When a strike is a good thing

I have been bowling 3 times in my life, tonight being the third. So I was completely shocked to hit a strike on my very first throw this afternoon. Bob had invited us to go bowling with him, and with none of us being very experienced we didn't expect much. But, I did much better then I thought I would. Dane also hit 3 strikes and a spare and Madeleine hit a strike as well. Brent was the real surprise...he hit a spare almost every throw! I had no idea he was such a pro. :) Way to go Brenty!

Hey baby, it's cold outside!

Brrr! It has been unusually cold for these parts. The other morning I woke up and my thermometer said 10 degrees! 10? Really? Wow! Despite the frigid weather, we have managed to keep ourselves very busy. Dane has started private trumpet lessons with the director of music at Tacoma Community College and is doing very well. He still plays with the Stahl Junior High band as well. He is also continuing with piano along with Madeleine. They are both amazing at piano! I guess they get it from Brent, as I have no musical talent what so ever! ;) Madeleine is also going strong with her guitar lessons. They are both becoming very talented musicians!

We have made it to a few shows lately. We saw Little Women at Kentridge High with my niece. Next we took in a live performance of Guys and Dolls at Tacoma Musical Playhouse. Then we enjoyed a classical concert performed by the Tacoma Community College orchestra, directed by Dane's trumpet teacher. To round it all out, we went to a Jazz concert last night featuring saxophone, and of course, trumpet!

Madeleine is taking Lyrical and Jazz in dance and is working hard toward her upcoming recital. She is not thrilled with her jazz costume, but her lyrical one is very pretty. We weren't able to get enough tickets for everyone to come to the recital, so we will have a DVD for those who want to see it.

We are hoping to get up to the snow over winter break. The kids are both wanting to try their hand at snowboarding, so we have been looking into lessons. We are undecided as to which mountain we want to go with however. There are a lot of pros and cons for each. So we're working on that.

That's it for now. ~ Try to stay warm out there!

Museum of Glass

A couple weekends ago we spent the day down at The Museum of Glass in Tacoma. We got to watch some glass workers in the hot shop create goblets for an upcoming auction, which was pretty fascinating. There was also a great exhibit running by Preston Singletary. His work is inspired by Native American tribal art. It was amazing how he was able to make the forms from glass and so closely resemble the original art.

The sun was out too so we enjoyed some time outside and walked along the marina. There were some gorgeous boats and we imagined what fun it would be to live on a boat. The freedom of being able to go wherever you heart and the sea could take you...then I realized I'd probably miss my garden too much. :)

Mini Vaca

We took a short trip over to Winthrop this past weekend. It was so gorgeous. I love that drive over the North Cascades Highway...really one of the prettiest drives in WA.

J & J's dance recital

We went to J & J's dance recital today. It was really good! Couldn't get any pics of the actual performance...too dark.



Me and Brent being silly.

Baby Xachey

Madeleine's crayon "art" photo at Red Robin. I like that you can see the word "steak fries"

Another shot of Madeleine's. It's cool because you can see the neon sign in the background.

Me and Brent being un-silly.

Baby V looking like she's about to fall asleep in Brent's arms.

Baby V after she woke up at RR.

Dinner and a Movie

We went to Grandma & Grandpa's for dinner last night...corned beef and cabbage...yummy! After we went to see "UP". I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was...Mary had said it got 4 stars, and it really deserved them. It was such a fresh story line and was truly hysterical. I was laughing to the point of tears on several occasions. There is one part with a dog...I won't ruin it, but when you see it you'll know what I'm talking about....hilarious! Definitely a must see even if you don't have kids. :)

Fun at the park

Movie night

We took Mom and Blake along with us to see Night at the Museum on Saturday. Great movie! I got a kick out of the singing cupids...hilarious. :)

Yum Yum

	Eating slushies at the park.

