Snow...

Well Monday night at piano lessons, it started to get nasty. The girls did not want to leave as they were looking through song books. Daddy came and got Wil early to take him to footskills practice with a boys WC team. Do not know if he is going to try out or not, just wanted to see what it was all about!!

We stopped at the neighbors on the way home and kept checking the radar...no way we were going to have school, but still it hadn't been called off! The kids put their clothes on inside out and put an orange in the fridge and we had a "let's hope for a snow day party!" We went out sledding in the neighborhood from 9-10 and when we stopped at the neighbors the computer said NO SCHOOL, so of course that meant more fun outside in the snow until way late and then a sleep over!

The next day it was cold and nasty, the kids went out a few times and then we all went over to the big hill at Life C church. There was enough snow for some of the sleds.
Daddy tried out his snowboard for the first time. It was still a LOT of fun. Even if it was full out sleeting and freezing rain, our coats and hats were covered with a layer of ice by the time we left. Another big snow dinner with our neighbors and school was called this time at 8:30p.m. so the kids went out and built a snow fort.

Wednesday was perfect for sledding. Daddy and I were up early shoveling before he went to work. Then the kids and I tried out a new hill in the neighbor's backyard (he just had it cleared of trees last summer). It is FAST and has two good jumps. Mommy, of course, went first and ended up face first in the snow buried with enough snow packed into my eyeballs to freeze my retinas! Kate and Wil thought it was hillarious! That is how the day went, sledding, clothes in drier, eating, tv, sledding, clothes in drier, eating, sledding, clothes in drier...off to church to sled with Uncle D and Chutka and cousins! It was a perfect day for sledding! The kids went up and down dozens of times. Wil was the first to attempt the big kids jump, but pretty soon everyone had the hang of the jump! Wil rode on top of his sisters at least twice on the tube over the jump, no injuries. Caleb (our 2 year old cousin) was the big hit of the day. All he wanted to do was go down the hill, maybe it had something to do with the fact that someone else had to carry him back up!


We ended the evening with dinner at red robyn with family. What a perfect two snow days! Baths and three very tired kiddos asleep early! I love snow days!!

Weekend whirlwind...

So not only did we have the Grease production Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were packed with activities.

Saturday morning started off with Kristen's soccer game. Her indoor soccer team MKB sealed the championship with a WIN! They have one more game next weekend, but this win clinched the championship for her. She had a very good game and on one particular move, her dad yelled,"way to go Frenchy!" She was red with embarrassment. So proud that she is so talented in so many areas!

We then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon at Bushia's playing with their cousins. Kate had spent the night with them and Hannah and Emily were attached to Kate. Kate then had a basketball game. She won and had some incredible rebounds and shots! She won 40ish to 4. Sigh...I really do try to slow them down!




Wil also had a basketball game. He has incredible shots. He is still in the instructional league, which means the defense can not come out of the box and everything is regulated, from possessions to free throws, well everything!




And here is a picture of Sonny's favorite treat, courtesy of Kate...as well as her "signature" note/drawing. You can find these everywhere, she has been drawing and writing the same thing for 3 years now, it is still my favorite!



And then again Sunday...Wil had a soccer game with Truman United and he scored a wicked shot from outside the box using the outside of his left foot and put it in the top right corner! Kate had footskills at Viz, where they worked on stations. And Kristen had a game at Rockwood (where they got about 3 inches of snow- we hardly had any at the house). She lost 4-32, but held them to 10 points in the second half. She had a very aggressive game! With lots of steals and jump balls. We spent the evening at Uncle David's and Daddy made dinner. Wil ended up with a migraine that sorta went away, because we caught it early but then on the drive home it came back full force. UGH! The girls and I spent the evening with homework and President Jackson's Nullification stance (look that one up ;-). Believe it or not we even squeezed in all our chores (except Kristen who spent the night sat at a friends) and got a project done around the house! Kate and Wil finally carried the santa snowman down to storage, wonder what else I will find hiding from Christmas. We also filled in our February calendar, looks like it is just as busy as January!

Frenchy..

Well Kristen's play was wonderful! We had over two full rows of supporters and she was super happy. She has a great stage presence and everyone was so proud of her!



She received lots of flowers and was really flattered by them. Her younger cousins actually made a paper bouquet that I didn't get a picture of, it was too cute!


