End of the School Year Shenanigans

Wow, the school year has already come to a close! Even Reina is surprised how fast first grade went by. She had a GREAT year! She excelled in everything, and since Mr. Valasquez (music teacher) is quite fond of Reina in her musicality, she had a solo for the end of the school year music performance. I felt quite proud that he even introduced her as a bit of a "celebrity" at the school. I'm hoping this is because she is outgoing and excels.

Reina also had her final dance performance in which she performed twelve times in two days! She performed a jazz, tap, and ballet routine and of course dazzled the crowd. We would love to keep her in the pre-professional classes next year. She would be moving up to the next group level and the time and cost is even more intense than this past year. She is only seven...maybe we can hold off for a few years? Still thinking it through this summer. I quickly took a few pictures (literally a few minutes) in her costumes before dance class one day; not top notch photos but at least I got 'em done...and she's super cute with her braces!

Oh yeah, so Reina has to have braces to make space for her permanent teeth that were not able to come in. Supposedly this takes a whole year! This is only phase 1, then when she is older she'll have to get traditional braces. I'm quite surprised since she does have a large mouth that appears to have lots of space?!? She was super-excited to get them...this has quickly faded now that "she" (we) has to floss and can't have a huge list of foods like gum, popcorn, chewy candy, hard fruit and granola bars.

We have had quite a wet winter and spring, but yet we've had unusually hot days in May...near 100 degrees! If it's not raining, we are outside. In early May we took a quick trip to visit my brother and his family. Rowen went on his first hike around Lake Coeur d'Alene. We really do love it there..the scenery, the people, the vibe.

Our kids are lucky that when I am working (as I have also picked up more substituting jobs along with my driver education classes now that Rowen is older) they get playmates all day. Rowen has been advancing SO QUICKLY! He see's everyone else running and riding trikes and talking and building. He wants to imitate them and has quickly gone from barely sitting up to crawling up the stairs and climbing along the furniture. He gets mad if I try to tone him down to a more "de-graduated" level. His favorites are a little trampoline that has a handlebar, step-stools and a little car that holds him in while he drives. I pushed him for 20 minutes in it one day and he'd get mad every time I wanted to be done. Baelor is his own island. He doesn't care much what anyone else is doing, just what his plan is and will stay on that task for a very long time. I guess you call that dedication! Reina just loves to play with people. She likes to lead them, play games and be active. I taught her piano this past year to save time and money on lessons but may put her in traditional lessons this next year as we seem to always have a battle on "lesson day" and I know that she is not advancing as quickly as if she were with a real piano teacher.

Reina had a few field trips this year. In the fall they went to the pumpkin patch in which I chaperoned. Then just recently they went to the zoo and to a Portland Timbers soccer game! I wish I could have chaperoned the zoo trip but siblings were not allowed so I couldn't spend all day away from Rowen. The zoo was of course Reina's favorite field trip. Probably the best chaperone too since her group's dad brought treats and held all of their sweatshirts and lunches for them. I took the kids and cousins Karter and Brielle to the end of the school year carnival. It was hot! Reina was all ready for her dance performance that evening hence the bun and makeup.

We always seem to stay very busy. I don't want to remember always being "busy" trying to finish one task just to do another. I find little moments throughout my day to connect with each of my children.

Of course Rowen gets the bulk of my attention but I always find moments to have a conversation, a game, a learning opportunity or just laughing and playing around. I just think my kids are the coolest.

I feel very blessed to have three healthy and brilliant children that have a love for life. They want to do good. They are curious. They are hilarious. They are happy.
They love getting mauled by our love. Sometimes I can't stand them when they are up to no good or having a bad attitude, (I'm sure you know which kid is which, hehe). 

But then they do the cutest thing or say something that can't be made up by an adult. I think my husband is the most hilarious of husbands. He really is my favorite person. I love how smart he is and that he is willing to be flexible. As we age we not only get less flexible physically, but in our mindset. If I'm in need of something he really tries to deliver. I appreciate all he has done for me and for our family. I know he will do anything for our family, even if it is an arduous task. Recently I happened upon a playhouse that someone was getting rid of...I'll explain in a future post about the whole thing when it's finished but for now, just know that our kids have a daddy that loves them and we love him.

