Dancing Queen

 This little ballerina stole my heart once again during her recital this weekend! The girl loves to dance. There are times I think ballet is too strict for her (she likes to do some crazy fun moves), but then she blows me away with her performances.

 This year the recital theme was Seasons, Stella's class was spring. Stella loved it. She loved it so much she has begged to go back to the same dance school so she can continue to learn from her incredible teacher, Diadra.

 Of course, Papa and Gaga came up from Oregon to watch their girl twirl.

 A proud daddy!

 My dad gave Stella this rose before they headed back to Oregon and she was SO proud. I mean SO proud!! I remember my grandpa giving me flowers after my dances, what a sweet memory for my girl too!

 Stella with two of her dancing buddies, Addy and Addison.

 Posing with her flower from Papa before the Finale.

 Hugs with Lily behind stage while the wait for their encore :)

 Stella's super sweet friend, Kaylin, performed the night before but came to Stella's night so she could cheer for her and give her a flower after the show. It is so sweet to hear her talking about that flower. Let me tell you a kind gesture like that DOES NOT get lost on my 5 year old. It truly makes her heart smile. It was so sweet.

 Grammie wins the prize for traveling the farthest to watch a 2 minute (if that) dance :) But she was so proud of Stella and Stella LOVED having her Grammie there. Of course the pink roses were pretty exciting too. It was so cute driving home with Grammie and Stella because Stella was talking a mile a minute about all the excitement behind stage and how she tried to find us to wave, but the lights were too bright and how she wants to dance this summer and stay with her teacher and friends and do more dances, etc.
So I guess we're in for more dancing. I highly doubt, she'll change her mind. And lets face it---non of us want her to stop because it's just so stinken cute to see her up on stage.
We love you Stell-Bell!

CAMPING! What I learned While Surviving in the Woods

Oh my word y'all, we ventured out of the city  into the woods for the FIRST Yazwinski camping trip. To say it was awesome would be an understatement, to say it was perfect would be a lie, but in the daily life with a toddler and 5 year old this mama had a blast. I should note...it was close to perfect. Ok, actually it probably couldn't have been better, but I need to allow room for improvements so I'll leave it at that.

I did, however, learn a lot on this trip in the woods with my family and friends. If I'm honest, I was and am super excited about camping this summer. I want to unplug and enjoy my family, really enjoy them. I want to get dirty with them, run around with them, laugh with them (I mean really laugh---the kind of laughing that leaves images of my sweet girls smiles in my heart forever), wake up with them (very early), snuggle up with them, explore with them, etc, BUT I was a bit hesitant. I didn't want to let it show. After all, I'm mom and I need to make sure we're ready to survive in the woods.

I grew up camping, so I knew I would like it, but could I handle being the one in charge? MY mom used to do all the preps and made sure we were fed (3 times a day...in the woods, that's a lot:). She made sure we had enough clothing and the right options. I was confident going into this whole camping as a family idea, but then I started doubting my capability. What if we hate it? What if it rains (it did down pour one night, but it was awesome)? It went on and on...BUT you know what...we had an unbelievable time and I'm so excited for the next trip!

I learned some fun things along the way...

 Pack more clothes than you think are needed. You think you need 5 shirts...pack 10, ha!

 S'mores are yummy morning, noon and night!

 The dirtier you are...the more fun you've had.

 Enjoy the nighttime conversations. Our girls did so much during the day, it was fun to hear their stories of adventure before bed. Oh and bring extra blankets!

 Early morning, sharing-a-sleeping-bag-to-stay-warm cuddles are the BEST.

 Relax! Camping can be hard work for the parents, BUT it's still a break from the real world, so rest your eyes if need be.

 Brave the great outdoors with friends. Ditch the makeup, fancy clothes (since I have so many fancy things:)), and soak in the vitamin D.

 Get wet, splash around, THEN go play in the dirt. Make mud! Search for bugs! Dig! But always wash your hands before dinner :)

Have fun. Laugh it off. Unplug. While I did have phone service and brought out my lifeline (aka phone) to take pictures and keep you all updated on Facebook...it was so refreshing to soak in life. To really experience the fun. I didn't care what the rest of the world was up to. My whole world, Tom and the girls, were making memories. We were in God's beauty taking it all in.

I did walk away with close to a million mosquito bites and a killer farmer's tan, but the smell of sweet Emme's hair as she snuggled in so close each morning and Stella's giggles when helping me make tacos in a bag are memories not posted on Facebook or tweeted to friends---they're memories I'll cherish as the first time the Yazwinski Clan braved the woods with friends!