We are both sad that it is over. Hard to believe how much fun it was! We went out to Chevy's to celebrate afterwards with friends and she had a great time wearing her pink lady jacket and giving us private singing performances! It was a fun night. On her cell phone she signs her tag line "love-Frenchy" she was really sad on the way home that she was going to have to change her phone! I think she should keep it! Here are some pics from dress rehearsal and the performance night!

Homework marathon

Last night Kate had the misfortune of having to tell her dad about a bad math grade. Long division is giving her lots of trouble. Kate and her dad worked on division for two hours to get her ready for a test today. She and I got to school early this morning and went over problems again on the board. She still struggles on where to place the numbers and what steps come next, but much progress was made! Let's hope some of it sticks for the test today!


While dad and Kate did division, Wil and I finished up his book report. We are reading about the eleven planets. Funny part for me is that he doesn't even remember that there used to be nine planets. And the numbers freak that he is, you know there are really only 8 planets and 3 dwarf planets. After getting the book done and the facts straight we constructed a model (that he got for Christmas) of the planets. Of course the model only had nine planets so he made the other two and the sun. It turned out awesome!! He is giving his oral presentation in class today! He is so excited!!


And last night Kristen was at "Grease" until late. When she got in the car she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She is SO excited about tonight!!!

Donuts with dad

This morning was the second grade annual donuts with dad. This will be Chris' last donut with dads at Truman! Wil was very excited last night and this morning. He was up very early and woke his dad up (who said shhhhh, I have ten more minutes! LOL). Sounds like Wil was bouncing off the walls with excitement! He told his dad that they should do this every morning!

Again...

Last night found Kristen working the props backstage.



And Kate has another sinus infection. Seems her glands keep getting clogged and infected.

Tuesday

PSR was cancelled because of MLK day so of course we went to the mall. At least the girls...Daddy said his knee was bothering him LOL!! And Wil just told us to buy him a pink Hollister shirt! OMG! The girls have discovered "name" brands. I know it is a struggle that all parents face. Since we had a very hard financial year last year this is not the best time for them to become brand conscious, but it happens! Most parents I have talked to say it is a middle school thing and by high school it relaxes, so I will be grateful for that! HA! But for now I spent my evening at aeropostal and hollister and other stores that play their music WAY too loud (yes I am officially a mother, cause the girls saw nothing wrong with the fact that there was no way to hold a conversation in these stores as the music was so loud! Not to mention the perfume that is sprayed on EVERYTHING! What a marketing scheme! I of course had to analyze the whole system, causing Kristen to roll her eyes at me. I still have a little influence over Kate, but I'm sure that is thin and short lived.


Will also finished his timeline of his "life." It was really hard to only pick ONE picture for each year! He did a fabulous job!

Three day weekend...

Ok, so now the kids are getting on my case about not posting to the blog! Geesh! Maybe if they didn't do so much, Mommy would have more time to post! LOL!!

It was nice to have the three day weekend. Lots of play practice, basketball, homework, and soccer. After a late night Friday night, Kristen had basketball practice at the high school in the morning. Kate had a basketball game, played awesome and won by way too many points! Wil had a basketball game and lost. I have to say that it is an instructional league and Wil is handling himself very well as the parents are volunteers, even though he KNOWS so much more than the rest of the team. He had several incredible shots and more rebounds than I can count. I am going to have to think long and hard about signing him up for CYC at St. Paul next year instead of with his school friends as this is just not the league for a kid as competitive as Wil (or his mom :-). Like I said "fun" is not in his vocabulary when he loses.

Kate had foot skills practice this weekend. Winter skills have started twice a week along with her regular soccer practice.


BIG news! Kristen's team scored TWICE in her basketball game! It was awesome. They lost 4-18, so it was really a close game. Kristen had 4 steals!!! And probably 5 jump balls, she is very aggressive! But of course always friendly when the whistle blows! She had two really great shots that just missed, one went in, rolled around and went out! So painful! But everyone was so happy that they have scored!

Lots of movies and hugs and conversations held. I really wish I could remember them all. When they are happening I think, I HAVE to put this in the blog, but when I sit down at the computer it seems I can never remember!!

Monday was fun day! We went to the Science Center with Bushia! It had been a few months since we had been there and even longer that we had seen the IMAX. I was tickled watching all the mommies chasing their little ones around and yelling at their boys to stop throwing things. LOL! Wil wandered off a few times, where I wasn't sure where he was, but he says he knew where I was the whole time. Just different with older kids. We of course built the arch!

