disneyland adventure

Last fall at the parent meeting, it was announced that the dance teams would have the opportunity to perform at Disneyland! It was required for some of the older teams, but optional for my daughter's team. She begged to go and after much discussion we finally agreed that since it was so close to her birthday, she could choose this trip instead of doing a party and presents this year.  Since we already had a family trip planned for this year, we decided not to take everyone. It would just be L and me. But she's amazing and asked if her little brother could go too! Their birthdays are a week apart and he is obsessed with Mickey Mouse. She wanted to take him to Disney and see his face when he met Mickey and share this experience with him. She promised to do her best in the fundraisers and was so excited about the idea that we couldn't help but say yes! Now with taking little Z along, we decided Grammy would have to come too!

So on Wednesday evening, we raced down the canyon, arriving at the airport just in time. The flight was great. We grabbed Wendy's on our way through the airport and immediately boarded the plane. We sat in the very first row with Z sitting on the aisle. He generously offered french fries to everyone as they passed, winning himself lots of smiles and laughs. As the lines slow down and got backed up he became impatient and rather comically urged people on. The flight was uneventful and the kids did great. We landed at LAX and began a rather rough evening. Our Uber driver didn't speak English. So instead of the predicted 22 minutes til pickup, it was a full hour. (He didn't follow his GPS which was on at an annoyingly full volume and kept getting rerouted) And then instead of the 50 minute drive to Anaheim, it was 80. So we arrived much later than planned and found our hotel to be definitely not what was described. The dance team would be staying in the new Hyatt house. But because we had decided to arrive a full day early, we had just gotten inexpensive room nearby at the discovery inn. The online pictures are probably 10 years old and it's definitely not in near as good of shape as we had expected. The room was cramped and worn but it was after midnight and the beds were clean, so we crashed.

Confession: I don't know how to sleep in. At least not well. And definitely not at Disney!!! I'm the one awake at 6am bouncing on the bed, begging to go play. So by 7am, we were all awake, dressed, packed and ready to go! We walked to the Hyatt house and checked our luggage so we were free to spend the day at Disney. We walked to Disney, made it through security and got in line for a magic morning entrance by 8am, having been told that with a 3 day park hopper, we could have one magic morning entrance, regardless of what hotel you stay. Turns out this is only true if you buy directly through disney and our tickets were bought through the travel agent who organized the dance team. So we had to step aside and wait an hour. And it had begun to rain. I was a little grumpy.  Not the best start but it would turn out to be an amazing trip!

We got into Disneyland, wandered down main Street and waited for rope drop. (This was on my bucket list because I thought they did a program or announcement with Walt's voice. Nope, nothing. Just "ready, go".) And we headed to FantasyLand.

We immediately met Peter Pan (Z was more interested in the "horsies" behind him) and rode Peter Pan's flight, mr. Toad's wild ride and Pinocchio. It actually didn't go well. These are some of the oldest rides and the older style was rather overwhelming. They're very loud (and L is very noise sensitive) and twisting with abrasively bright colors shocking your senses. (Although she did like Peter  pan enough to want to do that one again) We much more enjoyed some of the outside rides like Casey's circus train, Storybrooke canal and the carousel! We rode It's a small world and that was a huge hit! Z loved the animal topiaries, bouncing up and down and squealing about the moose and reindeer and bear. L especially loved finding the princesses in each of their lands (something new since I last rode it ten years ago).

Then we spent our afternoon in Toon Town. We rode the go coaster, which was so fast and fun, and Roger rabbit ride. We ate lunch, met Pluto and Goofy, ate popcorn and explored the playground. We went through Mickey's house and got to meet him!

Next we headed for Tomorrowland. As we waited in line for Nemo Submarine, Z fell asleep on my shoulder. So I passed him off to Grammy and she snuggled him while L and I went on the submarine voyage. That too has changed a lot since I was a kid. I was a little disappointed but L loved it! We went on autotopia, and L was thrilled that she got to drive! Z was still asleep so L and I shared a churro and went on Buzz blasters without them. And just as we were getting off he had woken up so we went again and took him with us!

