My own personal entertainment

My Gracie loves the sound of her own voice, especially when that voice is raised in song! Here are some videos of her singing and showing off, and one of her kung fu skills. I can only hope these videos will bring you as much laughter as they bring to our lives!

Singing "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story

You've got a friend in me! from Teri Elliott on Vimeo.

Singing at the end of the year performance for her preschool

Singing the "G" song at the end of year show from Teri Elliott on Vimeo.

Showing off her Kung Fu

Grace's Kung Fu from Teri Elliott on Vimeo.

"Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming..."

Grace took swim lessons through a neighbor of Tiffany's and had a great time! She took a week's worth with her two best buds, Taylor and Abby. My little fish has always loved water, and shows no fear! She jumps in without hesitating, goes underwater with no problem, and would stay in the pool all day if allowed! She had some trouble following directions, preferring to play and be silly than listen to her instructor. Overall, the week was fairly successful and I am confident enough that if she fell in, she would not drown! So, in the words of Dory, I guess we will just keep swimming!





















At the end of the week, the instructor allowed the kids to take a turn down the water slide. Of course Grace was all over that! She couldn't wait for her turn, and threw herself down the slide with delight when her time came!





Love my little water baby!

Grace swimming from Teri Elliott on Vimeo.

A Wedding in Dallas

Our family attended it's fourth wedding this year on June 12, which resulted in mine and Grace's first trip to Dallas, Texas. I gotta say, I wasn't impressed. After waiting over 30 minutes for our luggage to come off the plane and getting honked at about a dozen times on the way to the hotel, I was already missing Atlanta! We went to Dallas to be a part of DJ's younger brother's wedding. Kirby and Christine asked DJ to be the best man, and Grace to be a flower girl, even though all she did was walk down the aisle. She sat with me during the ceremony so she wouldn't distract anyone. We enjoyed visiting with our family, and especially enjoyed the reception. Grace loves to dance, and so does DJ, so my night was spent watching the two of them!





DJ's grandmother lives close to Dallas, so we drove out to visit with her on Friday morning. She has a lovely home with a beautifully kept yard that Grace really enjoyed. Grandmother is the sweetest lady, and is such a joy to talk to. Grace and I both have taken right to her, and loved our visit to see her.










Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner. Grace played the organ at the church for a while, waiting for the rehearsal to finish. At the dinner, Grace bounced between us, her Aunt Katie (DJ's younger sister), and Gammie (DJ's mom). It was a good meal and a good time, listening to all the stories and toasts to the bride and groom.











The wedding was Saturday evening and was very nice. Grace and DJ looked great!











The reception was the best part of the trip, and everyone had a blast! From dancing to listening to DJ's awesome best man speech, it was a memorable night.







These are DJ's two grandmothers, Grammer and Grandmother.


DJ REALLY loves to dance, and he loves to embarrass me!




Grace showing her dance moves to Grandmother, who was a good sport dancing with her!










Congratulations, Kirby and Christine! May the Lord bless your marriage always!

The Ritz Carlton

The night of our wedding, DJ and I stayed at the Ritz Carlton. We didn't want to go out of town for a whole week on a honeymoon right away, because we felt that Grace needed more time to adjust to all the changes. However, we did want to celebrate our wedding night in style, so DJ took us to the Ritz in Atlanta! It was a beautiful evening, and the hotel and service are every bit as amazing as you've heard.







All of the bobby pins from my hair...YIKES!





DJ had them put roses on our bed, and chocolate covered strawberries in our room.





I want to go back! The bed was so comfortable, the bathroom was awesome, and the elevators even had chandeliers in them! Thank you, Deej!

Summer Fun at Six Flags

We took Grace to Six Flags over Georgia, and she LOVED it! We met some of our friends up there and enjoyed our day with the Slatton's. The boys, DJ and Jeremy, rode all the major thrill coasters, while Mandi and I enjoyed the less deadly ones (haha!) with the little girls, Taylor and Gracie. Before the Slatton's got to the park, DJ and Grace rode a few coasters together, like the RunAway Mine Train and the Scream Machine. (The Scream Machine is an honest to goodness, afraid for your life, goes super fast kind of roller coaster...and my baby rode it!)







After that heart attack (mine, not hers) I took her on some smaller rides. By then, our friends had arrived, and little Taylor has absolutely no interest in riding ANY kind of roller coaster, so we stuck with the calm and kid-friendly rides. (Of which I was thankful...)



















Near the end of our visit, Mandi and I took the girls to Skull Island, which is a mini water park inside Six Flags. They have water spouts and games, and several water slides, which Grace enjoyed immensely. She rode them again and again, paying no attention to the other children in line, and shoving her way to the front. It amazes me how fearless she is in some situations, but how timid she is in other far less scary ones! I guess I just don't understand four year olds.











These are some pictures of Grace and Taylor from that day. These two have been buddies since birth (or before really, since Mandi and I were pregnant together and delivered within three weeks of each other) They play together often, but we rarely get good pictures of them because they're always active and busy. So, I am especially proud of the pictures I got of these two sweethearts!