Loyalty Park

Busy Weekend

We started off the weekend by going to the pancake breakfast at McClendon's with my Mom. Sounds weird, I know. They do it every year...it's a big local tradition I guess. Anyway they have a giant garden sale and serve pancakes, sausage, coffee and juice. It was packed! The breakfast was actually pretty good too. Then we met up with Nonya who was in town to meet her new in-laws. We had lunch with her and Nik and Tiff at the Olive Garden. It's funny because I seem to never go to Olive Garden unless Nonya is in town. :) Sunday we went to the special assembly day to see my cousin Nick get baptised. I was really proud of him, but it also made me feel old...LOL. I remember watching him when he was just a baby. He was so cute! Big blue eyes and blonde curly hair. After the assembly Bob and Mary took us to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Bobby and Allani and the kids were able to join us too and we went to that new Greek restaurant by the movie theaters. No one had been there before, but Brent has really been wanting to try it. It was excellent! Everyone enjoyed the food. The service was good, but a little slow. Not somewhere to go if your in a hurry, but if you just want to relax and have some good food it's great. Yummy. :)

Spring Fair

We took the kids to the spring fair last weekend. There were tons of people there! I guess with the economy everyone is staying local instead of traveling. They said the attendance was up 37%. Crazy.

On the Tornado!

Watching a Mexican Fiesta.

Swan Lake

We went to McCaw Hall on Saturday and saw Swan Lake. It was such a beautiful production and the dancers were amazing! Madeleine was completely inspired and is ready to take up her ballet lessons again. :)

Daffodil Parade

We had great weather for the Daffodil Parade on the 4th. We decided to go to the one in Orting because it was the last stop and Brent had to work earlier in the day. They put on a really good spread there. They had a huge BBQ in the park and lots of food stands and arts and crafts. It was a lot of fun with the exception of a crazy allergy attack that hit me.

It was such a nice weekend that we hit Loyalty Park the next day.

Peking Acrobats

We took the kids to see The Peking Acrobats at the Pantages over the weekend. It was a great show! The stunts were absolutely amazing. Watch clip from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7GI-FuVyGg&feature=related

The show must go on!

Even with the bad weather we have managed to make it to quite a few shows lately. We went to a reprise of "The Slipper and the Rose" which is a retelling of Cinderella. The musical score was composed by the same people who did Mary Poppins and other notable films of the day. Their names are escaping me at the moment, but they were a brother duo and very well know...I will get back to you with names later. :) Anyway, it was a well done performance and Madeleine was so taken with the actress who played Cinderella that we stood in line for autographs afterward. Next we went and saw "Emma in Wonderland". This was a performance put on by SANCA, which is the kids' Acrobat school. http://sancaseattle.org/ This was amazing! The performers were ages 8-18 and we simply couldn't believe how skilled they were. It was truly inspiring and the kids' both have a new found zeal for the art! Then it was off for a grown ups night out with Jeff & Elaine where we saw "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the 5th. This was such a good show! I was expecting great music and dancing, but what surprised me was how hilarious it was as well. I was laughing to the point of tears on many occasions! We were also able to squeeze in a couple of films lately. "The Tale of Despereaux" and "Bolt". They were both good, but I was completely won over by the little Hamster in Bolt...."I'll go get my Ball!"...If you saw the movie that will mean something to you. :)

Snowmen 08

This one is huge...taller then Brent! It was crazy hard trying to get the giant snowballs up our steep driveway! It kinda freaks me out a night because when I look out my front window it looks like there is a big guy standing out there! Lol. :)




The kids made this one the first day it snowed. You can see there isn't a lot of snow on the ground yet.

Mini Vaca

Last weekend we took off to our favorite spot in Eastern, WA. The little town of Wintrhop. They didn't have their snow yet, which is a bit odd for this time of year, but ok for us since the passes were a breaze. We basically just took it easy and enjoyed the suroundings.



Cool old train.



Hanging out downtown.



Fireworks show downtown to start the "winter" season.

Inside the Lodge.


Frozen Lake behind the Lodge.







Old West relics.



Playing games.





Funny Hat store in Leavenworth on the way home.