A Disney-Sized Surprise!

This week the girls had their socks knocked off with a perfectly-executed Disney Surprise!  It all started with Mom and Dad's desire to take each of their grandkids to Disney over an approximate 10 year time period for their birthdays.  For 3 years we've been trying to figure out exactly what this would look like.  Finding a way to get the girls to Mom and Dad, and a time that we were all available (summers and holidays) when the rest of the world would not be at Disney were the challenges.  We finally decided to just do the closer-to-us Disneyland instead of DisneyWorld and nailed down this first week of summer, hoping we'd be off school but not everyone else quite yet.  We told the girls we were going to take a vacation to the beach in Southern California.  We laughed about how they never suspected, even though I had not a single beach thing packed in our car!

  

Considering we were making a 6 hour drive through the mountains and LA, our timing could not have been any more perfect.  When we stopped for dinner in Anaheim, little did the girls know that Grandma and Grandpa would be waiting to greet them!  After the shock of seeing them and hugging them, Grandma then told the girls, "We're here because we're taking you to Disneyland!!!"  There was much joy and the huge beaming smiles stayed on the girls' faces the whole time we ate dinner.

Dave and I knew we'd be escorting the girls to their grandparents and then finding our own entertainment for the week.  But, as we started looking into the options in the area, we realized that nothing we could find to do would be as fun as being at Disneyland ourselves.  Dave and I bought two day tickets for ourselves and told Mom and Dad we'd hang out with them as much as or as little as they wanted.  We were excited to spend time together and experience Disney through the eyes of our kids, but we didn't want to crash Grandma and Grandpa's party, or intrude.  And we wanted to do some of the bigger rides the kids would not want to do.  Disneyland is the "Happiest Place on Earth" and Dave and I feel we stumbled onto the way to make Disney even HAPPIER, if that is possible: Do Disney with the grandparents!!  Spend the mornings with your kids, feel the magic with them...then when they start slowing down, let them go swimming in the fancy on-property hotel they are sharing with g-ma and g-pa and then spend the rest of the day running around riding roller coasters!  See how nice that works out?  I recommend it to anyone! ;)

Mom and Dad and the girls stayed at the Disney Paradise Pier hotel.  It had a huge pool with watersides and a view of the parks (and the night time fireworks) RIGHT outside their window.  It was also just a short walk from the parks' gate.  I know the girls really loved the hotel time with Grandpa and Grandma.

Our first day, which was also Ella's 11th birthday, was spent at California Adventure.  We met up in the morning and used the first few crowd-free hours to walk onto all the best rides and secure fast passes for the day.   Since we've been to this park before, I do think Mom and Dad appreciated our guidance in getting around and being strategic about avoiding lines.

A favorite ride was the Toy Story 4-D video game ride.  It's different, yet super fun each time you ride it-- which we did 3 times!

Another favorite part of this park was visiting Cars Land for the first time.  I must confess that of all the Pixar movies, Cars is not one of my favorites.  However, the way Disney has re-created Radiator Springs blew us away!  We totally felt like we were right in the movie!  Here are a few things you may recognize if you've seen the Cars movie...

The Cozy Cone Motel

The statue of Stanley in front of the Fire Station

And Flo's V-8 Cafe, where we ate lunch!  All of it was so authentic.  We also visited Tow-Maters shop/ride and Luigi's Casa Della Tires and Sarge's Army Surplus Store and Doc Hudson's Internal Combustion Medical Practice.  We have since re-watched the Cars movie at home and even noticed tons of new details the park did not miss in adding to Cars Land.  They even lit it up at night with the neon Lightning fixed.

Delia was excited to join a dance party in the middle of the street hosted by DJ.

The Cars Land rides were crazy fun too!  Our favorite was definitely the Radiator Springs Racers, where we got to truly experience the movie-- taking the same drive Sally and Lightning take, getting chased by Frank, having Guido give us a pit stop and Ramone give us a paint job and then racing another car side by side on a roller-coaster-like race track.  Dave said, "How many rides can you take with both your parents and your kids where everyone is thrilled and having a blast?!"  We revisited this ride several times too.  

For Ella's birthday, Grandma and Grandpa arranged to have lunch at Ariel's Grotto, where the food is fancy and the princess characters roam around to visit with you.  Dave and I went our own way at this point, so these are Ella's pictures.  The girls had a great time at this special lunch.

Here is what Dave and I did while the girls fine-dined with Grandma, Grandpa, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana and Elsa...we rode roller coasters!  We've never been on the boardwalk section's main attraction, California Screamin'.  It was one of the best and longest roller coasters we've ever been on.  It starts with a voice telling you to "Get Ready!  In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...SCREEEEAM!!", then it launches you into the ride, accelerating 0-55 mph in 4 seconds.  There are 2 big drops and even an upside-down loop, all set to music pumping out of a speaker in your car.  It was soooo fun!

Dave and I also celebrated a late anniversary by having our own fine-dining experience at the Wine Country Trattoria.  

