Where did June go???

Wow, I completely missed the month of June! The first two weeks were completely packed with the ending of many activities, including the end of the school year for all of us.  The rest of the month? I simply have no excuse, other than I was completely lazy.

It all started with the all-school talent show that both girls participated in. Kaia had a tumbling routine with two of her team mates who attend her school, and Jaelyn played a song with the other fifth grade students who did band with her this year. I was able to take 1/2 day off to watch them, but the videos and photos aren't worth posting. But here are some videos and photos to catch up on some other events...

Starting it all off was Kaia's recital, to close out the tumbling season.

Next up, Jaelyn's band concert. This was no ordinary band concert; it was a district wide concert. That means it consisted of two fifth grade bands, two sixth grad bands, two 7/8 bands, one high school band, one symphonic band, and one jazz band. I may have even missed one or two. Needless to say, the gym was packed. Each band played one or two songs, and the entire district played two pieces together. It was actually quite impressive. Here's one of all the kids together. You can see Jaelyn hidden behind her baritone.

Two nights later the girls had their fifth grade school music program. Kaia loved her pirate role, because she got to sit there and play cards nearly the entire time.

And Jaelyn got to be a part of the back up singers who were more interactive with the main characters.

Nope, not done yet. Next was Kaia's first piano recital. She had only been playing for a little over two months, but was so confident, especially when compared to some of the other kids who have been playing much longer. Check out the song choices.

Nothing says fun like an 80's dance night. Not sure who had a better time, the girls, or Mike and I.

Finally, last day of school. Since my school got out a couple days earlier, I was able to attend their moving on ceremony. Again, the school gym doesn't make for good photos, but here's some shots afterwards with friends.

Kind of dark, but Jaelyn got a special award from the Lion's Club.

Good friends.

Kaia's buddy.

Friends since preschool.

Jaelyn and her teacher

Jaelyn and friends

Kaia and her teacher.

Did I say finally? Here's one more photo to post through the first two weeks of June. Yep, we squeezed in a wedding too. Kellen took Kaia to her end of season party while the rest of us partied on.

More of June very soon...

Regionals Results...

So I mentioned on my Mother's Day post that Kaia was missing, since she was in Utah for her regional meet. She will say she only did okay, but I think she did great! Once again she had the largest group of competitors in her age/level, with over 20 girls. So I think a fifth, ninth, and twelfth place are something to be proud of!

With her coach and team mates.

12th place on floor, Level 6. She moved up to this level halfway through the season, so did great!

Fifth place finish on the trampoline.

Before they hit the road for an overnight trip home, they spent the afternoon having fun at a local amusement park.  They got nice and wet for the drive home...

Kaia's dead center, but you can barely see her behind the spray.

"hanging" with her team mates!

Glad she had such a memorable time, but glad to have her safely back home! Now a recital at the end of the month, then a break from practice until the end of August...

Oyster Dome...

Wow, what an amazingly gorgeous day to carry on the Mother's Day hike tradition.  I can't even remember when the hikes started, but let me take you down memory lane.  Check out 2014, Rained out of hike 2013, 2012, 2011 hike canceled due to sick child, 2010, 2009, don't know why I don't have a Mother's Day post from 2008, and 2007.  And I know the tradition began before then, but 2007 is when I began blogging. Fortunately we live in such a beautiful area that we will never run out of new adventures!

Last night Joshua came home from school (at least for two weeks), so the celebrating began. Following family worshiping together at church, lunch took place at a quaint restaurant called Tweets, on the way to our hike. Today had to have been one of my top three hikes (Hanakapiai Trail has to be at the top). It's called Oyster Dome, and it was also probably the toughest the entire family has done together, being 6.5 miles and gaining nearly 2000 feet. We weren't too out of breath though, as I got to spend time chatting with each child individually on the hike without any electronics interfering.

We started here...

Fun along the way...

 The next trail really starts to increase in the grade. Notice how they are both a little fuzzy? I didn't realize that the camera lens to my phone was wet with sweat in my pocket!

Jaelyn striking a pose from Lord of the Rings...

And the payoff; the amazing views from the top!

 The sun was too bright for this next selfie, so you can't see the Skagit flatlands in the distance behind us. Was a beautiful view with the variegated greens of the farmlands in the backdrop.

We finished the day off by eating cheese curds and milkshakes at the Fidalgo Drive In. I won't identify whom had what though....

If you notice, someone is missing from the photos this day. That's because Kaia was in Utah this weekend for a regional meet. Sure wish she could've been with us, but I know she was making her own memories. More on that later.

What's the Occasion???

It's not my birthday, anniversary, or not yet Mother's Day. So what's the occasion? Not sure, but Josh gave us a great gift this last week...