The kids spent most of their time at the math center. Yes, funny that we go to the science center but they are interested in the math concepts. Wil and Kristen are huge math buffs and love any challenge that has to do with math.
They also spent time watching the "balls" go round at the science center lobby and got in the "mouse-wheel."

We saw the IMAX movie, grand canyon. http://www.slsc.org/content.aspx?id=4503
The scenery was beautiful and I know the kids got the message of water conservation. There was a lot of history of the Colorado river presented, but I was hoping that there would be some solutions to saving the river presented (just the science teacher in me).

After the science center, Bushia treated us to a late lunch at the Soda Fountain. http://www.sodafountainsquare.net/
We were starving!! The kids devoured their meals and their ice cream floats!



Then there was a short time to play at Bushia's house (the kids would move in if they could). And then off to piano lessons. Kate has lost her theory book which is causing a lot of stress. She loves to play the piano but does not like the lessons! Imagine that!

And the evening ended with AMERICAN IDOL. Yes, it was on this week, but we have been too busy to watch it, so we recorded it and watched it last night. We do LOVE it and have already picked some of our favorites! We always watch it as a family and everyone has an opinion!! Yeah, music and math, so we are all dorks, but what fun!

Angels

Well, it is no surprise that when Mr. Tyler was short an angel for the Grease show, Kristen said her sister could do it! SO Kate was in her first middle school play two years before middle school! She was too cute!! Watched her big sister the whole time, but she knew the whole dance!!

The retainer story

ARGH!! Yes, on the day the play began I took Kristen lunch. WELL in the excitement her retainer was thrown in the trash!! She called me very upset. After school Kate, Wil and I went to look through the trash to find it. I was hoping that out of some miracle we could find it (not the first trash we have dug through to find a retainer). IT IS FREEZING HERE!! The temperature was about 9 degrees and KATE was incredible. Wil and Kate both jumped in the dumpster and started tossing out trash bags. I was rolling them around and sorta "smushing" them to feel for the big plastic container that the cookie cake was in. I knew the retainer was thrown away in that bag, so we at least had to try to find it! Wil was freezing after the first 10 minutes and went in the car and never came back. He said that he was freezing and that the dumpster smelled like puke! LOL!! I would work about ten minutes and have to go warm up in the car. But Kate was determined to find the retainer for her sister! She is so protective of her brother and sisters and she didn't want me to be mad at "her" sister :-).
At one point, Kate says (in perfect "Kate" attitude voice) as she is throwing out pizza boxes, "GEESH, they had to have FREAKIN domino's pizza today of ALL days??" If it wasn't so cold I would have cried from laughing. But then SHE FOUND the cookie cake container but the bag was busted open! OMG! I really thought she was going to find the retainer! Here is my kid over her head in trash, in the freezing cold, looking for a retainer that isn't even her, covered in nacho cheese, milk and a variety of other unmentionables DIGGING in a dumpster for her sister! What a great kid! At this point all the bags and boxes have been tossed from the dumpster and all that is left is about a two foot pile of loose LUNCH ROOM trash. Disgusting!!! The kid picks through every piece she can find, we knew Kristen had wrapped it up in white paper, and doesn't want to stop. Finally we HAVE to go so I can get Kristen to her show and I make Kate get out of the dumpster (she reeks!!) and is so sad. She then throws ALL the bags back in the dumpster (we're talking 80 or more) and at one point she lifts one over her head and nasty chocolate milk comes pouring out and soaks her! But she keeps on cleaning up the mess. No retainer, but what a FABULOUS SISTER!! Thanks Kate! XOXOXO

Dear Frenchy...

Dear Frenchy,
I can not begin to tell you how proud of you I am! What fun we had on Wednesday nights dress rehearsal. Remember Bushie brought over dinner and you were sitting naked in my bathroom sink shaving your legs? LOL!! I dried your hair and put it in a high pony and we gave you that tightly wrapped single curl. You looked in the mirror and gave that signature Kristen squeal that you give when you are please with yourself! Yes, you did look way cute!! You packed three bags for the performance, brushed your teeth (and retainer...NOT...I will post about that in a BIT! argh!!!)put on your green t-shirt dress with the ruffle at the collar and your ballet flats. You looked too grown up and were glowing with excitement!! You were to be at the rehearsal at 6:00 and of course we arrived at 5:20! First family there! In the car you were very quiet and reflective, I patted your leg and told you it was ok to be nervous, because you put your fingers in your mouth like you do when you are fretting about something. You said you were nervous and very excited. So was I!

