Disneyland 2012

Here we are our very first day - on the tram that takes us into the park - the kids are so excited they can barely stand it!  (Ty and I are tooooo!)

So happy to be here!!  We went on The Pirates of the Caribbean ride very first - and stayed in New Orleans Square to see Princess Tiana:

 

 They gave us all mardi gras beads - so cute!  Then we headed over to The Haunted Mansion:

 

 Splash Mountain!!!!  This one was a favorite!  Love my Carly-girl in the back!  :)

Krystal really had a rough first day - and didn't feel too great (and after carrying her around all that day - we wised up and bought a stroller ;)) - but, she LOVED the Winnie the Pooh ride!  She says it's her "#1 favorite!"

Thunder Mountain Railroad - the kids' LOVED this one (minus Krystal)!

 

 

 We got stuck on "It's a Small World" - but only for like 15 minutes - and they stopped the music just as we were about to go crazy hahaha!  It was an answer to my prayers - because it gave Krystal a chance to re-coup after all the big rides - and she started feeling better.

 Krystal held her breath when we went into the part of "It's a Small World" that goes "under the sea"!  Here is the spot we got stuck ... in the country:

Going on a trip this cool with your BFF is really great memory making! 

 I LOVED the Buzz Light Year ride!!!!  We get to shoot targets and spin your own car around - and keep score!  Of course - when you're competing against the Mr. Travis Peterson (who scored over 500,000 points) - winning is impossible.  ;)  

 

Tarzan's Tree House: 

 I love this picture of Marissa going to town on the pots and pans!  And here's Krystal pushing an "air blower" that made all of the dishes rattle: 

We took a quick jaunt into Tune Town:

 

And we made sure we got great spots for the "Fantasmic" show - which was so absolutely jaw dropping incredible!

We had a pretty full first day - and just literally had the time of our lives!  Many more pics to come!

Piano Festival 2012

Another year of Piano Festival has come and gone.  This particular year was Krystal's first!  I have to admit, I am usually very stressed as a piano teacher and Mom of pianists every year just before festival.   And this year seemed to be extra intense as the National Teacher's Federation has become more and more strict about specific guidelines and rules.  Aaron has been fighting me like crazy with practicing GOOD - not just practicing - he's great to play through his songs twice a day, but I haven't had enough "Tiger Mom" in me to get him to really progress.  Krystal has always done her own thing.  She is so stubborn - and will tell me to "Go away so I can just play the song!"  and "I already AM doing it right, Mom!"  So, after confessing to Tyler that I might not send them to their festival time this year even though we already paid, we ended up going with a 'hope for the best' attitude.

Aaron was more nervous than he has ever been as a performer.  Krystal had zero nerves and was just disgusted that she wasn't asked to perform first.  (Aaron was on the schedule first!)  Krystal was pretty much oozing cuteness.

... and the judges just could not resist her.  She performed her little heart out - with plenty of mistakes and even leaving out several lines entirely of one of her songs - but, she played with flair and A.MAZ.ING. dynamics and beautiful posture and perfectly crisp staccatos - and earned herself TWO perfect scores (with comments like - "Oh my!  She can barely reach the pedal - that is just the cutest thing I've ever seen!")  The other judge gave her the lowest Superior marking one can get ... not to be distracted by charm.  :)

Aaron played technically perfect -- seriously, absolutely no errors whatsoever.  And he earned one perfect score - the other two judges told him that he played very "robotically" and needed to work on feeling the music.  I agree with them, but only because I KNOW Aaron as a pianist.  He puts SO much feeling into the music he plays - he just didn't for this particular performance, because he wasn't as confident as he should have been.  He still played every note and detail perfectly, though.

Anyway - they are both very proud of themselves - and we are proud of them too!  (And are now trying to keep piano learnin' moving forward).  :)

 

It's hard work.

Ace of Skates

We were lucky enough to get invited to a night of skating for Mr. Ethan's birthday celebration!  We had SUCH. A. GOOD. TIME.  The kids all thought they were pretty much experts out there on the rink.  They were too fast to get many action shots.  :)

 Miss Hanna caught on super quick and pretty much had the skating thing down after one or two times around the rink with me and Kristy pulling her down helping her out.  :)

 We sure love that Mr. Eafer Man!  He is such a cutie.  When I told Aaron that we were going out with the Jackson's for Ethan's birthday, Aaron said, "Yes!  I get to spend a whole afternoon with my little buddy!"  :)  Yeah.  We kinda like Ethan.

 

Krystal really got her groove on all night and was getting pretty disco crazy and tricky on that scooter.  What a girl - she was fun to watch. 

 

I'm so grateful for my sisters.  LOVE our get-togethers and that our kiddos get to grow up together.  :)

Happy Birthday clear back in February Ethan dude!

