Dance Surprise

My girls wear dance leotards on a daily basis.  It doesn't matter the weather, you can usually find them twirling around in a tutu.  So you can imagine the excitement when Lily took her first dance class.  Kya has been in this dance class for the last three years.  We go to the community center and they do a little performance in the spring.  It is the perfect balance for us.  Not a ton of pressure, just some fun dance time. It's all Lily has talked about since seeing Kya perform in June.  She was finally old enough to be signed up.
Well the morning started with some excitement.  The girls were up bright and early and ready to go.  Class didn't start until noon.  Trying to get school work done was torturous.  They just wanted to go.  Lily asked me a dozen times if her class was starting. 

Finally the time came, we piled into the car and headed off.  We got there and Lily was bouncing off the walls.  We had to wait a few minutes for the class before us to let out.  Then the door opened and can you guess what Lily said?
"I do NOT want to dance!" She dug in her heals and I had to push her through the door.  She wanted no part of it.  What?! I was seriously at a loss.  It never even crossed my mind that she would freeze up at the last minute.  Lesson learned...Never trust a three year old. 

Kya offered to sit next to her, nope not happening.  I offered to hula hoop with her, no way.  Finally once the class started we scooted over to the circle and she cowered in my lap while I tried doing the moves.  Great, I'm going to be dancing every week.  Doesn't she know this is my time to check my phone, text people back, look up stuff on the internet.  It's why I sign them up for things. I mean come on.  Okay, so I wasn't really upset, but I did want her to join in because I knew later she would regret it.  Honestly, I don't know how it happened. One minute she was hiding in my lap and the next she was up following along.  She tentatively followed the teacher around the room and then let me go back to my seat.  And then this happened...

It turned out to be so much fun.  The girls can't wait for next week.  Kya was such a good big sister.  She is so motherly and helped Lily and was so excited to see her doing a good job.  She takes the class after Lily.  She also did great and was excited to be back in dance class.

A few photos of the dancers.

Miles of Love,

Stacey

Best Friends For Life

I am the luckiest.  You want to know why.  I have had the same best friend for 30 years. Every year on Christmas day she flies out here from Florida to spend a week with us.  The kids love it so much and they think that her kids are their cousins. I never correct them.  In fact my whole family looks at her like another sister.  Christmas day is special but her arrival makes it even more so.  Her girls have taken up skiing and her oldest has gotten quite good.  So we spend a lot of time up at the ski resorts.  The kids all ski and we sit inside and drink hot chocolate.  It works quite well.  
Let me tell you about Angela.  You'll never meet anyone more giving or generous.  She is loyal to a fault, hence the friends for 30 years.  I'm sure she should have kicked me to the curb many times, but she never would.  She never speaks unkindly about anyone, ever.  Trust me, I've tried.  She has the patience of a saint and I have never heard her raise her voice.  And trust me, I can be quite a brat.  I absolutely deserved to be yelled at more than once.  Anyway, I'm pretty lucky she has been by my side during this life.  I'm certain God knew what he was doing when he crossed our paths.  
So this is our winter holiday tradition.  Every year she arrives and we do as many snow activities as we can before they head back to the warmth of Florida, and I am left here to freeze.  
We did three ski days while they were here. 

One of the ski days turned into a small blizzard while the kids were out.  The little girls lessons were even canceled half way through.  But that did not stop Halle and Brian. They kept at it, getting pelted by wind and snow. 

This was the last ski day.  It was freezing outside so only Halle was willing to brave the elements.

This year we decided to travel up to Idaho and go to Lava Hot Springs.  We didn't know much about it.  We made the mistake of going into their indoor pool first and once the kids saw the play structure we were stuck.  So we never made it to the outdoor pools.  Maybe next year.  It was still fun driving up there.  It was such a cute little town.

We spent New Years Eve at my sisters house.  She got really sick so Angela and I ended up helping her get the party ready.  It was quite an adventure.  We did a fondue party and I have to say the food was amazing.  We all ate way too much.

We also went sledding while we were at her house.  She has the best hill in her neighborhood.  

It is always so hard to say goodbye.  Kya cried all the way home. 

The time always goes so fast when they are here. I've already convinced Halle to come back in the summer and that she should go to college here.  Her parents can thank me later.  

Oh and if you are wondering, yes we all stayed in Millie together.  It actually worked pretty well.  We stayed here for six of the nights.  We kept busy during the day and everyone stayed nice and cozy at night.  We did run out of propane one night and our hot water malfunctioned a couple of times, oh and our toilet backed up, but overall it was a fun adventure.  

Miles of Love,

Stacey

Christmas

There is nothing better in the world than Christmas with little kids.  This year, it was just what we needed after all the sickness we had the previous week.  On Christmas eve we like to do a small gift exchange with just the five of us.  The kids could hardly wait to get to it.  They each received Christmas PJ's and a small toy.  This year we also drew names for each other and exchanged those gifts.

  
Brian's sister hosted Christmas eve and we enjoyed a delicious dinner and a really fun version of a white elephant exchange.  We also read the Christmas story from The Bible and sang carols.  Lily was so happy we sang Jingle Bells.  She talked about it for days after.  The kids kept track of Santa on the phone and when he started to get close we set off for bed.  
We spend the night at my sisters house every year.  So we hurried to bed so we could get up bright and early for Santa.  This is my favorite moment of the entire year.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am a believer in all things Christmas.  Parenting is hard but I feel this one moment was made to make it all worth it.  Listening to the kids quietly chatter about where Santa is and what he will be bringing.  Their excitement for the morning making it hard to fall asleep.  It takes me right back to those moments with my siblings when we were small.  It makes my heart so full I can hardly stand it.  
We all finally did make it to sleep and the kids actually slept to a somewhat decent hour in the morning.  
Side note: My family is a bit freakishly close.  We don't like to miss even one second of anything that any of the children do.  So you can imagine the paparazzi frenzy of Christmas morning.
So of course when the kids wake up, we stop them on the stairs and make them wait until all adults are up and cameras are at the ready.  It's a little like torture for the kids but totally worth it for the grown ups. 
Santa had left their presents in a bag this year.  This worked nicely to keep them at a steady pace in seeing their presents.  They were beyond excited and there was a lot of squealing and laughter, even from the kids.

This is my favorite picture from all of Christmas. It has my cute niece in the back smiling so big about her cute bracelet she now shares with her puppy, and Lily sticking her head all the way into her sack to see what Santa brought.  Charlie is happy here.  I just caught him mid explanation about his Pokemon cards.

  After the excitement of Santa we took a breather and my dad and I headed out to get my best friend from Florida.  More about her in my next post.  
This year instead of a big dinner, we opted for a fancy brunch.  I liked this way better since breakfast foods are my favorite. We did our family gift exchange and there were more delightful sounds of joy.  I love Christmas day so much.  I love that everyone lounges around in PJ's all day and that the kids happily play and share their toys with excitement. 
A few favorite things the kids got this year:  
Charlie got Cozmo the robot.  When he saw it he said "I got a new friend for Christmas!"  Charlie asked for him last year too.  Since he didn't get it, this year it was the only thing he asked for from Santa.
Kya got lots of L.O.L. dolls.  Pretty much all she asked for also.  Another favorite was her makeup kits.  She is obsessed.  She got one from both her Nana and her aunt Stephanie.  
Lily also got lots of L.O.L. dolls but her favorite toys she got were her new Anna and Elsa barbies with matching little Anna and Elsa's.  She is obsessed with barbies.
Now back to real life.  

Miles of Love,
Stacey