Easter and Spring Break

Easter was super early this year, was it not?!? It was the last Sunday in March. The weather was typical spring weather where it's a mix of showers and sun. We caught a break for our Easter egg hunt. We even dyed minion eggs this year! Aren't they cute?

The first week of April was spring break. My sister Tarja and her family surprised us during Easter dinner as they arrived at Mummi and Papa Will's front door for their spring break! The weather was spectacular for their stay and for our spring break. It might have even been record-breaking temps near 90 degrees on one or two days! Paul was especially excited to take the Little's for some trail riding!

We spent a day at the Woodburn Tulip Festival. I was hoping to get some pretty pictures but the weather was just too nice for good pictures (cloud coverage is best for lighting), and the kids just wanted to play with their cousins.

On our way home, Mummi rode with us. (Paul was working). And the worst-case scenario happened. The car broke down! I knew it was the transmission. Yep, it had to be replaced. It took a few weeks to get it all fixed with parts being ordered and such. We had the timing belt done as well. The grand total was about $4300...it hurt. We had left the tulip festival early so that Reina could get back to school for the afternoon and I could get back to work. Plans changed dramatically as we were now stuck in Canby, Oregon at a Chevron station with only a small patch of grass for the kids to relax on. The plus was Mummi was with us thank goodness. While I was making phone calls, she was able to keep the kids safe and even grabbed some convenient store burritos for them to munch on. I'm not sure if it was inspiration, but I also felt I shouldn't take the freeway home. Had we gone that route, we would have been stuck on the freeway shoulder with no food, no bathroom, and no where to relax! Grandma and grandpa Guinn saved the day and picked all of us up and patiently drove home in Friday rush hour traffic with a car load of hot and tired people. The kids did really great though, no meltdowns!

We had no definite plans for spring break since Paul still had to work. The weather was fantastic though, so we enjoyed the outdoors. Paul even found a lawnmower for Baelor that not only "mows" but blows bubbles AS it mows! What an invention! My friend Jessica and her daughter Isabella (Reina's friend also) stayed the night at our house. Isabella was able to spend lots of time with us as Jessica headed back home while Isabella stayed in Vancouver for a few days during spring break. We had a campfire and took the kids to the skate park. The girls especially liked having a sleepover in Reina's big bed.

Baelor spent a lot of his spring break riding his bike. He hasn't really been "into" bike riding until he rediscovered how fast and fun it can be...especially on all the park trails we have around town! He was going so fast that I literally had to run while pushing Rowen in the stroller!

After visitors, and visiting friends, crafting, water park, marshmallow roasting, seeing an orthodontist and lots of outdoor playing, we had quite the overloaded spring break that lasted for more like two weeks! It was much appreciated with a wet winter though.

Dancing at Disneyland

I cannot believe we actually did it! In early March, we actually drove for 16 hours to Disneyland! Yes, this sounds horrible with a seven year old, four year old, and six month old. Let's get started!

The whole reason for taking this venture was because Reina's dance troupe performs at Disneyland every three years and this was the year. I was not planning on her dancing because you are supposed to fly down as a team and stay together as a team. How was I supposed to send her alone at seven? Nope. How was I gonna take her and Rowen by myself as she rides the rides alone? Nope. This meant the only possibility was if we all went. We got "permission" to make it a family vacation as long as Reina was there for all dress rehearsals, practices and such. Okay, will do!