We made our way over to Critter country and jumped in line to meet characters. L had been wearing new no show socks and they were giving her blisters, so we ducked into a gift shop and bought us matching Mickey socks. We joined Grammy and Z just in time to go meet Tigger! Z was so excited and animated and ran right to him. He smothered him with hugs and loves and chattered so happily. Tigger was going on break so Z got to hold hands and walk him offset. We met Eeyore, and Z was happy to give him hugs as well but he couldn't wait to meet Winnie the Pooh. He ran right to him and again smothered him with hugs and loves and kisses. We wandered back over to the tiki room, enjoyed some Dole Whip and went on the jungle cruise. Then I introduced L to another one of my childhood favorites; we had clam chowder in bread bowls as we watched the parade! The Pixar parade is super fun.

Then we decided to head back to our hotel. It was still early evening, but we were worn out from our late-night and busy day. So we headed back to our hotel, collected our luggage and settled into our room. Our roommates for the weekend, L's friend and her mom were already there and the girls were thrilled to be together! We unpacked and the girls started making plans for the next day. Z and I settled into the sofa sleeper for the night and everyone was soon asleep.

Day 2! We got a little bit of a late start. We had breakfast at the hotel, which slowed us down because the girls were so excited to see their dancer friends. We hurried them along and tried to get to the park so we could be there when it opened. Unfortunately we arrived too late to beat the crowds and ended up stuck in security lines for a while. But we got in eventually and got right to work! As soon as we got in the park Z saw Chip and Dale! So we hopped in line and Z was adorable hugging them and kissing them on the nose. And Grammy bought L rose gold, glitter Minnie ears to match her best friend. And then we headed for the rides!

First on our list was Big Thunder Mountain! The girls loved it because it was fun and fast. As a special bonus, they got to write it twice! We took advantage of the rider swap program since Z is too small for the roller coasters. So each time, I would wait with Z and then I got to go on the ride and take two friends with me, always the girls! We also got them birthday buttons so for the rest of our trip, cast members were wishing them happy birthday all day long. That day was a blur! We did Indiana Jones (too intense), Splash Mountain (loved!), pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion (too intense), Winnie the Pooh ride (cute!) And the tiki room with Dole whip again.

We ate lunch in Tomorrowland while watching the Jedi training and then we split up. The girls (and my friend) went on the submarine and autotopia wall Grammy and I took Z to meet Captain Hook and Sheriff Woody. Then while waiting to meet up in Fantasyland, Z had a blast riding the carousel again, got to walk with Belle and had an absolute blast playing with his new Mickey bubble wand from Grammy! All together again, we rode Peter Pan's flight and it's a small world. Then we quickly headed over to watch a show, Mickey and the magic map, super cute! While we were deciding what to do next, we suddenly found ourselves in the perfect spot to watch the Pixar parade again. (While eating churros of course) Our seats were so much better this time! The girls had front-row view of all the floats and especially of the dancers that we couldn't see the day before. They loved it!

We rode Alice in Wonderland and then sent the girls to go ride Space Mountain while Grammy and I saved seats for Fantasmic! We were sitting far to one side so it wasn't a great view of the stage but we saw the projections and water show perfectly. Z was transfixed, L got a little overwhelmed and her friend loved it all. A few minutes later the castle show began. We couldn't see the castle but the projects played on the water too and we could see just a bit of the fireworks. After the show, Grammy slowly made her way to the exit with Z while the rest of us raced over to the Matterhorn. our fastpasses got us right on it, we didn't think we would be that late in the Parks, but we were having too much fun to leave! It was the perfect way to finish off our night!

So is one day enough for Disney? Definitely not! In two days we still didn't do everything but we had a fantastic time. It was also the first time we have juggled an age range like that. On all our disney trips so far, our kids have been too little for rollar coasters and perfectly happy with shows, characters and Fantasy Land. But this time, we wanted to do it all!

