Poisened Apples

The Hale Theater is currently showing Snow White.  I knew that they were coming and got tickets for Melanie, Noelle, My mother and me way in advance.  This was Noelle's first theater experience and I was really looking forward to this play and surprising the girls (they had no idea).

The morning of Brandon took Oliver on a "guy's day" adventure with Grandpa Smithson (more on that later).  The girls told me that they wanted to do a "woman's day" (their words) and I asked what they wanted to do.  "Dress up like Princesses" they said.  How convenient, that was already part of my plan.  I did their hair all special and gave them both a Snow White dress.  Clever Melanie figured it out.  The excitement escalated.

I couldn't resist a little photo opportunity.

 When I bought the seats, I was the first one to pick any seats in the theater (for this showing).  I thought the front row would be fun because then Noelle could see.  What I didn't know was I picked the only row that was literally *on* the stage (off to the side, but flush).  All the other sections started up a level.  To say we were close to the action would be an understatement.  In fact, when frightened by the unknown Snow White, one of the dwarfs actually picked up Melanie, sat in her seat, and put her on his lap to "hide" from Snow White.  Let me tell you something about Melanie... having a strange man pick her up and put her on his lap without asking does not sit well with her.  She didn't cry, but she quickly climbed off his lap and on to my mom's (then hid her face).  The dwarf then tried to convince Noelle to hide him.  This also did not work as he had hoped, because she just leaned towards me.  He ended up trying to hide himself in the fetal position on the chair.  So yeah, we were really close to the action.  I'm thinking next time I'd like to be up a level.  I felt like I was going to have a toe stepped on if I weren't careful.

Here we are waiting for the play to begin.

 I think they did a wonderful job.  Of all the children's plays we have been to, this was definitely my favorite.  The evil queen was wickedly good.  There were two actresses that played her.  One played the queen as herself and the other played the queen as the young girl and the old hag (this queen transformed herself twice!)

 The picture of the girls with the royal couple didn't turn out the best, but I had to include it.  Snow White actually reminded me of the charactor from the Disney movie.  She did a great job.  And the prince was very charming!

 Here are the girls with two of the dwarfs.  The one holding Noelle's hand up to wave was the one that picked Melanie up during the show.  The dwarfs were very entertaining!

 After the show, we walked to Oreganos and met up with Papa Terry for lunch.  The girls were completely spoiled by grandpa! 

Seriously spoiled!  I mean... have you ever seen anyone enjoy dessert as much as this:

 Here's the whole group at lunch.

After lunch, I drove us home as fast as was legal and safe, because there was a little man there waiting for his mommy.  Noelle feel asleep in the car and was out.  It took a handsome prince to give her kisses to wake her up!  They spent the rest of the day (and most of the rest of the weekend) wearing their Snow White dresses.  They even watched the movie Snow White that night.  I think the day was a success!

Hawaii - Wedding: A few new photos

I didn't take any pictures at the wedding or the reception, so I have been getting them from my cousin. Well, here are a few I got from my mom. Instead of trying to add them to my last post (which is a nightmare to do), I decided to just to add them now.

Here I am, walking my mom to the alter to give her away to her new husband. After roughly 17 years of being a single mother, my mom decided that if her dad couldn't give her away, it would be more fitting that her children have the honor. My brother couldn't make the wedding, so I got to do it. It was very meaningful.

This is my little family with the bride and groom.And this is me and my beautiful cousin, Casey. Casey is going into her senior year of highschool and if a beautiful person. There is so much potiental in this girl. I can't wait to see what she does with it.

A Day with Grandma Traci

Saturday was a special day, it was the day that the girls played with Grandma! (I was singing that to the tune of "Saturday"... and don't pretend you weren't as well). My mother called me up last week and asked if she could plan a special one on one day with the girls. Of course I agreed to it.

So, my mom showed up around 7:30 Saturday morning to pick up Ms. Noelle. Little Ms. Noelle was so excited to be going on an adventure with her grandma!

Grandma Traci took Noelle out for donuts! Apparently she picked out 2 pink frosted and sprinkled donuts!And they were THAT good!

Then my mother took Noelle to Walmart and bought her and her big sister both a doll and some goggles. Noelle was so excited about her new goodies, but even more excited about her time with Grandma.

When Noelle got home, it was time for Melanie to have a special day with Grandma.

Grandma picked Melanie up and headed to the theator to see "Brave". Melanie was so excited.

Unfortunately, Melanie did not make it through the movie. Apparently she had a break down when the main charactor's mom turned into a bear. Grandma had to take her out of the theator. To make the day turn around, my mom decided to head to the mall to take her to ride on the merry-go-round.

