My Idols

We just finished an exciting weekend of singing and dancing here in the 'ville.  The annual C'ville Idol show was this weekend and we were all involved.  Tom co-MC'd the program, Jeffrey and Mommy played in the group numbers and Erin sang her little heart out as one of the local Idols.  It was so much fun!!  A ton of work, but completely worth it.

The theme this year was "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock & Roll".  The kids did some classic Rock&Roll revues,  Tom and I were in a Country Revue, a "Hair" segment and the ever fun YMCA performance.  For her solo, Erin sang Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.  She was amazing.  I can't believe that at such a young age she had no issues getting up in front of a big crowd and just letting it all out.  We're all so proud of her.  So here is a little montage of some of the group numbers, and a video of Erin's solo.

Enjoy!!!

Growing up is not easy . . .

. . . for mommy that is.  It seems that my little baby girl is no longer a baby girl.  When did that happen?

Just a month old

The newest thing.  It was announced to me when she got off the bus this week that she has two boyfriends.

Erin's always related well with the boys.  She can be a bit of a tomboy when she wants.  And to be truthful, that was me as a kid.  My best friends in elementary school were boys.  I could sit and play Star Wars guys with them for hours on end. We spent weekends digging in the dirt.  I was certainly more of a tomboy than Erin is.  I hated dresses, never owned a Barbie, and loved playing softball with my dad or climbing trees. 

This Is NOT Erin

Even in Kindergarten Erin had a best buddy.  She and he were pretty in-separable the second half of the year.  But first grade rolled around, new class, new friends and they both moved on.  Last year she was friends with one of the boys in class. They sat together at lunch every day for a stretch. This year apparently there is a new friend in class.  This is not someone I've heard her talk about before.  But she certainly talks about him a lot now. 

She came home last week talking a lot about him, and how they sat near each other.  Then the big announcement was made this week -- she's his girlfriend.  I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean what it will mean in a few years, but Erin asked me if it was OK if they held hands while walking to lunch.  The fact that she asked me, makes me think she's growing up.  This is different from Kindergarten.  Apparently he's also mentioned that they should go on a date -- ummm NO!!!!

And now there's a boy on the bus who's decided they're boyfriend/girlfriend.  I do believe this is the same boy who made her cry on the first day of school when he called her a baby.  You know, we tease because we like -- wait what am I saying.

I certainly don't think that at 7, I was thinking about "boyfriends" but times have certainly changed.  Characters on cartoons aimed at elementary schoolers talk about crushes and dating.  Disney shows are loaded with "couples".  Or maybe I was just a totally oblivious kid.

Now excuse me while I go and clean out the shotgun for Tom to get ready for the next few years.

Just Look At Those Legs

Gorgeous Afternoon

Shot From the Falls When We Hiked There in 2006

Saturday afternoon was simply the most gorgeous day we've had here in a long time.  It was slightly cool, breezy, sunny -- perfect.  We'd planned to maybe take a day at the pool, but with Erin being a little tired from the sleep-over we decided to head into the mountains.  Of course, I left my camera sitting on the dining room table.

We packed a picnic lunch and drove to one of the nearby picnic grounds on the Drive.  We've been there before and it's an awesome place for a picnic.  An open area in the center with picnic tables, cooking pits (we forgot about this and will remember for next time) and place to toss a Frisbee.  The kids had an awesome time throwing the Frisbee around and kicking the soccer ball together.  We even set up a little soccer game with the 4 of us.  Tons of laughter and fun...totally awesome.

We then decided to take a little hike on one of the nearby trails.  We've hiked that trail a few years ago and it leads down to a nearby waterfall.  We didn't intend to hike all the way down there, but once we started and mentioned the word "waterfall" the kids were determined.  As with most hikes in our area, they start at the top...go down...and head back up.   The up was a bit long, with some complaining, and plenty of carrying but everyone was glad we hiked down to the waterfall.

By the time we got home, everyone was beat and ready to just relax.  It was such a great afternoon.  I'm looking forward to more afternoons just like it.

More Sleep-Over

Here are a couple of other pictures taken at the sleep over.  Thought they were so cute I just had to share.  I can't believe how grown-up my baby girl is.

First Sleepover

Erin got to go to her first sleepover this weekend.  One of her friends from the plays was having a sleepover so they could all watch Camp Rock (a Disney Channel show of some sort).  It was rather last minute invite, which was probably good.  Neither Erin nor I could stress over it too much.

The theme of the party was "Rock Star" so Erin dressed in her best Rock Star get-up.  She was all sparkly and glittery.  And soooooo excited.

Mommy wasn't quite as excited.  Erin's been away for the night before, but with Grandma or Noni, or Aunt Katie. This was her first night without someone from the family.  My biggest concern was that she might get a migraine.  It had been a long week and sometimes a migraine will hit her at the end of a long week.  But I decided that I couldn't keep my baby living in a bubble.  We talked together about things she could do to make help prevent a migraine (drink more water) and how she needed to tell a grown-up if she started getting a headache.  After she agreed to those things, we packed up her sleeping bag and pillow, as well as a backpack with clothes for the next day  -- AND all her SillyBandz. 

We arrived to a bustle of activity.  Kids running around the house, music playing.  Erin dropped her stuff and ran off.  Her host gave her a little Rock Star goodie bag (which included even more SillyBandz).  I hung around for a few minutes, but when the pizza came out it was clear I wasn't needed any longer.  After a quick peck on the cheek I was dismissed.

I spent the night with my cell phone and house phone next to the bed, just waiting for it to ring.  Nope.  She didn't need me. 

When I arrived in the morning she was wearing a wonderful gold sparkly number and swinging from the monkey bars.  She'd had a blast and stayed up late talking with the girls -- just as it should be.  Turns out she never even opened her backpack so she'd slept in her friend's PJs and missed out on the SillyBandz trading.  S'ok.  I'm sure there will be more opportunities for that.

I'm so glad that she had an awesome time.  I remember sleepovers as being one of my favorite things as a kid.  I'm sure there's more to come in our future.