Mom and Joey Date

 Mommy and Joey date to see Power Rangers. Picked Joey up from school for lunch and a movie. Love spending a little special time with him. 

Girl's Trip 2017 -- Las Vegas

Anna and I had an incredible trip for our 2017 Spring Break! This year we went Las Vegas which was incredible. 

  

We had a great flight, even if it was a little bumpy from the windy. Anna loved leaving this wet and rainy PNW April and arriving in sunny Las Vegas. We were so kind at check in that we got upgraded to a room with a volcano view on the Strip. Anna could watch the volcano erupt from our room that night.

Our first night we swam in the pool, ate dinner, and then went to watch the Love Cirque de Soleil performance which was incredible! Here is where Anna was cartwheeling on the rainbow walk. 

 We also found time to get pedi - manis at the Mirage spa. Anna selected gold and white for her nails and then zebra print for her toes. Such a fun girl.

 Because we were so nice we got free tickets to see the dolphins and lions. Did you know that a lion can shoot pee 20 feet? We learned that and luckily avoided the spray from one of these guys.

The pool was our favorite. These girls are having a great time. Love hanging with Anna. She is smart, funny, calm, and flexible. She is a great travel partner and I look forward to years of travel with her.

 Dressed up for the theater.

 Fancy toes and flip flops.

 Dessert was the best part of the buffet dinner.

On our full day we had a great time visiting all the "fake" countries and eating at each one.

 Eggs and pancakes were the meal of choice for Anna on this trip. We ate at this restaurant in our hotel 3 times.

 The night light on the strip exciting too. All the lights and watching the volcano blow its top was great fun.

Girl Scouts -- Cookies and Thinking Day

 This year the girls studies Paris. They learned about the habits, education, food, and lifestyle. These girls are a lot of fun to hang out with every Thursday.

 We had an awesome time selling cookies during the rainiest year yet. The girls have done a great job. Anna sold about 250 this year. She's getting so good at talking to customers and doing math in her head. It's a pleasure to hang with these awesome girls.

Rainy Soccer Saturday and Portland Excursion

 Such a cold rainy, mud soaked afternoon in Vancouver. We took D along this time so the boys joked and laughed their way there.  We stopped off at the Nike store so that they could get some sweet new shoes. The car rides are always fun with this crew.

The boys played really hard and had some great
early moves. Aidan stopped more than he missed, but in the end our team didn't win. These boys have played incredibly well this year.

  After the game, a tough rainy loss, we headed into Portland to our favorite McMenniman's the Bagdad Theater. We got some food, watched Beauty and the Beast and had a great evening.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Eric White League Meet

We had an incredible time at the Eric White League Meet this weekend. Joey wrestled incredibly well. As always, our little team had lots of support from our coaches and parents. I was impressed with Joey's planned strategy to pin the last two opponents.  It was unexpected, we thought he got 2nd place. When they called his name and he got to stand on the top of the podium he was overwhelmed! He was awesome and so proud. I'm always happy to see him wrestle because you can see his smarts, his grit, and how he thinks through each move so carefully.

Swim Lessons

We have been enjoying Swim lessons at the Y since we renewed our memberships in September.

The kids have progressed quickly. I was super proud of Joey for passing level 2. It's been a long road but he's done a great job. Anna swims like a fish and is now in the pre-swim team level.

Dance, Dance, Dance

 Anna had a great weekend of dances. On Friday night, Daddy took her to the Harbor Heights Sock Hop. We'd found her a cute leather jacket at Goodwill, and a poodle skirt on Amazon. She and one of her BFFs Izzie B had a ball dancing all night. Then on Saturday, Anna and Daddy went to the Father Daughter dance at the Boys and Girls club. It is becoming a tradition. She so loves her Daddy.

PSD Jazz Festival

 Had a great time watching Aidan perform tonight. He has grown so much in the last two years. He really loves playing in band. He plays the Euphonium, Valve Trombone, and is learning the Slide Trombone. 

Aidan's Year of Band

Aidan has loved band. Since joining 6th grade band, he has expanded musical pursuits. He is in Jazz Band, Intermediate Band, and Pep Band.  He's playing Euphonium, Valve Trombone, and is experimenting with the slide trombone.