You put your things away and Kate and I stood in the hall and watched you run up to everyone who arrived hugging and jumping up and down. Everyone commented on how good you looked. Then you were "off" to do your thing with your friends. Kate and I went in the little theatre and tried out all the seats, figuring which on was the best. We picked the third row on the left! Kate was so nervous for you, twirling around in her blue polka dot dress. She kept running after you trying to take pictures with my phone but always came back and said that you were busy with your friends or getting your makeup done. We walked around the top floor and found out that you were student of the week in December! LOL! I vaguely remember you telling me something about that, but didn't realize it was such a big deal. Your hair was long and blond in the picture, I suppose they took it right after school started.
Other adults started arriving and Kate found out that we needed tickets. It was a free performance but for fire code they needed to make sure they have only so many people there. The tickets were bright orange. Mr. Tyler came out and had on his GREASE cast t-shirt, they are so cool. He said you will get yours at the crew party!

I forgot the camera at work and had to call Daddy to go get it. He and Wil were coming up later. I sat and talked to the other parents, while Kate walked around looking for you. I could occasionally hear your voice out in the hall and I knew you were going to be great, your voice projects so clearly!! Two other parents who know you were telling me what a great voice you have. I suppose that you were singing when you were at their house, because they kept going on about how good your voice is. Of course I think your voice is great, but I'm your mom (you know how we watch American Idol and those people can not believe that they didn't get picked and their mom yells at the camera that their kid has a beautiful voice? ). Yes, you do want to be on American Idol and I will yell in the camera if they don't pick you, and not cause that is what moms are supposed to do, but because you do have a beautiful voice!! But American Idol will have to wait ;-).

Daddy and I talked and texted back and forth, we were both so excited and nervous and giggling. We were telling each other stories. Someday when you are a parent you will understand. Daddy dropped of Wil with the camera and went to the florist to pick up "pink flowers" for our pink lady!! Wil and Kate were so silly, going to look for you and coming back so excited when they saw you. Daddy arrived about 10 minutes before the show started because he thought it started at 7:30! Geoffrey, who is a fellow student who has down syndrome (someone I know no matter how old you are when you read this, you will remember), came to the theatre to see you. He sat next to daddy and said, "hi, I came here to see Kristen O...." Daddy said me too. G said, "Kristen? really?" Daddy said yes I'm her dad, Mr. Ohler. You should have seen the look on G's face, like he just met a rock star! It was too adorable. Daddy shook his hand and I though G was going to shake of Daddy's hand he was so excited. G kept saying over and over again that he was Kristen's friend. G's mom is so so grateful to you, she thinks you are an angel.

The theatre was full and your brother and sister were singing and dancing in their seats, they know all the words. All the parents and Sperreng kids were impressed that they knew the songs, well how could they not, they have spent hours with you in your room, singing them with you!! Mr. Tyler came out and spoke about this being a formal dress rehearsal for next week, explaining that there would be lots of dropped lines and that the props people and lights and techs would be working out glitches. He is obviously proud and nervous too!

The show began and your Dad and I were holding hands so tight we were nervous and excited and proud too! The very first scene and the pink ladies came walking in, you were already SO into character. The expressions on your face had us from the get go!!

I am not going to go through the whole show, you know I could, but I can already see you rolling your eyes at me! Plus, I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who is coming next week, but let me just say YOU STOLE THE SHOW! Everyone was cracking up at you and when you were giving other people their lines, it was classic! You had your lines and your blocks and your cues down pat, not to mention everyone elses. I am sorry that everyone was not as prepared as you, but you did handle it with grace and flair and NEVER once came out of character! You are awesome. At intermission, everyone was talking about "Frenchy" and it was fun to tell the other people we don't know that you were our kid! Some commented on your voice, or you dancing (yes, that one scene was too funny because EVERYONE was watching you through the difficult points because you never missed a beat!), and your facial expression and voice intonations were right on target! I know next week, everyone will have their parts down pat, but I was so glad I got to see this performance, it was so so so fun! Your friend Lauren did a great job as Sandy and the boy who played Danny was a good actor, lets just hope he learns his lines!! You said he will not be the Danny in the play next week, so it will be fun to see a different boy!