Day 3 was spent at California Adventure. This time we didn't even try to make it to Park opening. Instead we let the girls sleep a little longer and planned to stay super late. We ate breakfast in our room so that the girls could watch TV and eat while we did their hair. They would be performing with their dance teams that evening so we needed a bit of extra time to get them ready.

We arrived at noon and jumped right on to the River Rapids ride. We got soaked! And the girls got to do it twice! Next was Soarin and everyone loved it! Z was too short for either one so next we went to the Monsters Inc ride for him and he was so animated and happy, squealing at every monster he recognized. We grabbed a quick lunch to eat while we watched the Frozen show. It was amazing! So much more than I expected! The performers were incredibly talented and I loved all of the projections and special effects. We had to slip out a few minutes early to meet the dance team. L left with her dance team to get ready and I took Z to the Disney Junior dance party. He was so tired he was half asleep but still smiling. I thought he would nap on me but he rallied as soon as he saw Captain America at a meet and greet. So we stopped and said hello to the captain. Captain America asked him to flex his muscles but Z just continued to smile and hug him. I cued him "Reckoning!" and he immediately flexed and grinned, making everyone laugh.

We settled in to watch L dance. Z was long past naptime but fighting it and thrashing, which was hard on my still-healing arm and worse on my impatience. Unfortunately I was distracted by him through most of get first dance and then he thankfully settled down and fell asleep. The studio put together two sets, each show about 40 minutes long so L got to dance in three different numbers including her duo! They preformed beautifully and I'm so proud of them.

Next we headed up to Toys Story Mania, grabbing ice cream treats along the way. There was a delay and we ended up waiting much longer than we had anticipated. To make up for it, they gave us an extra fast pass so we immediately got to ride it again! Z was still being difficult and it was getting late in the evening by then. So Grammy generously offered to take him back to the hotel and leave us to do some of the big kid rides. We headed further into the pier to ride the golden Zephyr and the swings. As we waited we got to watch the paint the night parade. I don't think it's quite the caliber as the electrical light parade, at least how I remember it. But it was pretty amazing and we particularly loved the princess Belle float. The girls loved the swings so much that they wrote it three times in a row! Then we quickly raced over to do the little mermaid ride, slow and sweet and definitely adorable. Then we hurried over to Cars Land to use our fastpasses on radiator Racers. Unfortunately it had just broken down so the line was very long. I stayed in line while the girls did some nearby bumper cars. And then we hopped right onto the racers ride and it was amazing! My favorite ride of the whole trip! We had just 15 minutes until the Park closed. We hurried over and made it just in the nick of time to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact we were in the last group that road that night. I was nervous what else would think. She's so sensitive to anything really scary or intense. But she absolutely loved it! And immediately declared it to be her favorite!

And finally, with the park at closing all around us and our girls very worn out, we made our way back to the hotel.

On Sunday morning we slept in. Or at least that was the plan. But between me and Z, we don't really do that well. We were too excited! We got everyone ready and packed. We checked our luggage with the hotel and then walked over to the Paradise Pier Hotel where we had a reservation for a character breakfast! We were greeted by Mickey himself! We got to take pictures with him and Z had plenty of time to hug and love on him. We were taken to our table just a few feet away which meant we had a perfect view of Mickey through our whole meal. Z repeatedly snuck over for extra hugs in between groups and was so delightfully happy. More characters walk around as we were eating. Z was especially adorable with Daisy! He could over her dress and had so much fun pointing out her shoes and giggling with her. He gave her lots of hugs and kisses. He also got to cuddle with Minnie Mouse and with Stitch! The big girls jumped into all the pictures as well and loved all the food at our breakfast buffet.

After breakfast we changed in the lobby restroom and headed for the pool! The big girls dove into the main pool while I took Z to the toddler pool and Grammy and my friend lounged in the shade. Z had a great time splashing, especially once I brought out some Mickey bath toys we brought from home. The girls came over to join, being cute with him, playing hide and seek with the toys and took him on the water slide.

