Backyard Fun in the Leaves

 

 



Disney Princesses on Ice

When the flyer came in the mail for Disney Princesses on Ice in late summer there really wasn't any questions about if we would attend this show with our princess-crazed kiddos, it was only determining when (still chewing on my pre-children anti-princess words).  Michele had always expressed interest in taking the girls to this type of show so we found a time that fit with her crazy Seattle sports schedule and then kind of forgot about it.  Before we knew it, the special day arrived, the girls each selected the princess dress they wanted to wear, and we were off the Comcast arena in Everett. 

Walking in the door we were in immersed into Disney overload with stands selling extremely overpriced princess merchandise (it made the stuff at Disneyland seem quite reasonable).  Somehow Clara's big browns worked their magic on Daddy and she ended up with a crown that came with a bag of cotton candy. 

Mickey and his pals greeted everyone and introduced each of the three stories. 

 

 First, was Princess & the Frog

 

 

 Then, Cinderella...

 

Clara & Janie enjoyed their snacks and really had fun at the show.  Michele Mommy & Daddy really did, too!

After intermission, there was the story of Tangled

And then the supreme finale with all of the princesses and princes.  This part created this reaction with Clara... PRICELESS!! 

All in all, we were very impressed with the Disney on Ice experience!  If another show comes to town while our girls still have interest, we'll probably try and see it.  Tickets were affordable and like anything Disney, the production was top notch!  And really, it is hard to top watching them experience something to magical! 

Thankful

Trick or Treat - 2012

 

Both the girls had been sick the week before Halloween.  Clara even had to miss out on her pre-school Halloween party.  Luckily they were both feeling better on the big day.  There was so much excitement the day of.  Mommy & Janie had a little donut date for Halloween themed donuts and we played fun Halloween music and had a great afternoon together.  By the time Daddy got home that evening both girls were already wired, and even more so when he gave them Halloween surprises!

 

 

 

Quickly the girls got into their costumes and we went  a few doors down to the Lai Ping's for a pre-trick-or-treat pizza party.  That lasted for about two bites of pizza and all the kiddos were ready for C-A-N-D-Y!  Clara did a great job of showing J-Bug the ropes and after a few houses she caught right on! 

 

Our evening ended with a quick visit from the Keddington Family and a photo for Clara & Davis (they look a little pooped here, don't you think!?!).  Janie asks every day still if we can go trick-or-treating.  We tried a few times to explain, but have now just given in and let her knock on our bedroom door for a piece of candy, sometimes things a just so darn cute you just have to give in!

Pumpkins & Fun Traditions

 

 

Daddy loves to carve detailed pumpkins and he has great patience for it.  This year he purchased a template with Merida on it and spent over two hours creating this great one!  Clara gets excited about the designs but isn't real interested in getting messy.  At first, Janie was not into it either, it wasn't long before she warmed up and was flinging pumpkin guts and seed everywhere. 

 

 

With the strange weather this year, Papa Mark special pumpkins with names scared on them didn't turn out.  Hopefully we'll get him to try again next year!  I took the photo on the porch anyway.  It is SO hard to get the girls to cooperate for photos.  Janie doesn't sit still and Clara wants her photos taken but has the hardest time looking at the camera and if she is, she has the most serious look on her face.  This time I snapped a few and let them go play.

A very BRAVE Halloween

This summer right after seeing the movie "Brave" for the first time, Clara decided she knew she just had to be Merida for Halloween.  We are in our third year of "Princess Infatuation" in our household so I wasn't too surprised with this decision.  For the most part, Merida is a bit of an evolved character compared to the  Cinderella & Snow White- type, who don't really stand up for themselves or embrace adventure, so if we are having another round of princess fun, we are pretty glad she chose the strong-willed, Merida.

Come the beginning of September, we lucked out and found Clara's ensemble (minus the cape) for a great deal at Costco.  Then she began asking who we were going to dress up like ... and somehow I learned that Kevin had promised her he'd be King Fergus (not an easy costume to assemble, Kev).  But thanks to a great deal of help from my costume extraordinaire, Aunt Pat and a lucky find with Janie's adorable hat, we were able to create costumes to complement our sweet lil' Merida. 

Thanks for Grandma & Grandpa for watching the girls, Kevin & I got to attend some fun Halloween parties with friends.  We had a lot of fun being in character! 

 

 

Green {and wet} Halloween Festival

 

The weekend before Halloween our neighborhood puts on a fun Green Halloween celebration with lots of local vendors and activities for kiddos while promoting earth-friendly living!  This year Grandma & Grandpa were able to come up and attend the festival with us and brought along cousin Taylor.  Clara idolized her big cousin and the two of them played wonderfully the whole weekend.  It was cute to see them select their costumes and get ready for the event all by themselves! 

 

 

 

Of course, the weather wasn't exactly perfect, but the hard rain held off until later in the day and we ended up not getting too wet during our visit.  Grandma Jan seemed to have a lot of fun taking the girls around to the different booths to play games.  Their favorite was put on by the new Safeway store coming to the neighborhood.  Each kid threw apples into buckets and won a super-yummy designer caramel apple!  Clara selected the one with sprinkles and had the biggest eyes when we let her eat it. 

Janie was a trooper as well.  She seemed cozy and content as a little chick riding in the stroller.  She got some of the treats and begged to ride the pony, so Daddy made her a happy girl!   

Visiting Quincy {a year later}

It is hard to believe a year has past since we lost Kevin's father, Murray.  No doubt, this year has been by far the toughest of our life together.  As we forge that difficult path of trying to heal a little and move past the hurt, we are also doing our best keep his memory alive for our family.  Kevin & I have had very different ways of coping and so there has been a lot of discovery about one another in this process.  We think of him every day, but now we are able to do so with less tears and a lot more smiles and laughs. 

 

Navigating this journey with the girls has had some challenges.  We have tried to approach conversations with a level of honesty while doing what we can to avoid harming their sweet & innocent understanding of the world.  There have been a lot of questions we haven't had good answers for, but also some relatively profound discussions about love.  

 

One year later Janie is able to recognize "Papa Murray" in photos with enthusiasm, aware that he {really} liked donuts and ice cream.  She also sweetly says, "Papa loves me."  For Clara, this life experience has been a big one  for someone of her age, but she already lets her faith guide her well.  If ever she sees us upset, she'll remind us, "Papa is happy in heaven.  You can talk to him if you like."   She frequently talks about papa "pecking off her nose" and listens to a recorded story book of his voice. 

 

 

 

It seemed fitting that for this bittersweet anniversary, we spend some time in Quincy as a family.  Even with all of the changes, being there with Carol for some sunny, harvest days felt good for our souls.  It was a nice opportunity to reflect on our special memories and great laughs!