A Round of Applause!

The past couple of weeks have been a busy and exciting time here, and for a couple of members of the family, it was certainly time to shine!  This post is a chance to recognize Robert and Paisley for their most recent achievements, as well as to mention a really wonderful gift which I received.

Last Tuesday night, Robert and I did something that we haven’t done in years:  We went to a concert!  He surprised me last Christmas with tickets to see Fleetwood Mac – in a section where we wouldn’t even need binoculars!  The funny thing is that Fleetwood Mac was so popular when I was young, and while I thought they were okay, I wasn’t especially taken with them at that time.  It has only been in the last three years or so that their music has actually “spoken” to my soul – especially Stevie Nicks’ music (I’m pretty sure that “Landside” was written just for me).  So not only were there applause on Tuesday night, there was some whistling, shouting, and just general jamming out.  So fun!

The next event that I want to share was for our old coot...It has been a good season for Robert in his career.  For the past few years he has been an engineer for the city in which he works, but he was recently promoted to become The City Engineer.  This is a position that he has wanted very much, and I am so happy that he has the chance to do something that he really wants to do.  It has meant that he has been gone from home much more, and I’m learning to just make him a plate at dinner time for him to heat in the microwave later.  However, he thinks it is worth all the extra time and effort, and since he’s the one that has to get up and go every day, I’m going to help support him in any way possible.

Right on the heels of his promotion came the news that he had won an award at the state level of the American Public Works Association.  It’s always nice to win an award, but I think this had a special significance.  You see, Robert used to work in the private sector – and there is often much more potential to make more money there.  But I guess you’d have to know Robert to understand that he really is more of a public sector guy, a place where “going the extra mile” is appreciated and celebrated.  Last Friday’s festivities really served to drive this point home to me, and I can more fully see that this is where a guy like him belongs.

Here are a couple of pertinent pages from the program:

And here is the happy public servant with his award:

(A special thanks to Mandy, who went with us.  While her mother was too shy to go up and take a picture, Mandy just trotted her little pregnant self right up there and got a couple of shots!)

We all had a wonderful time (and some really great dinner and dessert didn’t hurt, either).  I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of my husband, and how happy I am that he is so happy in his job!

There was another fantastic event that happened on the 25^th of May:  The World’s Most Beautiful Child had her very first dance recital.  Of course, the whole family had to attend the extravaganza and we had the time of our lives!  Now, maybe other people won’t get too excited about seeing a group of two-year olds strut their stuff on stage, but this old Lolee was excited.  This event had been weeks (or maybe even months) in the making, and I had been getting updates along the way.

The dress rehearsal was serious business, and Paisley had the demeanor to match:

Here are some shots of the performance:

For those who might want to see the actual performance (cute, cute, cute!), you can click here (Paisley is the 4th from the left).  As for the part where Most Beautiful lifts her skirt:  Paisley’s mother explained to me that there was tape on the floor with their “marks” on it.  I guess when one of the other girls was standing so close, our girl knew that something was off, and she was trying to see where her mark was.  Once she found it, she tried frantically to go through the moves to catch up.

Apparently, it is customary for even two-year old dancers to receive bouquets of flowers.  Paisley’s parents -- and both sets of grandparents -- brought bouquets to Most Beautiful.  She was so tickled and absolutely thrilled to receive them.  Mandy combined the various flowers to make this lovely arrangement:

Most Beautiful officially has been bitten by the entertainment bug, for she already has  been asking when she can dance for “everyone” again.  She was quite disappointed when her mother told her that she would have to learn some new dances and that it would be a little while.  Paisley is ready to go again!