Five Out Loud

Makes sense

So, our BIG summer project (and what has/ will continue to create the delay and build up in page posting) is our new house. Yep, lots of projects! The first, was knocking down a wall that had been put up in a downstairs living area to create a small bedroom. Walls are down and we will extend the tile (formerly carpet) to the remainder of the room. Yep, it's going to be an eventful summer. Jonathan, with the help of a couple of friends (Mike and Ryan) had some fun knocking it down. Ian, of course, didn't get the pleasure of using the sledgehammer, but did get to tackle the push broom. ;)

The Kathryn Howard School of Dance Recital was June 11th at the Umpqua Community College Jacoby Theater. Ainsley took ballet with KHSD last year and this year tried her luck with the Hip Hop class. Ian and Campbell have been taking Breakdance. I taught another year of Musical Theater and 4 cute girls performed "I Enjoy Being A Girl" from Flower Drum Song. These recitals are always fun. I love being back in the theater and the energy that comes with it ... Campbell, our perfectionist kid, has agonized over the dance and performance. He stayed after class to get tips and 1:1 time with his instructor and worked with him to re-choreograph and end pose at dress rehearsal. He'd worried about this performance until the last minute. Boy, that kid was all smiles as soon as it was over. (relief) Later, he asked if I'd video taped it - and then before the show ended decided he didn't want to see it. He was on top of the world after the performance and was afraid that if he watched the video, he would see mistakes and ruin the experience. LOL This kid is a gem. I sure wish he could see the skills that he has and the talent we see. He's a definite diamond in the rough. Ainsley has come a long way from her first recital - they danced to "Slipper Seal", where she literally became a seal and curled up on stage for the duration of the song. ha..ha. There's one (or five) in every show, right? ;) Ian is a natural - his athletic ability makes this stuff seem easy. The bonus to the boys dancing together is they're able to practice together. (Thanks, Apple TV, you made practicing much more pleasant ... big screen vs phone screen was a win!)

I think it's safe to say, the Russell family had a busy year between the studio, sports, scouts and other activities! :) The Professional photos are the handy work of the fabulous Keri Blue, as always, she captures the best of these kiddos.(OK, so the ones I've posted at the end are my tacky "pictures of pictures" so I could share with you here, but the originals are fantastic!) Amazing woman, amazing work!

After a couple of weeks "off" we're looking forward to summer dance camps and sure hope to see some of our local friends there!

Happy Birthday, Dear Ainsley! Today we celebrated her 6th birthday with a many special friends from preschool, Kindergarten, soccer, church, you name it! What a great day!! Her birthday falls around Memorial Day which is tough for birthday parties. 😉. Between soccer tournaments and dance recitals, we opted for a Friday party at the park. Her dream party. Ha ha. ☺️

This year, because she'd had a family party and received gifts, we opted to invite her guests to help us collect small gifts for the Pediatric Unit of our local hospital. We are so lucky to have so many great friends who helped to support this effort. My heart was full as we loaded bag after bag into the back of the car. Coloring books, crayons, activity sets, toys, books.... It was an Amazing outpouring of love. It's so great to be surrounded by so many great people. We are blessed.

We will prepare all of these gifts for delivery to the hospital next week. (Stay tuned)

Big love and HUGE thanks to everyone who joined our celebration today, it really was a great time with so many wonderful people. We love you all!!

One more school year in the books! Our 5th, 3rd and Kindergartener are now 6th, 4th, 1st graders! 😭. I'd say where does the time go, but ... We know. . I didn't memorialize the day with side by side shots of first/last day ... Cute signs and detailed information of "then v. Now". Let's face it, it's the last day of school and we were lucky the kids had clean clothes (in their grade's designated field day colors) and lunch (except I missed that the school was hosting a BBQ picnic, so forgetting lunches would've not resulted in a panic phone call 😉). I'm just glad I had my phone handy when Ainsley asked for a picture with her beloved Mrs Sensabaugh after school ... Or the world would have never known for sure that we survived the year and successfully ran head first into Summer 2016!! Big love and Huge thanks to our amazing and much loved teachers this year. Mrs Sensabaugh (Ainsley), Mrs Newman (Campbell) and Mrs Veal (Ian). The women who get to spend more time teaching and "mothering" my children than I do at this stage of the game. Thank you for loving them almost as much as I do 💗☺️. Here's to a happy summer, full of fun and adventure!

Summer has arrived!! 💥 Tomorrow we close the books on another fun filled school year! I can hardly believe it!!

While the kids aren't old enough/ ready to "own" a page they do want to keep connected with friends/family so we will do that here. The family will post under the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad, but enjoy an introduction to the world of "Social Media". Keep an eye out for updates to our family page, The boys will report on their various adventures right here. 😜