It's Almost Annie's Birthday!

"Whether you think you can
  or you think you can't,
  you're right" ~ Henry Ford

When I saw this quote the other day,
I immediately thought of my daughter, Annie.

All of her life, she has always been the kind
of person who THINKS SHE CAN.

And the majority of the time, SHE'S RIGHT!
Whatever she tries, she's good at it.
And I can't help but think it has to do with
the confidence she has in herself.

There has only been one time when I have seen
Annie give up and stop trying.
It was a long time ago in dance class.
The teacher taught the class a new dance
to perform for the parents on Halloween.
I guess she felt she didn't know it well enough,
and...

She stood there with the saddest look on her face
while everyone else was dancing
and refused to try.

Other than that time in dance class,
she amazes us with her sense of determination
and her ever-present smile!

Here she is in Lake George trying softball for the first time.

 And here she models a new dance outfit!

She must have been picturing herself out on stage!

She LOVED getting make-up on and dressing
like a princess for her dance recitals.

She made friends with her swim instructors.

 At Disneyworld, she wasn't afraid to go up to
the characters and hug them!

 Especially the princesses!

I love this dance recital picture with her two front teeth missing!

She used to go with Vance to visit the shut-ins from church.
This is her special friend Mrs. McGough who looked
forward to Annie's visits.

For a while, she fancied herself a figure skater...

I think her dance poses even helped her with...

                           basketball!

 She used to be tall for her age, which came
in handy on the court!

Annie began to play piano in kindergarten...

 She LOVED piano recitals!

I should say, she loved MUSIC.

And she loved Mrs. Bigge, her music teacher.

Here she is singing with her classmates in 4th grade.

She always has a smile on her face (well, almost always)...

Annie ran in the developmental track team when she was little,
then went on to run in Middle School...

and in High School...

She has always been comfortable in front of a crowd.

Whether speaking at sports awards,

acting in a high school play,

or playing sax with many jazz bands...

Annie, you continue to amaze us every day!
Happy 17th Birthday!
We love you and look forward to all the
exciting times in the coming year!