New York City Ballet

In May when I went into NYC for a temple session I decided to stay afterwards for the New York City Ballet. The temple + the ballet... what a wonderful evening! The LDS temple is just across the street from Lincoln Center Plaza, so it was also very convenient. Maybe I'll do this more often? ;)

The ballet was incredible. This was my first time at the New York City Ballet and I was so impressed. The show I went to was called 21st Century Choreographers and it had four performances: Belles-Lettres by Justin Peck, The Mothership by Nicolas Blanc, American Rhapsody by Christopher Wheeldon, and Concerto DSCH by Alexei Ratmansky. 

I have so much to say about these ballets, but I'll try to keep it brief. Justin Peck's ballet was so beautiful that it made me teary eyed... wasn't expecting that. The Mothership was funky and modern, but entertaining. Concerto DSCH was really beautiful and a great ballet to end on. My favorite was Wheeldon's American Rhapsody - a brand new ballet set to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". It was such a beautiful and fun ballet. I loved every minute of it. Of course the highlight of the night was seeing my friend Robbie Fairchild and his wife Tiler Peck perform the leading roles in American Rhapsody. They are so talented. Watching Robbie dance was making me teary because he was my good friend and next-door neighbor growing up, and now he has reached his dreams and it such an incredible star on Broadway and in NYC Ballet. I could go on, but I'll stop there!

Lincoln Plaza selfie to document the fun night out in the city.

After the show I went backstage and talked with Robbie and some of the other principal dancers. It was such a wonderful night!

(I found a last-minute single ticket for just $30, but next time I need to plan ahead, find a babysitter, and enjoy the ballet with Josh!)

Dance Recital

Bryn and Mya had their dance recital in May and it was so fun to watch these two cuties on the stage. This was Bryn's second year of dance and Mya's first year. I was a bit nervous how Mya would do since she is so shy, but she did great! Both girls had such a good time and felt so fancy and special to be all dressed up and on stage in front of everyone.

 At the dress rehearsal

 Cuties!

At the end of her dance Mya had to go to the center of the stage on her own and wave and blow a little kiss. She was brave and it was so cute!

Bryn had a part of her dance where she and another girl went to the center of the stage and did a little dance on their own. She did great!

 Bowing in the finale

Flowers for the little dancers

 Days like this are so fun as a parent! 

May

Here are a few snapshots from our May...

Warm weather and lots of outside playtime for these two

 Sometimes Tate tries to follow along during our family scripture study :)

 Tate loves to wrestle and his biggest target is Mya. He attacks her all throughout the day. Luckily she thinks it's hilarious.

 Tate also loves to be cuddly and give hugs.

 Mother's Day with my little crew

 Bryn's Mother's Day card to me (pig nose!?) and the yummy salmon tacos Josh made for Mother's Day dinner

 Fun in the backyard

 Mya loves cheese. She was so happy when we were playing Headbanz and she got the cheese card! Speaking of cheese, Mya has a really weird favorite sandwich: swiss cheese and peanut butter!? Most days I don't let her have it, but occasionally she begs hard enough for me to give in. Such a strange combo!

 Bryn's choral concert

 Some paintings I worked on during May and a close-up of a cute little drawing that Mya did this month. 

 Best friends!

 Tate knows the computer is off-limits, so he feels extra sneaky when he climbs onto the computer chair. When I hear giggles from the front room it's often because he's spinning on the computer chair.

He is busy busy busy at this stage, so he keeps us on our toes!

 Park time

 Mya loves to pose and loves to accessorize

 Tate spends so much time perched in the window seal watching the neighbor boys play basketball. It's really cute. But it's also the cause of the constant handprints on our window :)

 My girls loves a good, silly "selfie" session.

 Homework is more fun when it's done outside.

 Josh is usually pounced on when he comes home from work, especially after a business trip! These three kids love their dad!

And I love Tate's sweet little face.

 Bryn's first grade class put on a little play last week. She was a narrator.

She has loved her class and her little friends this year.

  Josh was gone for the last week of May and we missed him! (Most work trips are only 2-4 days). The day he got home he took the girls to Target and they picked out a handful of water guns then came home and had a big water fight. 

Tate got sprayed a few times and got scared, so he and I just sat in the shade and watched Josh, Bryn, and Mya chase each other all over the yard.

Good times!

April

A few snapshots from our April...

 General Conference! One of our favorite times of year, when we get to hear from the Prophet and the leaders of our church.

 We tried a new snack idea during conference that the girls had fun with. After each talk if they could tell me one thing they liked from the talk then they got to choose a snack. Bryn and Mya had a lot of fun with this.

 Harvesting honey with our good friends the Thomases.

 Fun night!

 Two of Tate's favorite things (besides his Ninja Turtle pajamas) are brushing his teeth, with which ever toothbrush he can grab, and "helping"  me bake.

Our friends the Kolstes came to visit! These were some of our dear friends from Dartmouth. It was so great to catch up and for the kids to run around together like the old days. 

 Watching to the Nature Center in Watchung

 These girls are such good pals.

 Bryn and Mya waiting on the curb for Josh to come home from work.

Tate's favorite thing is to be outside and to be riding his little scooter. 

 In the middle of dinner these two announced "Hey! Let's take pictures of ourselves and send them to dad!" (Josh was on a work trip). I love these two cuties.

 This is what happens when the girls dress themselves and do their own hair and accessories. 

 Tate is a messy boy most of the week, but he cleans up pretty nicely on Sundays.

 Tate loves, loves, loves to "read" books to himself. He also loves wearing hats and sneaking into the girls' room to flip through their chapter books. 

 Bryn and Mya are constantly drawing and Tate has now started to follow their example. He spends time at this little drawing desk every day and gets in trouble all the time for scribbling over his sisters' precious drawings. 

One more pic of Mya doing her thing (with marker on her nose) and of Bryn casually flipping through a beloved American Girl catalog on a sunny afternoon.

I love this family of mine and the simple joys of  motherhood.