L reluctantly said good by to her friend as they headed back for their flight. But since we still had a few hours to play, we dressed and headed for downtown Disney! We anticipated doing some souvenir shopping and picking out gifts to take home two sisters. I was a little surprised to find out it is much, much smaller than Walt Disney World Downtown Disney. Plus the Disney Store there is currently being remodeled so we have near the selection we thought we would. We hadn't bought souvenirs yet because I thought we would be able to just make mental notes of our favorites as we saw them and then be able to find everything and pick in Downtown Disney. Not really the case but we had fun anyway. Next time we will shop as we go! Although I probably would have ended up spending much more money that way! L agonized over what to pick as her souvenir. She finally settled on a pair of teal Mickey Mouse earrings and a Beauty and the Beast puzzle. (Which I actually found was a third the price on Amazon, so I told her I would order it online and ship at home rather than us risk damaging it in our suitcases. We also picked out the Cinderella puzzle and Rapunzel puzzle for sisters!) We also bought a Chip mug to share, given our recent Obsession for having hot chocolate, and bought suckers to take home. While looking at some cute little tokens, an employee started talking with us and told us that they were actually made from reclaimed iron taken from retired Disney rides! So of course we picked out a set for us and for Papa.

We went back to the hotel where we met one of my very good friends from high school. In fact she's really the only person from high school I keep in touch with. We planned to go to dinner and she generously agreed to take us to the airport. But first, Mickey ice creams! It was something on our bucket list, but we hadn't done it yet! Luckily we found them at Downtown Disney, so we brought them back to the hotel where L and Z sat together delightfully enjoying their ice creams and making a huge mess.

I forgot how bad is Sunday LA traffic can get. So instead of going to dinner, we opted for the drive-thru at In & Out, getting burgers and shakes to eat as we headed for the airport. It was so much fun talking to with my friend and catching up on each other's lives and how things in the area had changed. In fact she drove us down Main Street and right past my old high school. We got to point things out L and reminisce. As soon as she dropped us off and we were on our way home, sad to go but having had such a great weekend!

This is L list of favorites:
Favorite California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy!
Favorite Disneyland ride, the three mountains! Space, Splash, Big Thunder! And Matt horn!
Favorite Disney treats, Mickey ice cream and Dole Whip
Favorite Disney food: turkey legs!
Favorite character moments, walking with Belle and the Beast. and that the captain on our plane was named hook! We flew with Captain Hook!
Favorite Z moment, sharing ice cream
Favorite friend moment, watching the parade and the swings
Favorite mom moment, Guardians of the Galaxy! And that I could see her the whole time I was dancing
Favorite Grammy moment, when she bought my ears
Favorite show, Frozen
Favorite thing about our hotel, the bed
Favorite dance moment, the magical feeling of being on stage at Disney
And I loved the birthday buttons and everyone telling us happy birthday all weekend!

I loved the one on one with my kids. I loved watching Z's face light up with every character and new adventure. I love how he would whisper good night to every character (not present) and palm tree as we walked home each night. I loved getting to talk with L and do what she wanted and love on her and spoil her and celebrate her. I love watching her dance. I have the most amazing kids and am so grateful for them.

elk

Early December I was driving along and from the backseat I abruptly heard Z exclaim "ELK!" He only had a handful of clear words, all the typical firsts. But "elk" was new. and random. (or so I thought) He said it over and over, leaving me a little confused as we continued our drive.

And then did it again a few days later, in the same spot.

And then we were in the hardware store when he nearly jumped out of my arms pointing and calling out to the elk mount on the wall. "Elk!" and then, "Goat!", "Turkey!", "Deer!", "buffalo!" and "MOOSE!" (he bellows that one) but the elk was clearly his favorite. 

I come home, laughingly and proudly reporting said events to Husband. He laughs and confesses. Turns out my loving husband, who is a wonderful daddy, has "man training" well underway. Oftentimes when he comes home from work, he scoops up the boy and takes him elsewhere so I can finish dinner. They check on the garden or work in the garage or on Friday nights, go and visit his best friend who works the gun counter at Sportsman's Warehouse. Z knows the names of all the various mounts and by now, can even use his hands to imitate the shape of their antlers. (my favorite is the way he says "pronghorn antelope!" His favorite is elk. So much in fact that when asked what he wants for Christmas, he said "Elk!" And his auntie got him an adorable stuffed elk.)

