Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Ka'iulani

I can't believe we just celebrated Ka'iulani's 9th birthday!! She was, of course, very excited. We decorated the living room with Happy Birthday signs and music notes to look like the stage from "Camp Rock." Unfortunately, I didn't get a wide enough shot in this picture for you to see all of the decor, but it did come out kind of cute. And with the new Camp Rock soundtrack she got for her birthday, our living room has been a constant stage for the girls' musical talents. :)

More Skating Pictures

Here are a couple more skating party pictures. Emma trying out the limbo (all of Alyssa's friends were impressed that she tried), and Rebekah exploring the lockers. Also, Alyssa didn't want cake, she doesn't like frosting, so I made cupcakes instead, leaving some plain for her. The rest were decorated in an attempt to copy the music note cupcakes in the Disney movie, Camp Rock.

Roller Skating Birthday Party

Alyssa's roller skating party was a lot of fun for the kids. It was extremely busy for my mom and myself trying to keep up with 14 little girls on roller skates, and I know my dad had his hands full with Rebekah running around the rink, and Dave was busy photographing everything. Overall, the party reminded me that roller skating is great exercise, and a lot of fun too.

Thank You, Thank You!!!

Alyssa had a really nice birthday. She got so many wonderful gifts, and was excited about each and every one! She must have the most stylish ensemble of Hannah Montana shirts known to any 3rd grader!!! She feels so grown up playing games on her learning lap top and Nintendo DS, and loves them so much (she's learning a lot too!) Her new electric blanket is helping her sleep like a baby! Thank you so very much!

Good Morning, Birthday Girl!!

Ka'iulani had a special surprise on her birthday morning when a rockstar birthday cookie bouquet arrived from Grandmommy and Granddaddy. The cookies are so cute and yummy too! Thank you so much!!

Getting Excited About Her Birthday!

Last night after Laternennacht, Alyssa really began to get excited about her birthday. She had two friends sleeping over and I think the excitement over her party coming up this afternoon was getting the best of all of them. This picture was taken at about 11pm when she suddenly came running down the stairs speaking in a southern accent saying, "I have just gotten off the airplane in South Carolina and now I need to look for souvenirs!" They were all acting so silly and having lots of fun!

Laterne, Laterne...

Laterne, Laterne, sonne mund und sterne...It's Laternennacht time! Laternennacht means Night of the Lanterns in German, and it's quite a sight to see. Each fall our school celebrates the German tradition of singing songs and parading around the school's park while all the children carry their glowing lanterns. Many of the more traditional lanterns are shaped like suns, moons, or stars (sonne, mund, und sterne), but now it is quite common to see animal shaped lanterns, and homemade lanterns can be made into pretty much any shape imaginable. A picture doesn't do it justice to see how cool it looks to see a parade of little twinkle lights marching around the park. At the end of the parade, everyone gets cookies and apples, it's a very fun tradition that we look forward to each year.

Alyssa's Handmade "Mushroom" Laterne

When I arrived in Alyssa's classroom to help with reading on Friday afternoon, most of the students were still scrambling to finish their "Mushroom" Laterne. I guess these little red topped mushrooms are pretty prevalent in Germany and giving one as a gift is giving a wish for prosperity and long life, which is kind of funny since they are poisonous (but they made cute laternes!). Anyway, we didn't get a whole lot of reading done, we spent most of our time preparing for Laternennacht.

Emma and Catherine

Emma and her good friend Catherine enjoying Laternennacht.

What's This On My Forehead?

Last Saturday, while playing in the living room, Rebekah bumped her head and needed 4stitches. The girls were all running around and Emma had a blanket wrapped around her like a cape. Kamele grabbed onto the blanket and wasn't able to keep up with her sister's fast running. She bumped her head on the leg of a chair as she fell down. Getting the stitches in was a little rough, they had to "papoose" her to the table which was essentially like a baby straight jacket so she couldn't kick her legs or put her hands in the way of the doctor. Once that part was over, she has been doing much better. She even woke up the next morning asking me, "What is this on my forehead?" She has been leaving her stitches alone, and as you can see from the pictures, doesn't seem too bothered by her ouchie. After church on Sunday morning, she asked Alyssa to help her put on her pink fairy wings and was dancing all over the place. Now I am just hoping it heals up nicely because it is right in the middle of her forehead above her nose, not a very discreet place for a scar!

1 Little Monkey Swinging in the Tree

1 little monkey swinging in the tree, teasing Mr. Crocodile: "You can't catch me...You can't catch me!"

Camp Rock Star

The Little Mermaid

Minnie Mouse

Red, White, and Blue Dinner

To help the girls feel excited about the election, we had a red, white, and blue dinner. The red and white were easy, with a rotini noodle pasta bake, apple slices, and red and white American flag jello mold. For the blue, I wish I could have been more creative than Blue Koolaid, but that was it :) blue mashed potatoes seemed like a little much. The girls had fun with it, and Alyssa joked that the peas showed our support of the green party (she didn't know what the green party was until her mock election in school last week).

Costume Fun!

Here is one of only a few group shots I was able to get of the girls dressed in their costumes. If it looks like they are freezing, that's because they are! We went back inside to layer up underneath the costumes after taking this pic. All three girls chose their outfits this year. Alyssa is Demi Lovato from Camp Rock, Emma is Ariel, and Duckie is Minnie Mouse. I got some better individual photos of each girl in her costume that I will try to post later this week.

Trick or Treat at the Museum

Every year our public museum hosts an indoor trick or treat. It's a lot of fun for the kids and a lot warmer too! The children get to do crafts and explore the museum. Alyssa went as Jasmine, and Emma and Rebekah used their Little Mermaid and Minnie costumes again.

Spinnentag

Instead of a Halloween party, the kindergarten classes do a unit on spiders. They finish their extensive study of these "creepy crawlies" with a party called Spinnentag. I helped out in Emma's class and the kids were so excited to make their spider hats, decorate glitter webs, play Pin the Legs on the Spider, and fashion Oreo cookies into a yummy spider treat. It was a fun afternoon.

Fall Photos

On a day off from school, we had some wonderful weather and enjoyed a nice day at the park. The girls had fun climbing trees and playing on the playground.