Alice in Wonderland Jr.

Meet Violet. She is a snobby Girl of the Golden Afternoon that makes fun of poor little Alice as she is stuck in Wonderland.

This weekend was the Coastal Academy's production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. They start this musical theatre group in November with auditions, are given parts in December, and begin rehearsal in January. In the photo below, Alyssa is the shortest on the right side.

They rehearse for about 5 hours a week for three months, 7 hours a week and then the famous 'tech week' which is about 30 hours of rehearsing and preforming. So many hours of hard work go into this production.

Here is my shy little Violet during final bows.

The props and sets are amazing, the costumes are amazing, and the acting is superb for an elementary school group. Alyssa got the part of Violet, one of the Girls of the Golden Afternoon; a bunch of very snobby flowers. She did the part wonderfully. She is sad musical theatre is over for the year, and is very excited to start again in November!!

Marry Me

Arya, my two and a half year old, was sitting eating lunch with me and Alanna today and out of no where she said, "Look at me. Me pretty. Marry me!"

It was so cute and we all laughed. They are out at the table just jabbering away and giggling right now.

It will just be me and Arya when Alanna goes to school in August. I will miss these little giggly girls both being home together. I haven't ever cried when my children started kindergarten (I did tear up a little with Alyssa), but I think I am going to shed many tears when Alanna goes to kindergarten. She is my little buddy and I love having her around. She is willing to do just about anything as long as she can be with me while she does it.

Happy Easter!

Belt testing

Nathan and Alyssa tested for their brown belt in taekwondo in March. Jared and Savannah weren't able to test. Savannah didn't feel ready and Jared was traveling for work for most of the session.

Part of their testing was breaking boards. They had to break a one inch pine board. I don't think I could have done it. They were awesome! I was so anxious watching them! They go through about 5-10 minutes of setup and instruction before hand. Then they ask permission and then they can break the board. Alyssa went first. The instructors helped her to position her board, she did a few practice taps on the board, asked permission, focused on the board, and then, BAM!, broke her board with a side kick. I was so excited! I was video taping and I forgot I was taping and just moved the camera and started clapping. Then Nathan was next. His instructors helped him set up his board, he did some taps on the board, repositioned, taps, reposition, asked permission, kicked, and the board didn't break. I have heard it is pretty painful if you don't break your board. After he asked permission he didn't refocus, but just went into his kick. So he had to go through it all again. They are only given three chances to break the board. So, Nathan went through it all again, asked permission, focused, and broke it. Wow! What an exciting night.

A week later we were able to find out how they did. They are 'graded' with their testing. They can earn an Excellent, Decided, and Recommended. Most people earn a decided. It means that they completed their form, their sparing, board breaking, and defenses all well. Recommended means they passed, but there is still more they need to work on. Excellent isn't given out easily. Everything has to be excellent; sharp, consistent, great work in class, etc. Alyssa usually earns excellent. She has a natural grace that makes her moves flow, but she is sharp as she hits her points. Nathan has only earned one excellent in the year and a half of taekwondo. He tends to look at the floor as he tests and he is suppose to keep his head up. But for their brown belt, they both earned excellent! It was great!!

More phone cases

This is so fun!!

Nintendo

This is Nathan's Nintendo DS. We don't have any video games in our house. Nathan has really wanted a Nintendo or a Wii. So, my creative little child created his own Nintendo. He did this about a year or so ago. He has shown it to some of his friends and they all kind of laugh because they have a Nintendo or Wii and think that this one is kind of lame. Well, last week Nathan took it to school and one of his friends loved it so much he bartered with Nathan to make him one!! Nathan was so excited that he found a kindred soul!

phone case

I just up graded my cell phone and needed a new case for it. I drop my phone so often, I wanted to prevent it from getting all scratched up and broken. So, I made this little case in about an hour. It will fit nicely and protected in my purse, or thrown around in my car, or clipped to my belt loop. The only real problem I have with this phone is that I can't carry it around in my back pocket as I am use to doing. So, if I want to listed to music or books on my phone as I work around the house, how can I do that? I was thinking of making a strap to go around my neck, but it is kind of heavy. So, I need to figure that out. The next one I make will be a little taller to completely cover the phone. This was my first attempt. I want to make a case that will match my awesome new tote bag my father-in-law bought me, and one in pink and brown because that is my favorite color combination, and one to match my purse. Maybe I'm getting carried away!