So anytime we drive past sportsman's, the boy calls out "ELK!"

Spring break

Spring break was wonderfully lazy and fun. We had no big travel plans and ended up having great time.

We drove up to Grammy's house on Friday night, arriving very late and getting kids into bed right away. so they got to spend Saturday morning sleeping in (which none of them) and playing with cousins (which they loved). We watch the first session of conference while playing conference bingo and coloring. This was a particularly wonderful Comforts experience as we got to have a general assembly. We explain to the kids about having our new prophet and what it meant to stand in his support.

Between sessions we had our Easter party! We went over to Papa's School and used his gym to play. We played human Hungry Hippos by pairing up, one partner laid on their belly on top of the roller boards and holding a bucket while the other partner drag them around by their feet. It was a madhouse to collect as many plastic eggs as we could! It was so much fun and the kids loved it! Then we did Bunny Hop races and got to play on Papa's climbing wall. Then we took all the kids outside for an Easter egg hunt on the playground. Z was particularly adorable and as expected, found his first egg and sat down to play with it just as happy as could be.

That evening we grilled burgers and had a special evening for Z and L's birthdays. For their cakes I made giant cupcakes for each of them. Z's was Mickey and L's was Minnie in honor of our upcoming trip to Disney! And then the cousin spent the whole evening playing in the giant Dirt Pile in the backyard. They made up a game called dirt meal and had a ton of fun. And then we stayed up late doing a painting craft and dying Easter eggs.

Early the next morning, husband managed to sneak away with my brother, L, and her cousin twin to meet his dad in Salt Lake and attend the morning session of conference. Meanwhile we set up conference cups for the rest of us at Grammy's house and the kids did really good, paying attention and coloring and being sweet to each other. Except Z, who seem to be playing his own game of Godzilla meets Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

We had a wonderful Easter dinner with lots of the usual holiday favorites. My oldest niece help me make the rolls this year. The rolls are always a huge hit and are sorely missed if we don't do them. The recipe actually comes from my mother-in-law but is now a staple for my side of the family as well. It's been fun having my nieces and nephews help me over the past few years and I like getting that one on one experience with them.

After dinner we said our goodbyes. We actually took the cousin twin with us, Trading A for the night. We stopped at the auntie's on the way home and joined them for dessert. We didn't stay long but always love getting to share hugs and catch up for a little bit.

Husband went back to work on Monday well the kids and I lounged around the house recovering from our fun weekend. We watched movies and played at the park and painted butterfly magnets. In the evening we drove down the valley to meet halfway and trade cousin twin for A again.

On Tuesday the kids and I had no plans. And much to their dismay, spent most of it cleaning out the toy room and trying to reclaim our house from the general chaos. They willingly gave up a good size pile of toys that they have mostly grown out of. And as a thank you I took them to Walmart and bought each of them something that they wanted more. (E picked a new Barbie, A picked a set of Legos, L picked a squishy. Pretty good trade since they were all happy and it means less junk in my house!)

On Wednesday daddy took the kids skiing! He took all three girls at the same time and they had a great time. They reported that they race down home run for their last run and E one meaning that my littlest daughter is either the fastest or at least the most Reckless! I'm glad they had a good time and got one more ski day in this season.

Late that night we had friends from out of town arrive. They move to Washington two years ago and we haven't seen them since so we were thrilled to catch up and the kids paired off, disappearing to play. Thursday night we had a big barbecue inviting some other friends so that they could see everyone. And the kids were in heaven with so many small crazy people running around. They jump on the trampoline and played with toys and played in the basement and did lots of tumbling tricks and showing off.

Friday, we drove North to attend our niece's baptism. She looks so beautiful in her white dress and our girls were super sweet and excited for her. They especially loved the bear treats from Grammy to remind them about the baptism promises (bear one another's burdens, bear the name of Christ, bear your testimony). The closing song was Gethsemane, which is my kids favorite! It's a newer song so mostly adults don't know it unless they are serving in primary, but all of the kids sing it with great testimony.

