Annika's Talent Show Performance

Today was Annika's MUCH anticipated talent show at school. She auditioned for it last week (playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) on her violin and today was the performance. 

I was THRILLED that the talent show was scheduled for a Wednesday, so I could actually attend it. She was thrilled that because it is the Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week, she got to have "Crazy Day" at school, which meant she could wear her pajamas to school. (Hence, why you'll see Hello Kitty PJs instead of her uniform in the one ... albeit fuzzy ... photo I have from the event.)

After parking myself in a front row seat and watching the kids excitedly file into the school gym, I looked down at the event's program and was excited to see that Annika's name was first on the list... selfishly, that allowed me to get back home and back to work that much faster. (After Annika's performance, I briefly spoke with her teacher, who told me Annika volunteered to go first. Talk about an impressive kiddo!!)

Annika did a FANTASTIC job. (Yes, I teared up ... I know, not a big surprise!) Not only did she play the song ... into a microphone and in front of the entire school ... but she also sang along as she played. I've never heard her sing the lyrics as she played before. Usually, she says the names of the notes as she plays (which is what I expected to hear today), but that wasn't the case.

She worked hard to get the song memorized (she had a note cheat sheet, just in case), and stood up there in front of everyone without hesitation and played her heart out. I don't think I could have been any prouder of her if I tried.

Great job, little one!!

Our little violinist!

Unfortunately, I experienced a technical issue and wound up not video recording her performance, but the floor after her performance was complete. UGH!!!!! If I was smart, I would have just used the video setting on my DSLR camera instead of trying to juggle the video camera and digital camera in a 30-second time period. Live and learn....

Bouncy Birthday Bash

Last weekend, our family friends hosted a party to celebrate their son Ethan's 6th birthday. God bless them for having it start at 9:45; those of us with nappers at home really have to stick together! :)

The party was at a bouncy place in Bothell. What's a bouncy place, you ask? Well, it is basically a warehouse-size room that has a bunch of inflatable climbing/bouncy/play structures for the kids (and their adventurous parents) to play on/in and, essentially, exhaust themselves. It was great!!!

When we first arrived, Annika was off like a shot, but Conor wasn't quite sure of the whole thing. The bouncy structures had rather noisy fans to keep them inflated and Conor wasn't quite sure of things yet.

I mean, come on ... this is scary, ferocious-lookin' stuff! ;)

 

So, we took it easy and hung out at the drinking fountain for a bit. He thought it was pretty fun to have water appear when he pushed the lever. I'm terrified to think about how many germs he probably picked up during this warming-up phase, though. Eww!

Once we found Annika (which took some doing because she was having the time of her life running around like the ball of energy that she is), she took on the role of big sister and gave Conor a tour of the joint and pointed out how much fun it was. He didn't buy it.

Eventually, I had to resort to a little tough love and gently put him on one of the easy, low-key bouncy structures so he could see it was just like jumping on a bed, something we discourage at home, but cheer on at bouncy places!

Once he realized things weren't as scary as he originally thought, he was geared up to have a great time and bounce himself into a sweaty haze. He adopted a slide that he felt comfortable with and used that to build his confidence and sense of adventure.

While Conor was busy going through the tube, up the stairs, and down the slide, Annika decided to conquer mountain climbing... sort of. There was a blue pyramid thing in the same play structure that Conor was sliding in and Annika decided to perch herself on top of it. Thank goodness she is small and solid muscle; she shimmied herself all the way to the top!

(the perspective shot)

There were also some bigger slides that the kids (and their mama) had fun on. Note to self: Jeans slow you down on inflatable slides ... wear knit pants next time! Annika decided to go down on her tummy and her posture completely reminded me of a penguin sliding down an iceberg into the water. Conor adopted a Superman pose as he slide down.

 

And some bonus videos of the kids on the big slide, for your viewing pleasure!

 

 

A special thank you to the Minnich family for including us. We had so much fun celebrating Ethan's birthday and burning off a ton of energy with your crew!

 

Happy 6th birthday, Ethan!!