Bekah's Dance Recital

We drove down to Temple for Bekah's big dance night.  It took me back in time to sit and watch, remembering all those 15 years of dance recitals that my children had.  She performed in 5 numbers and is part of a team.  First up was lyrical --














Then ballet -

A quirky little smile with the first jazz number.  I love it.

The second jazz number was by far Bekah's favorite and you could see it on her face the whole dance.




And of course my personal favorite:  tap --- always has been.

And then the finale and helping the smaller ones across the stage.  Great job Bekah.  It was so fun to watch you.

Montana -Miss Elena is 2

Upon our arrival back in Billings, we decide to drive out to Pompey's Pillar and have a walkabout.  It is hard for me to believe, but after all of my years living here, I have never visited this place.  What is up with that?

The plan is for a short hike up to where the signature of Captain Clark is and back as it is dang cold today.  It is not a sun-shiny Yellowstone Valley day.  Drat.

We head to Rhiana's new house for the day and Mister quickly gets to work helping Kyle put together chairs for the new dining room.  Miss Elena is offering help all along the way.

That evening, we are treated to a wonderful dinner and sit at the brand new table.  Rhiana and Kyle have done such a nice job with the house and they have great plans for working on it as well.  Love the old historic homes.

The next morning it is time to get to work.  We have one very cool, very detailed cake to get to work on.  It takes hours and hours with BOTH of us working on it but, -- is this not wonderful?  And the best part is that I got a whole day to spend with my daughter in the process.  It just doesn't get much better than that.



Look at this little princess with her castle.  Now that is the picture of royalty.  Yes, indeed.

Party time!  Cousins and friends started showing up along with grown-ups too.  The house filled with stories, laughter, and the ever constant chatter of little ones.

Elena had gotten a trampoline for her birthday and so that was the main attraction and held all the little people's attention for quite awhile.  The backyard was just abuzz with activity.

A most delightful Mommy and Me moment.

Cousins Hyrum and Zyra are along for the day as well.

Soon it is time for the birthday girl to open her gifts and blow out the candles on her cake.  Doesn't everything look perfect?

Elena was allowed to help deconstruct the cake in order to serve it.  Hmmm - sure did go faster on her part than constructing it did on ours.



Mister and I had purchased a pretty pink Strider bike for her birthday.  It is a tradition that we started a few years ago and have been trying to continue it.  Check this out -- she is on her bike - on the table.

Everyone continued visiting and just enjoying the day.  The older kids all ran off and played together, but Miss Zyra kind of hung around the adults.  Naturally, Grandpa had to grab a couple of her quiet moments as well.  Super nice day.

A Birthday in Bigfork -- Mine

It was my birthday and I hadn't spent one in Bigfork in a very long time.  I was really looking forward to it.  So, we left Billings and drove to the Valley for an early birthday celebration as I was going to need to be back in Billings on my actual birthday.  Whew.  My mother had planned a wonderful birthday dinner and we had the chance to spend time with family that we don't get to see very often.  My niece, Jill, brought her boyfriend and we were able to spend some time together visiting which was so nice.

Later in the day, my nephew, Zach, and his family arrived to share in the party.  Rebecca and Wyatt are fun additions to the family and I am still in shock that I am a great-aunt.  Goodness, but adding a "great" sure makes one feel old.

Check out the happy face on Wyatt in the family shot.  He was really fun to photograph.

Dinner was delicious and my mom had ordered a lovely cake from the store where she works and it was topped with fresh flowers.  I thought it was so cute.  Check out the turtle salt and pepper shakers that my sister gave me.  Fun.















The night ended all too soon and we had truly enjoyed ourselves.  Mister was holding Wyatt and so I snapped a shot that he played with in development.  What a cute face.  I know you are wondering which one I am talking about.  That's my secret.

Time to hit the road again.  It will be awhile before we are back up here in the Flathead.  I truly love it here.  Aw, heck -- that's the way it goes.

Back to Billings.