Otanjyoubi Omedetou Ryanchun!

Ryan had her surprise birthday celebr-"asian" yesterday! It was a huge success! Thank you to everyone for coming! A day to remember for sure... unless, of course, the sake got in the way of your memory! LOL!

All of the guests waited quietly in the wings until the birthday girl came through the door!

She was so surprised that she turned around and went back outside before she could face her guests! Brought me to tears!

Mommy and birthday girl! Love you Sunshine!

A family picture! Aren't those little girls cute?

Charlie didn't find out about the surprise party until one hour before party time! She was so excited to help mommy set up and get into costume!

Casey brought a yummy Chinese Chicken Salad! The problem is that I forgot to get it out of the fridge! Duhhhhhh... I'm so mad at myself! Thanks though Casey... you are the best!


Brennan is not quite sure what to think of Charlie! he got into the swing of the theme in no time though... you should have seen him use his chopsticks!

Great picture ladies!

Our out of town guests... Jeff, Julie, Nonna

Mike came in costume too... Love it!

He was in tune with "The Karate Kid" playing on the TV in the background!

Julie and Joe "breaking it down!"

Kudrons cuddling!

Aunt Casey and Aunt Marzie breaking in the new couches!

TIME TO SING!

Ryan gets so shy to be the center of attention. She did great though!

PRESENT TIME!

Ryan received so, so many wonderful gifts! Thank you to everyone! You are all too generous!

And Charlie was all too envious!

Do you think that she realizes that whatever is Ryan's now, will be hers in a year or so? Maybe that is why she looks so darn happy in this picture!

Aunt Nancy is getting really good with her crafting! Look at her homemade card!

Ryan is modeling some of her gifts all at once!

Watching the birthday girl open presents!

Nancy and Cameron had front row seats!

Back row has it's perks too! Closer to the food and drinks! LOL!

Charlie's 2nd outfit for the day! She celebrated both the Japanese and Chinese cultures!

Thank you all for helping us celebrate! I get the feeling that this is a birthday that Ryan will never forget!

Shhhh... birthday preparations begin!

Someone we know turned 6 years old this morning! Ryan woke up at the crack of dawn, just like Christmas, went straight to her presents to get her day started off right!

As always, Charlie was in charge of getting her own present for Ryan. She got her an Island Princess toy and a new movie. She even wrote her own card! She was so proud of her work

Good morning Sunshine!

Ryan FINALLY got Pixos! She's been wanting them forever!

Birthday Breakfast:

French Toast

Scrambled Eggs

Chocolate Milk

&

Six Candles!

I wonder if her wish had anything to do with "Dylan!"

Shhhh... little did she know that major preparations were going on throughout the house hidden in the shadows! hee-hee-hee!

Can't wait until Party Time!!!

Girl Scouts' Thinking Day

Ryan experienced her first Girl Scouts' Thinking Day last weekend. I didn't know what to expect or even what it was!! Turns out, Thinking Day is much like an International Fair. Different Girl Scout/Brownies/Daisy troops create a "station" representing another country. They teach each other about the country. Exchange a trinket. And offer food from that culture. They are supposed to be "thinking" about all of the other Girl Scouts around the world. The rest of the world is doing the same thing on the same day. Pretty cool.

Pretty cool, yes. Total chaos, most definitely!

It was a raining and cold Sunday afternoon so we were all bundled up. The held the festival indoors so we were all over dressed and very, very hot. Picture soggy floors. Jackets thrown everywhere. Kids and mommies in every inch of the room. It's a good thing 5 year olds don't notice this kind of thing.

A snap shot of one side of the room.

Ryan with her International faire! She tried many different foods. I was proud.

It reminded me a lot of Indian Maidens when I was a kid. I remember a day like this when we would exchange "wompoms" (I think that is what they were called). Mom, do you remember those days?

Ryan's favorite trinket was the Greek alphabet!

Our little Daisy is almost six, ya know? Just 4 more days!

Happy early Birthday Ry-Ry!

Pirates and Princesses

Last Saturday night, the girls participated in their very first gymnastics "show." The theme was Pirates and Princesses. Mommies and daddies get to be down on the gymnastics floor, traveling to each apparatus with the children, which does not get to happen during a regular lesson. You get to dress up for the event! The sign-ups said, "make-up, hair, and costumes are all welcomed." Hmmm... as you look through the pictures, see if you can see any other kids dressed up? Maybe I got the memo wrong but the girls LOVED it!