Dad and I could not be more proud of you! Waiting outside the dressing room, like groupies, were your "fans" and friends. You were so incredibly sweet talking to everyone, listening to their praise and comments and making them feel like they were special. We gave you your flowers and your smile was so worth it!



Of course we stayed until the last few people. Driving home in the car was so much fun, I wish I could have recorded the conversation! Everyone could not sleep from the excitement. I wish I could come up with a better adjective than FUN, but that is what it was pure FUN! Thanks for letting me be a part!

So proud of my pink lady,
Love-Mom

Report card

Report cards came out this week. Kristen has straight A's and and made the honor roll for first semester! We are super proud! Look for our bumper sticker soon... "Proud parent of an honor roll student!!" Kate got As and Bs and is working very hard to improve her math grade. She received a 100% on her Tungsten Reading scores for January! Wil does not receive grades yet, but received excellent marks on everything and his teacher could not say enough good things about his math ability. They are both all very talented in art, music, and p.e. as well as their academic subjects. We already know they are great kids, but it is nice to hear it from other people every once in awhile too!

Here is a picture of Kate's invention that she created! Pretty cool!

Frenchy debuts tonight!

Well I broke down and spent the money for the pink ladies jacket for Kristen for her play. It is TOO cute, pink satin with "pink ladies" on the jacket. I gave it to her yesterday, she was so excited. Wil and I (and Sonny-long story, he just ended up with me for the afternoon) stayed and watched a bit of rehearsal. She is going to be so good! Poor Mr. Tyler (the director), he is a great guy, but "Danny" still did not know his parts! ARGH! I would have cut him! Ok, probably not but still! The boys and girls in the show look so good. I know it will all come together for them.

I took lunch to Kristen today and a good luck cookie cake and balloon. School cafeterias have not changed much over the years. Ok, maybe more selection, but the kids still picked pizza, chicken nuggets, nachos, and corn dogs over any of the healthy selections. Although, Kristen's friends all insist that she eats fruit at every lunch. I took her a big box of raspberries (her favorite) and she devoured the whole thing. The cookie cake was a big hit. Lots of kids came by to wish her happy birthday and it gave her a chance to announce to everyone that the PLAY was starting tonight. Everyone says they are coming to see her! It should be interesting tonight as the theatre at the middle school is tiny and is basically a formal dress rehearsal for the high school performances next week. I wore my pink sweater today and of course she noticed! LOL! Isn't that one of the best things about kids, getting to live vicariously through them!! (but not too close! lol)



Kate this morning was working on her poetry. Here is her metaphor "A daisy is as bright as the sun shining on me on a warm summer day."

Wil is working on money skills this week with math. OH MY! Like the boy needs more incentive to be obcessed with numbers!

Updates later on the first Grease performance tonight! Break a leg, Kristen!!

HAT TRICK

Ok not sure if it is technically a hat trick but all of the kids SCORED in their soccer games on Sunday!!!

Kate had two WC soccer games. She scored and had more saves that I can keep track of. She won both games. The first game she defeated an undefeated team! William lost his soccer game with his Truman United team, but had an incredible goal and several assists against a very difficult select team. Kristen won her game and had two assists and a goal!

Kristen also had a basketball game. Let's just say that her team never scored. BUT she did have one steal (the only one of the game for her team) and she played very aggressive, bouncing her head off of the court, causing the whole game to stop. She did not cry until in the car. I piggy-backed her to the car, because somehow her hurting head made her legs not work (logic only parents can understand :-)

So yes, we were at sports activities all over the St. Louis area from 10 a.m. until 10p.m.!! Made for a quick Sunday!

Wil did get a new pair of jeans. We are starting to have clothing issues with him. Sweats are no longer "cool." Not sure that having two big sisters is going to be a good thing for me!

The kids also worked on their fort this weekend. Seems the older kids in the neighborhood, went in and "wrecked" their fort, so there had to be some repair. Seems there was a boy and girl toilet there and we had to nix the outdoor toilet plan! The neighborhood kids work on the fort every weekend and it is always getting new additions. Wil also learned to jump off of the top of the neighbors playhouse (which I accidentally saw through the window). It is about a 15 foot drop and he has no fear.

Play practice, play practice, play practice! I don't need to say more! Dress rehearsal is Tuesday and first performance is Wednesday. Kristen is SO excited!

Weekend update...

