Spring Recital 2018

Emily and Jane have been dancing for a long time. 

The annual spring recital is as much a part of our lives as Christmas or Easter. Except it lasts longer.

Jane did modern, which she loved.

And Emily did Irish step, which she loved.

I think this will be Emily's last recital since she's planning on doing cross country in the fall. It's kind of bittersweet. It has been fun to watch her dance, but at the same time... those recitals. Those interminable recitals. 

A dozen years

Emily is 12!

And that means some pretty big things....

In our family, the answer to a lot of questions that start with "When can I...?" are answered with "When you're 12".

She was champing at the bit to get her ears pierced, until she was actually in the chair and things started to get real. That's when she requested the comfort teddy bear they keep in the corner.

She survived and is loving wearing earrings.

She also got an adult sized bike. She's loved having the freedom of using her wheels to go on the greenway and to the convenience store. When you're 12, being able to go to the store and buy your own m&ms is the equivalent of an adult taking a trip to Europe. 

Last but not least, Emily is not in Young Women's. She is a beehive and was welcomed with some pretty amazing driveway art. 

Happy Birthday Emily!

Clearwater Beach (Not Denver)

We don't usually go on big trips for Spring Break. That's why the kids believed us when we said we were going to Denver. Because we are boring people like that. For months, I held my tongue while they said stuff like "I'm so excited to swim in the hotel pool!" and "Can we visit the aquarium?". 

When we got to Denver, we pulled up to the airport. We were well past the demon horse and headed into the parking lot by the time Emily asked, "Why are we at the airport?".

They freaked out when we told them we were headed to Clearwater, Florida where Emily could fulfill her dream of visiting the beach and Jane could fulfill her dream of meeting Winter the Dolphin. 

They were so excited they even sat together on the plane without fighting. For the first (and maybe only) time on a family trip, Chris and I were able to sit together on a plane ride. 

Here is Jane with Winter and Hope. If you don't know what that means, don't worry, you must not have small children in the house. 

Clearwater Marine Aquarium was amazing. Not only did they give Jane the gift of  meeting the dolphins,

she got to feed and "train" Hope. 

we got a behind the scenes tour, which included an office set from Dolphin Tale. 

Chris is sitting where Harry Connick, Jr. sat. The resemblance is uncanny.

And then there was the beach.

I thought the kids would be a little nervous of the ocean. It turns out I was wrong.

We rented a cabana for us and an umbrella for the kids. It turned out we could have saved the money, because I'm not sure the kids ever sat in their chairs. 

There is no such thing as boredom at the beach. we showed up early and stayed until they started pulling up the rentals. 

Clearwater Beach is perfect for families. The water is shallow and warm and calm. 

And the sand is beautiful and white and fine. 

But eventually those European genes take their toll and there is no amount of sunscreen in the world that can sunburn proof my poor little family as they ran in and out of the ocean. 

So we had to find some other activities to give our ghostly pale/fire engine red skin a rest. 

It's funny what this great wide world holds. I never imagined there would be a place that is a pirate mini golf establishment/alligator feeding pond, but there is. 

So we fed the gators and played mini golf. It was very unique. 

Here is Emily paddle boarding. I am super proud of her that she was able to do it even though she was scared at times. 

I wish I had a picture of Jane riding on Chris' board, but I was too busy trying not to fall in. Once we got used to it, it was a good time and a good workout, which was necessary on account of all the ice cream. 

It was a pretty sick vacation, but it's been a little difficult coming home. Rumor has it that it's going to snow tomorrow. 

I'm really starting to see why so many people retire to Florida. It's not such a bad joint. Especially when it's 80° in April. 

Christmas

Christmas is a magical time. This year it was a bit less magical on account of Jane's C. Diff. infection. We really gave it a valiant effort, but it took an extra 20 days of vancomycin into the new year to finally get rid of it for good. But, really, someone is always sick at Christmas. She tried her best and I have to admire her for it. 

She even made the effort to decorate Jesus' birthday cake with her sister. 

This is one of the strangest things I've ever seen. It kind of looks like a graveyard. Next year, we will not be decorating with peppermint bark chunks. 

New pajamas were had.