The Grace princesses picked out their whole outfits all by themselves. They were so excited. We spent the entire afternoon pretending to have a real salon, pampering experience in order to prepare. I gave them both pedicures and did full hair and make-up! The foot massages were there favorite.
Ryan's group showed the parents small floor routines first. Here is Ryan's bridge.

Charlie's group, "The Mighty Mites" got to do the rings. Charlie was able to put her feet right into the contraption. So cute. Helllloo... Cirque de Soleil!

Charlie on the bars!

And on the beam.

Ryan showed us poses on the beam.

She loved that we were right there watching.

They even rotated to a station for the mommies and daddies to take pictures. Of course, I ran out of battery to get all of these cute shots. I also missed out on the medal ceremony. Just like the Olympians! They truly felt like this was the most important ceremony ever... so cute!

Charlie with her little Mighty Mite friends.

Nice work Princesses! Love you!

Just Because... she's so darn cute!

I know, I just did a dance class post but Charlie is just so very happy when she is there, that I had to do another. "Second Position"

She loves the "Little Mousey, Mousey" song! They get to dance all around the studio.

Her favorite part in the song is when it says, "See them sleeping." She takes the acting to a whole new level!

Look at that smile!

On this day, they learned "5th Position."

Happy Dancing Charlie Girl!

Sunday School Stars

Since the beginning of January, the girls have been practicing in their Sunday School classes for their very first performance in mass. I didn't get very good pictures at all (I was afraid to take pictures in church... I wasn't sure if I was allowed to) but I wanted to post this fun experience all the same.

The kids came in after communion to sing two songs. Of course, I don't know the exact names but these are the names the girls gave me:

"Walk in the Light"

and

"Take a Little Bit and Pass it Along"

Ryan is in the top row and Charlie is in the front row, at the end!

As you can imagine, Charlie "hammed" it up! She loved to be in the spotlight!

Softball Opening Day

Introducing the 2010 Girls 6U Division... Tidal Waves!!!!!!
Saturday marked the beginning of the new softball season! It is a very big day for the girls. Parade at 9:00. Opening Ceremonies at 9:30. They had pictures at 10:15. Their first game at 11:30. And, finally a parade to be enjoyed for the remainder of the day!

Here is Ryan's team! Ryan is excited because she knows so many people on her team. 3 of my soccer players requested to be on Ryan's team and they all ended up on the same team! So fun for Ryan!

Here is Ryan with her Bestie Kendall!

What cuties!

Charlie, the cheerleader was ready to support her sister for yet another season!
(Next year will be Little Munchkin's first year! She wants to play sooo bad!)

Ryan is her "ready" position in left field!

Ryan is concentrating so hard on directions from Coach Brian.

Pep Talk from Coach Brian. Can you see #6 "Ry Ry" at the bottom of the picture?
(P.S. Can you also see the fantastic (hee-hee) hair bows? I was hair bow mom! It's a very important job, ya know! LOL)

Good luck this season Tidal Waves!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away...

I know that it is supposed to rain the next couple of days... I hope it doesn't rain as much as it did last time!!!

This is what our street looked like after the last rain, ugh!

Be safe in the rain friends and family!

Are we human or are we dancers?

The post title quotes The Killers song, "Human." Every morning, on the way to school, we listen and sing (loudly) to The Killers! This is one of Charlie's favorite songs so when she started her very first dance class, she got very excited! I'm not sure she realized that she wouldn't be actually dancing to The Killers! Anyway, dancing for Charlie was like a fish to water! She loved, loved, loved it! She loved the outfits, changing from ballet to tap shoes, the songs, her teacher, her new friends... she was on Cloud 9!

A few poses from Charlie never hurt anyone... the girl is always good for a solid chuckle with these classic Charlie poses!





Charlie tried really hard to concentrate and do what the teacher asked. Charlie was the only new student that day so the other kids always knew what to do next! Hey, but Char-Char was a quick study! She caught on fast and loves showing mommy and daddy first and second position!

Chasse... oops I mean Kicks with Aubrey, her teacher
(I really need to learn my dance lingo if we are going to have a little dancer around!)

Charlie got a little chilly and needed her sweater...

Charlie loving the "Little Mouse-y Mouse-y... see them creeping" song!

Ryan loved this one too when she did dance.

Sticker time for good behavior. Look how nicely children sit when they are waiting for a reward!

Nice work Char -Char! Great first class!