Disneyland birthday for Maddie

After having Maddie's friend party on Saturday and packing literally all day on Sunday (to be ready for my "tag along" trip with Chris on Tuesday) we spent the afternoon at Disneyland on Monday for a mystery shop I had planned (weeks before) with Maddie for her birthday. We took Grandma with us since Chris was already on his trip for work and therefore couldn't join us. It was fun having Grammy with us and we're glad she got to enjoy the day too! We got a babysitter for the boys and Grampy came home and relieved her and put the boys to bed. Maddie wanted it to be extra special and we were going to a nice restaurant and I didn't think they'd appreciate my entire crew!

Libby looked so cute in her Minnie mouse ears and black and red outfit. We got so many comments throughout the day.

What fun it was to have all the Christmas decorations up and see the giant tree. Maddie gets irked that they forget to celebrate Thanksgiving! Since she is a Thanksgiving baby.

One of the shops I had to do was an ice cream place and Maddie enjoyed a huge ice cream sandwich.

As we walked down main St. on our way to our dinner they had the snow fall and it was so much fun to get to see it. I know it is cheesy and the snow is really just bubbles that look like snow. But with the music and the lights it just gives me goosebumps and makes me all giddy inside.

Doesn't that castle look amazing! I love Christmastime at Disneyland!

As we entered California Adventure, Maddie had to stop and take a picture with the N for "Nielsen".

We had a wonderful delectable and very expensive dinner at the swanky Napa Rose restaurant. Because it was part of my Mystery shop I get it all reimbursed.

Libby was kind of a nightmare and did not behave well at all. I think this picture says it all! We had gotten a corn on the cob earlier in the day and she would not let go of it. She had a death grip on that thing all day. It was gross but we let her hold it in the restaurant so she'd be quiet but it didn't work very well.

It was fun to try a delicious wood fired pizza with prosciutto and caramelized onions. The short rib was to die for and absolutely amazing.

Check out the kids meal! I even ordered one for Libby since they give me plenty to spend.

Maddie got a happy birthday dessert. Creme brulee made into a beach complete with fish and sand.

We had a fabulous time! It was a great night with my Maddie and my mom, and of course my Libby too!

We got home late, around 10 pm. I had to do my surveys which normally take a few hours and then get up at 4 am to get ready to go the airport for my trip. Just thinking about that night makes me exhausted. I ended up going to bed at 2 and getting up at 4! Only to get on a 5 1/2 hour flight with a 10 month old! Don't feel sorry for me because I was on my way to meet my hubby in Hawaii!

Maddie's 9th Birthday Party

At the Nielsen home we have been very busy, a good kind of busy and we've been having lots of fun! It all starts off with Maddie's birthday party on November 13. Maddie actually turned 9 on November 20 but we had the party a week early because I was going to be tagging along on a very fun trip with Chris (more to come on that). We decided to do something low key but fun since I was so busy. We had 5 girls come over and make hair clips with fabric. Maddie's Aunt Amanda came over and showed the girls how to make them. They each made 2 and took home supplies to make more. They had a great time and best of all, it was something they could do themselves!

For food we ordered yummy pizza and we also snacked on some of Maddie's favorite goodies. The girls each took home a box that they filled with candies.

Since I was trying to keep it pretty low key I didn't go all out with decorations but did find this cute banner at Target. I think I'll use it again it's so cute! You can see Aunt Amanda below. She is such a fun aunt. My kids all adore her.

Here are all the girls posing on the couch with their hair clips they made. These are all girls from Primary. Maddie could choose any girls she wanted and she decided to invite girls from church.

Maddie got some fun gifts and had a great time. I loved it because it was low key and quiet. We had a fun time celebrating Maddie with something Maddie loves to do- make hair clips.

Reflections 2010

For the first time the kids entered the reflections program that our PTA puts on. This year the theme was "Together We Can" Maddie came up with the idea to put all of our hands together to take a picture. This is how it turned out.

Carter drew some great Alien Monster guys. He was very proud of his work.

Both the kids were very proud of their work and we were excited to find out that their pieces had been chosen to move on to the district level!

Both

Meet George Washington

Maddie's teacher Mr. Lawrence had a fun activity for the students in his class. He called it a "Living Museum" About 8 of the students got to learn about a famous person in U.S. history and personify them for the younger kids at school. Maddie was assigned George Washington which was kind of fun because we recently discovered from Grandma Faye that we are related to George Washington. I don't think her teacher or classmates believed her when she told them.

It was fun for Maddie to learn all about George Washington and the wonderful person he was. I really enjoyed working on this project with Maddie and learned a lot about Washington.

I styled her hair like his and even put baby powder in it which was a hit with all the kids.

Maddie really played the part and had all the kids listening to her every word.

Phantom with Daddy

Maddie had a very special evening with Daddy. Since the Phantom of the Opera was leaving Pantages for good this past week, Daddy decided to take Maddie as an early Birthday present. (Her Birthday is November 20) She was so excited and had been wanting to see it since she is learning songs from it in Chorus at school. Daddy brought home a package with an adorable outfit for her to wear.

Then he took her to Outback for dinner where they enjoyed a yummy steak and potato. The pictures were from Chris' cell phone so they aren't high quality.

When they arrived at Pantages they were walking towards the theatre and a man approached them and asked if they were going to the show. They replied yes and he then said, "I'm your Phantom" Maddie was thrilled to be able to meet him and it made it fun knowing that she met him while she watched the show. (He wasn't so scary)

Maddie had a wonderful evening with her Daddy. I'm so glad that Chris can share an interest in theatre with Maddie!

