Toast 2 Mom

Cousin Bonanza Weekend

The cousins left early this morning after a wonderful four day visit. It was a gorgeous weather, fun-filled weekend. And our girls social calendar became drastically more "boring" (as Sydney described it) now that they have left and gone home to Nebraska. 

While they were here though, we made the most of it. We fed horses, bunnies, donkeys, peacocks, ducks, turtles and fish. We went to three parks, rode a train, hiked, played in a creek, went fishing and enjoyed playgrounds. We went to a carnival, dined at outdoor dining restaurants, ate yummy Mexican food and made s'mores. We played soccer, dolls, pretend and read lots of books. We went to brunch and Hubby introduced rock climbing to the adults. The kids had popcicles, made shrinky dinks, colored cards and posed by bluebonnets. 

Whew! I bet I missed several things; but our four days was quite eventful. Our cousins even left with a list of things we didn't tackle. So we're saving that for next year! Looking forward to the next visit!! 

High Five

Cheekers' birthday week came to a close this evening at her birthday party with her friends. She had a gymnastics party - and it was loads of fun! 

Her friends from pre-school and her new friends that will join her next year in Kindergarten (sigh) got together to run, jump and flip.  Natalie even got a special visit from her preschool teacher - whom she loves - which was extra special! 

Here are some photos from the "big girl's" big night!  High five to turning five!

Turkey Tango

"Any turkey can Tango. Any turkey can dance, Gobble Gobble Gobble!"

I spent a fantastic morning at Cheekers' school. With a bit of melancholy, today was the last time I will see the Turkey Tango performance. 

Every year the kids at the school learn and sing this dance. It is adorable! They didn't actually have a Thanksgiving program this year, because they just did a Halloween one. But I made sure I did not miss the final Turkey Tango.

I went to the school during music time, then joined Cheekers for lunch and then some pumpkin pie - a special treat just for today. Then I got to watch all the classmates clean up for the day and joined in for storytime. It was a real treat for this Mommy. 

So just remember, "any turkey can Tango....if hey had the chance. Gobble Gobble Gobble!"

Treasured Treaters

Merida and Ariel wish you a Happy Halloween!

Dress Up

I think the days are numbered where my girls will both play dress up. At one point in time, I thought dress up would last forever - with the constant costume changes. And now I  will take it as long as I can. I love my girls prancing and dancing and singing and spinning delicately around the house. It's purely delightful. P.S. Cheekers has her eyes closed like that on purpose...to really smell that rose good! :)

California Cutting Room Floor

Been back a few days....and catching up. Laundry now done, fridge now full, photos downloaded and met Sydney's 1st grade teacher today - as school starts Monday. We have had a full August for sure. 

Here are some photos from the cutting room floor from our whirlwind vacation to California. If you didn't follow the timeline, we started at Disneyland for three days, then up to Monterey for the aquarium (with a stop along the way at Malibu beach), San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, Nevada, Yosemite and ended with last day back at Disneyland - whew!  It was a great trip, lots to see, nice weather, super awesome traveling girls and many memories. 

Happy Campers

My little Cinderella thespians performed their play today. It was a fun and fast week of Cinderella theatre camp. The girls had a great time. Sydney played the role of The Fairy Godmother - and was quite happy because she "got the best costume". Natalie played the role of the Squeaky Mouse. She opened up the play. 

I can't say the production was as solid as Sydney's Ariel camp last year - but it was quite cute. Hubby and I accessed one thing for sure - if Sydney does not grow up to become a director, she's missing her calling. That girl knows everyone's lines and exactly where everyone needs to stand and when. With her skill-set and own creative vision, it seems like a natural fit. 

And Natalie, I'm still seeing comedy in her future. She didn't remember her lines very well, but she did manage to tell us from the stage that when her mouse role needed to leave the stage during the performance for us to not worry, she'd be back on stage soon. What a riot!

Hubby and I enjoy many aspects of involving our girls in theatre. It's creative, it's social building, confident buidling and a new way for them to use their noggins. 

A couple pics of our future stars.