Maddie Sings for Arcadia Dance Show

So this is a little out of order but I forgot to post it with my December blog posts.  Maddie had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the Arcadia High Charity Dance show.  Her Grandpa (my dad) is the Emcee every year and invited her to sing “Home” from the Musical Beauty and the Beast to introduce the charity that was chosen this year which was a charity that benefited children from abusive homes.  It fit perfectly with the theme and she was delighted she could sing at it!  It is in the Gymnasium so the sound quality is a little bad but she did an amazing job and we are so proud of her!

Libby’s Workout

One morning as we were heading out the door to take the kids to school I found Libby doing this and quickly started recording.  She is such a nut!

Science Fair

One of my fondest elementary school memories is participating in the Science Fair.  My dad is a science teacher and would help us create the coolest science projects around.  We’d always place and out projects were always a hit!  This year both my kids participated and Maddie even got 2nd place for her grade. Carter was bummed he didn’t place but there were tons of 2nd graders who participated and not nearly as many 5th graders so she had a better chance.

Maddie’s project was one that I did in 5th grade!  The project was about sound travel and how sound cannot travel without a medium such as air.  My dad got the air compressor for us from school so we could do the project.  The air compressor removes all the air from the glass dome and the alarm clock no longer can be heard. 

Carter also did one of my old projects.  I did this one in second grade as well!  The project is about buoyancy and you place raisins in 7-up an watch the bubbles attach to the raisins, then they rise to the top and pop, then the raisin drops back down.  I had a cool pink California Raisin shirt I wore.  (Remember the raisin commercials?  They were cool!)  Carter had fun doing the project and enjoyed learning about buoyancy.

Thanks Dad for helping the kids with their projects.  I’m sure we’ll be hitting you up next year for ideas!

Happy Hearts Day!

Valentines day is always lots of fun with the kids.  Last year I did cute homemade cards but we were so busy this year I opted for the store bought ones.  The kids didn’t seem to mind getting their favorite characters and candy for their cards.  Watching Maddie, Carter and Sawyer sit around the table filling out their cards brought back fond memories of my elementary days.  It’s hard to believe I have kids that are now at that age! 

On Valentines Day Chris and I decided not to go out to avoid the crowds.  Instead I made his favorite dinner: Chestnut Chicken and we all ate dinner together.  We put the kids to bed early and enjoyed a movie at home.  It was just perfect! 

Winter Basketball 2012

I didn’t take many pictures but here is a very short video of Carter playing basketball this last season.  He was on the Nuggets again and balled it up as usual.  He’s definitely ready to move up a division.  This Summer he’ll get to play with older kids and on a standard size court.

Twice the Fun at Disneyland

In the month of February we got to go to Disneyland twice!  Sawyer and I are the only ones who have passes and since Libby is free I get 2 extra tickets when I do a mystery shop.  It works out great when I have the older kids come.  The first time we went it was just Libby, Sawyer and I.  It was actually a rainy day but rain or shine I have to do my mystery shop so we brought the jogger and some ponchos just in case we got rained on.  It turned out perfect though because we got no rain at all and the park was not crowded. 

Sawyer had never been on Tom Sawyer’s Island and since he bears the same name he was very excited to go explore it.  For some reason I’ve just avoided it, probably because strollers aren’t allowed over there and I always have a stroller.  Since Libby’s getting bigger now and can do a lot of walking it wasn’t so bad.  Sawyer had a great time and it is one of his favorite things to do now at Disneyland. 

We made sure to hit up Dumbo since it wasn’t very crowded.  The lady working the ride was so nice, she noticed the two kids fighting over the control and she told us that if they’d take turns she’d let us go twice!

 

About a week later we ALL got to go to Disneyland on the kids day off from school.  Grampy had the day off too so we took him along with us.  It was really fun having him with us because the kids rarely have the opportunity to go to Disneyland with him.  We went to PCH grill and had breakfast with Mickey and friends. 

Then of course we hit up my favorite ride- Toy Story Mania.  I love to get my kids pictures wearing the 3D glasses. 

It was so great to have Grampy there to help take care of the kids.  Libby has taken a special liking to Grampy and he spoils her. 

The kids discovered Silly Symphony swings and had a great time going several times.  Sawyer got to ride with Grampy on the Tandem swing.

My dad had me take this picture of him on Jumping Jellyfish and he showed it to his class the next day.  He told them he was doing a little research on his day off.  The class was currently studying Jelly Fish.  I’m sure they got a kick out of that!

We ate lunch at Corn Dog Castle, always a favorite for me!

We headed over to Tom Sawyer’s Island since Sawyer wanted to show the other kids all the fun things they could do.  Grampy remembered going there as a little boy. 

The kids found the treasure while on the island!

