Jiggle Jam 2010

Saturday morning we headed down to Crown Center for Jiggle Jam.  It is held every Memorial Day weekend (well for the last few years at least) and we love it.  We got there right at 9 when it opened so it was not too crowded and crazy yet. 

Lauren got her face painted like a mermaid and she loved it! 

This was a space shuttle that was set up for the kids to play in. 

Addison had a lot of fun in the bubble tent. 

Lauren loved the "jumpy things"

and she loved getting tattoos. 

This Juicy Juice was handed out for free and the girls loved it, especially Addison. 

It was super hot and so these fountains were perfect.  Last year Lauren would not play in them.  As you can see here, this year is different. 

Addison was a little scared of the water, but when it was turned off for a few minutes she wanted to know where the water was.  As you can see in the picture she asking "where is the water?" 

After lunch at Fritz's in Crown Center we headed back out for the train ride.  The girls loved it!  They smiled, laughed and waved after they got going.  I told Lauren to protect Addison and make sure she did not fall out, and she listened...

Such a fun event and a great day. 

The Real Story

So everyone has asked me how I get such great pictures of the girls.  Well here is the real story.  I take about 75-100 pictures and end up with 7-10 that are just awesome.  Here are some of the others.  The reality of taking pictures of 2 kids, and one of them just 19 months old with a mind of her own...

Addison's 19 Month Photo Shoot

I took all of these pictures Sunday morning at Unity Village.  I got several great ones of Addison, did not have as much luck with Lauren.  It was really windy, so the pictures with a great smile also included crazy hair and dresses blowing everywhere.  But I love the pictures I got with both the girls.  They turned out great.  Enjoy...

Soccer Wrap Up

Soccer ended a few weekends ago on a cold and rainy Saturday morning.  Their last practice was supposed to be a game and a medal ceremony.  All the kids showed up just wanting their medals, since it was so cold and rainy.  So that is what the coach decided to do, just give the kids their medals. 

When they started playing "games" at practice Lauren did not really like soccer anymore.  It was just too aggressive.  There were 9 boys and 3 girls all running, falling, pushing, shoving, going after the same white soccer ball.  So Lauren was happy just to get her medal and go home.  Killian was too! 

At this point she was pretty cold and wet, no big smiles from Lauren.  She loves her medal.  She slept with it several nights, and even wore it to school one day. 

I think Lauren enjoyed practicing soccer, going through each of the stations (dribbling, passing, kicking, and goalie) but when it came time for the actual game that was a different story.  We will try again in the fall with a 3 on 3 league and see how things go.  Very fun to watch her have so much fun (most of the time) with Killian and Seth.  Yea Lauren!!!

Dance Girl

Dance is coming to an end quickly and it is a busy time of year.  Dance pictures were last Wednesday and the girls looked adorable.  I left work at 3:45 to get Lauren to dance "all done up" by 6:00 and was still late!  She had to have her hair curled a certain way, make-up on, and her adorable costume on.  She had to eat dinner, and Addison did too.  Her showcase is the first weekend in June and she is so excited. 

This is her friend Madylyn.  She is 6 and such a sweet girl.  I really love her Mom too.  We usually talk the whole hour at dance while the girls are in practicing. 

This is not the greatest smile on Lauren but it shows her whole costume.  Isn't it cute???  I don't really like the bow, but maybe up on stage it will be cute. 

This is Camryn, my friend Jenny's daughter.  She is the dancing pro!  As you can see here I did not put as much blush or lipstick on Lauren, I just could not do it.  We were also supposed to do mascara and eye liner...none for Lauren.  She has eye shadow, body glitter, pale pink blush and pale red lipstick.  Enough for a 4 year old. 

These girls looked so cute and they are all so excited for Showcase.  Lauren and Camryn are in the front row.  They are actually the 2 youngest girls in the class.  The other girls are 5 and 6, so a little taller and bigger.  Madylyn is the blond in the back at the end and Cori is the brown haired girl in the back on the other end.  Those are Lauren's good little friends as well. 

We have dress rehearsal on Friday June 4th, and I have to get her "all done up" again by 4:30...I have no idea how early I am going to have to leave work that day!  Then she has a performance on Saturday June 5th and Sunday June 6th, both at 3:00.  It should be a lot of fun.  Stayed tuned for more pictures! 

Disney World Day 5

This was our last day at Disney World and it was fun.  Probably my second most fun day!  We headed down to Downtown Disney to hang out before we had to be at the airport to head back home.  It was a last minute idea to spend the day there and I got really lucky and was able to get Lauren into Bippity Boppity Boutique so she could be transformed into a Disney Diva for the plane ride home. 