After the baptism we went to dinner at Chili's! But this is our very favorite chilis because it is the same restaurant husband and I went to the night we got engaged. So we got to tell the kids the story and point out the booth we were sitting in when we called our parents to tell them the good news! Grammy and papa went with us, as well as one of my sisters and her two kids. So we had fun eating and chatting and letting the kids play. Originally we plan to spend the night at Grammys but husband's work schedule required him to go in the next day. So we drove home, and brought cousins with us!

We spent Saturday sleeping in and playing. The girls had a tea party, played Barbies, play dress ups and did a craft.  My parents drove down in the evening and stayed through the night. Papa heard we had begun work on finishing the basement and generously offered to help. So Papa and husband laid out some plans (and since then have gone to work on it! I can't believe how much they're gotten done already. We hired out the framing but they've been able to nearly finish all the electrical now too!)

March

We kicked off the month with the Music Festival. The girls have worked so hard to prepare, this really has been their big focus in piano lessons for months now. They each entered in all nine categories, making them eligible for a master musician award. In January they finished their compositions and sent them in. And then during the festival, they each performed and were adjudicated on theory, sight-reading, technique, Baroque/classical, romantic/contemporary, jazz, duet and accompaniment. They did half of their entries on Friday, all getting to go around the same time and support each other. And then on Saturday, L competed early in the morning while the other two were scheduled for the late afternoon. I was so proud of my girls. They were very polished and confident, always volunteering to go first and performed very well. Later that afternoon we got a call that L have been chosen to perform in the best of Festival concert that evening. She played beautifully in the concert, following it with a very graceful curtsey (I'm really sad I cut the video before her bow actually, so classy and elegant!) Over 300 students competed in the festival, about 50 of them are chosen to preform in best of Festival. And then at the end of the concert all three girls were invited to the stage to be recognized as a master musician, meaning they had received excellent marks and all nine categories and will receive a composer bust statue. I am so crazy proud of these kids!

Week 2 was spent preparing for surgery. Husband ended up needing to be out of town that week, so my dad drove down the night before and spend the evening helping me run kids around and get the house in order. He took me to the hospital and then played with the kids all day. He got me settled in at home and handed me off to my mom (he had to go home and back to work the next morning). So then mom got to witness the super exciting initial recovery including the nerve block wearing off and finding out I'm allergic to Percocet. That was super fun. Luckily husband came home the next day and got to help her juggle a very busy weekend.

On Friday night A had her opening night performance. She is participating in a Community Theatre group and they performed a show called how to eat like a child. At the same time, L and E performed with their dance teams at the high school drill team's end of year review. The drill team is fantastic and uses local dance studios to fill in more numbers in between. The turnout is huge and it's always a fantastic show.

On Saturday A had two more performances so we took the whole family to support her. It broke my heart to have missed the first two shows, so I made sure I was there for the final performance. A was adorable. She's so animated and has such a fun, spunky personality. She didn't have very many lines but performed with the Ensemble and lots of fun numbers.

The third weekend in March took us to another dance competition. I was a week and a half out of surgery by then so feeling better but not very confident yet. Luckily grammy got to come to everything and we had a blast. The girls performed well, even better than their first competition and took first place in every entry. Their studio really is phenomenal. The studio has very high expectations and requires a lot of time and commitment from the girls. But it when it comes to performing, it really shows! They are so classy and well prepared. I have no doubt that they are the best for technique and choreography and I'm so grateful my girls are getting the opportunity to attend there. They performed all of their team numbers, but due to the scheduling issue L wasn't able to do her duet that weekend.

