We Are Still Us...

Mr. M finished his work on Dancing With The Stars on Tuesday night- and it is SO GREAT having him home!

This past season, he was gone quite a lot.  The girls take the time when Mr. M is working overnight to have slumber parties in our bedroom - so more than a few nights, I woke up to this sweet scene.  When Daddy's away, the girls will play!  Haha!  ;-)





We have been going to the beach often this past week.  It's almost (not quite) summer here.  The tourists come out in force for summer - which means I stay away from the beach then...too crowded and nowhere to park! 

This week has been sweet, though.  Paula's daughter, Christina, is home from college - so Mr. M and I have had real-honest-to-goodness DATE NIGHTS!  Say what?!  It's been awesome. 





The girls love Christina - so it's a Win/Win/Win!  And I love that Paula (Christina's Mom) is right nearby, too - I think my cortisol levels have gone down 1000% this week.  Mr. M is home AND we have a regular babysitter?  Am I dreaming???  If so, please don't wake me up!  Ha!




We so rarely get a date night (maybe once every few months when Grandma Pat or my Dad/Nancy come to visit) - so we've been feeling like a couple of teenagers having the freedom to go on a date night twice in one week.  Stop the madness! 






It's amazing how much I cherish these date nights - I do love our kids so much.  But we have felt so much freedom in the simple acts of walking on the beach at sunset and grabbing a bite to eat just the two of us.  It's a sweet reminder that we are still us.




Last Sunday (when Mr. M was still working), Christina came over and babysat the littlest girls so I could take Paprika to a special ballet performance of The Wizard of Oz. 




Ginger wanted to stay home, and there was NO WAY I was taking Violet!  Haha.  Paprika had been asking for months to go (she saw a flyer at her piano studio back in March).

Here she is in front of the stage:




Even though it was just a local performance, you would have thought I'd taken her to the Royal Ballet.  We got there early for a good seat - and we scored front row, center!

Paprika was so excited that she didn't have to crane her neck to see over a beehive hairdo (like she did back at The Nutcracker in December).  Haha!

She brought her Dorothy doll to the show, and she was so excited for every part of the performance.  If you're going to the theater, Paprika is just about the best person to go with...and she's been this way since she was two years old!




The cast was comprised of mostly local high schoolers - and they were fantastic!  We were so impressed with every aspect of the production - it was like going to a professional show for a fraction of the price!



Studying the program at Intermission:




The show had THREE Glindas - they danced in unison! 



Dorothy is visited by butterflies - so cute!



Of course, Paprika had to wear her Wizard of Oz themed hair bows!  Here she is with the Wicked Witch of the West on one side:



And Dorothy with Toto on the other side!  Ha!





In other news, Toddler Violet is busy deconstructing our house.  :-)  She likes to unload and load the dishwasher several times each day - whether or not the dishes are dirty or clean!  Haha!




Just a cute one of Ginger when she first wakes up:



And more of Ginger's flowers.  She always makes sure there are fresh flowers in EVERY room of the house- and so this is what I found in the girls' bathroom the other day.  So sweet!




And just a few scenes from around town.  In honor of my little brother (whose last name is Becker) - I took this pic on the day of his high school graduation this week!




Drinks, conversation, and an ocean view - does it get any better?!




Happy Memorial Day weekend! 






The End!