Loving Grace(Fully): Brit's Graduation Party & Gracie's Dance Recital

Brittany's graduation party was in full swing - we arrived about an hour into it and the crawfish tails were flyin'! The pool was full and the bar was open - a good time was being had by all and we joined right in -

It was about 6, so I brought her in her regular clothes because I thought for sure that she would want to eat first, but once she saw Miss Hannah (Brittany's sister) in the pool, that was all over. I changed her into her suit and she brought her noodle and goggles and off she went -

We decided against a diving board for our pool, but our fearless child made her first jump with no problem at all - she did this about 20 more times before it was all over, too!

This is one of their dogs, Hershey - I guess she needed a little cooling off! Of course, Grace was right there loving on her the whole time -

Grace with Hannah -

This is Hannah's new puppy, Bella, and, of course, I gladly played babysitter...

Hershey's making sure I'm taking good care of her -

They're playing "Toss the Gracie" -

I was doing so well hiding little Bella, but when she finally spotted her in my lap, Gracie decided I needed a helper!

She's cursed just like me - she loves animals more than she loves us I think!

There's "Uncle Mike" behind the bar in the tan shirt - Brittany and Hannah's Daddy and one of Jack's oldest friends. Jack even stood up for Mike at he and Letha's wedding, right out of high school -

This is Letha and Brittany (the guest of honor). Doesn't she look excited to be graduating from high school? My goodness, that's a big smile! She's holding a baby cousin - such a sweetie!

There's Marmie going in for some more crawfish - they were too hot for me!

We didn't stay too late at Brit's party because the next day was going to be long - Gracie had her dance recital. We put her curlers in early as she was supposed to have "Shirley Temple" curls. I knew this wasn't going to happen - my child's hair is as straight as a stick. Plus, it was so hot outside, even if I used a can of hairspray, I knew it wasn't going to stay!

But, we did try...she even practiced with her curlers in! That's Marmie cheering her on undercover - when she stays with us, she freezes constantly. We're a bunch of hot-natured folks!

It had already "melted" to this when we arrived, but she still looked glamorous! Her Daddy wasn't thrilled with all of the makeup, but we promised it was just this once!

She was a huge sport about all of this because, really, she couldn't wait for it to be over! Dance just isn't her thing - and that's OK! This is her rehearsal - she had to be at Pearland Jr. High West from 2-3:30 for rehearsal and then we had a two-hour break - we used it to have an early dinner at Saltgrass. Final makeup call was at 5:30 and the recital began at 6. Her group was the first to perform.

Gracie with her proud parents - like, really, for five years old - she did so good - she really wanted to get out of her dance program back in March sometime, but I told her that we had to finish what we started, so if she could just make it to recital, she didn't have to continue after that - that's a long time for someone her age and she made it - even without too many temper flareups along the way! :)

Gracie's in the back on the far end - this was their group shot being taken by a photographer -

...and her individual shot...

She got flowers from Marmie and Popi and from us, so she was beaming from ear to ear with her TWO bouquets! There were 25 groups that performed, so it was long, but we all enjoyed it. Popi doesn't like his picture being taken, but he was there - he drove in just for her performance and just like he said, "She was the best one there!" None of us are prejudiced at all, of course!