After a full day of rides and lots of walking, Mom and Dad were too tired to come back, so Dave and I ran back to their hotel to pick up the girls for the World of Color light and fountain show and a few last nighttime rides in the dark.  It was a great way to close out the first day at Disney!

Interview with Ella at Age 11

A Profession of Faith, a leading role in the play, a new instrument, two superior rankings in the Fine Arts Festival, four report cards full of straight As, a few new friends, and lots of tears on the last day of school 'cuz she was SO SAD it was all over.  No denying 10 was a big year for Ella!  She explored and grew in almost every way-- her faith, her talents, her academics, and her friendships.  We couldn't be more proud of the smart, beautiful, God-serving person this girl is turning into and we can't wait to see what 11 (and middle school...yikes!!) brings!

Age: 11

Favorite colors: light teal, mint green

Favorite food: Mac & cheese, "favorite soup" (chicken tortilla) and French toast

Favorite book: I love lots of books, it's hard to decide!  A few favorites are Fish in a Tree and The False Prince.

Favorite movie: Annie (the new one)

Favorite song: Take on the World

Favorite thing to play: Rollerblading

Favorite part of school: Bible and Art

What I want to be when I grow up: A teacher

The perfect day is: "(I'm gonna answer this realistically) A good day at school with no homework, rollerblading outside in nice weather, eating something good for dinner, then a walk to get ice cream."

My best friends are: Maya, Emily, Sydney, Avery, Marina, Olivia and Chloe

The best part of this year has been: My teacher

I am most proud of: Winning a "Superior" in both of my Fine Arts entries.

I hope when I'm 11, I'll... "Run in more races, get elected as a Student Council Rep for the 6th grade class, and be chosen to go to Fine Arts again."

Braggin' on My Girl a Little Bit

Our Little Performers

Earlier this month Ella was honored to be one of the few chosen to represent our school at a big Fine Arts Festival many schools share.  There are all different types of categories you can enter and Ella was picked for the two she chose, writing and speaking.  Her writing piece was called "Integrating Technology into the Classroom" and her spoken piece was a fun monologue, a children's book actually, called "So, You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?"  The kids head down to another school to compete for rankings of Participant, Good, Excellent, and Superior.  In both of Ella's categories she was given nearly perfect scores earning her two "Superior" rankings...which is somewhat rare for 5th graders, the youngest to participate.  Even though Dave and I could not be there due to work, we are obviously SO proud!  And so thankful that many other school families went to cheer her on, send us videos, and share stories.  One other mom was asked by the judges if Ella was her daughter and told her Ella had a real future in acting and our school's drama department is lucky to have such young talent.

A few videos (broken into 2, so my friend could text it to me) of Ella's acting piece.

Then yesterday our youngest took the stage for her big annual dance recital.  Delia chose to be a part of a jazz class this year and did love it, even though the choreography was harder.  She cracked me up with all her poses and expressions for my pictures.  ("I'm supposed to be sassy in this number, Mom!")

No photography at the performance, so these are all from the dress rehearsal.  Delia worked hard learning this dance for the past 6 months, and while she wasn't perfect, she totally did her best and had a great time on stage!

Delia's favorite part of dancing is always that high energy curtain call.  She just loves taking her bow to huge applause and then joining in the big dance party that breaks out on stage.  She was undecided about if she wanted to commit to another year of dance and all the hard work that it is.  Then she experienced the adrenaline rush of performing last night.  She's in for another year! :)

We're so proud of our brave, talented girls!!

Amigos de Guatemala

One week in May we were blessed to host our Guatemala missionary friends.  Dave has made multiple trips to Guatemala for the purpose of building relationships with the rural community our church has partnered with.  It's SO cool to see the fruit of those efforts-- one being the friendship we share with Sadoc, our point person in Guatemala.  He and his family were in the states looking for supporting churches and doing work with the denomination.  He shared that after all this "work" it was so good for their visit to our little corner of the map to feel like vacation with friends.  

We shared some meals and catch up times with them.  One day Dave took them to Yosemite (the girls and I were in school, bummer).  And another day we took an outing to the blueberry farm with them.  The blueberry farm is owned and operated by 3 families from our church-- and all three have been on one of Dave's Guatemala trips!  Since we share an interest in agriculture with our Guatemalan friends, this was a really perfect place to visit!  Bonus-- taking home several buckets full the best blueberries in the Valley!

  

Only Sadoc speaks fluent English.  We had lots of fun trying out our limited Spanish words and learning some new ones with his wife and kids.  How we laughed when our 3 girls found a commonality that transcended cultural and language barriers! :)

Catching You Up on May

Time to give the blog its monthly attention!  Remember when I used to post something every day? :)  Once again, this post is mostly brought to you by my Instagram account, so if you follow that, you are already caught up and can mark this as "read"!

