Character Day and Halloween 2010

Ellie as Emily Elizabeth

Holding Clifford

Clifford

Ellie was supposed to dress up like a storybook character the Friday before Halloween and we couldn't think of who she should be.  We looked through every single book that we have (which is ALOT!) and we couldn't decide.  We saw a Clifford book and she agreed to be Emily Elizabeth.  The costume was quite easy, thanks to Walmart.  I found a pink turtle neck and sewed two black buttons in the center and got some striped tights.  She already had a black skirt and a white shirt.  But finding a Clifford proved to be a very difficult task.  I went to Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, the PX, Borders, Books a Million and I couldn't find a Clifford in any of these stores.  I found many characters like Corduroy, Curious George, Skippyjon Jones and even Walter the Farting Dog!....but no Clifford.  So I decided to get a sock puppet kit.  The night before the parade I asked Ricardo to help me come up with a way to make Clifford out of one of Jay's old baseball socks.  And this is what we came up with.  With a little bit of rice, thread, felt and glue we made Ellie this cute little puppy.  We were so excited to show Ellie the next morning but she was quite upset that she didn't get to help. :(  Seriously!  She got over it and proudly wore her costume to school and gently carried her Clifford in her arms.  It turned out to be a great time for her.  The parade was really cute. 

My Hello Kitty

Gir from Invader Zim

It was hard to think about Halloween when I had been so focused on character day so I was very thankful that Hot Topic had these ears for both my kiddos.  Add some face paint and voila! two very cute characters!

Renaissance Festival

My parents were here visiting so we went to Annapolis for a Renaissance Festival.  We waited about an hour in the car just to get to the festival which was bad because I really needed to use the bathroom but we made it and had fun.

This was my favorite thing at the whole festival! ;)

Grandpa bought this for Ellie.  Thanks!

Storytelling

Ha ha ha ha

 

Jousting

Hair braiding

 Sorry the video is sideways.  I didn't think about it when I was recording.  Ricardo took Ellie on the slide and she squealed the whole way down.  Hopefully you can hear her.  It was hilarious.  She loved it and wanted to go again but the line was really long.  We had a good time and ate some yummy food.

MERCYME CONCERT

Baltimore

This is a picture of the stage before they started.  We were in the 3rd row!!!

 This song is called Crazy Enough off of the new album.

Bart was singing his heart out!!

 This is Finally Home.

 This song is called Beautiful from the new album.  This was the song that I wanted to hear the most.  Bart talked about how hard it is to be a dad to four kids (soon to be five!) but how it is especially hard to be a dad to daughters.  He said if his boys get mad at him, they will get over it soon, even the same day.  But with girls there is a 2 day waiting period!  I was almost crying at how right on he is about the differences between girls and boys.  He talked about the media and how woman and even young girls are portrayed and how it is so important for dads to love their daughters.  The song talks about how GOD sees us girls.  We can often get caught up in how we dress or how our make-up is done and concentrate on how we look to the world and we forget how God sees us.  He loves us.  He made us exactly who we are.  The struggles we go through do not define who we are.  We are treasured, we are sacred, we are HIS!  My very favorite part of the song is in this video where Bart sings, "You're the one He madly loves, enough to die...."  If you haven't had a chance to hear the song, make sure you check it out.  It is awesome!


Many of you know that MercyMe is my favorite band.  When I heard that they were going to play in Baltimore, first I screamed :), then I got tickets!  I didn't even know who I was going with but I knew that I was going!  I asked my one friend here from church and she couldn't go, I asked my friend Cindy in Virginia and she couldn't go, so..........I told Ricardo that he was going!!  He is not a huge fan of MercyMe but he likes some of the songs.  So it was a date.  I asked two wonderful ladies to watch my kids which was such a blessing.  Thanks to Donna and Eva we got to enjoy dinner and a concert.  We got in a little late because we got a bite to eat first.  Dave Barnes opened up.  He sings "Got Gave Me You".  It was just him and his guitar on stage and he brought it!  His voice is so nice and somewhat different from what you usually hear.  Then intermission and then MERCYME!!  I was so excited.  I was trying not to be such a dork screaming all crazy!  It was in the Hippodrome so it was more laid back and not like a "normal" concert.  They sang some of the all time favorites like Hold Fast, Word of God Speak, and I Can Only Imagine.  And of course, this being the Lovewell Tour, they sang alot of the new songs from the new album.  It was an awesome concert and I am so glad that we got to go.  Ricardo even had a good time.  We enjoyed our time together and worshiping God. 

