Disneyland Magic

I told Ashling that I would give her a prize if she finished a chapter book and got an A on it for a AR test.  She has been having some problems getting these books finished and I wanted to help have an incentive.  Since she had recently missed Disneyland she asked to go to Disneyland all by herself!  What a great idea!

We took a day off school and left early in the morning for Disneyland.  I have been to Disneyland many times with my kids but no other day seemed quite as magical as this one.  Every part of it went perfectly and it was so nice to have such a beautiful girl to share my day with.  This mother, daughter date is one that I will never forget.  

 Here is a picture of her outside the ride that she loves.

 One of the first things we wanted to do at Disneyland was go see Rapunzel.  We waited in line for her for a short time even though the line said it would be an hour.  Magic!

 Ashling was so excited to say hi to Rapunzel.  She is the favorite around our house and Ashling loves her.

 We rode on the Haunted Holiday Mansion.  The first time we took the kids they were very afraid but now Ashling only laughs.

 We also rode on splash mountain but managed to hardly get wet- magical!

 I bought Ashling the biggest ice cream cone ever and she chose the flavors of mint chocolate chip and sherbet... I am not sure how those taste together but it certainly sounds gross.  We waited for the parade with front row seats- magical!

 This was her favorite part of the parade because it was a ballet dancer with toe shoes on... I wonder if she will ever dance with toe shoes?  She is certainly practicing dance quite a bit right now.

 Mickey and Minnie skated on ice... that is something that is hard to do in southern California.

 Ariel used to be Ashling's favorite princess... she used to sing like her too.  The princesses were pretty cool in the parade and their dresses were amazing.

 Belle is my favorite princess and I love the picture with the Beast.

 Ashling rode in her own tea cup because she wanted to spin it very fast and I will not do that.  I told her that we couldn't take up two tea cuts for just two people but then there was one extra so we moved and she could spin to her heart's content.... magical!

 As we were walking back towards the front of Disneyland trying to decide if we should leave or not... a lady comes up to Ashling and tells her that if she goes by the wishing well she will see the Princesses without any waiting.  Who could pass that up?  It was like magic to take pictures of the princesses without lines!  First we took a picture with the favorite, Ariel.

 Next Sleeping Beauty and Ashling...

 Last was Snow White.

 As we were deciding on dinner options we were able to enjoy the castle beeing lit up for Christmas.  There is nothing so special as seeing that castle lit up.  The castle came alive!

 We ate dinner on Main Street and were thinking of walking towards the car when Ashling said she really wanted to see the Candle light Ceremony.  A man came up to us and said there were extra seats and we got to sit and enjoy the show.  The Candle Light singing was amazing.  The songs were all hymns and the Spirit that I felt was amazing.  After a day of enjoying pretend magic it was a miracle to sing of Christ's birth and celebrate the gift of the Atonement that makes it so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and be a family forever.  I am grateful to Disneyland for allowing the choirs to sing and worship our Savior with only hymns.

As we drove away from Disneyland Ashling could see the fireworks in the background and I know she felt the day was as special as I did.

Piano Recital

Ali and Ashling take piano lessons from a woman in our ward.  They are having fun doing it and learning quite a bit about music.  We sometimes have some complaining and I remind them that they are welcome to be done playing when they can play a hymn on demand from the hymn book.  This recital was fun and it included a hot chocolate bar at the end.  What a great treat!

Ashling and the Nutcraker

Ashling participated in the annual performance of the Lake Arrowhead School of Dance's Nutcracker.  She auditioned in June and was chosen to be an angel.  This is a great role because the timing has to be perfect and they also are required to watch their spacing which are great things to learn in dance.  The worst part of the role is that these costumes are quite difficult to get on an off and the girls can not do it on their own.  It requires quite a bit of behind the scenes participation.  Ashling was chosen to go out in the first act as an angel to wave to Clara. This meant that she put her costume on and off twice in each performance.  She performed a total of 9 times! I love the nutcracker and it was great to watch Ashling excel at dance.  She loved every minute of it and never complained about anything.  She loved watching the professional dancers and wanted to be just like them... someday.  She loves ballet and is excited to participate next year again.  

Annika loves to Dance

If you look back to when Annika was a baby you will find that Annika has always loved to dance.  Even as a  baby anytime music was played she would shake her upper body and "dance to it".   I had decided that since Annika was in preschool that was her extra activity and she would wait until kindergarten to have another activity.  But Annika loved to watch Ashling dance and also wanted to participate in it.  Every time Ashling had dance class Annika was dressed before we left and she watched and tried to do each move in class.  Sometimes when class was small, Ashling's teacher would let Annika participate.  I finally decided to enroll Annika in dance class too.  

Here are some pictures of her in her dance studio before dance class.  

 The first time the teacher showed them a bridge, Annika couldn't do it at all.  She was very dismayed by that and tried her hardest to figure it out.  At home we worked on it until she learned to do it all by herself!

She is trying hard to do her splits!

Ali and Ashling have been taking ballet this year. They go to the Lake Arrowhead School of Dance in Lake Arrowhead.  I love the owner whose name is Sharon McCormick (pictured at Mickey Mouse below.)  She is great with the kids but also very serious about dance and she teaches them a lot each and every week.   Ashling is in her second year and is in Ballet B.  She is learning quite a bit.  Her class is quite serious and she loves it.  She is also participating in the Nutcracker but you will have to wait for those pictures until she performs.  I find myself at the Ballet Studio 3 times a week! I love to watch them learning to dance and also love watching the best dancers in the studio practice while Annika is in her class!  Here are some pictures of the girls when they got to wear the costumes for Halloween.  

 Annika is taking preschool 4-5.  She is not quite 4 but she loves to dance and this class was the best fit for her.  You can't tell that she is younger than all the girls at all.  She does a combination class of ballet, tap and tumbling.   She is great at all of it and tries her best to do everything the teacher asks of her.  Her teacher is named Ms. Sarah and she is great.  She keeps the kids attention and makes sure they are learning.  She is teaching them to put on their own tap shoes and also to tuck in their ballet shoe laces so they do not stop to tie their shoes a million times.  What a great idea!

Happy Halloween

Here are some pictures of Halloween.  This year Ali was a pirate, Ashling was Taylor Swift, Annika was both a lady bug and rapunzel depending on the party and I was a witch.  Cameron does not like to dress up and won't do it!  What a poor sport!  We enjoyed lots of Halloween activities including a Fall Festival, a Ward Truck or Treat and Trick or Treating on Halloween.  We also went to Disneyland a few times and enjoyed all the villians that were around Disneyland.  Ali loved the Space Mountain decorated for Halloween and we all loved the Haunted Mansion.  

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This is a video of Annika dancing along with the big girls at a Halloween performance.