Meeting Laura Numeroff

Our local Chick-fil-a hosted a book signing with Laura Numeroff, who is one of our favorite children's authors. The kids were pretty excited to have her sign one of their books. If you aren't familiar with her I'm sure you have seen her books. She wrote "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" and several other books with similar titles. It thought it was a great experience for the kids to meet an author since they are very excited about reading and have hopes of maybe writing someday. On they way over the kids were thinking of idea's for her next book. They all thought a cute title would be "If you take a mouse to the Pumpkin Patch" When we got there they shared their idea with her. She told us her next book is going to be "If you give a Dog a Doughnut"!

It was a fun experience for the kids to meet a celebrity!

Vote for Maddie!

Maddie is in fourth grade now and with that comes some fun privileges. She's officially considered a big kid on campus and gets to eat lunch with the 5th and 6th graders. She also had the privilege of running for student council. I love how she is such a go getter, it makes me so proud. I never have to encourage her to do anything at school, she always wants to participate in anything she can. So naturally she came home so excited about running for Publicist. We made this cute poster together (Thanks for the slogan Uncle Chris)


Grammy helped her prepare an adorable rhyming speech which she gave in front of all the 4,5 and 6th graders. When it was all said and done, Maddie did not win and was pretty disappointed but I'm glad she tried and I think it was a good experience for her. She's already looking forward to next year. (We'll just have to make sure she doesn't run against the most popular girl in 4th grade.)

Overheard

Carter: If you become a teacher you'll be Mrs. Nielsen.

Maddie: No my last name will be my husbands not Nielsen.

Carter: When I get married will I have my wife's last name?

Maddie: No just the girl takes the boy's last name.

Carter: I wonder who I'm going to marry.

Maddie: I am only going to marry a Mormon because I want to get married in the temple, the most romantic place in the world.

Carter: Romantic? That word makes me feel weird.

Back to a routine!

School's been back in session for 3 weeks now and were getting into a groove. The days go by much faster and it seems were much busier. The kids go to school from 8-2:30. I'm loving having both kids on the same schedule. When they get home we usually do homework. I am amazed at how much more work Maddie has now that she is in 4th grade. Her homework usually takes an hour and a half or so. I don't remember having that much homework in high school (however I did go to Duarte High). She does take a few breaks and doesn't sit in one place the whole time but I still think it's way too much.

I love being able to put Libby back on a schedule. Summer was so hard because she couldn't stay asleep very long in our small noisy house. She is so much happier on the days she gets two good naps!

Maddie and Carter have started Soccer! Even though it keeps us super busy I love soccer season. I love sitting in the grass with the kids and watching my kids play soccer. It is such a great sport, I hope they continue to enjoy it as much as I do. We have soccer practice Monday - Thursday and once the games start, our Saturdays will be busy as well! (AYSO- All Your Saturdays Occupied)

First day of School 2010

On Friday before school started (not long after getting home from our trip to Palm Desert) we went over to the school to see the kids teachers. The kids both seemed very happy with who they got. Maddie also enjoyed seeing some of her friends at the school and finding out who everyone had.

Our school starts incredibly early compared to the rest of California. No we are not on year round school we just start early and end early (before Memorial Day which is kinda nice) Anyhow it does feel kinda weird to be in school when the rest of the country (or what seems like) is still in Summer.

Needless to say, we had a long Summer and the kids and I were certainly ready for school to start. Our new school year began early Monday morning at 6:00 am when the kids awoke very excited for what the day would bring. Maddie had her clothes all ready set out.

The kids got ready, and I even got showered and ready too! (I know crazy huh? Probably the only day all year I don't drop them off wearing PJ's) Chris went into work very early that day so he was able to come home and join me in taking the kids to their new classes.
Here are the big 1st grader and 4th grader ready for a great day.

Aren't they just adorable! They are growing up too fast (sniff sniff..)

(Chris would have you admire his freshly cut grass)

We got there early at 7:30 am and the school was already bustling with parents. We dropped off Carter first. He was excited to be in the big kid classrooms and to have his own desk.

His teacher this year is Ms. Aleman. She was very nice to pose for a picture. Carter has had a hard time adjusting to a longer school day, and I feel a little bad for him.

We said goodbye to Carter (no tears this time) and went over to the big kid side of campus to Maddie's Fourth grade classroom. She has a male teacher, Mr. Lawrence whom she is very fond of and seems like he's gonna be great. We noticed a stark contrast from dropping Carter off to dropping Maddie off. With Maddie there was no pose with the teacher, or dramatic send off. The teacher was talking to the students and had them sit down and didn't really acknowledge the parents. There were only two parents there. The desks were piled high with 5 huge textbooks and there were so many desks 33 to be exact! Carter's classroom only has 18 students, BIG difference.

Just in the first few days we've noticed that fourth grade is going to be a lot different than 3rd. Maddie has a planner and homework every night in just about every subject. She has to bring her textbooks home and it just seems like she's given a lot more responsibility which she is gladly receiving. It makes me a little sad to see my little girl grow up, just in the past week I feel like she's no longer a little girl. When we talk she understands more about the adult world I live in. I can see how I'm going to like having a buddy like her around while I'm cooking dinner or taking care of little ones. She's had to grow up a lot in the last 6 months since Libby has joined our family as I've given her much more responsibility and that has also made her mature.

I'm so proud of my Maddie and I'm starting to feel kinda old with a fourth grader! (My own memories of fourth grade are not so distant)

Oh, and I forgot to mention, Chris and I went to Coco's for breakfast after to celebrate!