Dashing Through the Snow!

My kids keep asking me when I'm going to post our Disneyland pictures on this blog, so I guess I better keep plugging through the pics I have have before our Disneyland trip, eh?

For Ty's birthday - we took our "annual" ski trip with Jers and Plonns - and had TONZ of fun, like usual!

We went to Sundance this year, and it was an incredibly beautiful afternoon - and then got pretty chilly once it got dark.  We got in some good skiing!

I loved that the four of us pretty much stuck together this time around.  It was so fun to laugh and visit on the  way up to the top of the slopes.

Tyler's quite the skiier and he's good to wait up for me and my snowplow technique.  :)  Here he is with his brother, Jeremy:

 

Ty had a mild crash - and, so I had him take this picture of us before we helped him get up.  I love it, 'cuz we look taller than the mountains themselves!  haha!

What a great day!  Sure love hangin' out and having fun with the people we love!

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing

Aaron lives life to it's fullest. And, believe me, when I say he doesn't wanna miss a thing - I speak truth!

He is such a busy kid, and just enjoys DOING! He just finished basketball season a few weeks ago (and baseball is right around the corner!) He absolutely LOVES basketball - it is his favorite sport (I think ... but, maybe it's just whatever sport he's playing) :) - and played so well this year averaging 8-10 points per game. He calls himself the "Layup King" -- not too cocky at all, eh? haha. He really upped his aggression this year, which really (unfortunately) is a must in the sports.

 

... here's one of his famous lay-ups.  Yeah.  He rocks - he knows it!  :D!

His coach usually kept him in the entire game this year, and Aaron wasn't complainin' - but, he sure got wore out (and flushed cheeks)!

We were able to participate in yet another amazing pack meeting (with a Wild Wild West theme this year)!  It was absolutely adorable and yummy food!  As a Wolf Den leader myself - I was quite proud of the center pieces our Den put together ... rattlesnakes and cacti in a burlap cutified box.  Pretty darn tootin', don'tcha agree?  ;)

Aaron doesn't miss a beat in  Cub Scouts and has earned his Bear Badge, another gold arrow, and an additional 6 silver arrows this year!  Woah, kiddo!  (I'm a little in shock that he has reached the double digits ... the big one oh ... and is now a Webelo)!

And, true to his busy lifestyle - Aaron had to participate in the science fair - because, he signed an agreement with many other 4th graders to take part in an "honor program" by finishing a list of extra activities (including the science fair).  So, he buddied up with Ellie and Sam to do the "Big Blow-Up" (blowing up a balloon with an acid/base reaction).  They had an absolute blast!

Here they are getting ready to experiment:

1st up:  Baking soda and Soda pop -

 

Hmmmmm ... fairly exciting:

Next up:  Baking soda and Lemon juice -

Cooooooool!  Much better reaction!

 

Quite the significant difference, don'tcha think?  (drama takes over when a camera is involved ...)  :)

And finally:  Baking soda and Vineger -

S'ewwwwww'per smelly!

Woah!

Sambo showed up as soon as Aaron and Ellie finished ...

... so, they did one final blow up ... with MORE baking soda and MORE vinegar!

That balloon filled quick!  They had to hold on tight!

Sweetness ...

And they did an awesome job on their poster as well!

Gotta love my busy boy - he does NOT miss a thing!

We Love Friends

So, I have really not been in the mood to blog lately - and have decided to just combine several pictures into one post. I thought the love of good friends an appropriate post for Valentine's Day. :)

My kiddos have great friends!

 

I know Marissa loves Sierra - but, I love her too!!  I'm so glad that she's Marissa's BFF.  Look at the cute scarves these two made out of old T-shirts.  Love 'em!  (And I love that Krystal has to get right in on the action too.  She even made her own scarf.)

 

Krystal always asks when she will be old enough to have parties like Marissa.  So, we planned her a fun girl's night one weekend.  Those girls were so stinkin' cute - they brought pillows and stuffed animals (all on their own, mind you - they were given no instructions other than Krystal was having a late night partay - haha!)  They really had a good time, and they really were a handful - which reminded me why Marissa is old enough to have parties ... and Krystal isn't so much ;).

(M joined the late night ... a huge blessing for me!)

yeah - they had crazy fun.

And then I had my OWN little girls night with these lovely ladies!  (picture courtesy of cute Krystal who sat by our sides with a huge smile on her face the entire night).

We made these cute crafts ... I shoulda stuck with the original 'love' mold, 'cuz I really struggled to form my own letters for the word 'hug'!

Cuties.

Thanks for a fun night, girls!  SOOOO looking forward to our next one!

I had to get a picture of sweet Krystal in - 'cuz she was there with us the WHOLE time - helpin' wherever she could.  She's just one of the girls.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!