Anna's Operatic Debut!

We are SO proud of Anna. She was chosen by her school music teacher to sing with the visiting Orlando Opera singers that came to her school today! They practiced last week, and today, she got to dress up and sing on stage! She had a GREAT time and Will, my mom and I were there soaking in every second! This was the amount of video my little digital camera would let me record... but you can get the idea!







Yey Anna!!!!!!

Our Philly Trip

We took a quick trip to PA a few weeks ago. Will's first cousin Caleb got married, so we enjoyed a little getaway to the beautiful fall weather. First we spent some time with my Aunt Rhea and Uncle Steve. They took us to a really fun Kid's Castle in a neighborhood park. The kids LOVED it! We also spent a little time at a Fall festival as well with Molly and Alan. They it was wedding time. Here are some fun pictures from our trip!









I hope you enjoyed! :)
Love, Holly

Whoooosh went the month! :)

Catching up as usual! How can it be mid-October???

First I of course want to post about our amazing trip to Las Vegas! Will and I went there to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We did this with in the wonderful company of our friends Rachael and Paul, and Elisa and Will. The kids were well cared for by Will's parents so we were able to relax and enjoy! We stayed at the Luxor. We spent a LOT of time poolside. We strolled the strip. We saw the Cirque Di Soleil Show LOVE (Beatle's themed) which was incredible!! We love our children, but wow, it was nice to get away and just "be" for a few days!!! Our favorite part of the trip was going to the Little White Wedding Chapel to renew our vows. We were mostly going as a goof. An adventure. But it turned out to be quite romantic, fun and meaningful!














So... now that I've finally posted pics from Vegas, I can start posting about all the fun festive things happening this month!

Love, Holly

I'm back!

Hi!! It's been such a long time. Life has been busy. I just taught 5 Kindermusik classes and can't keep my eyes open.. so a longer post will have to follow this weekend, but just wanted to check in. Will and I had a GREAT vacation in Las Vegas. Lots of pictures to come. We will be headed to Philly, PA next week for Lesnick wedding and we look forward to a quick visit with lots of family! Stay tuned. I'll be back with pictures and updates on the last month. Until then, here's one to tease you with. :)

Off she goes.....

My little girl just left for First Grade!!! I have been pretty calm about it until about right now! After she walked out the door, I definitely became emotional. It's really baffling to me that I just sent my confident daughter out the door. My daughter who is missing a tooth, has another loose one, is reading chapter books by hearself and was wearing a Hannah Montana backpack -- the one she HAD to have! Pacifiers to Hannah Montana... it only goes downhill from here... JUST KIDDING! I'm just SOOO proud of her.


























Have a perfect day all!
Holly

All I want for 1st grade is my two front teeth!!!!

Our little girl lost her first tooth today!!!!!!

Will and I actually got VERY emotional when it happened. We can't believe she is starting first grade this Monday, and just before that, the tooth fell out! Here's a picture....





















We took Anna to her "Meet The Teacher", and we met her new teacher Miss Coleman. Here's a pic!

















Is Anna REALLY turning 7 in October? OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!

Nick Hotel

We had a GREAT time at the Nick Hotel this past weekend. It was a great way to end the summer and gear up for school. Here are some videos to enjoy! Aiden loved the toddler slide and Anna has become an AMAZING swimmer this summer!!





Here are some pics!

WE WON!!!!!

My program, Grow and Sing Studios is the winner of Nickelodeon's 2008 ParentsConnect. com Parents' Picks Award for "Best Artsy Class for Little Kids in Orlando, FL"! Parents from all over the city picked us as the best.
Check out our listing on ParentsConnect. com/ParentsPicks !

Lot's of happenings!

An entire MONTH has gone by without a post. Honestly, I have no excuse but that I've been doing "other things", and haven't taken the time to spend on this. But, I'm BACK and ready to blog some more, and keep all my loyal readers updated on the happenings around here. :)

Actually, I guess now that I think about it, and look back at my last couple blog posts, it's been since school ended and the kids have been around a lot. Also, my huge summer Kindermusik program is in full swing! There are 150 children in the program this summer.. so needless to say, it's been GREAT but busy busy busy!