We had such a wonderful time taking Grampy to Disneyland we hope we can do it again soon!

Fairy Tale Ball

Sawyer’s Preschool put on a Fairy Tale Ball earlier this year.  This was the first time they did it and I was a bit skeptical, but he wanted to go and dress as Harry Potter and I thought Libby would enjoy it since these days she’s into anything princess.  Here are the kids all ready for the ball. 

When we got there they had a little show where all the teachers dressed up as different characters and they put on a little skit that was very cute.  It kept the kids very entertained.  Sawyer later said he thought it was dumb but he looks pretty entertained here. 

Afterwards they had little crafts and things for the kids to do.  All the teachers came out in costume and posed for pictures with the kids.  Libby was in heaven and was star struck!  This is Sawyer’s teacher, Miss Heather.  Isn’t she beautiful?

Another one of Sawyer’s teachers, Mr. Rudy made the perfect Aladdin. 

As you can see Sawyer didn’t want to pose with any of the characters.  He was being too shy.  He did want to make a wand.  The whole event was geared toward girls but it was definitely fun and very cute. 

Libby’s Minnie Mouse Party

Libby had a Minnie Mouse party a few days after her birthday.  We had both our families there and our neighbors and good friends the Garcia’s. 

I made a candy bar with lots of red, white and black choices.  The cupcakes were so much fun.  Two mini Oreos for the ears and  fruit by the foot folded and cut into bow shapes.  Super easy and they turned out so cute! 

We had Nachos for dinner with loads of toppings to go on them. 

Libby had so much fun opening her presents and got so excited.  It was so much fun to watch!

After presents we sang happy birthday and she was in heaven with her Minnie cupcake.

The guests each went home with a Minnie pop.  So yummy! 

Libby turns 2!

Yes it’s June and Libby turned 2 on January 11, but I’m still trying to catch up.  There is so much I could write about Libby.  She is such a fun little girl and has grown up so much, we just can’t believe she is our little baby!   She is more advanced than any of our kids at this age so it has been fun to watch her grow.  She is so advanced in her speech, we can have in depth conversations with her and I am always amazed at what she picks up hearing me talk.  She is very much like Maddie in that she is very dramatic and she loves to sing.  She loves going to Nursery at church and begs us to take her!  She loves singing time in Nursery and relishes every moment.  She love Minnie Mouse and anything Princess.  She is definitely a girly girl but she can be rough when she needs to be.  She has everyone in the family wrapped around her finger, which was cute when she was a baby but now that she’s in the terrible two’s its obvious we’ve created a monster.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re the baby. 

For Libby’s birthday we did quite a few fun things this year.  Sadly Chris had to be out of town on business on her actual birthday so we went out to dinner at Outback the night before her big day so we could celebrate with Daddy.  She got her very own sundae!

On the morning of her birthday as I barely getting out of bed, Maddie was up making a waffle for Libby.  She even covered it in bananas and whipped cream!  (it was a toaster waffle but still very impressive for a 10 year old).  I lit the candle and she was in heaven. 

Later that day we went to Disneyland to celebrate her special day.  She was very aware of her birthday and kept telling us it was her birthday.  Since Chris was out of town we had Grandma come with us.  It was fun to have her share Libby’s special day.  Libby got to pick all the rides we went on and we made an extra special visit to Toon town since she is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie. 

All ready to take the tram in

 

Carter and Maddie were so excited to take her on Monster’s Inc.  She LOVES that movie.

 

We spent some time at the Toon Town park

 

We had to get pictures with Mickey and Minnie.  Even though Libby wanted to keep her distance, she still loved seeing them.

We made sure to ride the carousel which is one of Libby’s favorites.  (and mine too, since the line is always short and I can get good pictures on it.)

Because my Mom was with us we could get on rides through the handicap entrance which made lines really short for us.  One ride we almost never ride because the line is so ridiculous is Peter Pan.  Since Grammy was with us we decided to go on it.  Just our luck, the ride stopped right in the middle, the lights came on and we were stranded for about 20 minutes suspended in our boats.  The ride does not look so fascinating with the lights on.  

I don’t think my kids will ever ride on it again, they are too scared it will get stuck.  After that we were all ready to head home.  Since we hadn’t had dinner we stopped at In-n-out on our way home and Libby enjoyed her very own hamburger.  She’s such a big girl now!

She went right to sleep on our way home.  She had a wonderful birthday and felt completely spoiled.  Since that day whenever we go to Disneyland, she tells me it’s her birthday!

While we were at Disneyland she got a few souvenirs and she was so proud of her bag of toys.  She wouldn’t part with it for several days.  Here she is the next morning holding her bag.  It was the first thing she wanted when she woke up the next morning.