Treyton's Debute

My heart melted as I took this picture of my two blessings coming up the hill.One blessing followed directions and posed for a picture while the other went her own way. So typical. This was the night of Treyton's dance recital. We were all so excited! Look at this handsome fella. His lovely sister was all a glow in her "tu-tu dress" which she never wanted to take off. We dropped off Treyton backstage and had a little time to kill before the show. So we wandered the campus in hopes to wear out Galina a little enjoying the flowers and pretty grounds. Galina practices her moves. Here she is tapping. Now, I'm not sure if she is reciting Shakespear or giving a political speech here. But her confidence was evident!

There's my girl and my man. So happy together!

Awwwww...... The show started off with these two playing the role of actors from 42nd St.The curtains opened and the cast started with a rip-roaring tap routine from 42nd St. My boy wasn't the only male in the show as you can see.

Next was "On Accounta I Love You". My boy's class!

It was so cute, I could hardly stand it. The croud was going nuts over this crew. Because he was a boy, I think all eyes were on Treyton. I was so proud of him!Can you stand it?And those little feet in tondu to the side, hands on hips. My heart melted. The end pose! Treyton did magnificent! I think it's the dancer blood in him passed down from generations. (You should see my dad on the dance floor.)The rest of the show was absolutely wonderful. Like something you'd see at the Buelle Theater downtown. This studio really does a nice job. I went to a show several years ago when one of my students was in it and felt the same way. So organized, professional, and at a high quality dance level. Galina loved it too, by the way! She sat and watched the whole thing! If you know Galina, you'd know that is amazing.

At the end all the dancers came out for a bow.

I couldn't have had a more enjoyable evening than watching my kid and his big debut.

It was one of those unexpected highs in parenting that didn't rub off for a long time. Praise the Lord that I get to be a mommy! It's the greatest thing in the world.

Rockies

It's becoming a tradition. When Treyton birthday rolls around, Bryce likes to take him on the train to a Rockies game. This year Treyton brought his buddy, George. The two are on the same T-ball team (The Cowpokes) so it was especially fun for them. For the first time Treyton experienced peanuts in the shell.

Baseball and peanuts in the shell...can't get much better than that when you're 4! Here's George and his pilot daddy, John.

And here's Treyton and his rocket scientist daddy, Bryce

Unfortunately, about midway through the game, there was a funnel cloud spotted along with some rain. So they delayed it for a while. I would've been outta there, but not my guys. They weathered the weather and stayed till the end.

Happy birthday, my little slugger!

Farmer Don

When I was taking care of Marat and Madina I looked outside one afternoon to find this. Farmer Don had Marat, Treyton, and Marat's friend in the tractor as he was mowing the lawn. The older boys got sick of it and left, but my boy stuck with the old man.

Soon the trailer was abandoned and Grandpa Don taught Treyton how to drive.

I wish you could have seen their faces. Total joy....both of them!

Ahhh....the freedom of the road. Or the backyard in this case.

That was the highlight of Treyton's trip!

Fun things in MN

Here are some fun things from MN:

Galina loved playing dress up in Madina's clothes. The kids got to jump on a trampoline. They could spend forever out there!

The tire swing brought loads of laughs.

We had a BBQ at my sister's house. Here's Galina and Aunt Amy.

Treyton enjoyed playing on Carter's horse.

Cuddling with Grandma Kay.

Playing with baby Carter, Aunt Amy, and Grandpa Don.

And Uncle Jake....Treyton adores this man my sister married.

One super cool thing about this BBQ is that my aunt, cousin Jennifer, and her husband with their new baby were able to come too. This is a picture of my grandma with most of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Missing are Lindsey (Jennifer's sis) and my bro Brent.

Here's my favorite cousin. She and I were inseparable growing up. Whenever we got to see each other we dressed alike, played for hours without fighting, and shared a special friendship that I've never shared with anyone else. A kindred spirit at heart. Although life has separated us through the years, she is still as special to me as ever.

My parents live in a circle. And when you grow up in one, you become very close to the neighbors who share the circle. When we were visiting the youngest graduated from high school. (They had moved in while the rest of us were in elementary school.) So she had a grad party and invited all the old neighbors. Three of the group couldn't be there (Brent, Dawn, and Andy). But here's the rest of us. And another thing you share when living in the same circle with kids is teachers. Lo and behold, I ran into my 2nd grade teacher at her party! She was one of my favorite teachers of all time. All of us Thielen kids had her and loved her. She looks exactly the same as she did in 1982.

So fun to go back home!

MN Visit Parent's House

Our trip to MN was a fun one. My mom picked us up at the airport and took us to their house. Treyton saw this big wheel and I told him to go try it around the circle. I wish we lived in a circle as it is one of the best places for kids to play. Memories flooded me as I remember the millions of times I rode something with wheels around this very same circle. Marat was playing Indiana Jones with the neighbor boy.

Then Galina wanted to be part of the action. So my dad found these two riding toys from when my siblings and I were young and Madina offered to help her around the circle.

That tractor is the same tractor my brother rode when he almost killed me. It involved a wagon and a very steep hill. But that's another story for another time.

Here are my parents. I just love them to pieces!

Then Jake and Amy came over with Carter. Galina tried to get Carter to play but since he doesn't walk or crawl, she decided to play the way he does.

Here's Amy with Galina. They have another thing in common other than their looks: they both love shoes.

Carter, Treyton and Galina hanging out.

Then my mom brought out the bubbles. Kept them occupied for a while. The adults all enjoyed the show.

There's our family's camper. It's now a storage shed for riding toys, patio furniture, and the like.

There are all my parent's grandchildren. Minus the dogs. They have 4 granddogs. Oh wait...I think I see one behind the tree.

Galina had to push Marat on the swing. She calls Marat "Mary". Luckily he didn't get too mad about it. Good sport, Marat!

Then we ate pizza and roasted marshmallows in the firepit. A delightful and beautiful evening back home.