First Competition

March 2014

We love watching Ali dance! She has been dancing with most of these girls for many years now. They've become a special little group of girls. The first competition was at Parkrose HS...  the first one is always a little nerve-wracking! First up: the tap number called "Bring Me Sunshine".

 The ever-faithful cheerleaders.

And then on to jazz - "Bom Bom"...

Great form Alison!

Great job girls!

Snow Day 2014!

Oh, how I have waited for you!! It was so glorious to get the message that schools were closed for the day! We were SO excited. :) Of course, snow days in our house means getting bundled up, heading outside, and "sledding". (Which is code for Daddy pulling the girls back and forth on our very flat street.)

They start at the end of the street where Daddy gets a running start.

When Daddy has built up enough speed, he sends the girls sailing along in front of him.

As you can see by the look on Mer's face, it is completely awesome.

The girls could go for hours! 

The snow makes everything look so beautiful.

After they had warmed up and claimed they were *bored*, the girls got creative with Ali's new birthday present - a Nerf gun - and set up target practice in the front room. Of course, you can't have a shooting range without the appropriate accessories.

My sweet little outlaws.

It was a great day. We love snow days!

Happy Birthday Alison!

Ali chose to celebrate her birthday with a few friends at The Lego Movie. Of course, we had no way of  knowing there would be a snow storm that hit our city! That meant that some of her friends weren't able to join us because they couldn't get up the hill to our neighborhood. :( Boo! Nevertheless... we jumped into our 4-wheel-drive, picked up the neighbor boys that were invited and headed to the theater. (Trav actually loves driving in this kind of weather... must remind him of his time in Alaska?!) It was so exciting to pull up and see the special sign in front of the theater!

Jacob, Meri, Diego, and Ali

We had pizza and cake at home after the movie, (which was very cute, by the way!) and time for opening presents.

On the actual day of her birthday, there was a special birthday surprise waiting for her when she came downstairs for breakfast.

Good morning, Sunshine!

Later that night we celebrated Miss Alison again... this time at Olive Garden. (Shocker!) All of our family was able to be there with us, and Grandma Sandy made the cake. So yummy!

You are growing into such a lovely young girl. (Dare I say, young *woman*?!?) I'm so proud of your kind heart, intelligence, and your sense of humor. Daddy and I love you so very much sweet girl. xoxo

Disneyland with the Grown-Ups!

Our dear family friend Suzann had her 50th birthday this year! In order to celebrate properly we all headed to the Happiest Place on Earth... and Suzann's favorite place in the world. :)

Mom, Casey, and I flew in very early Friday morning and went straight to the park to surprise Suz. (She didn't think we were coming in until much later, and didn't know we got an earlier flight!) We immediately started in on all of the rides. There was no wasting any time!!

I think this picture with Suzann giving Donald a big hug, and Mom posing off to the side, is one of my favorites.

It was a LONG day. We practically closed the park down! By the time we got to the Cars ride, we were all so tired that we were loopy! We were hysterical during all of the poses the photographer had us doing in front of Radiator Springs. 

The next day started early (again) and we didn't stop! It was a bit surreal being there without any kids! I felt so light! But, I got used to it... 

We had a special birthday dinner at the Storytellers Cafe to celebrate Suzann's birthday. Ang found blinking Mickey ears for everyone... there was no losing anyone in the park that night!

Happy Birthday Friend!

Our final event of the night was the World of Color. It was new since my last trip to Disneyland, so I hadn't seen it yet. It was pretty darn amazing! While we were waiting I learned about a new game called Head's Up. It was especially funny watching Mom and Midge trying to guess their word...

I didn't think I was going to be able to pull this trip off... but thanks to a personal day, and my awesome husband, it all worked out. And, I'm so glad I went. :) We laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more. My sides and cheeks ached! It was SO much fun! Such great memories with very special people.