So instead she was given the opportunity to do it the following weekend! However that weekend was the annual ladies runaway that I have with my mom and sisters every year. We usually attend the Scrapbook Expo, but this year it fell on a weekend when we weren't able to go. So instead we picked a hotel and created our own Expo weekend. We arrived Thursday night in time for dinner and some shopping. We spent most of Friday doing digital scrapbooking in our hotel and going out for a nice dinner. And then Saturday we went out for pedicures and lunch before returning home to our families. We spent our time talking and lounging, snacking on treats and catching up with each other. It's so much fun and I love being with these fantastic ladies. As an added bonus, Grammy and I slipped away on Friday night to attend the dance competition. It was actually only about a mile from our hotel. L got a ride down with her best friend and we met her there to help her get ready and watch her dance. I realized I was overdoing it a bit so we didn't stay long, and I headed back to the hotel while the girls stayed for the awards ceremony. They ended up taking first-place! And they were thrilled to find out that their recognition included a delicate little tiara! She even wore it to church the next day and to school on her birthday.

St Patrick's Day fell on a Saturday. The girls had spent Friday night at a birthday party for L's best friend. They got to swim at the pool & L made adorable mermaid cupcakes for it. Once they got home we had to set a trap for the leprechaun. The leprechaun managed to sneak out of there Trap by stacking his gold coins to use as a ladder. So the girls were pretty excited about the gold coins but obviously disappointed they didn't catch the leprechaun. They even made sure Z he got a turn discovering the gold coins. Then our celebrations were put on hold until Sunday when Grandpa and Auntie Lu came to join! Grandma always made a st. Patrick's Day dinner complete with corned beef and cabbage, I have kept this tradition since she passed away but obviously wasn't feeling up to it this year. So Lu settled in and made a wonderful dinner for everyone, even thoughtfully making me a steak because she knows I secretly don't like corned beef. I'm pretty sure we played and watched a movie and such after, but I was pretty drugged and uncomfortable from over doing it for the past few days.

We had another chance to celebrate our dancers in March at the company showcase. All of the team routines were performed at the local high school so that family and friends could come watch. This time we got a seat right in front E and I was able to focus just on her during the big mini production routine. Previously I had been on the other side and hadn't seen her as clearly. I'm so glad I get to see it multiple times because I love it so much every time! A sat between me and Daddy and I think she had a great time watching her sisters and cheering on the older dancers. Z spent most of the time crawling around on the floor and making noise, every once in awhile a certain dance would catch his attention and he would stare and applaud enthusiastically. And then when his sisters appeared on stage he would squeal their name and cheer them on. Even Grandpa was able to come and watch them dance! After the show we returned to our house for ice cream sundaes!

March also included a couple of fun things like starting work on the basement! We are going to finish the basement with two more bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a big TV room. It might take some time but we're excited to be starting. We had check-ups for L and Z, reporting both of them to be in great health and crazy tall. We attended SSPs, or parent-teacher conferences, for each of the girls. Their teachers reported that all of them are academically doing very well. They're all getting excited for the end of the year to come and we set some goals to keep their behavior on track. But overall I'm so proud of these kids! I did as many cakes as I could before surgery, and I'm putting the money towards a good house cleaning when I'm out of commission! And other than that there has been lots of cuddles, books, movie nights and play dates with friends. I'm especially for Grammy who has come down nearly every weekend to help husband juggle taking care of our kids and catching up on the house. And so grateful to my best friend who fortunately lives only a block away and adores my son because she came nearly every day to help take care of him while husband was working. And very very grateful for my very compassionate and sweet husband and all he does for us. At my post surgery check-up, almost 3 weeks after surgery, the doctor was pleased with its progress so far. The x-rays look great, everything seems to be settling into place correctly. Unfortunately I have no range of motion at all and am very worried about that atrophy in my wrist and hand. Looking forward to my next check up and getting the green light for physical therapy.

Next up: spring break!

L's birthday

We woke her up for a special birthday breakfast. I'm pretty sure the kids favorite part is the dancing birthday cake decoration, its motion activated and they eagerly set it off repeatedly, triggering themselves into a dance party. Then we shipped them off to school, delivering donuts for a class treat.

Wednesday is her long dance day, we afterschool she was off to her dance classes, taking teal and white striped lollipops to share with her dance team at practice. For her dinner break, husband and I picked her and her best friend up for a quick dinner at cafe rio.

more celebrating to come!