Lea's First Prom!!!!

Last weekend, we all gathered to help Lea get ready for her junior prom!! Talk about feeling OLD!!!! It seems like yesterday that Josh and I were going to our junior/senior prom.......

Lea was only 3 years old at the time and dressed up in her princess dress so that she could look fancy, too!!! But, she's definitely not a little girl anymore........

Check out their excitement of attending her first prom!!! We started with the flowers....

....and a few smootches.....

....and I made them pose all "Smooth Criminal"....... :)

 ...and despite the HORRID weather (rain NON-STOP), we got some lovely pictures of the beautiful couple and their friends....

Of course, their true colors kept coming out during pictures....I call this one "Britney Spears (right before she went crazy and shaved her head) and her boyfriend, Shrek!"

They went to prom with a really fun bunch. Here's a shot of just the girls....

....and just the studs.....

....and the whole gang!!

And even though they were all "lookin'-nice" and whatnot, they are really a bunch of goobers (but REALLY GOOD KIDS!!)

Despite the monsoon, they were finally OFF in their super-cool limo (equipped with neon-changing-color lights on the inside AND outside!)

 They had a super-fun time!!

I was so happy to be a part of such a big day for my "little" sis. It brought back great memories while making NEW memories!! (Excuse the wet-mushrat look....I had been deemed the photographer, and of course, it was the wettest day of the year!):

In the family department, my cup runneth over.

Cheers to Prom, Pictures, and Pretty People!!!

 





Monday Mall Madness!!!

Last Monday, we headed to the mall after school and work so that Nora could pick out a new dress and snazzy shoes for her upcoming piano recital (and if you missed that, check the last blog post.....she did GREAT!!!). Just as our luck would have it (note sarcasm), the traveling-fair had come to Arbor Place Mall. So, of course, we couldn't leave without the girls riding about 3,000,000,000,000 rides (which were $3-$4 per ride.....so much for pinching pennies that night!!!). Still, it was a swell time!!

Before any fair festivities, I made Nora pick out her new outfit first which turned out beautifully (she picked out high-heeled sandals.....she's been really wanting some "high heels." Miss Priss!). And I also had to purchase a new cell phone before doing anything else......my sad, little redonkulous iPhone 3 had seen it's last days. So, enjoy these pictures from my new phone!!

Of course, Nora had to be the first one to test-out the new cell phone camera with a lovely self-portrait:

After eating, purchasing the new phone, and finding Nora's new recital-outfit, the girls had an absolute HISSY to go out to the fair. So, off we went....

 We can NEVER bypass these things - Nora and Ella always demand a photo-op!! Even with the sun blinding them, apparently...

We also attempted to win a goldfish with no luck!! Daddy posted this video on Facebook with the caption "Ella's killer aim," and Uncle Scott responded "I've seen a better arm on a snake." :) :) We'll work on that!!

We rode some swell rides.....but the Dizzy Dragon didn't mix very well with Daddy's mall-Chinese. :)

After the fair, Daddy took Clairy-Berry home so I could have some "girl time" with my big girls. We had our first-ever mani-pedi together!!!

 Ella talked her poor "nail-man's" head off!! But he loved her!! They each chose hot pink polish and topped them off with white flower-designs on their thumbs and big toes! :)

We ended the night with our all-time-favorite.....BLIZZARDS!!!!!!!!!

So thankful for this precious time with my girls. I foresee this "girl-time" being unbelievably fun in the years to come, especially with THREE DAUGHTERS!!

Cheers to mall-Chinese, painted nails, blizzards, "arms like a snake," and goofy self-portraits....

.....and speaking of goofy self-portraits, I am the world's BEST at photo-bombing pictures with ridiculous (and sometimes hideous) faces. So, I'll leave you with the sweet and considerate words of my husband that he utters to me AT LEAST once a month:

"Drew, you are so beautiful to me, but you make some of the butt-ugliest faces I've ever seen." ~Joshua D. Nesbitt

:)

Nora's First Piano Recital!!!

Since Nora is our little music-lover, she has been taking piano lessons for about 3 months, and she has gotten pretty good!! While she is still learning her very basic skills, she is able to read music, she knows "which keys are which notes," and she has no trouble playing with both hands simultaneously even without looking. Yesterday was her first piano recital, and we were so extremely proud of our girl!

The performance was held at Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville which was a beautiful church:

Nora was pretty nervous, so Ella loved on her a bit (which was nice since they'd been fighting like cats and dogs all morning):

After going in the church, we were greeted with her fan-base. (And believe it or not, I did NOT say to make a goober-face, although 95% of the people pictured are doing so).

Here is Mrs. Sarah, Nora's piano teacher, welcoming everyone and introducing her students:

Nora was the very first "performer!!!"

She performed "Merrily We Roll Along" which was a simple song very similar to "Mary Had a Little Lamb." But she did PHENOMENAL!! Have a listen:

After the entire performance, Nora received lots of lovin' from her fans:

 Grandmommie and Paw-Paw brought Nora some beautiful flowers, so Ella "delivered" them:

And of course, we had to get some piano shots with the lovely flowers:

 We went to the reception to thank Mrs. Sarah. Nora REALLY loves her:

And we then went outside to get some shots of all Nora's fans :)

 Some of the piano music was so beautiful at the recital that it almost put both Paw-Paw and Claira to sleep. Check out her top chiclets!!

How do we celebrate everything?!?! WITH FOOD!!!!! So we headed over to Taco-Mac to have lunch and watch the Braves and NFL Draft:

I can't stress enough how proud we are of Nora. She is such a smart, sweet, and talented little creature. After watching her play the piano for the last couple of weeks, she actually inspired ME to want to play the piano. Here's Nora and I playing a Rhianna song entitled "Stay" during Spring Break two weeks ago (it really bites, but I wanted Nora to know that she truly inspired her mama to try something new.......but then again, my kids inspire me everyday!!) :)

I will end with this: The day before the recital (April 26th, 2013) marked the one-year anniversary of the day our precious "Mammie" went to be with the Lord. So, in honor and remembrance of her, my girls and I all wore pink, Mammie's favorite color!! I know she was smiling down BIG-TIME on Nora with great pride uttering her favorite phrase, "I'm not surprised!" :)

(Also, our beloved gerbil "Rosabelle" went to gerbil-Heaven on April 26th. While the girls were so very heartbroken, Ella said that "Mammie will take good care of Rosabelle.")

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and we are beyond proud of our Precious Piano Player!!

She's the next Alicia Keys!!! ;)