Strike!

Elise and I went bowling on MLK Day with our church. It was the first time she bowled and definitely not the last. Elise has some form (along with all the other little kids)! The parents joked that we were surprised that they didn't dent up the floor when they threw the ball down the lane. I was just surprised that it never stalled out in the middle!

The face of joy

Off to the Ball

For Elise's 6th birthday we gave her tickets to the BGSU softball team's annual ball. The Princess Ball is a fundraiser that they host annually for girls (and their escorts) kindergarten through 8th grade. We created a formal invitation for Elise to open. In addition to the invitation, I had gone to the store and purchased 6 dresses for her to chose from for her grand night. It was so sweet of her to say, 'But I don't have a dress for a ball' when she opened the invitation. Her eyes widened when we brought in her choices. We had wanted to make the night special.

In addition to a date with Daddy to the Princess Ball, our friends the Barnetts were going as well... Libby and Julia would be going with their Dad and Uncle Eric. We thought it only fitting that the Dads wear a top hat (courtesy of Amazon for a mere $4.99) for such a grand event.

And of course a corsage too! The corsage is still on Elise's chest of drawers. She tells me that she's saving it forever. Later she told me that she looked at her corsage all night long while she was dancing at the Ball.

...a picture with the entire gang before leaving for dinner.

The moms were invited to the Ball for a red carpet photo op. We arrived before the girls and their escorts so we could see their faces as they entered the building. Cinderella was there greeting the girls as they arrived.

There was also an opportunity to take a picture outside of Rapunzel's castle...

The best part was the red (actually pink!) carpet. Each princess was announced along with their escort as they made their way down the carpet for photos and cheers before entering the Ball.  It was a such sweet thing and really made me smile.

Libby and Uncle Eric

Julia and her Dad

My princess and her prince

And what happened next? Well, I assume it's a bit like Vegas. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I know there was a bunch of dancing, snacking on cookies and raffling of prizes (which they didn't win). It was a special and magical night.

Dancing up a storm

My guess is that this will be an annual event for this group!