Cabaret

Alex sings with a choir group at school called the Falconaires.  They are an amazing group of kids and he really enjoys singing with them.  They performed a "cabaret" this year where all the girls wore pretty dresses and the boys wore nice shirts, ties and pants.  Alex and his pals decided they were all wearing purple ties.  It was really fun to see Alex so excited about the performance (and even about getting dressed up!).  We were bummed that Grandpa Pete left the day of the performance and didn't get to come along to watch.  Luckily, I took some video so everyone can enjoy it!  The choir was awesome and it was another amazing performance!  The audience enjoyed a chocolate fountain and all sorts of yummy food.  Josh was a frequent visitor to the buffet and Mattea would have been, too, if she wasn't on crutches!

Happy 12th Birthday, Joshua Jeffrey!

So many things come to mind when I think of Joshua Jeffrey... sweet, mischievous, athletic, funny, kind and charming.  Jeff tells me all the time that I let Josh get away with too much, but I can't help it... when he flashes me a smile, I forget why he's supposed to be in trouble.  : )

We had a pretty low-key day this year for Josh's birthday.  Jeff and I had just gotten back from a quick trip to Las Vegas the night before, so Grandpa Pete was in town watching the kids.  It was wonderful having him here and a total bonus that he got to spend Josh's birthday with him! 

We had some breakfast and then went out birthday shopping.  We stopped at a couple places before Josh found something he really wanted... yet another airsoft gun.  But, this time, the gun was an automatic shotgun so when he has airsoft wars with his buddies, he will be able to shoot at them super fast.  He was so excited about the gun that he really wanted to skip lunch to go home and test it out.  We convinced him that we should eat lunch first, but maybe we shouldn't have.  We went to On The Border and it was pretty terrible.  The chips & salsa were amazing as usual, but most of our food came out cold.  After a disappointing lunch, we went home so Josh could test out his new toy.  The kiddos had fun shooting the gun and we were able to sit down and relax a bit.  Later, we headed to Celebrity Lanes to go bowling.  The kids and I bowled while Jeff and Grandpa Pete watched us and offered tips.  We had a really fun time!

February is over... what????

So, February disappeared right before my very eyes.  Since I didn't post even one time, I guess it's time once again to play some catch up.

 

Mattea was chosen to do an All About Me poster for her 2nd grade class.  Since she was presenting her poster the week of Valentine's Day, she wanted the poster to be in the shape of a heart.  We came up with a plan for her poster, did some shopping at Michael's for craft supplies and printed some pictures.  Her poster represented her well and turned out so well that when she brought it home from school, we hung it in her bedroom!

 

 Valentine's Day rolled around and Mattea got all dolled up.  I did a heart braid in her hair and she was wearing her new frilly dress that her friend's Mom made for her.  I went to her class party at school and when we got home, we had a little photo shoot.  She got a little crazy!



  

Happy Birthday to ME!

Nah nah nah nah nah nah... you say it's your birthday!  Oh yeah... today was my birthday... my "All About Me" day.  I generally don't get too excited for mid-week birthdays because I have to work for most of the day and that just doesn't seem like a fun way to spend a birthday.  But, I decided to make the most of it, so I woke up like usual and went to the 6am CrossFit class.  [Here comes the CrossFit talk... it's gonna happen... it's my blog... feel free to skip past this part... no hard feelings.]  My favorite lift is the Squat Clean and luckily that was a part of the day's workout!  Woohoo!  It was a heavy squat clean and my trainer helped me find the perfect weight.  We only had to do one rep, so I really challenged myself.  I ended up with a new PR at 130#!!!  That was a nice gift right there.  The rest of the workout included wall balls, pushups, deadlifts and burpees.  It was a fast workout that left me a winded, sweaty mess and I loved every minute of it!  It was a great way to start off my birthday!!! 

When I got home, I threw on my boots and winter jacket then shoveled the driveway (in my shorts... oh yes I did!!!).  When I came in, the family was standing around a homemade birthday cake (thanks to my sweet Joshie and our neighbor, Dawn).  They sang Happy Birthday to me and gave me my cards.  Am I starting this day out right or what???  Then things got normal again... time for work.  Jeff had been sick since Sunday, so he apologized for not getting me a gift.  Within a couple hours, a dozen roses (11 red for me and 1 yellow for Mattea) plus a box of Godiva chocolates showed up.  Jeff is so sneaky!  Shortly after that, the FedEx guy delivered the coolest CrossFit t-shirt ever... thanks to Julie, Kevin & Trae!!!  My sweet cousin Kelly sent me this amazing charm necklace with all of my kids' names on it plus one with a J+T.  It's awesome!  I also received lots of cards, phone calls, text messages and Facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday.  I am so blessed! 

Since Jeff was sick, I made dinner instead of making everyone go out.  We had my favorites -- chicken, homemade mashed potatoes & gravy and corn -- followed by some spectacular birthday cake!  After dinner, Jeff & I taught the kids how to play Rummy 500.  We keep telling Alex that he needs to learn how to play cards because when he's in high school (which happens later THIS year, people!!!) and it's a Friday night and he has no money, he is going to need to find some way to have fun that is also FREE... like playing cards.  We only played to 100 since we were short on time (Jeff won), but it was still fun and I hope we play again soon.  My amazing son, Alex, learned how to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano for me.  I love listening to him play (and I love how this video ends on a close-up of Alex's nose... makes me laugh EVERY time... just watch it and see!).

One of my friends challenged me to do a handstand in the snow on my birthday, so even though it was about 9pm, I did it.  I do like a challenge and handstands are my thing, so why not?  Josh was more than happy to take my picture.  It only took 3 takes... not bad.

All in all, I had a great day.  Here's to another amazing year!

Crazy Hair Day

Today was Crazy Hair Day at Rolling Hills.  I was totally winging it with Mattea's hair this morning, but it turned out really cute! 

 I got a little crazy with the hair paint in the front... I thought it was just sparkles, but it turns out it was silver!  So, that is why she looks a bit gray!  Oops!

After Christmas and NYE

The Dolan's and Mishlers came out for a visit a few days after Christmas.  We had a nice time hanging out, eating, playing cards and celebrating Christmas and New Year's. 

 

Christmas

We spent Christmas at home this year with just our sweet little family. It was (I was going to say quiet, but when is it EVER quiet at our house???) relaxing, fun and casual.  The kids let us sleep in until 8am on Christmas morning which was nice!  We opened stockings first and then dug into the presents.  We took our time and ooh'ed and aah'ed over each one.

 It's so easy to get everyone to cooperate and smile nicely when there are presents involved.

 The boys loved their new R/C helicopters!

 Josh gave Jeff a wood pen that he carved out of a block of wood in Applied Tech class.  Very cool!

 Alex "Tebowing" (yes, we still do it!) on his new long board

 My beautiful new ring!!!

 Mattea and Daddy checking out their new iPods!

 Self-timer family portrait... Merry Christmas!!!