Alyssa's birthday

Alyssa had a very small birthday party for her 11th birthay. She choose a purse theme and the girls all played games about purses, painted purses, and had a ton of fun. Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Alanna's Birthday

I'm so late with my blogging!! Here is Alanna's birthday party from back in May!! She wanted a cowboy party. It was lots of fun with her best buddies. I made them all vests, made Alanna and Arya skirts, and then got everyone hats and bandannas. It's so great to be a kid!!

Pretty Dresses

A friend of mine, Amy, was due to have her third child, so her mother-in-law came to visit and help her and her family. She stayed for a few months because she came all the way from Ecuador. Amy told me what an amazing seamstress she was and I have seen some of her work, but she didn't tell me how angelic this sweet woman is!

In my experience, there are few people I have met that will do anything for another person. I think most people would like to think they would, but in truth, I think most people have their limits as to what they would do for another person. Anyway, I met Amy's mother-in-law and got to know her very briefly. She is one of the most unselfish, kind, and caring people I have met. (No wonder Amy and her husband are such kind people; they have great examples!!)

Before she went back to Ecuador she made my little girls these beautiful dresses. She made them from scratch without a pattern or without seeing my girls. She knew about what size they are and just whipped up these dresses. They both love them. I wish I would have taken a photo of the back; the bows on these dresses are amazing. I am so grateful for Christ-like people in my life and the example they show to me of how I can be a better person by giving of myself with no thought of reward.

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!!