Yummy!

For Zoe's baptism anniversary day, I had her pick a new dessert for us to make. Usually we do a cake, but since my Pinterest board of treats is growing bigger by the day, she wanted to go through and choose one. She chose Peanut Butter Crack Brownies, and boy were they delicious!

We love you Zoe!!

Is it Summer yet??!!

Today felt like a beautiful summer day! After finishing our walk this morning, we spent the afternoon in the pool. The weather was perfect and we had such a relaxing time swimming and laying out.

Cooper even practiced his awesome basketball skills...

We finished the day with some BBQ chicken, bread, and fresh fruit. It really did feel like summer! These last 6 weeks are hard to get through, but I know it will be here before we know it!

Walk In The Vines

Cooper's class was participating in the Walk In the Vines event to support the Our Nicholas Foundation, a wonderful group that increases awareness and research of Autism in our community.
Nick is actually one of Cooper's classmates, so Mrs. Newman put together a team in support of him.

 Over 1400 participants showed up! It was awesome to see so many kids and families there to support such a great cause.

 The sun was shining and it was an absolutely gorgeous morning. I don't think they had anticipated this many people, so the walk was a bit slow, but it was fun to see everyone.

Feliza and I went along with the boys and enjoyed our morning "exercise" together!

Skate Park

Lately, Cooper has been spending a lot of his free time at various skate parks practicing his scooter riding skills. He likes going to the evening sessions at our local park since it isn't as crowded.

 This weekend we met Jax at the new indoor skate park in Riverside. What a cool place this was!

 The rode up and down the ramps and practiced some tricks. Unfortunately, I left my good camera at home. My iPhone is great, but it doesn't take action shots very well and most of them came out blurry.

 Cooper couldn't wait to get into the foam pit. They were able to ride the ramp and do tricks into the pit. He did lots of jumps and 360's.

 They had a great time, and were sweaty boys when finished!

They can't wait to go back!

Shopping Spree and more weekend fun...

We received all of our paperwork for Zoe's dance program this summer, so we were loaded up with a long list of things she needs to bring with her. Some of it she already has, but quite a bit needs to be purchased. Mimi offered to take Zoe on a dance shopping spree at a fantastic place in Orange County.

 She tried on about 40 leotards and skirts...

 It was so fun seeing her in all of the different colors and styles, and really hard to choose!

Along with the leotards, she got some matching skirts, and a long character skirt. She also needed ballet flats, jazz shoes, and character shoes...

She will also need a couple of new pairs of pointe shoes. She loves the ones she has now, but they are getting harder and harder to find. So she spent some time trying on a few more brands to see if she could find something else she likes. It is such a detailed process but I think we found some. Zoe decided that she wants to wait until next month just in case her feet grow just a bit before we leave!

 While we were shopping, Gramps sat at the skatepark with Cooper and Jax. We brought them lunch and watched for a bit too.

These boys will spend all day here...6-8 hours! They are just having a blast riding and learning new tricks.

On Sunday, we used our new coin counter that used to be Poppe's, and started sorting our coin collections. It is a slow process, since we are looking for any "special" coins we may have, but fun to see how much we've collected over the years.

 Since Cooper was still with Mimi and Gramps (more hours at the skate park!), Zoe had her friend Savannah over for some swim time.

 

 It was a beautiful weekend, and nice to have a little free time!

Pinocchio 2013!

We were so excited about Zoe's new show this weekend. Since January, Zoe has spent countless late nights at the studio, and every single Saturday rehearsing her parts. I'm not sure how she has done it, along with taking her regular dance classes, going to school and getting all of her homework done. Her time management skills just keep getting better and better!

Pinocchio...A Story of the Prodigal Son is a new twist on the classic story. Nicole has been given a gift of storytelling and choreography that is just inspiring. We feel so blessed to be with this studio and I couldn't ask for a better mentor for my daughter!

We had a very long night of dress rehearsal on Friday. Zoe was busy getting ready and transforming herself for her first part.

 Nicole always spends time with the group going over the details of the night and praying before they begin.

 Love this trio...

This year, all of us that were working backstage got these fun passes to wear!

Although it is a TON of work, I love working backstage. It is neat to spend time with these amazing dancers and be a part of all of the details and hard work that goes into this. I also love getting to take more pictures than just from the audience!

 Stromboli was giving a lesson on being a puppet master...

Zoe and Olivia (with Victoria always photo bombing in the back!)

We got home from rehearsal at about 11pm on Friday. Zoe woke up a bit tired, but ready for her show day! Before we left, I wanted to get a few shots of Zoe in our favorite costume...

She had an early call time to do a little extra rehearsing, so I helped out backstage and did some setting up and last minute costume sewing before the show.

Almost showtime!

Joe and Cooper met me at the theater, along with Mimi, Jax and Cathy. We took our seat and watched a wonderful show. Zoe's first dance was part of the opening Workshop scene where she played a bluebird Clock Doll. We loved her costume and she was thrilled to have a full dance on pointe.

Next, was Ballet School Children...

As a part of the Underwater Scene, Zoe was in the Coral dance...

Zoe and Sonia...two beautiful ballerinas (thanks for the great picture Mom!)

During Pleasure Island, Zoe was a part of the Contortionist group. They had some creepy music, and had fun moving their bodies into all kinds of crazy positions while wearing these fun masks...

Her last main dance was Bible Story. This dance moves me to tears every time I watch it. Although the costumes are plain, the radiance and joy that shines through each of these girls during this dance is breathtaking.

After the final scene, the cast came out for their finale dance. Zoe was excited to be a part of this choreographed dance, which was a really fun gospel number.

These dancers did a fantastic job! After the first show, Zoe changed back into her first costume in order to be ready for show #2, and then headed outside so we could get some pictures.

Mimi brought Zoe a new water bottle for dance...

After we said goodbye to the family, Zoe had fun taking pictures with her friends...

Taylor and Zoe...

Taylor, Lindsay, Zoe and Sonia...

 It was on to show two. I worked backstage and the show was wonderful. I was truly impressed with what had been put together in just a few months. When the show was over, we spent time cleaning up and loading all of the props into the trucks. Then it was time for the cast party!

Although exhausted, these girls were high on show adrenaline! We stayed until midnight and finally said our goodbyes and headed home to climb into bed.  Well done Zoe! You were a joy to watch on stage...we are so incredibly proud of you!!