Ballet and Soccer

She has to wear her hair in a bun.

A ballet pose.

Jay is number 17 on his team.

Ricardo and I like for the kids to be involved in some sort of activity outside of school so we let the kids do one each.  Jay has been playing soccer for the past couple of years and is getting alot better.  He played for the Severn Strikers this year which is a team that is based outside of Fort Meade.  The sports on base were not very organized last year and wasn't very good so we decided to put him in the county league. 
Ellie has wanted to do ballet so I signed her up right away.  She loves it!  She is learning basic ballet and tap.  We'll see if it is something that she continues to do but for now she is my perfect, beautiful ballerina!

Sandy

She always sleeps in the weirdest positions.  Is this really comfortable?

She just cracks me up.  I think she is part human.

Ricardo built this table for us to have dinners outside but Sandy decided that she wants to sit on it to check out what is going on in the back of the house. 

Ok so as much as I complain about her, I love my Sandy!  We have had her for 7 years, since she was just a few weeks old.  I guess I am feeling sad about maybe having to leave her with my parents.  We are moving back to Hawaii this coming summer and we don't think that Sandy can handle the flight.  Also in Hawaii you have to quarantine your animal for up to three months!  I would hate for her to have to stay in a kennel that long.  We are not quite sure what is going to happen just yet.  So I thought that I would give Sandy a spot on the blog.

Jay's 11th Birthday-Laser Tag

Getting on the gear.

I made a Cookies and Cream cake.  Topped with Oreos.  He loved it.

The boys were hungry after playing two games of tag.

Present time!  LEGOS of course ;)

Jay and his buddies; Jordan, Mikey, Raymond, and Chris.

Jay's birthday rolled around very quickly so I was glad that he wanted to do a Laser Tag party.  They had alot of fun shooting each other and getting nice and sweaty.  It sure was a boy party!  Ricardo and Chris' dad, Tim played too so they had lots of fun.  We are especially grateful for great friends.  We have been blessed!

First Day of School 2010

Jay has to wear a uniform to school which has to be a red, white or blue polo and either khaki, blue or black slacks.  

Ellie chose to wear her Hello Kitty ensemble, of course.

Her new backpack with a lunchbox that clips to it.

Well school finally started and my kids are getting so big!  Jay is in 6th grade this year and is attending middle school.  Ellie is in pre-kindergarten at the elementary school that Jay went to for the last 2 years.  They are both very excited for the year to start.  I thought that Jay would not be happy about the uniform but he doesn't mind.  It sure makes it easier in the mornings.  I wish that Ellie had a uniform so that we wouldn't spend 15 minutes debating what to wear!  She is a true girly girl!

Hershey Factory and Museum

Entrance to Hershey Chocolate World.  There are a bunch of things to do here.  You can ride a trolley around town to show historical sites, you can watch a 3D movie, shop of course and you can make your own candy bar.

The kids were able to fill up containers of Hershey kisses and package them.  It was really neat.

Ricardo found the largest Reese's Peanut Butter cup.  No surprise there. 

The kids wanted to make their own candy bar and I had to go to accompany Ellie.  So I got to make one too!  This picture is before we went in to make our candy.

 We had to wear hairnets.

Us with our finished products.  We got to personalize our covers for our candy.  This was a really fun activity.

 You wish Buddy! ;)

 I ordered a chocolate drink.  Can we say YUMMY!!

 The street lights are Hershey kisses! 


We had a great trip to Hershey.  We were so thankful to have the opportunity to get away as a family and have some fun!