When we first arrive we enjoyed walking around the shops and taking some last minute photos with different characters. 

Addison hung out with Mark most of the morning, and took a nap in the stroller for about 45 minutes, so this is really the only picture of her that I have.  Her Minnie Mouse is her favorite stuffed animal right now.  She just adores carrying that thing all over the house. 

Lauren was not to thrilled at first to be getting her hair done.  She was scared of one of the employees taking pictures of all the girls getting their hair done.  This place as packed.  There was probably 10-12 chairs all filled with little girls becoming a princess.  Everyone loved it! 

She is finally staring to have fun now that she is getting her nails done. 

That smile just shows how much fun she was having.  I am not a huge fan of little girls in make-up, but for vacation and a special occasion it is fine.  Lauren loved it and I loved watching her love it. 

She was peeking even though she was not supposed to look yet!  That really got her excited. 

Look at that smile.  So much happiness....I love it!!

Ms. Ruby was incredible.  She was so patient with Lauren and really made Lauren feel special when she was a little bit sad at the beginning.  She even sprinkled some fairy dust on me so I could be a special princess just like Lauren. 

As you can see here Lauren loved going to Bippity Boppity Boutique and I loved watching her have so much fun.  She was a Disney Diva all the way home on the airplane and the next day too.  She want to the park and the store as a Diva.  She got several compliments and a few strange looks as well. 

Mark and I can't wait to take the girls back to Disney World.  They loved it and we did too.  It is such a memorable vacation that every kid should experience.  So many great memories and fun times. 

Now I just have to scrapbook the whole trip!  Should be an awesome scrapbook. 

Disney World Day 4

Today was Hollywood Studios day.  I realized as I went through these  pictures that there are not as many pictures of the girls today.  Just more pictures of things, signs, and the roller coaster Mark rode.  Hollywood Studios is more shows and less amusement park like.  When we arrived we went to the Playhouse Disney show first (that included Handy Manny, Little Einstein's, and Pooh and Tigger.)  The girls seems to enjoy the show, however Mark was a little uncomfortable since he had to sit on the floor!  After that show we headed down to get Mark a fast pass for a roller coaster.  Addison was ready for a nap already so Mark hung out with her in the stroller while she took a nap. 

Lauren and I enjoyed the Aerial show.  It was really cool, and they made it seem like we were under water with Aerial, complete with a cool mist shower. 

Next Lauren and I headed to the Toy Story ride (which we also had a fast pass for.)  We walked right up and got on the ride in about 10 minutes.  You wear 3D glasses and you go to a circus on the ride and play games and shot things.  Very cool and very fun.  Lauren says it was one of her favorite rides. 

Green Army Man from Toy Story.  These guys were all over interacting with the kids. 

Next we headed down here so Mark could ride a roller coaster.  But first we had to watch the High School Musical performance in the main area.  Lauren really loves watching dancers and singers, and they did a really good job. 

Lauren and Addison enjoyed some popcorn while we waited for Mark.  See that pile of popcorn in front of Addison? That popcorn was in her stroller and she took piece by piece over to that area to eat it from there.  There was this old couple watching her take all her popcorn to that special spot.  Very cute and very entertaining.  She did this for about 15 minutes.  Perfect while we waited for Mark. 

Next was lunch.  A good break, but very hot since we ate outside.  We decided at lunch that we needed to figure out what to do in the afternoon.  It was clear that we were not going to get to see everything at Hollywood Studios.  It is just impossible to see it all with two little ones...

We decided to do the Lights, Camera, Action show. It is stunt cars and guys catching on fire.  Lauren thought it was pretty cool for a while, but then decided it was too loud and she wanted to leave.  We probably should have skipped the show because now Lauren is scared about the boy catching on fire (up above in the picture.)  Hard for a 4 year old to figure out that it was just a show...

As you can see here Addison was a little bit scared too.  Poor little girl...

Next we headed to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids set.  It was a huge playground that was just pack with kids.  It was really neat and Lauren enjoyed playing in here, but man it was packed, and hard to keep track of Lauren. 

We headed back to the hotel to take naps and just decided to stay at the hotel and swim.  There were several nice families that we had met throughout the week and we saw one family at the pool that night.  We seemed to be at the bus stop each morning with them and headed to the same parks each day.  We even came home from one of the parks at the same time one day.  Very strange.  We enjoyed our last night at the pool, had dinner at the hotel, and Mark enjoyed a much needed adult beverage!