Playdates and Princesses

We had wonderful, awesome, loyal friends...unfortunately most of them have moved/are moving away. My good friend Amy and her son Liam(and husband!) moved away last August. We've missed them so very much. My kids ask about Liam all the time and can't understand why we don't just walk up the street to see them anymore. My other good friend, Angie, will be moving with her family in June. I'm already feeling lonely! Fortunately, I've built the kinds of friendships with these ladies that will stand the test of time and distance and I have no doubt that they'll be my friends for life. Thankfully, Amy and Liam miss us as much as we miss them and they made a special effort to come visit us last month. We had SO MUCH FUN! They kids were ecstatic to see each other. Liam came running into our house as soon as his mom parked the car and he and Maura gave each other the biggest hug and ran away to play as though no time had passed at all. It was so sweet that it brought tears to my eyes! Lily and Dawn soon arrived and the kids played like a pack of screaming banshees and had so much fun all morning.
Three of the amigos stopped their running for a quick drink break. Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't be there that morning. so we missed out on having everyone together at the same time. Because Liam moved in August, he's missed everyone's birthdays. We decided to have a group birthday party and celebrate with cupcakes. They kids LOVED having their own candle and we sang to them all at the same time.

Maura and Lily had already celebrated their birthdays this year, but Liam and Tristan had not, so they were excited about our little celebration.

"Birthday girl Lily" and "Birthday boy Tristan" couldn't wait to blow out those candles and dig in!

I love, love, love my friends and I'm so blessed to have them in my life. Thanks, girls, for all the fun and all the memories. I'll hold you in my heart forever!

Below: That same day, my mom called in the morning and asked if Maura and I would like to go to the Disney on Ice show. "YES!" I didn't buy tickets this year due to budgetary restrictions and then regretted it because I'm not sure how much longer Maura will enjoy all things princess. After our play date, Maura slipped into the obligatory princess costume and we headed down to the arena. I'm not sure who was more excited, me or her!

Thanks Grammy!! We're so glad we got to share this special treat with you! We couldn't wait for the show to start, and when it did it was truly magical!

Tinkerbell was first, which thrilled Maura to no end. She even had a wand that sprinkle real pixie dust. LOVED it! Minnie and Mickey took the stage next and introduced all the princesses and their princes. Everything was done in true Disney style and it was so much fun.

My girl taking a break from all the magic at intermission. Though she really wanted a light up wand from the show, this cheapskate mommy couldn't cough up the necessary $20, so Maura had to content herself with the wand I brought from home for her. She wasn't too disappointed and she quickly revived herself when Grammy arrived with popcorn.

Cinderella dismounted from her magical carriage, everyone came to meet her...

and they all lived happily ever after! Have you ever wondered if their happily ever afters included screaming babies in the middle of the night or vomit in their laps? Disney just never seems to show that part! Anywho, it was an awesome day and I loved sharing it with my girl and my mom. And we all lived happily ever after!