The Carlson Family: June 2012

Monday, June 25, 2012

Beach Break

Summer is here and we are LOVING it!!! The kids and I have been busy enjoying every minute of summer vacation. I wake by 5:45 in order to get my morning run done before the heat hits and the kids are up. I get back just in time to say goodbye to Aron and hello to Matt Lauer! This is a luxury since during the school year I am out the door for work before The Today Show even begins. Both Russell and Sloane are currently enrolled in a two-week swim program with lessons every morning. They completed their first week successfully and were back in the pool this morning ready to go! I love watching them in the water. We also spent a day at the zoo with Sloane's pre-k class. This was one of our hotter 95+ degree days so we took full advantage of the indoor exhibits with air conditioning as well as the outdoor cooling stations. This past weekend we headed to west Michigan as soon as Aron finished up his work week. We filled up every last weekend minute with fun, family, and friends! I put together a slide show to show off our weekend Beach Break. Next week we will be heading north for a few weeks of rest and relaxation in our beautiful Upper Peninsula.

Customize your own scrapbooking design

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Crank It Up - Dance Recital 2012

Yesterday was Sloane's dance recital. This year's theme was Crank It Up!!! Sloane's dance was to the Little Mermaid song Under the Sea. Needless to say the "Ariel" costumes were a hit with these 4 & 5 year old girls. The dancers were marvelous. It was so much fun to watch Sloane perform on the big stage and it was amazing to see the junior and senior competition girls. What a show!!! Sloane was thrilled to have an audience that included my dad and Aron's mom. We had terrific seats and were easily able to find her on stage. Afterward we showered Sloane with flowers and headed to DQ for ice cream! Fun, fun, fun!!! She declared that next year she wants to be in 4 dances, with 4 costumes, and go on stage 4 times! Whoa...I don't think so. One is enough for now:-)

Prepping for her big day - curlers in, fingers and toes polished!

All smiles backstage.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Creating her own poses.

My beautiful girl!

Dance buddies. Makes me think of my dance buddy - Heather:-)

All the little mermaids backstage.

Hanging with her friends and preparing for the finale.

The show is over!

A hug from Grammy while at DQ.

Eyes On Design

On Wednesday, Aron was invited to attend the Eyes On Design black tie awards dinner being held at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club on Friday night. He quickly called me to see if I had appropriate attire and if we could get a babysitter. Thankfully our good friends were able to take Russell and Sloane for the afternoon and my dad was coming to town and able to take them for the evening. So, Aron rented a tuxedo and I got beautified for an elegant night out! What an experience!!! It was a wonderful opportunity for both of us, but especially for Aron. He was able to represent the company while meeting some very important figures in the auto industry. Check out the pictures!!!

The "Gina". A design by this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

A picture with Chris Bangle, the Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He flew in from Germany where he works for BMW.

It was fun to get dolled up for the night!!!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A HOT End to Soccer Season!

Yesterday was Russell's last soccer game and it was hot, hot HOT!!! Aron propped up our beach umbrella to help shade the boys while they were on the sidelines, but the boys still required ice and water to be poured over their heads to stay cool. From watching them play, you never would have known they were hot and tired. These boys played their hearts out! It was so awesome to watch them this season. They have improved so much since their first time together back in August. We celebrated their undefeated season with a pizza party at Cody's house following the game. What a truly wonderful group of boys and parents!!!

Go Pirates!!!

Russell with his medal! He was so proud and hung it by Aron and my race medals.

The cupcakes I made for the team party. I impressed myself!

Cupcakes!!! Yummmmm!

Sloane's Graduation Day

Wednesday was a bitter sweet evening for us. Sloane had her pre-k graduation. It was wonderful to see her celebrating such a marvelous achievement... especially since she's been announcing to everyone for the last two weeks that "I am still in pre-k, but after I graduate I will be in kindergarten!" She was thrilled to sing and show off at this fun event. I arrived two hours early in order to get front row seats and it was worth every minute of waiting! After the children performed and received their diplomas, a slide show was presented with pictures portraying each child from birth to present. I had to dry my eyes as the sweet memories flashed before us. As we drove home afterward, Russell and Sloane chatted endlessly while I cried quietly thinking that time most definitely goes too fast!

So excited for her BIG night!

Singing "There ain't no mountain high enough!"

Flowers from Mommy and Daddy.

Sloane and Sadie - Besties!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Carnival Chaos!

Friday was my school's annual carnival. The weather was not the best so most of the events had to be moved indoors, however the rain did not detour the kids from having a BLAST! Aron and I decided, "who needs Disney World when you have the Morgan school carnival!!!" Russell and Sloane ran from activity to activity with 100% pure happiness! The favorites were the bounce houses, dunk tanks, train ride, glitter tattoos, and purchasing items with their tickets earned. Thankfully Aron was able to meet us there or else I never would have been able to keep up with the two of them! Since Morgan is also Russell's school, it was great to see him showing off in his domain and enjoying time with his classmates. I was delighted to see over 1/2 of my class in attendance as well. It was terrific to celebrate with all of my beloved children!!!