Colburn School Recital

Isabelle was accepted into the vocal program at Colburn School in Los Angeles. This is a big deal for her, because Colburn is hard to get into and is very prestigous. She had her first recital, and did a great job. Her teacher didn't realize she had been put into a judged recital, you usually don't do judged recitals until you are older, but she did a great job and was moved up in the program. Isabelle is the youngest child in the vocal program in the first place, so she was so excited to have done well. The other children played piano, violin, and viola during this recital...10 and 11 year olds playing 5 minute Chopin pieces. It was a great evening. Izzie has accepted in the Colburn School Young People's Choir last month. This will be one of the hardest things for her to leave when we head out in July, she really enjoys it. But we have already found a great choir near our new hometown, so she's excited.

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland a couple of Mondays ago, on a holiday that everyone had and it was RAINING! The kids had a blast. Armed with umbrellas, galoshes, and plastic covered strollers, we braved the elements....the lines were non existent. Oliver got Buzz and Woody toys that he hasn't let go of since, unless he has to trade Woody out for Lightning McQueen.

The next week and a half was full of rain, rain, and more rain...to the point of evacuations in our area. So, the kids were happy to go back to Disneyland in the sunshine. I feel like I have braved the week of "winter" in California, and it is spring :)

So, we headed back to Disneyland, taking full advantage of our passes. I hadn't taken pictures of the kids at Disney in a while, so I packed the camera. We have been to Disneyland well over 10 times since we moved here. But, I have to say, the timing this trip was quite incredible. We walked in to California Adventure and the girls got pulled up to dance with "High School Musical" parade...

...then we just walked up to stitch for a pic..

...then Mickey...I was surprised there was no line...because Mickey always has a line......and Goofy didn't have a line either...

Izzie , Ollie and I went on and Allie and Dad went to Tower of Terror. While we waited, we saw a thing with some of the animators for Disney. They called Izzie up on stage, and afterward, the animator came up and gave Izzie a signed picture of Mickey that he had drawn. Oliver walked right up to Woody for pictures....


We saw Woody again, a few minutes after the show...

...then it was off to the Playhouse Disney show. This was a great "down time" show. Although, Oliver didn't stop dancing the whole time.
Oliver even got to take pics with Lightning McQueen (although he wouldn't look at the camera, because he was too busy laying all over him and checking the tires and trying to get in). Allie had an easier time posing. Oliver went back in line (which was 2 people) six times as we waited for Ben & the girls. He rode the Buzz Lightyear ride 5 times. But I couldn't get a picture because he wouldn't look at me, as he was intently listening to Buzz talk to him.



After watching the girls on bumper cars, Ben will be teaching them how to drive.
...and we saw Woody AGAIN!
...Minnie was there on the way out...
...and the chipmunks too...
...and pluto...
Every character we saw had no line, so we got quite a few pics, because why not, if you just walk up. And every big ride and no line. It was quite the day of timing. It was as if Disneyland knew we were moving. We have a week at Disneyland planned the week after school ends, and then we are off....

I have felt such an urgency to complete my "Stuff to do in California before we move" list, two years have gone by way too fast.

SNOW!

Oliver had a very strong opinion on how are days should be spent outside in the snow. The girls love the snow...but Oliver took it to a whole different level.
The cousins joined in one afternoon. Oliver still outlasted them all.



Oliver LOVED the snow. He calls it "snowmem". Yes, I know he has pink gloves on, but he was out there so long he soaked through 2 pairs. You'll hear Allie looking for her gloves at the end of the clip. It was like 6pm and he wasn't comin' in.




When Daddy came for the weekend, Oliver was lovin it, sled rides, and lots of snow fun.

The girls and their cousins made a slide down the back steps. Non stop fun, I tell ya.

Baby Cousin Lily

After Christmas, the kiddos and I made the roadtrip to Utah (that's right, I made the trip alone with 3 kids...isn't there an award for that...trophy or something) , to visit family, and check on our sweet Nani. An extra special treat for the girls was that their brand new baby cousin, Lily, was there. Tuffer and Morgan are now in Minnesota, so the girls were so happy to have her for the few days our trips overlapped...this is about all they did for those days. I don't blame them, she is adorable. Alexandra was soooo excited that they matched! So, of course pictures followed.


Aunt Morgan, baby Lily, and the proudest older cousins!

Away in a Manger

Isabelle was asked to sing Christmas Sunday. She sang an adorable arrangement of "Away in a Manger".

Merry Christmas!

This was our very Christmas at home without our extended family. Ben was on call over the holiday, so a California Christmas it was. One little hitch, we didn't have a tree, no ornaments, I think all we had was a nativity. So, I headed to target to get all-plastic ornaments, and the girls decorated their first tree of their own.

Christmas Eve we decorated cookies. Allie was especially in love with this activity. She went for hours.

Christmas morning was full of happy faces.

Oliver had to be dragged away from his "choo choos". I love the dinosaur causing mayhem in the train town.
We knew Christmas morning would go fast. So we went to the El Capitan in Hollywood in the afternoon. The girls love going to this theater because they have live stage shows previewing the movie. We had reserved seats with VIP treatment. Mickey and the gang put on a great show, finished with "snow" falling from the ceiling of the gorgeous theater. We then watched "A Christmas Carol" which proved way too scary for all of the kids. But still, they had a good time.

Ward Christmas Party

Isabelle was asked to sing for the Ward Party. Allie wanted to sing with her, so they sang, "When Christmas Comes to Town" from Polar Express. Allie missed when to come in...but she picked it right up. I love her little voice....it makes me happy.




As I was going through videos...I stumbled across this video. It is Izzie singing the same song "When Christmas Comes to Town" but she just turned turned 5 the month before this video. I love the sass she throws into it. She was such a little sassy pants!



Izzie stayed up to do a "Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow World" Medley. She couldn't hear the intro..and there was a slight mishap with the accompaniment in the middle, so there is an impromptu occapella moment. But Izzie went on like a pro. With only a week to learn it...she did pretty good. :)




I don't think Oliver liked Santa....

School Holiday Program

This is a post for grandparents :) We don't live close, so they don't get to see their fun little school performances. Although, I think everyone should tune in to the kindergarten...because 5 ear olds singing anything is always entertaining. Isabelle's class learned to play the recorder. (On a side note there are some distracting sounds in Izzie's video. That is the sweet little boy with autism, he was having a hard time with the large crowd.)