Twilight Trilogy...here we come!

It was time for another midnight movie night! Eclipse, the 3rd installment of the Twilight Saga was opening at 12:01am and we couldn't wait to see it. Luckily for us, they were showing Twilight and New Moon first, so we sat through the entire triple feature...11 hours at a movie theater! Chessa, Jenny, Teri, Amanda, Leslie and I picked up our dinner and got in line at 4pm. We couldn't believe that people had started lining up at 9am! They brought lots of beach umbrellas and chairs to spend the day in line...
We were in line around the side of the building and fortunately got to stand in the shade. Time passed quickly while we waited to get inside. It was fun to people watch and see all the fun t-shirts people had...
We received our wristbands before heading inside...we started with number 287 for the trilogy.
After the mad rush heading in and trying to find the best seats, we made it in and were ready for our night to begin. Twilight began at 6:30pm.

After a quick break, New Moon began at 9pm. After another break for the bathroom and stretching, we were ready for Eclipse at 12:01. Unfortunately, there was a "glitch" in the system and we were stuck waiting for over 20 minutes. The movie finally began and it was fantastic. I think it is the best of the 3...go Team Edward!
Now it is the long wait until November, 2011 for Breaking Dawn...

Cooper's fun day...

Cooper was invited to spend the day at Legoland to celebrate his good friend Adam's birthday. They left at 9am and didn't get home until 9pm, so it was a long day for them...but boy did they have a good time! They went on lots of rides, visited the new waterpark, and ate some yummy treats.

Cousin Time...

Jax came to spend a few days with us this week and the kids had a blast. We did a lot of swimming, hiking, playing the wii, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and just plain having fun!






I'm sure there will be a lot more "cousin time" this summer!

Cooper's New Room

Part of Cooper's birthday this year was getting to re-do his bedroom. He knew he wanted something sports related, but it took quite a while to figure out exactly what, and narrow down the millions of options out there. He didn't want anything too "little" kid, and we wanted something he could grow with. He also wanted to move away from the reds and blues. The kids couldn't wait to get started on the painting!


Here's the finished (or mostly finished) product:

He loves his new room!!

Summer beach days...

Hopefully this is the beginning of many great beach days this summer! We headed to Oceanside for a beautiful and relaxing day. Jenny, Teri, Feliza and I brought the kids for some fun in the sun. They spent a lot of time digging a giant hole in the sand, finding sand crabs, boogie boarding and working on their tans!

Here's to fun summer at the beach!

Father's Day Fun...

Happy Father's Day to Joe! Thanks for all you do for our family...you work incredibly hard to give us such a great life.
It was a fairly relaxing day, although didn't quite turn out as planned. I think we were all a bit tired and grumpy from the very busy week we've had! Joe was a good Dad though and spent a big chunk of his day putting together Cooper's new basketball hoop. We also spent some relaxing time in the spa and pool...
We all wanted to see the new Karate Kid movie, so we hit the theater this afternoon. The movie was awesome and we loved it!
After coming home we decided to take a sunset hike behind the neighborhood. We made it to the top of the hill just as the sun was setting. We had a beautiful view of the city and it was a nice way to end the day. Joe loves to take us on hikes and the kids get excited to explore.
The kids had fun running further down the hill...they love it back here!
Also, Happy Father's Day to my amazing Dad! I was so blessed to be raised by such a caring, generous, patient and kind man. Thank you Dad...I love you!

Beautiful Ballerina...

Zoe had her annual Dance Recital today for JPD and Company and she did AMAZING! It was her first year doing a ballet routine in the show and she danced beautifully. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to do a jazz routine also, since the rest of the kids in her class were in competition, but she happily went on stage as a ballerina.
After a 4 hour dress rehearsal last night, she woke up ready to perform this morning. She loves the one day a year she gets to wear make up and put on her "stage" face!

Ready to head backstage...Zoe and her best dancing friend Makenna...

Normally the ballerinas dress in beautiful costumes to perform in, but for today's show they did a long sequence of excerpts from Sleeping Beauty and all of the ballet dancers wore plain black leotards and pink tights. They did such a great job and there are some very talented dancers.

At the end of the very long show (almost 4 hours!) all of the dancers came out for their finale. They were so happy to come out for their bows with the music playing...

Zoe and her incredibly talented ballet instructor, Miss Terry...
She was also happy to get another trophy...

Grandma and Grandpa brought Jax and Cooper to the show too. The boys sure were well behaved!
We are so proud of our beautiful dancer!
These dancers work so hard all year long and it is so neat to see it all come together in this show. It makes the endless hours and driving to and from the studio worth it!

Congratulations Zoe on another amazing performance!!

Jump, Run, and Flip...

Zoe had her birthday party at DC Gymnastics today. They had the whole gym to themselves and she had fun having her friends there to run around and play! She had Makenna, Taylor B., Lauryn, Maddyn, Taylor L., Heather, Kass, and Emilee there. Cooper and Jax crashed the party too...it seemed only fair. :)
They started off having a relay race and were happily cheering each other on.

Then they got to move around and do all kinds of fun activities. They loved the zip line...
the balance beam...
the bars...
and especially the trampoline...


They all needed a break, so we stopped for cupcakes and presents...
Since the theme of Zoe's party was red, white and blue I made these cute cupcakes to go along...
Zoe had fun opening her presents. She got so many great gifts...craft kits, games, sleepover bags, bracelets, gift cards, and clothes!
Happy Birthday Zoe! I'm glad you had such a fun 10th birthday celebration!!