Music Concert

Olivia and Violet participated in their school's first grade music concert yesterday. The theme of the concert was "Buenas Noches" (Good Night), so all of the kids wore pajamas. All of the first grade classes participated, they sang several songs together and each class also performed their own dance that they choreographed. It was so cute! Olivia and Violet did a great job! We had a lot of fun watching them. They had been looking forward to the concert for weeks, and wouldn't practice their songs at home so it would be a surprise when we heard them at the concert. Here is a video of Olivia and Violet's favorite song "Los Cochinitos." Violet is in the pink striped pajamas and Olivia is next to her in the dark blue pajamas.

march

We had a busy March 14th. Violet went to high tea with Auntie and Godmother Terri, which is their annual tradition. Terri's church puts on the event as a fundraiser for the youth, and Violet always has a fun time! There is a meal, followed by entertainment, and endless selections from the "Dessert Room" (literally a room filled with a variety of desserts!). It is definitely a special day to Violet.

Violet, ready for high tea

Jamie's mom, sisters and two nieces came to our house in the afternoon. After Violet got home from high tea, we all went out to eat at Benihana, which is Olivia and Violet's favorite restaurant. Your table is literally the grill, so the chef cooks your food at the table and makes it very fun! We had a lot of laughs.

After we ate, we went downtown to see the play "Beauty and the Beast" at the Orpheum Theatre. It was excellent! We really enjoyed it. The play didn't start until 8:00 so it was pretty late when we got home, I was proud of the girls for making it through. It was a fun girls day!

Outside of the Orpheum Theatre

Ready for "Beauty and the Beast"

On Tuesday, March 17, we had conferences with Olivia and Violet's first grade teacher. They are both doing very well academically so we were very happy to hear that. Olivia got the highest score in the class on one of the assessment tests so she was pretty excited. We did learn that they are often competitive with each other (especially in gym class), so we are leaning toward splitting them into separate classes next year. Overall though, we are very lucky and very proud of our girls!

Tuesday was also St. Patrick's Day so Olivia and Violet wanted to wear green!

valentine's day and other updates

Valentine's Weekend | Feb 13 & 14

I had a lot of fun helping with Olivia and Violet's class valentine party on Friday, February 13th. Their party was right away in the morning, so I drove them to school which they thought was pretty fun, since they usually ride the bus. The girls were pretty excited to introduce me to their friends. They assured me beforehand that everybody would love me! :)

There were different stations set up around the room. The kids divided into small groups and rotated around the stations. There was a snack station, scrapbooking station, frame making station, perler bead station, and a snowball fight station (with snowballs made of cotton, of course)! The snowball fight station took place in the hallway and was definitely a big hit. I helped at the frame making station. Their teacher had taken a picture of each student ahead of time, with one or two friends of their choice. Olivia and Violet picked the same two friends, but not each other, which I thought was kind of funny! The kids then made a heart frame for their picture. It was fun watching Olivia and Violet interact with their friends, and getting to know the friends that the girls talk about the most. After the stations were done, the kids passed out their valentines. They were all so excited! Olivia and Violet were so thrilled when one of their friends said he picked out Princess Leia valentines just for them. :) It was a fun morning!

After I left school, I went home and made a Valentine's supper (heart shaped meatloaf, pink mashed potatoes, pink jello and strawberries), and decorated the table with a heart tablecloth, heart plates and cups, balloons, and pink glittery plastic silverware. I also put together as scavenger hunt for the girls and their friend Sylvia, who was going to stay overnight at our house. A scavenger hunt has been our annual tradition so it was fun to keep it going!

I picked up Olivia, Violet and Sylvia after school was over. They thought it was fun to go to the "parent pickup" area for once! They had fun on the scavenger hunt together, and enjoyed the Valentine's supper and decorations. Their favorite part was the pink glittery silverware! They had a lot of fun playing together and insisted on putting up a tent to play in. They also wanted to sleep in it, but they had so many books and toys crammed in there that the three girls could barely fit! They eventually moved up into Olivia and Violet's beds and slept there for the night, after a lot of giggling and talking. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Violet with her frame

Olivia with her frame

Snowball fight station

Scrapbooking station

Overnight tent party with Sylvia

The next day, we went to my niece Maya's dance competition which was being held fairly close to our house. We saw three different dances of hers, she was great in all of them and her team did very well, winning the big trophy! We were very proud of her! We also saw my mom, and all of my sisters and nieces.

Cousins at Maya's dance competition!

Other News and Updates

Olivia and Violet just finished a Star Wars Lego class that they were going to once a week. They really enjoyed it. The Lego sets they built had moving parts, which was new to them. It was a little bit of an introduction to engineering. They enjoyed the class but decided that they want to go back to swimming, so they will be starting swim class again soon as their next activity.

School is still going well for both Olivia and Violet. They are trying hard and doing well with their work, so we are proud of them. Violet recently was chosen as one of five finalists for her school's first grade bookmark design contest so she was pretty excited about that. Actually, Olivia was excited too and was getting some of their friends to vote for Violet's design. Her drawing featured a princess and a castle, of course! All of the first grade classes voted; Violet's design wasn't the winning one, but she was happy anyway and already has ideas for next year! We have conferences with their teacher in a couple of weeks, so I'd like to talk to her about whether or not we should keep them in the same class again next year. There are definitely pros and cons each way, and I think that being together is a comfort for them, but if they were apart it might give them a better chance to develop their own identities. It hasn't been an issue having them together, and actually I don't think they interact with each other all that much during class, so it is difficult to know what is best.

And we are all definitely ready for spring! Violet asked the other day when she would get to ride her bike again....it is supposed to be 50 degrees next week, so maybe that will happen soon! Otherwise, we have been trying to get through the days the best we can. Olivia has been very emotional lately, and Violet has been extra sensitive, so it has been a little challenging. Hopefully these phases pass soon, although I don't want them to grow up too fast. I was thinking the other day that if they leave the house at age 18, they are almost halfway done living with us (and maybe needing their mommy)!! There have been great times, challenging times, happy times and tough times, but through it all the time has gone very fast. I am trying my best to not tell the girls to "hurry up" when they are dawdling around, because looking back the time does go faster than one thinks. I want them to enjoy and love life!