. (They did every night, there was just something extra!) Mana had a grin on her face a mile wide. You could feel the excitement radiating off of the cast. It made you want to be up there on stage with them. I about cried watching Mana on that stage for the last time in this production, but I knew that there will be other times that I will sit in those theatre seats to watch her. I am so excited to be able to watch her grow as a young actress!! She is having a blast!!

After the show, the cast gathered outside. All the kids were running around getting the adult cast's autographs. It was sweet. The guy that placed Joseph put together a goodie bag for everyone of the kids in the cast along with his information so that they could stay in touch with him. He went beyond his role as Joseph in the musical and became a positive role model to the kids. I was impressed!! Brian and I told Mana that we would take her out to eat anywhere she wanted to go....she picked McDonald's. :)

Pictures of the day....

"Mana and her Dance Partner" "Mana with Paw Paw Jim & Mrs. Jean" "Mana with Mom & Dad" "Mana getting autographs"

One more performance

Today Mana had two productions. The first one at 2 pm and then one at 7:30 pm. Jamie, GranMary, Paw Paw and my nephews came to see her. She was so excited. She had a big grin on her face throughout most of the show. The family went to the camel caravan before the show. They had the snake again and a Gennie pig. A lot more of the adult cast came out to meet everyone this time. Only four came out last Saturday. After the performance, we went to the Mellow Mushroom. Mana and I really like the pizza there! After the family left, we sat with some of the cast members until time to go back to the theatre. We went to the park next to the theatre like every Saturday afternoon. We were all standing around waiting for the call time and it came a down pour. I had my good camera out. The camera and I both got soaked!! The kids and other cast managed to get inside the building. The rain was over about as fast as it came down. I am glad my camera is ok!! The 7:30 pm show was sold out. Just one more show left. I am ready for some normal time, but will miss the theatre life. Rehearsals for the next one will get here quicker then I realize, I am sure!!

Pictures of the day.....

"Mana next to the sign" "Cousins with the cast" "Cousins with Joseph" "Mana's family and Jamie!!""Mana's First Autograph!!" "Mana with Jeff" (Joseph)
She colored a picture for him. "One minute after the picture with Jeff"