The morning upon leaving to drive halfway (eight hours), Baelor decides to get sick and just minutes before heading out he throws up on his breakfast. No point in whining about it because we were going anyway so we made the best of it by putting an apron on him and we had bags ready for up-chucking. That first day, not once did he have any incident. He wasn't much for eating at Dairy Queen when we stopped or hardly any snacks besides "sick crackers" (as we call saltines). The drive was pleasant all around with the weather, the kids got along, and Rowen didn't cry hardly at all! They only watched one movie on the way down and I don't recall repeated questioning of when we'd get there! One of our go-to trip games is to choose a topic or theme and go around and each person has to come up with something that fits in that theme for their letter of the alphabet. A simple one with kids is Animals (antelope, bear, cat, etc) Tip: lots of snacks that are new to them, sing-along music or stories, and actually not too much "screen time" as it makes them more irritable. We also brought along our flashcards with each state/capitol/ and facts about that state. I never learned my capitols and finally memorized them! Paul now is beyond me and knows more facts about each state since he is a Mr. Smartypants and already knew his capitols. Reina learned some new states. The first hotel night was a bit rough. Baelor was so excited and apparently felt better that he WOULD NOT SETTLE DOWN for sleep. Finally when he did, he threw up on the bed. Rowen wanted to nurse all night which put Paul on the floor because the "queen" bed was a stretch. I'm thinking it was more like a double. What a nice dad! The second day went even better than the first because Baelor felt better and we got to sleep in separate rooms when we got to my sister's home in Simi Valley.

 Our first full day was Disneyland! Baelor lit up upon arrival and it really was magical. He was especially looking forward to seeing Mickey Mouse and Goofy. Rowen LOVED the characters and wanted to snuggle, eat, and be entertained by them. We were a bit sad that even with Baelor's extra tall shoes, he was just a finger's-width too short for some of the big rides like Splash Mountain and The Matterhorn. Good thing it's Disneyland and there were plenty of other rides. Baelor's favorite was apparently Dumbo as he kept asking all day to go on the "Bimbo" ride. Reina's favorite was Splash Mountain. She has already been on this many times, but still loves it! She is a thrill-seeker and is not afraid of any rides that her height will allow.

 I don't know how it happened but the very first ride that we went on was the haunted house. I can't believe we took Baelor to Disneyland then took him to the scariest ride there! Thank goodness he wasn't terrified after that! Disneyland was just about perfect, even with a 6 month old.

In lieu of stress and possibly missing Reina's early morning rehearsal, we decided to stay at the hotel with the rest of the dance troupe. SO glad we did! It was just a short walk to the Disney Parks and we even got to play in the pool that evening. We were also lucky enough to get the Frozen room.

Reina performed the next day at California Adventure. We will be receiving some action shots and group photos from the Disney photographers but haven't come yet...hoping they got a cute shot of her because I didn't take any pictures of her dancing, only a video. She did great as always, definitely a performer. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize I have a child old enough to be on a "team". Crazy! Very proud of her, as any parent would be.

We spent some extra time at Disneyland while Reina was practicing and doing a workshop for some rides just for Baelor. It was actually much easier with just the boys! After her performance we spent the rest of the time at California Adventure. This was all of our first time at this park. I took Rowen and Baelor on some of the smaller rides while Paul and Reina went on the big kids rides, and then we'd switch. She was not scared by "Tower of Terror" which drops you from an elevator. It was a thrill for sure! The bigger the better!

We watched a mid-day parade while the kids ate cotton candy and I nursed. It was quite perfect timing as we didn't even plan on watching the parade! Super cute with all the Pixar characters. We finished our time at California Adventure watching the "light show" that creates scenes through light on the water front. Very cool show!

We ended our stay in California hanging out with cousins Reagan, Kamryn and Ethan, their pet turtles and Eleanor, the bunny. All the kids (including the biggest kid, Paul) enjoyed playing video games. I enjoyed chatting with my sister instead.

Our final day there we went to a beach in Ventura. It was pleasant enough to splash in the water, and play in the sand with minimal layers. We are used to the Oregon coast which very few weeks can you wear less than a wind-breaker and pants! The kids had fun making "science projects" with random beach finds and running from the sneaky tides. It was actually the last five minutes before leaving that Rowen started screaming uncontrollably and didn't stop the whole drive back to my sister's house. This is when his tooth broke through, just a couple days late of his six-month birthday! He fussed a bit more on our drive home, but if you asked if I'd do it again, yes. The memories were well worth any imperfections that come with a traveling family.