A Family Wedding

What a beautiful wedding! One of my second cousins, Thomas, married his fiancé Kristine last weekend in Roswell, Georgia. The wedding and reception were held at the quaint and southern ambiance of Kimball Hall. This was our first family wedding we've had in five years so it was definitely enjoyed by all. 

With the bride and groom 

With some of my first and second cousins

Love getting together with family! This picture holds three generations deeply rooted. 

Spring is Here!

I have done a terrible job of updating this blog this year! My sincere apologies, it has been a crazy few weeks! Since my last post I have had a few events to help welcome the Spring season. Thank goodness, because it has been one cold winter! I am welcoming Spring with open arms! 

We had a fun family trip to the farm for Easter and I got to play hard with my nephew and take these fun pictures of my niece in the crimson clover.

We had another Pirate Wedding! My ECU friends Chris and Leanne tied the knot in Durham, NC with the reception overlooking one of the best views in the area! Since Chris and I went to high school and college together, I was able to see a lot of old friends that I haven't seen in awhile. What a fun day to celebrate with the bride and groom! Of course they joined us at Chapel Hill's Top of the Hill after the wedding to watch the semi-final game of the NCAA tournament. True North Carolinians ;)

Last weekend I made a trip to our nation's capitol with Monica and Taylor to chaperone some of our students in the National Cherry Blossom Parade. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the cherry blossoms were showing off their perfect blooms. The trip to Washington DC was just the escape from everyday life that I needed. 

My calendar is quickly filling up of other springtime events. Stay tuned for more exciting stories and pictures of what I'm up to!

Country Friday Night

I'm sure you have learned from my previous posts that I love music. I really love country music. I definitely love LIVE music! Friday night I fed my live music fever with a Brian Davis and Josh Phillips  concert in Raleigh. It was a great concert with friends. I have seen Brian Davis many times, but it was a great experience seeing Josh Phillips perform as his opening act. Both guys are from North Carolina and currently live in Nashville and have great music on iTunes.. so go check them out! What was even more fun, was there were a few celebrities there doing the same thing we were. Just enjoying a Friday night on the town at a great concert!

 Jason Michael Carroll knew where the Raleigh hot spot was on a Friday night!

Leanne and I got a chance to grab a picture with Josh Phillips. 

Ronnie Shirley of Lizard Lick Towing was also there enjoying the music. If you have not seen this show, go check it out! Who knew car repossessions could provide comic relief after a stressful day! 

Competition Season 2013

Dance Competition season is here!! It is an extremely stressful, busy, non-stop and chaotic time of year, but so rewarding. To watch something you create come alive on stage is an amazing feeling that just can't be described in words. Even more rewarding is seeing the students you teach have a blast doing it. Hearing one of your fifth grader students say "this was the best weekend ever!" can make your heart explode with happiness. This past weekend our studio traveled to Lenoir, North Carolina and competed in Showstopper National Talent Competition. The dancers did a wonderful job, placing twelve of the studio's dances in the Overall Awards. Below are a few pictures from a great weekend. Stay tuned for more as we still have two more competitions this season. 

 The Junior and Teen Company in their Production number costume - dressed as chimney sweepers from Mary Poppins. 

The Senior Company dressed in their Production number costume - dressed as Elle Wood's sorority sisters in Legally Blonde. 

What a fun picture I was able to capture of this graduating senior. 

I love being able to combine my love of dance and photography at the dance competitions. I love being able to capture fun moments like this one. 

Snapshot Sunday!

Love the colors on this parrot that lives at the North Carolina Zoo! 

A Busy Few Weeks

It's been a few weeks since I've updated the blog. As I'm sure you have guessed, I have been busy. We are gearing up for competition season at the dance studio so there have been dances to choreograph, music to cut, costumes to order, props to be made and dancers to teach. In the meantime I've managed to have some fun. Here are a few pictures of what I have been able to do in the last few weeks. 

With co-workers at the Corey Smith concert at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill.

Going to see Jekyll & Hyde with my cousin while he was in town for work. 

Cheering on Alisha, our Wake County Distinguished Young Woman at the state program in Greensboro. Alisha not only won preliminary awards in fitness and interview, but was 2nd runner-up! 

Made a weekend trip to Topsail Island with my Sunday School class. What a fun, relaxing, get-away weekend! 

A January Parade

Last weekend my students got the opportunity to dance in the NC Inauguration Parade. It was a beautiful day - 65 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze. We were the only dance studio representing the state of North Carolina that was chosen to perform in front of our new governor and newly inaugurated heads of state. What an honor! After the parade many of my students got the opportunity to meet all of the dignitaries at the Governor's Mansion, one of my little boys even threw the football with our Governor in the front lawn of his new home. 

Not only was there a lot of patriotic songs and red, white and blue on Saturday - but I also got to see my favorite pirate!