Opening Night for Oklahoma

Opening night for Ashley's first play, Oklahoma, was last week!

It was truly amazing to see Ashley perform in front of audience! During rehearsals she did very well. She always remembered her cues and was always where she needed to be. But once she got in front of an audience, she took it to a whole new level. She was so animated and reacted to the lines of other characters with such energy and enthusiasm! Her facial expressions were incredible. It was as if she had been doing this for years!

The rehearsals have been a wonderful experience for her. She has learned so much about what goes into a play production... costumes, set design, make-up, dress rehearsal, being backstage and, of course, opening night.

Ashley was so excited to perform in front of an audience. She was nervous and excited. But, she did fabulous. After each show, she had people telling her that she stole the show whenever she was on stage.

It has truly been a wonderful experience!!!

Ashley's First Play

Several weeks ago Ashley auditioned at a local theater for her first play, Oklahoma. She got up on stage and sang her solo and did a great job. Then she went through the dance audition with all the adults and teenagers and kept up quite well.

A few weeks later we got the news that she had been cast as the youngest member of the "towns people" (which is what she had auditioned for). When she found out, she was excited, yet nervous, to go to rehearsals. But after the first night, she decided that she really likes rehearsals. She loves being on stage and is so disappointed every time rehearsal is over!

What a great experience for her and a wonderful way to build her confidence of being on stage!

Fun wih Seaglass

One of Ashley’s favorite outdoor activities is walking along the beach looking for sea glass with Mama. We often go to the beach looking for sea glass and then go for a hike along the big rocks. When we have lots of energy, we hike all the way out to the lighthouse.

Sometimes we take the ferry out to one of the islands and walk along the beach on the island. We make an entire afternoon out of the ferry ride out to the island, the walk along the beach and then the ferry ride back. We have quite the collection of sea glass from the coast of Maine in green russet brown and white.

Ashley was so excited to see some of the charms we could make from sea glass. We take wire and wrap it around the sea glass. Ashley helps pick out which pieces of sea glass we should use and helps choose a charm.

She loved seeing pictures of our sea glass masterpieces in our online store.

Whenever we sell one, we put half of our profts into her savings account. She loves going to the bank and making a deposit (don't we all).

It is great fun taking one of our favorite past times of collecting sea glass and showing her how we can turn the sea glass into wonderful jewelry. It gave Ashley a whole new appreciation of sea glass.

You can check out some of our other designs in our online store, Acorn Accessories.

Let's Get Creative with Beads

Ashley loves to go to the bead store to pick out new beads! The bead store has hundreds of different beads to choose from. She loves to find new beads! Every time we go, there is something new.

We use the beads to make jewelry and accessories for our online store.

Ashley is very good at helping come up with new desgins. She is very creative!

For special occassions she gives some of her creations as special gifts, which is always extra special to the person that is receiving it.

Never Too Young For Guitar Lessons

Ashley wanted to learn how to play the guitar so bad. But, at 5 years old, it is not easy (although not impossible) to find a teacher that is willing to teach at such a young age.

It seems as though it was meant to be when we met a great teacher that was more than willing to take Ashley on as a student.

His learning approach to playing the guitar makes it so easy for a young child to learn. Each of the strings have a color assigned to it. The strings are easy to remember with a fun phrase that he uses... "Elmo Always Dances Goofy Before Ernie".

In just a couple months time, she is able to play three songs and three chords. It is not easy to get her to practice at this age. But she loves the lessons and loves jammin' on her guitar.

Check out the video at the bottom of our blog to hear her own personal version of "Happy Birthday" for Gramma.

What a Difference Swim Lessons Make!

Local colleges are a wonderful resource! You may not realize it, but they frequently offer some great activities for kids.

One of the many activities we take advantage of at one of our local colleges is swimming lessons. They even have lessons for babies!

Ashley did not have a lot of confidence in the water. So, swimming lessons seemed like a good idea.

When she started out, she had some "catching up" to do compared to the other kids in her class. But after just a couple weeks, she was consistently out-swimming everyone in her class. By the time she reaches the edge of the pool, all the other kids are a half a pool length behind her.

Swim lessons have made a big difference for Ashley. She loves going and is always dissapppointed when it is time to leave!

Horseback Riding Lessons at Any Age

We were really lucky to find a local stable that would allow Ashley to take horseback riding lessons at the age of four.

Her first (8) lessons were a series of classes that provided an introduction to horsemanship (in addition to riding lessons), including learning how to be safe around horses and how to care for horses.

This is now her second year of lessons now and they focus more on riding. She has learned a lot and really loves going!

Most importantly the lessons have taught the responsibility of taking care of horses. Ashley would love to have her own horse someday. By taking lessons that expose her to the care of horses, it is preparing her for the huge responsibility down the road.

Ashley Learns How to Use a Pottery Wheel

You are never too young to learn how to use a pottery wheel!

Ashley got to go to a pottery wheel class, where she got to try it out all by herself. It was rather messy ~ buy lots of fun! She got the hang of it pretty well ~ with some help, of course.

Once the bowls hardened, Ashley got to paint them pretty colors.

She made two bowls ~ a small one a medium one. They turned out great!

What a fun day!!! She can't wait to go again!!!

Flower Fairies

Ashley loves to make flower fairies. They are lots of fun to make. She loves to give them as gifts and she has even sold some in our online store, Acorn Accessories.

Here are some pictures of some of them...