So...

Sean was gone for a week - to Samoa. What an amazing trip for him. The pictures he captured are absolutely incredible. You can visit his blog to read diary entries and to view his work: www.slavin.org He's still in the process of updating it, but it's worth a peek!

We, as a couple, have never been apart for more then 4 days - since the day we met! The trip to Samoa was difficult for me because I missed him terribly. However, I had a GREAT time with the girls. We turned the entire week into a slumber party. We enjoyed Legoland with friends; had breakfast for dinner; popcorn and movies; painted our nails; went to the toy store and bought new princess costumes for some wonderful dress-up pretend play; enjoyed the beach with other friends; visited with Grandmas and Uncle Scott; accomplished both gymnastics and dance classes without fail; and decorated the house with signs and balloons for Sean's return. We had such a great time.

AND!

Dillen had a call back for a national commercial for Huggies. It was her first audition/call back. At the initial audition there were hundreds of girls from the ages of 4-5 called. But at the call back there were only 22. Though she didn't book the job, it's amazing that she got so far for her first ever audition! And, in her words, "Mommy, thank you so much for taking me to the audition. This is so much fun!" What's not fun about chasing bubbles, getting stickers and playing with a stuffed tiger? Mind you, this was all new to me - I'm used to auditions, but not for children. I had been warned that I would not be allowed to go with Dillen into the audition room but I wasn't sure how she would react. I had prepped her beforehand, but when the time came... I just wasn't sure if she would be up for leaving me (and I am determined not to turn into a "stage-mother" forcing her into something she doesn't want to do). To my surprise, she has grown into a VERY independent little girl. At the first audition, when her name was called, she said, "Ok Mommy, you have to stay here. You can't come in. See you later!" And off she ran with the 'child-wrangler.' At the second audition, the wrangler came out of the room and had her choose a sticker and asked her to go with her. Dillen turned to me with a big smile and said, "See you soon!"

It's so awesome to me to see her enjoy this so much. She's such an outgoing, friendly, talented little girl. That being said, both trips to Los Angeles totaled over 5 hours drive-time. Unfortunately, this took a toll on Dillen. She did have movies in the car to watch but it proved to be too much for her - and for me. I had to let her agent know that we need to stick to local auditions for the time-being. When she has more patience or if she shows continued interest, we will rethink the long drive to LA.

Pictures coming soon... for some reason I am having difficulty uploading. Rrg.