Mia's Sea Camp Adventure

In mid March, Mia had the opportunity to attend Sea Camp with several friends and classmates.  Sea Camp is in San Diego and they teach all about marine life.  Unfortunately I didn't get to go with her, but she had an amazing time and several friends took lots of pictures for me.

She had a really hard time saying good-bye and getting on the bus because it was her first time away from home.  But luckily she was surrounded by friends to help on the trip.

They arrived a little early so the kids played at the park until it was time to check in.

Mia has some great friends.  Having some fun with Jack, Conner, and Katelyn.

Lauren, Audrey, Mia, Alyssa, and Katelyn

They met together to receive instructions and their camp itinerary.

The kids started at the museum and aquarium.

Here's a photo of their room.  Like a big slumber party!

The next day Mia got into a wet suit went snorkeling.

Later that night they headed to the lab and dissected a jelly fish.  

The next day they went for a fun boat ride.  

Then it was back to the lab for more science fun.

It was such a great experience.  I hope that Cole gets the chance to go in two years.

Junior Piano Festival at UNLV

On March 2, 2013, Cole and Mia participated in their very first Music Festival.  I had never heard of them until this year, but basically it's an opportunity to play a memorized piece/ pieces for a pair of judges.  The judges critique your performance and award you with a certificate and an overall rating.

Cole played:  "Mystery at Blackwater Creek" by Mier, and "Minuet and Trio" by Alfred

Mia played:  "Hummingbird Mountain" by Costley, and "Arabesque" by Burgmuller

I wasn't sure what to expect, considering this was our first experience.  And it was an insane day with a birthday party, volleyball game, and basketball awards, so it all felt really rushed when we finally arrived there.  Especially since it was at UNLV and it's always tricky figuring out where to park at Universities.

Mia and Cole were the last ones to perform in their room (I think), so we didn't actually go in there until around 4:15pm.  It was a large band room with a piano in the middle of it.  I took the two little ones in with me (which was insane and literally impossible to keep them quiet), but it worked out.  Mia played first and did a wonderful job.  Cole was second and did great as well.  They had a few minor mess-ups but for the most part I thought they did great.  And I've heard them play both pieces without a single mistake, so I know they can.  It's just hard to be on a new piano with strangers watching you.

Here's Luke and Ella waiting to go inside.  They had A LOT of wiggles.

After they performed we waited in another waiting area to get the results.  Both Mia and Cole received and "EXCELLENT".  Mia was hoping for a superior, and I was surprised she didn't receive one, but they were still both pretty happy with what they achieved.  I was really proud of them!

Mia and Cole with their piano teacher, Wendy Osborne.  Way to go Mia, you held your certificate upside down!  :)

I told them to smile for another picture.  This is what I got.

Let's try that again...

After our CRAZY day we went to Smash Burger for dinner and had ice cream at Thrifty's.  I had so much fun with my kids that night.  I feel so grateful for them and I can't believe how amazing they are.

Winter Sports

In February, we finished up our winter sports.  Mia was on a local volleyball league, and Cole played basketball for NJB.  I had no idea what I was getting into by signing the two of them up for this.  Both sports had two practices each week, plus a game every Saturday.  So I felt like I spent most of the winter in my car driving from one activity to the next.  But it was worth it.  They both learned so much through these sports, so I'm sure we're going to do it again next winter.

Here are some photos from Mia's final game.  I'm not going to miss driving there every Saturday, that's for sure.  It was at a Catholic church on the opposite side of the city and usually took me 30-40 minutes just to get there.  But other than that issue, I LOVED everything else about it.  She had so much fun!

Mia loved being on the same team as her good friend Lexi.  

Here's her team with Coach Lance Liu. 

And here is Cole's Basketball team. 

Cole made a lot of great friends, and he loved Coach Hubbell.  They won their first game of the playoffs, but lost the second one, to the undefeated team, Bomb Squad.  I was proud of him for trying his best though.

The Saturday after playoffs was the awards ceremony and Cole was excited to get a medal.  Way to go Cole!

Natural History Museum

Luke's Preschool class had a field trip to the Natural History Museum in Las Vegas.  It was our first time to this museum and my kids really enjoyed themselves.

Luke and Ella, with Jonathan, and Chloe.

Here's Luke running around the dinosaur exhibit (even though he wasn't supposed to).

They had some incredible things to see in the microscopes.

Ella just wanted to touch everything.

Chloe and her mom Youngsil were watching the sting rays.

Luke and Jonathan kept trying to reach over the glass and touch the sting rays.  It was hard for them to follow the rules of staying behind the glass.