Playing Catch Up

Well here goes nothing....I've been avoiding catching up Zoe's blog since forever ago. I know....I shouldn't worry too much but really...it has been too long. So here goes nothing.

This summer....We went to visit our family in Mississippi. We not only visited relatives, but we went to the beach, and Lynn Meadows Discovery Center which is a super fun place for kids to build awesome imaginations....Here are some pictures.


























































































We spent a lot of time hanging out with Grannie and Shane when he was off work. We went to the park and the pool. Zoe learned to swim without her float this summer as well. All by herself I might add!














































































For the 4th of July we were all in for a special treat. Grannie took the whole family to The Great Wolf Lodge. It is a rockin' cool indoor water park were everything is so kid friendly. Zoe and Lani (and even the grown ups) had a blast!













































































The whole summer she attended Dance Camp at Sheena's Dance Academy. She had fun two mornings a week and I had a little free time :) Here is a picture of her after dance having a girls lunch with Grannie and I.






















She also decided to give up the violin for a while and take up Irish Dance classes.

Then before we knew it it was back to school....back to early nights and even earlier mornings. No one was happy.



































So that is pretty much that, We've been going to school, dance on the weekend and watching football on Sunday's. Life is grand, OH and did I mention she turned 5???? Well she did....More to come later (I promise).

Earth Hour

Earth Hour was on March 28th this year.  The purpose of Earth Hour is to raise environmental awareness.  It is on a Saturday Night at 8:30 pm.  To participate all you had to do was turn off your lights for one hour.  We participated as a family by shutting off the breaker to our home for the hour.  

During that hour we:

• lit the fireplace for the first time in our new house (we've lived here almost a year)
• had a candle light dinner 
• told ghost stories 
• played with flashlights
• sat around the fire and Grannie played the guitar while Zoe played the violin (of course!!)
• part of the time Pops played on the laptop (battery power only) and Papaw snoozed on the sofa 

Zoe's first reaction to turning off the lights for an hour was not great.  She was really whiny and pretty much a drama queen about being afraid of the dark, but after the first few minutes she was just peachy.  She really enjoyed the story telling and sitting around playing music.  When we got ready to turn the lights back on she even cried!  She didn't want it to be over.  Now she wants to have Earth Hour every week....we're gonna try!!!

Make a Smilebox photobook

The Sound of Music

Ever since Tutu had her first violin lesson we have been bombarded with violin everything. She has taught all of us the parts of the violin and all of the strings. We play a game with the violin called copy cat. In this game one person plays a set of strings in a certain order and then the other person copies it. It is kind of fun :) and since we have a whole family of violins (3 different sizes) it is pretty easy for everyone to get involved. Here are a few pictures of Zoe before her first lesson and then teaching her Uncle Lee the parts of the violin. Our next lesson should happen sometime this week, so hopefully we will be learning something new!!!

Go, Move, Shift

Zoe's recent visit to the Irish Festival in Dallas has really sparked some changes in our life.  She was mesmerised by the music that she heard there.  There was one band in particular that grabbed her attention.  It was the band Shift.  Her favorite song is now Go, Move, Shift.  

She was so excited over them that she went to see them a little over a week later at Lochrann's Irish Pub on St. Patrick's Day (imagine having to call the bar and ask if your 4 year old will be allowed in on St. Patrick's Day)  My Mom (Grannie) took Zoe to see them.  She sat right in front of the stage and did not move the entire time.  She even went up afterwards to meet the band and buy a CD.  The child is in love!!!

Now to the biggest shift in our lives.  Zoe has decided that she wants to learn to play the fiddle after being inspired by all of this Irish music.  Her Papaw bought her not one, but two violins (both of which ended up being too big for her). On Saturday morning, she attended her very first violin lesson with the orchestra teacher from my school.  Right after her lesson we went to the violin shop, which was a lot like Ollivander's wand shop in the Harry Potter Movies.  There were violins hanging on hooks and in cubbies, and the guy kept trying them on for size.  It was really surreal.  She ended up with 1/10 size violin.  We came home and she did everything her teacher asked her to do for the week before it was dark outside.  She is truly excited about this.

I guess we have a budding musician on our hands....We shall see how long it lasts :)