"This Is Christmas" Laura

Laura got the amazing opportunity to be in an original Christmas Play at the Echo Theatre this year! It was hilarious, touching, and a completely fun and unique Christmas experience.  Laura played the part of a little girl wanting to see a Christmas play and representing the Christmas Spirit. The play got reviewed and it is a great summary.  In case it ever leaves cyberworld, the part that mentions Laura is as follows: But the most noticeable performer was Laura Randall, whose sheer cuteness helped her steal the show in every moment.

Laura grew so much from this experience.  Everything was so new and she took it all in stride; fortunately all the adults were spectacular teachers.  She fell in love with improv and will be taking a class on it soon.  It was also a first time for a long 3 week run, being a part of the playwriting process, and working with all adults.

We were so lucky to be brought into the Echo family.  They are remarkable people!  The cast of the show (that included the Echo owners) were clockwise from Laura: Hannah, Randy, Jules, Matt, Jeff.

I adored watching her sing and act so much.  She made me laugh and brought me to tears regularly.  The entire family loved seeing the show several times.

It felt strange not to be doing costumes (except purchasing a new Christmas dress for Laura) and we finally convinced them to let us help.  We decorated the lobby.

This play was a big part of Christmas this year for our family and I'm sure we'll incorporate some of it's fun for years to come.  We now have pickle ornaments on our tree and I get treated to fun performances like this one on a regular basis:
Thank you to all the friends and family that came out and supported Laura by coming to the play!  Making time for our family during the busy Christmas season was amazing and we appreciate your love and support!

Eliza's Christmas Dance Recital: 2013

The adorableness of Eliza's Christmas dance recital was overwhelming.  Eliza is mine and loves dance more than anything!  She looked beautiful, worked way hard (note that tongue), and did an amazing job!
She was thrilled Grandma and Grandpa came for her too! I was particularly grateful they let the Moms come into class to watch (I even saw it in costume) as I was with Laura at her show for this one.

Eliza is becoming a wonderful dancer!  She has some serious rhythm and her cuteness is off the charts!

Sara's Christmas Dance Recital: 2013

Sara was utterly fantastic in her Christmas Dance Recital.  She performed for the first time without any teacher help in the audience.  Her dance skills have just exploded this year in teams.  She looked adorable and did so well!
Please note, for the cartwheel at the end, ballet SLIPpers are just that: slippery! Well done, Sara! You are becoming such an amazing dancer!

Thank you to my folks for coming out to support her!

As an aside: this was a crazy night.  We had three separate performances: Sara's dance at 5 pm, Eliza's dance at 7 pm, and Laura's play at 7:30.  How blessed are we to have such talented girls and the means and time to allow them to develop their talents?!

Laura's Voice Recital: Christmas 2013

Laura had her Christmas Voice Recital last night.  She sang Hilary Weeks' song "God Bless Your Way."  We dressed her in the same dress we purchased for the play (we're getting great mileage out of this fabulous outfit) and she sang like an angel.  Check her out, but I recommend you have tissues handy before you do! (Please excuse my horrible phone and crying filming: the sound is so much better on this version and that's what it's all about.)
She brought me and the entire audience to tears - yep, even her teacher told her she did so well with her storytelling and singing she brought him to tears.  I'm so grateful, and a bit overwhelmed with responsibility, that the Lord trusted me to raise this amazing girl and help her develop her talent.  Thank heavens we found such an amazing teacher for her who is invested in her and brings out her best.  Thanks, Dave!

We also got a wonderful email from the owner of HCT: "P.S  I have to tell you how much we loved Laura's performance at the recital.  She really has some acting talent and a beautiful voice!  She made my night that night.  My husband too.  Truly lovely. Thanks, Linda Hale"

November in Summary

I had a rough and sick November - bleeding stomach ulcers.  So, there aren't a lot of pictures.  We had a great time playing in the leaves we raked up.

I adored looking at the leaves before they fell.

After our trip down to CA, we put the kids cups down low and it has been amazing that the kids are independent enough to get their own drinks now.

I got a new picture for the basement from one of our favorite books - Extra Yarn. It would appear my book addiction and art addiction have collided

Thanksgiving was with my side of the family this year.  It was lovely.  The kids played.  We did 5 kernels of corn again and it was a fast and perfect way to be grateful.  The food was delicious.  The company was lovely.  The dishes were many.  It was wonderful.

Halloween 2013

This is one of those delayed posts, so beware.  This year Halloween began with the Halloween piano recital.  Laura played Black Magic and Sara played Tyrannosaurus Rex.  Laura dressed as Laura Ingalls and Sara dressed in her dance recital costume and was Cinderella.

Eliza had a dance party and dressed in her dance recital dress of Snow White.

We all loved having a ward trunk or treat this year and being able to forgo the long and cold trick-or-treating on Halloween night for our family witches brew.

Halloween day the girls all got dressed up for school; Eliza in her other Snow White dress, Sara as a Rock and Roll Fairy, and Laura as Laura Ingalls.  We loved going to school and watching the parade.  So fun!

Witches Brew 2013

I felt well enough to host a Witches Brew again this year. It's such a fun party that I had to do it again. I took things a day at a time and scheduled myself small so I could get it all done. I also accepted help this year - yes, VT-ing was done while frosting cookies. The party was definitely worth the effort!

I had amazing friends and family all come out. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such brilliant, supportive, fun, and truly remarkable women! It was the year of the tiny hats and was much more about fun than prizes. But I did like my steampunk Jack outfit this year. The ladies who came were: my adorable Mom, Summer, Heather, Melissa Nicole, Alex, my Mother in Law, Andrea and her mom Gayla, Jen, Karyn, Krista, Steph, Danyelle, Deb, and me.

The menu was nearly the same as last time except that I purchased the Kale salad from Costco, had cookies (homemade oreos and shortbread) for dessert, and I made a new drink with tiny ice cubes of cranberry juice in Sprite. I loved how the drink turned out looking even more like blood in the goblets. Oh, and I gave everyone straws this year so they didn't have to touch the blood.

The decor was super fun and Eliza adored helping me decorate. The eyeball Salt and Pepper Shakers along with Jack were my favorite additions.

Oh I love this party! Definitely doing it again next year no matter the state of my health.  And, of course we had to do a family brew with the family and leftovers.