Girl's Report cards-

Just bought these might be fun to look at some day down the road. Look at how much they improve through out the year....

Makes me SOOO proud:)

Found these letters to Santa on my HD

I just came across these wonderful letters from Bella and Vivi to Santa and can't believe I never posted them up on here... Gonna do it now before they get lost in the void....

BTW- Look how AESOME Bella's Tangled drawing is- tons of attitude in that drawing, huh?

Its been a long time since I've last posted in here. As you can guess, life just starts running at a pace that can move so fast, that before I realize it, months have gone by. Luckily, I'm involved with it all and not really missing a beat... But finding the time to post on here has been almost impossible. I'm going to attempt to load some videos from our San Framcisco trip that the girls created on their iPads. I also hope to load up some videos from my phone and camera of some of vivi's drum lessons... I need to deal with a quick phone call then I'll be back to try and load some up... Wish me luck!

Wayyyyyy too long

Its been a long time since I've last posted in here. As you can guess, life just starts running at a pace that can move so fast, that before I realize it, months have gone by. Luckily, I'm involved with it all and not really missing a beat... But finding the time to post on here has been almost impossible. I'm going to attempt to load some videos from our San Framcisco trip that the girls created on their iPads. I also hope to load up some videos from my phone and camera of some of vivi's drum lessons... I need to deal with a quick phone call then I'll be back to try and load some up... Wish me luck!

1st Communion

As you can see above- we celebrated Bella's 1st Communion yesterday. She and my other two ladies looked their best as we took part in this special moment in Bella's life. One of the best things I'll remember from this day was a comment that Father Dick made at the end of this service. Since he is still recovering from surgery that he had on his knee, he had to sit down to administer the 'bread' for each child. He commented what a joy that was because he was now down on their level, which brought him a lot closer to their face and allowed him to really look into the eyes of each person. "Love and purity" where the words I remember him using to describe the look each kid had in their eyes and I'm sure it was a beautiful thing for him to see. Although he went on to discuss the importance of 'keeping that feeling/emotion growing by coming back to church every Sunday', I knew more that it was a love and peace that only a child not yet jaded by life would have.

None the less- I could also see a love and peace in Bella's eyes that only a young person can have. Unfortunately Church, Friends, Family Drama, life stresses, and the rest of the world will all play a part in trying to remove that peace-but I will do my best to help her keep it for as long as possible.

Above is Vivi being her normal funny self- we keep trying to get her to show that cute - beautiful smile she has in pictures, but she winds up closing her eyes to avoid the flash- silly monkey!

It was wonderful having the Powers come for a visit and it was great to have them there for this event. They have been so wonderful to our girls and I'm so happy to have them a part of our lives.

CUUUTE! Bella and her good friend Declan struggle to get any closer for this picture just before the ceremony. I hope they'll be friends for their entire school journey together. We really like his family and like the friendship that has developed.

Thank you Lolo and Lola

The girls wanted to say thanks in a special way:) VIDEO!!!!

some happenings

WOW- What luck- I guess since I'm here at Jury Duty- I can actually take some time to fill in a bit to our blog. YAY!

Below is a picture form our last trip to Disneyland. This 1st photo was a first for us as a family. Seeing as the park was somewhat full and we didn't really have much on our agenda, we decided to visit Tom Saywer island for the first time. It started with a little river raft ride over to the island. We hoped off and explored the island which was filled with secret tunnels, pumping stations to keep kids active pumping water, and we even discovered a pirates treasure. All in all not a really fun place to go, but we're glad we did it. If you've got adventurous kids or ones that need to burn off some energy, than this might be a fun place to let them run wild. For me, it was a little uninspired and boring. Wish there was a scavenger hunt or something to give us something to do that would also let us explore the island. But... either way, I'm glad we checked it out.

Next is a great picture of the girls just before seeing BUGS' LIFE 3d- it's tough to be a bug!

This was the first time Bella and Vivi had ever seen this fun attraction. Even though it does have older 3D technology, the show really does hold up. It's mix of film, plus actual prop 3D effects are a blast. You get sprayed by a sting bug, sprayed with a giant can of bug spray that covers the room with fog long enough to distract you from the giant black widows as they descend over head. Then, at one point you even get 'stung' in the back by a bee. It all ends with a cute bit where the 'guest' bugs are asked to leave the theatre first... this is represented by something rolling under your but to feel as though some bugs have crawled under you. Pretty fun over all, and I think the girls really enjoyed it.

Oh the Vieves-

Below is a picture of Vivi just after her performance at Preschool. They all spoke a little poem, then sang Jingle Bell Rock.

Vivi was as cute as always and of course did a wonderful job. Maybe I'll even be able to post some film from here sometime soon. On a side note, I'm proud of Vivi for learning so many spelling words lately. We've been working on a few words at the same time that Bella has been studying her words. One of the few things we worked on was how to spell "Jingle Bell Rock"... so go ahead, ask her how to spell that and she'll say "Alright... " and then start spelling. She's so darn cute and very proud of herself that she can spell with such ease. Good job, Vieves.

NExt we have a picture of Bella with her choir teacher.
This teacher started a new program at Bella's school this year and I think the results have been great. They decided to put on a performance to show off the work they've been doing, and I gotta say, I was impressed. She is great with the students and I hope this is something Bella continues to pursue for a while.

This next photo is just a cute one of the girls from the day Vivi performed at her preschool.

And last- a quick photo of Bella's try-it patches she's gained in brownies so far this year. Not sure how "into" brownies she really is, but she'll at least continue throughout the end of this school year.

Oh wait, there's more....

OH BABY MELIA!

These photos (above and below) were taken at the Bob's Big Boy in Burbank (near Toluca Lake and Mom's Retirement home). We met there for Auntie Anings birthday, and had the pleasure of playing with Koa and baby Melia. For some reason, Melia just can't take her eyes off of me whenever I'm around. It's pretty cute. No matter who's holding her, she's usually looking right at me, and then will start to reach or lean for me as I get close. She's very cute and as long as I don't get too warm, I'll hold her all day. Sooooo Cuuuuuute!

ok- that's all for now. The girls DID put their letters for Santa out last night, and I do believe the birds took them while we were in the other side of the house putting the girls to sleep.

Can't wait to hear what Santa says in his reply back.