 To promote our school book fair, the kids had a "Dress like a favorite book character" day.  I loved that my girls thought hard about this and created outfits that truly reflected favorite characters...and were made with things we had in the house!  Delia went as Kaya from her American Girl Doll books and Ella went as Roller Girl, one of this year's Newberry winning graphic novels.  She decided to leave the roller blades at home. :)

 One Sunday I was talking to some dairy-farming friends about our sad, dry garden and its victimhood of last year's drought.  The next thing I knew, I was arranging a time for them to swing by with a cow trailer full of the nutrient-rich fertilizer this particular dairy is famous for composting!  We had lots of laughs about how we are unexpectedly and constantly blessed by our church friends sharing their skills and resources with us.  This time is was poop!  Not only did they deliver 5 yards of beautiful compost, they helped me spread it around the veggie garden and flower beds.  I think it's working,  My plants have grown like crazy this month!

 Another night we spent at our school's Family Fun Night.  The velcro wall was popular with Delia and her friend Kate.  But, our goldfish only lasted about 36 hours this year.

Ella is part of a church club for girls and they closed out the year with a 50's themed Mother Daughter Night.  Ella and I enjoyed getting our poodle skirts on (mine is the one my mom made me in high school!) and spending the night together.  Each class does a little skit or performance and the 5th graders and their moms played a Newlywed Game on the stage.  Ella and I did not score very well, but we had lots of fun!  And seeing everyone's fabulous 50's fashions was a real highlight.

We've been part of a Supper Club with some church friends for a few months now.  The couple that hosts pick a theme and distribute food assignments/recipes.  In May we hosted with a "Chicago Style" theme that was a huge hit.  But, how can you possibly go wrong with beer-boiled brats, ribs, real French fries, bbq beans, and Portillos famous chopped salad and chocolate cake?

In May we also enjoyed the annual Council vs. Youth Group softball game our church hosts.  This year Dave was traded to the other team (the "Old Guy" team, we teased him), so we rooted for the other side for the first time.  As they usually do, the Old Guys took the victory, so we got to finally celebrate a win with the trade of our favorite player!  (Open this picture to see two funny photo bombers hanging on the fence behind the players!)

A proud moment for Delia.  This girl has struggled with math since day one of kindergarten (my genes, I'm afraid) and the grades that come home on tests are mostly a much different looking number and letter.  Last week she brought home HER FIRST A and proved something Dave and I have been telling her for years-- she CAN do it.  We got this little beauty displayed on the fridge!

On Thursday and Friday this week I was done teaching students.  I'll still be at school next week attending my Pre-K graduation, cleaning my classrooms, and filling out student profiles, but I said goodbye to my sweet 36 kiddos last week.  It's a bittersweet time that gives me all the feels.  I feel sooooo happy to be done.  Relieved to have survived this challenging year.  Excited for a summer full of fun with the family.  Thankful for these teachers (and others not pictured) who were not only my co-workers, but also dear friends.  And sad to say goodbye to each student who I came to call "mine" this year, some I'll never see again after graduation.  As I get teary again even typing that out, I'm gonna focus my mind on the fact that we leave for a very fun vacation in exactly a week!

Raindrops on Roses

What an answer to prayer-- we've had lots of rain days this season! Thank you, Lord!

A Tribute to the Equinox

Eleven years ago, when we found out we were pregnant with our first baby, we made the easy decision to trade in Dave's little pick-up truck for a new, roomy SUV that could haul car seats and strollers.  It was one of the first major life changes we made that acknowledged the new stage of parenting we'd be entering.  And for over a decade this was a good car for us.

But, as all 11 year old cars are prone to do, it started requiring more money than we were willing to dump into it.  It left me stranded and calling AAA two times last year.  It had a host of little and big things, from the transmission to the key fabs, that were no longer working well on it.  We've been saving up and researching for a while and we set Spring Break as our new car shopping time.

Here is a little look back at some fun moments in the Equinox:    

 Shortly after we bought it, here is my car and my pregnant belly at the coast.

 This is the day we loaded our new family of FOUR up in the Equinox and brought Delia home from the hospital.

This is one of the many Christmas trees it carried home for us from the tree farm.

And here is our last goodbye at the car lot.  This car carried my babies around in their various stages of car seats and boosters for years.  It had milk sippie cups go bad in it, it had kids puke in it.  It certainly saw its share of both tears and dance parties.  This car mowed down a coyote on a dark night in Napa and didn't even show any damage.  It made hundreds of trips to school and took us on countless outings.  For 11 years, this car kept us safe in all our travels and we are thankful for it.  

But, similar to when we bought it, we acknowledge that we are in another new stage of life.  Since all my car does is drive back and forth to school, we don't need a big car any longer.  In fact, something small, but comfortable, that gets 40 miles to the gallon is pretty appealing!  So, our new car is a zippy, little, subcompact Honda.  Because it is one of the cheaper cars that Honda makes, our budget allowed for all sorts of bells and whistles that I've never had before!  My mind is a little boggled to also realize that while the car we traded in brought our babies home from the hospital, the new one we bought last week will the car those babies learn to drive in just a few years!