When they got into the mall, Melanie announced that she had to go to the restroom. They ran to the nearest one they could find... got all the way to the stall... got in to the stall... and opps!!!! (Is it just me, or is it really hard to find a close bathroom in a mall when you need one?) So, Melanie and Grandma headed to the little girl's department in one of the stores and Melanie got her new favorite underroos.

Then Grandma got her an icecream and took her for that ride on the merry-go-round.

It was an eventful trip with Grandma! Melanie had a blast! She did have nightmares that night because of the movie. (which is unfortunate, because I want to see the movie). I think that perhaps it was because she was in the dark, and the screen is huge, and of course, the idea of a mom changing into something else is probably frightening.

Oliver was pretty happy when her sisters got home. He was all smiles!

I love this little man!

After the kids went down for their naps, my mom and I got to spend some quality time together as well. It was really refreshing.

Thank you, Grandma Traci, for such a wonderful day!

The Graduate

"The time has come, the time is now..." (Dr Seuss).

The time *has* come. Melanie graduated from Lovin' Learning Preschool Saturday! They had a very nice ceremony on Saturday for the kids, family, and friends.

Melanie was so sweet walking to the stage. She was having trouble with her hat, but LOVED wearing the gown.

The program was full of songs, and everyone had a part. They also demonstrated things they learned over the year (including counting by ten's, the alphabet sounds, days of the week, and more).Melanie's part was "Sometimes we really had to "dig" in to learn about things like butterflies and frogs". She did it so well.

Then the kids got their certificates. This is our friend, Josh, graduating.

Here is another friend, Alissa, graduating.

Finally it was Melanie's turn.

Noelle was worn out by all the excitement.

Oliver really enjoyed the whole thing.

Melanie said congrats to her friends and then got some refreshments!

Oh, and we can't forget the flowers Grandma and Grandpa Smithson got her!

Thank you to all the grandparents that were able to come.

Congratulations, Melanie, on one very amazing year of school. You have grown and learned so much. Mom and Dad are both so proud of you! We Love You!

Pinkalicious- the Musical

The Broadway Palms Theater is now showing Pinkalicious the musical during the month of May!  I decided to get some tickets for My mom, My Melanie and me for a Mother's Day treat for mom.  I decided not to bring Noelle because I wasn't sure if she could handle it.  After it started, I realized that she could have so next play I think I'll be sure to include her.

The play was really fun!  Melanie's favorite part were the dancing cupcakes that sang and danced around Pinkalicious's bed while she slept before she turned Pink!  and then Red!  My favorite part was the bumble bee that kept mistaking Pinkalicious for a flower.  My mom liked the whole thing.

The play was very entertaining, and the music was fun!  We really enjoyed ourselves.

Before the play started.

 Melanie with the cast that played several smaller parts.

 Melanie with Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton

 Melanie with Pinkalicious and Peter (her brother)

Melanie got everyone's autographs and then we headed outside and to the truck.  (But not before getting a few more pictures)

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch, and then headed home to eat and visit!  It was a great day!

Date with Mom and Grandma

On Saturday, my mom treated Melanie and me to a special date. We got to go to the Hale Theater to see Beauty and the Beast! Melanie got all dressed up in her princess best. She was too cute.(Complete with princess hair, of course).
We picked up Grandma Traci and headed to the theater.
The play was a lot of fun. It wasn't the Beauty and the Beast that you think of when you think Disney, but the story was similar. In the play, Beauty had 2 sisters. This confused Melanie, who kept asking me if those were really Beauty's sisters. The Beast was pretty scary looking to me. The Beast had two "friends" that came out of pictures "hanging" on the walls. They were pretty entertaining. I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

After the show, we met Beauty and Beast. I wasn't too impressed by the line, considering we stood in the "front" of the line for about 15 minutes, within reaching distance of Beauty, and yet people kept coming in front of Melanie from the side to talk to Beauty and Beast and get their autographs. I finally just stopped everyone and put Melanie on their laps for a picture. Perhaps that was cranky of me... but it was really hard to explain to Melanie that she had to wait when she was truly in the front of the line. *sigh*. I think the actress that played Beauty wasn't helping anything because she just kept talking to all the kids (which is sweet, but was encouraging the problem instead of the solution).

After the show, we went out to lunch. It was cold outside, but with the heaters, we were able to enjoy the outdoors and be comfortable.

Thank you Grandma Traci for such a fun date. Melanie and I both had a ton of fun. Melanie is still talking about it. We love you!