Lights were seen. 

And the wonder of Christmas morning came. 

Jane tore through her presents while Scruffy looked on. 

After Emily opened her sewing machine, she didn't have any patience for anything else. She started into sewing like she was getting paid to do it. 

It was a lovely Christmas, despite the fact that we did not celebrate it in Hawaii, which is a unrealistic dream of mine. No matter where we celebrate, it is a wonderful time (but it would still have been slightly more wonderful in Hawaii.)

Jane is 9

When Jane turned 9, she wanted a blue bike with a basket to hold Scruffy the stuffed dog. So that is exactly what she got.

But that's not all, she also got a rare, beautiful, warm December day on which to ride it.

Happy Birthday, Jane! Happy travels!

Adventures of Luna and Supergirl

Halloween is pretty decent as far as holidays go. No one expects too much in the way of paternal effort and it seems to never be a let down.

I mean, you procure a couple of squash. 

You tell the kids that you are absolutely not helping this year and if they picked out the design, they are going to do it themselves. 

But then you end up doing 3/4 of it because it's late and you really need them to go to bed and before that happens, you have to get the holey squash out on the porch. 

And it's all worth it. 

Emily went this year at Supergirl. Jane was Luna Lovegood. They would have been fine rolling around the neighborhood all by themselves while they demanded candy, but Emily said she thinks this might be her last year. So I brewed up some Cranberry Vanilla Wonderland tea (which had just come available) and accompanied them on their sugary adventure. Then I got cold and came home to hand out candy while Chris took the second leg of trick-or-treating.

I really love this time of childhood. I've decided I'm more of a mid-childhood mom than I am a infant/toddler mom. I think we are actually getting to the point where we can have fun with our kids. Right now we're in a small window where they still want us to tag along on their adventures but they no longer look to us for their every need. I'm glad I'm around to be a part of it.  

The Great American Eclipse

Last Monday we had to see this crazy event that the country seemed to be all a-buzz about. After all, I had never seen a total eclipse. Partial, yes. But partial eclipses are lame. 

So we got up in the middle of the night and drove a bit north to Glendo. The trip went smoothly. We arrived just at dawn. 

The kids kept themselves occupied until the Big Show started. 

Leading up to totality, we checked from time to time, but it was not impressive. It wasn't until it got close to totality that we actually began to feel a difference. 

And then.... for two and a half minutes, this is what we saw:

(Full disclosure, this is not my picture. It was taken from Glendo by someone with an awesome camera and serious skills. Then they put it on the internet and I stole it)

Taking off our glasses and looking at the sun was a profound experience. I can't even put it into words. It was absolutely spectacular. The two and a half minutes whizzed by and then it was over. 

Two hours later, we decided it was time to leave. It took us a little over an hour and a half to get to Glendo in the morning. We thought it would take 3 or 4 hours to get back.  

We were wrong. Getting back took 10 hours. We spent 4 hours just traveling to the interstate entrance. It was one of those traffic jams where you start to wonder if the zombie apocalypse has occurred. People were getting out of their cars. Families were getting out and walking. It was seriously scary. There was no cell phone service and no communication with the outside world. 

And let's just say the license plates were seriously green on the way back. Almost exclusively green. I think I could have counted the number of Wyoming plates on one hand. I really hope they generated some tax dollars while they were visiting the great white north. 

Some people thought I was crazy for bringing all the food and water that I did. But in the end, we went through a full cooler of food plus a box of Famous Amos cookies which are disgusting, but count as food in a pinch.

Chris was a hero. He did ALL the driving because he either didn't want me to suffer through it or he didn't want to keep climbing in the back to get the kids snacks. Either way I'm grateful. 

Nonetheless, we got back around midnight. Everybody was safe but bone tired. 

In the end, it was worth it. So worth it. Seeing 98% of the eclipse was nothing compared to totality. The 360° sunset, the stars, the dark blue sky and the fantastic white corona will stay with me forever. I am so glad we made the trip. 

I asked the kids if they felt the same way. 

Emily said that the eclipse was one of the most amazing things she's ever seen. 

Jane said that the trip was great because she caught grasshoppers. 

I think that about sums it up.