Quick update! Kate won her basketball game 30-2. I am her coach and I had to tell the girls to stop shooting! Three passes before every shot! HA! They are awesome. Kate is a natural guard but she is learning to be a forward and even played center for 5 minutes! William had his first game, they play on the small courts and he is WAY too big for the court. He tied 35-35. It is all about learning the game at this level, but don't tell Wil as he equates a tie with a loss! He played great and had some incredible shots. Kristen had a SEVEN hour play practice today. She went over all of the lines and choreography. Kate and I watched for a bit when we took her lunch and she looked GREAT. Her first performance is Wednesday! So excited!! Kate spent the night at Sarah's last night so it was an hour and half round trip for me this morning to get her to her 9 am game. Kristen had Nikki spend the night and I finally told them to stop talking at midnight!

Relative...

It's all relative...that seems to be Wil and my current ongoing arguement/discussion. It started with him asking me about a girlfriend of mine who I used to play basketball with and he asked me if she was tall. I said it's relative. This of course lead into a huge discussion of what is relative. That it depends on the relation. That "tall" has a specific nature only by relation to something else. She was not tall for a basketball player, but tall for a girl. She would be tall to Caleb but not to Cousin Tom. You can only imagine the comparisons that were made. So today he tells me that most things in the world are short. I said that's relative. He said "things" are short, I said you mean like buildings and mountains. He said, "no landforms" (too funny), I said what about trees? To which he wanted to know if there were more trees or people in the world? I said that would be a discussion for another day! Which of course lead him to decide to count all the trees in our part of the woods so he could compare it to the number of people in St. Louis. The boy is driven by numbers. But back to the "most things are short in the world" discussion...so why are most things short? I said what about people, they are not things, he said but most people are under six feet tall so that is short. We discussed the average height of people and what average meant. He said so they are mostly short. I said that is relative, he said "not people. JUST THINGS MOM." Like buildings? Ok, mom, you can have buildings cause just think about the millions of things inside of buildings, they are all short. So, like I said all things are short. End of discussion. He is going to be a great lawyer. On the way home I am going to ask him if he had a "good" day.

Winter hum...

I go back and forth on whether or not I love the time between winter break and spring break or if I really don't like it. January to March, traditionally is everyday work/school mode for us. We seem to get on track with sleep and homework and reading and brushing teeth and housework and well...you know all those everyday things that don't really seem to be on the top of every one's list the other 9 months of the year!!!

Wil is working on his very first "book report" of his school career. He received the assignment on Monday and last night we finished reading the entire chapter book. He is motivated! Yes, guitar hero is still his passion (woke up at 6:00 to play it this morning), but he is taking more responsibility for his homework. Not to mention keeping up with his chores of emptying the dishwasher and emptying the upstairs trash!

Kate had a rough morning. She is fighting a cold with lots of sinus drainage. Her tummy was not doing so well until we got a bit of a biscuits in her. She is working on her science fair project at home. This year she had to come up with an invention. She is in the middle of creating a holder for the iphone, so she can play the "bubble wrap" game using both hands. She named it the iholder! She hope to have it designed by Friday.

Kristen is in the mist of a new semester. Her core classes do not change at midterm but her electives do. She is having problems with one of her new teachers. I am going to give it a week before I email the teacher, to see if Kristen can work it out on her own. Also FRENCHY has taken over our life! The first performance is NEXT Wednesday at the middle school theatre. It only seats about 50 people so we don't even know if we will get in to see it, but then her big performance is at the high school on Jan 23. We have spent the past few days getting her costume pulled together. Still in need of a pink jacket! But we have the school outfit together (red poodle skirt), the bedroom scene (pj's), the beauty school drop out scene, the dance, the diner (need pink jacket), and the ending (white shirt and jean capri). We need to have it all finalized by the weekend as dress rehearsal is next Monday! She is very proud of herself for knowing her lines, she was telling me how several people do not know their lines or if they do they don't know their marks or cues! We practice every night in the front room and she not only does the lines, but walks through each scene as we practice! Of course she has all the songs and choreography down pat! I am excited to see her with her peers!!

Sonny is still trying to escape the kitchen on a daily basis. He is getting big and has not had one accident in the kitchen since he has been "trapped."

Like I said, everyone is in school/work mode! Normal rhythm of our life, piano, soccer, basketball, violin, school. Now we need some SNOW!!

The new babies...

And Sonny is still trying to escape...


And as Kristen said,"The van had a baby." Our new minicooper, Daddy's work car.