Okay, so I want to reverse a bit and continue where I left off. The last I posted, we had gone to Anna's Kindergarten picnic, and then that awesome dog park. Well, Miss Browne (Anna's teacher) invited me to join the class for a bit on the last day of school. I got a huge reception when I walked in the door, and immediately felt sad! I realized how much I was going to miss going to that class each month and doing music with them. They asked me to sit in the reading chair, and presented me with a gift. A frame of pictures with me and the kids. The children signed it as well, and made "fingerprint" musical notes. This gift meant so much to me, and is currently hanging in my foyer.

















I stayed for a while that day, and helped out with their ice cream party and just breathed it in while I could. Being there that day and receiving that gift meant much more to me than most would realize. After my father died, I was raised by a single mom who did the most she could while keeping our little family afloat. I always promised myself that if I could, since my mother couldn't, I would be a strong presense in my children's classrooms and various activities. It all sort of came together for me that day that I accomplished that.

So, we've been keeping busy with lots of activities lately, both child centered and NOT child centered. heehee...

Let's see.. first we went to a Luau party some friends threw. It was lots of fun. Without posting any "inappropriate pictures", here's a bit of that party. We also just went out and celebrate my friend Beth's birthday.. but we'll leave those pictures out of the blog --- for now. :)

Rachael and Me

















Kathy, Kristin, Me and Beth
















We took the kids to a place called Monkey Joes. It's bascially a huge warehouse full of bounce houses. I have to admit, Will and I had just as good a time as the kids! I LOVED going down the huge slide. Anna and I did races down that thing. Good times!





















We went down South to visit Will's parents over the Father's Day weekend. We all went to a really great aquatic facility so there a pic from that, and also a family of ducks paid us a visit as we were leaving to go back to Orlando.
















Will's cousin Bill Schmitthenner was in the Orlando area and came by to see us. We hadn't seen him in years so it was great to visit.
















We took the kids to Epcot recently and had a great day.



















The kids have been doing swim lessons, and actually are getting much better. Anna has turned into a little fish. Aiden, well.. he not too keen on the swim lessons, but he can now swim to the side and pull up -- so we know he could save himself which was the goal this year.





















We have officially had Sagan (our black lab) for a year now. Rachael's brother came into town last week, and of course had to visit him. We got this cute picture despite the fact that Sagan is AFRAID of cameras!!
















and finally... 4th of July! We had a GREAT time at Kathy's house this year. Great food, fun and fireworks!

So that is a month in a post! Wowie! I hope to get better again with the blogging since when I'm doing it, I actually love it. I'm going into week 4 of my 5 week Kindermusik session, and then I'm OFF from teaching for an entire month!! While I'll be busy gearing up for Fall session, I look forward to the time off.

I hope anyone reading this is doing well, and please comment or touch base and say hello!

Love, Holly

Another exciting announcement!!

I just received the following email from the CEO of Kindermusik International:

Dear Holly:

On behalf of everyone here at Kindermusik International, I want to CONGRATULATE you for being named as a 2008/2009 Mezzanine Level Maestro. As you know, being named a Maestro Producer, Mezzanine Level, means that you are in the top FIVE PERCENT of all Kindermusik Educators. And, in that we have over 5,000 educators across the globe, this is an accomplishment for which you can be extremely proud. Thank you for doing what it takes to ensure the success of your program, as you continue to introduce incredible numbers of families to the Kindermusik experience. Thank you for your vision, for your dedication, and for your goal of reaching every child with the gift of Kindermusik.

I hope to see you in Raleigh for the Kindermusik Educator Convention (November 5-8, 2008). This annual event will provide you with even more tools and valuable information to help you to continue building your program (not to mention meeting up with old friends and making new ones while there!). Personally, I can’t wait, and look forward to seeing you there.

Congratulations again on achieving Maestro status. I honor and thank you for all that you do each and every day. Keep in touch!

Best always,

Michael D

This award is something that I have personally be striving for, but wasn't expecting so soon! YEY!!!!

Love, Holly