He cut off his mullet! If you haven't noticed in pictures, he has been rocking the mullet since the Apple Cup back in November.  Personally I wasn't a fan, but hey, he's in college and having fun with it. When we hung out together over Spring Break, I witnessed strangers complimenting his hair, and even requesting him to flip his mullet.

He never told us what inspired the cut. All we received was this wordless photo in a text, but it brought a smile to this momma's face. On second thought, maybe I should ask for an updated photo...

Disney Pointers...

A wonderful suggestion to all you parents taking your children to a Disney Park, who don't want to hear your children whine about all the novelties they want...you know, "I want ____", "Will you buy me _____?"  This is the third time we have taken children to a theme park, and each child having their own gift cards has saved us from all the above and more.

The first time we went was when the boys were younger. Here's a throwback...

At that time the boys were doing chores to earn money. We took the money they saved (minus the piggy bank that was stolen when our house was burglarized while we were gone for Christmas vacation...one boys' was spared for some unknown reason) and bought Disney gift cards. They were free to spend on anything, but once it was gone, it's gone.

With the girls this time, I requested some Christmas gifts be in the form of gift cards.  It worked like a charm!  One girl had it spent it all in almost one day. Check out the double ended light sabre she bought.

I think she wanted to keep up with her two brothers from back in 2012. She also picked out a stuffed animal, Marie, from the Aristocats, with an extra long stole like tail. She got lots of compliments on it as it made the flight home with us. Money gone, no mention of wanting anything else;)

Our other daughter was the complete opposite. Every item bought took much thought, and spending didn't happen until near the end of the trip. First item bought was a new pillow pet. What better to sleep on than Bambi...

Next the budding artist bought a How to Draw Disney Princesses book at the art store.  Speaking of drawing, her final purchase was a caricature of herself as Mulan.

 She absolutely loved it, so we framed it when we got home, and it's now hanging proudly in her room.

Thanks Mame and Elizabeth for your gift card gifts! They were well spent, and these parents appreciated the whining you two spared us from. We highly suggest it to every parent!

Whew, It's Finally Over...

So Kaia has been celebrating her birthday for nearly a month now. First off, she celebrated with grandparents when she was at her state tumbling meet. Here she is sharing birthday celebrations with her grandpa, whose birthday was a week before.

Next celebration took place the night before her actual birthday. Disneyland gives out birthday buttons, and all day long workers wish you a happy birthday. Since we were flying home on her birthday, she wore the button the day before, and we had a special birthday dinner at the park that included reserved seating (on the ground) for the night time fantasmic show.

On her actual birthday, we decided to drive up Highway 1 to catch some views of the ocean on our way to the airport. Had to let the girls experience In-N-Out Burger while we were in the area. Nothing quite says birthday like eating a burger and a shake outdoors by the ocean.

And lastly, a party with her friends. Other than the fact that the store did not have the cake decorated 1/2 an hour before the party, and the fact that it is very difficult to take photos during Cosmic Bowling, it was a great day to wrap up her month long birthday celebrations...

The girls all decided to make mustaches and beards out of the frosting.

And She's Off Again...

When we returned from our time a Disneyland, I said hello to the rain, goodbye to my family, and hopped on the last flight of the day to Pullman.  Yep, Mom's weekend happened to be during my Spring Break this year, as opposed to later in April like last year. I didn't know this when I planned our Spring Break trip back in November, and I have no memory of why I decided for us to return on Friday, but it all worked out perfectly! 

Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite as cooperative as it was last year, and coming from the sunny weather I experienced in California, I was a wimp cold. It blew, rained, blew, hailed, and blew while I was there. Anyone Cougar will tell you that's spring at WSU!  We did brave out to watch Josh's roommate's football scrimmage, while we had a break in the weather. Was good to see Dakota get some time on the field.

We spent most of the day walking around the campus and just having some great talks. I'm really proud of the man Joshua is becoming. One of the positive decisions that he has made is to participate in something called Elevate through his church this summer. It is a 10-week spiritual leadership training, where he will be required to be employed 30-40 hours a week in the community, yet be living with 100 or so other students, learning biblical truths and putting them to practice, as well as doing some local church planting. Sound rough? Did I mention it's near the beach in San Diego? Okay, that part sounds great, but it does sound like an exhausting 10 weeks to me! Most of their entire week is structured, so not much time for the kids to get in to trouble;)

Josh is still in the process of fundraising, and is halfway to his goal. He has just over a month to raise the rest of his money. If you are inspired to help him out, follow this link and be sure to put "Joshua Crebbin" in as whom the gift is for. He is working a job on campus now to help raise his funds, but any little bit of donation he would appreciate.  And this mom appreciates helping him along the way to what will be a lifelong impact.