busy weekend

this was a busy weekend.
friday brought swimming lessons for z, and then a burgerville dinner for everyone. mommy still needs a burgerville ice cream cone (it was forgotten in the takeout order).
saturday was filled with grocery shopping, a birthday party, a gingerbread house making party at church, and mommy's group classes. the group classes are now held at a church in the area, and one family FORGOT that the location had changed, and just left the students at our house. luckily j was there, and brought them to the church (no idea how everyone squeezed in along with z & s). mommy's stomach decided to rebel, so she's back on a limited diet, wondering if she should see the dr. :(
sunday (today) brought sunday school in the morning, along with choir practice afterward for z. we brought the snack for z's class, so mommy sat in on the class to help out, rather than staying in the service. daddy stayed home to work on the deck. once home, mommy started cleaning the refrigerator from top to bottom. it was quite a project! z had skating class in the afternoon, and then we zipped to uwajimaya's for some ginger and rice on the way home. mommy finished the refrigerator project upon returning home, and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookie batter to be turned into cookies tomorrow for z's choir concert. the kids & daddy went to the neighborhood xmas party, while mommy stayed home to cook some ginger chicken (and wash dishes), which may or may not upset her tummy again. z & s both threw mini tantrums on the way home from the kids' party. :( they are tired!
we promise to update this post with a picture of the gingerbread house. time for sleep right now.

go now in peace

here is a crazy version of go now in peace...

workshop

z gets instruction from miss g.

i held a studio workshop in november, and it kept me quite busy. 16 hours of master classes, and 4 hours of group classes and a lecture. i learned a lot, and hopefully everybody else did, too. miss g flew in from los angeles. so much work, but a lot of fun!

daddy watched the kids while i was working, and cooked for them. z doesn't normally like bacon, but he LOVED the bacon pasta j made. 

z cooks

one weekend in november, i was running my studio workshop, and these kiddos were busy in the kitchen!

z teaches s

they both shared responsibilities.

z is becoming a pro!

itsy bitsy spider

this is my all time favorite video. it is another one i found when i was going through the pictures, another one that made me laugh/cry. it has interpretive dancing and everything...

sunset

z noticed a beautiful sunset one evening, and he asked me to take a picture of it.

i turned around and took a picture of z!

church choir

click on this pic to see the bigger version.

z's choir helped lead the kids out after together time in church. we had thought the choir would be on the our side of the sanctuary, but they were on the other side. :(  i didn't catch much of it, but there will be other performances.

burgerville!!!

the kids and i got some lunch at burgerville one saturday. daddy had had a work dinner earlier that week, and if he gets to go out for a work dinner, we get to go to burgerville. going that same night didn't work, so we went for lunch on the weekend (while daddy was at the climbing gym). 

chef z

z cooked pancakes again all by himself (almost)!

z did the dishes for the first time in his life!

z got a piece of halloween candy afterwards.

dancing with teddy.

s sang her favorite song.

then z took a turn.

this was after trick or treating. i have no pictures of the kids going trick or treating because we were the last neighbors to get outside, as usual, and were running behind, and it was raining, so it wasn't good camera weather. 

here is z with all his candy.

chef s

s is ready to cook. she was trying on her new apron and chef's hat for the first time. 

falling camera

there were a couple of surprise videos in the iphoto library when i reviewed what hadn't yet been posted. daddy has been busy recording the kids' antics while i've been teaching. i started laughing so hard i was crying when i found this one.

mushtaches

s received moustache tattoos for her birthday. daddy & s had fun with them...

z still calls them mushtaches.

s's 3rd birthday

z made pancakes all by himself othe day beofre s's birthday 

z is getting ready, donning his new apron and hat. s wanted to play with the oven mitts.

s is learning from the master chef.

z stirs and stirs

z pours and pours

grandma brought over an early birthday present for s, which turned out to be...

a tinkerbell costume!!!

s's 3rd birthday!

s & daddy

big brother helps read a card

s's cake, made by aunt r

s's cake

so sweet!

z, in his school shirt

lit candles

singing to the birthday girl

blowing out candles

big brother had to help with the trick candles

a whole cake layer just for me!!!

yummy!!!

opening presents

onlooking grandparents

dr. aunt m takes a swing

the birthday girl swings

z swings

mommy swings

s and z swing

uncle a has fun, and uncle j finishes it off. treats go flying, including treats for adults as well as kids

random pics

here is a pic of the kids playing outside, even though it was dark.

this was from warmer times...

field trip

j took s on a field trip to the pumpkin patch along with her school. they both had fun. i was happy to not have to go! 

pdx marathon 2014

we went down to cheer on dr. aunt m and her friend while they were running the marathon. this little guy and his sign were VERY popular with the runners!!!!! soooo cute!!

chalice lighting

you can't really see much, but z's sunday school class all lit the chalice together one sunday morning. 

movies

i think the day after z's birthday, we went to see a movie. we were able to purchase 10 tickets for a dollar each, for the valley theater. they show 2nd run movies there. it must've been the lego movie. i wasn't excited to see it, but it wasn't too bad! we ate pizza and drank beer (well, the kids had water), and i didn't have to cook dinner. we haven't made all the movies - life happens - but for the price, it's a great deal. i'm grateful the valley theater provides the opportunity.

z's birthday party 2014

one saturday morning, i tried violins for a student. vinny had a doctor's appointment. the house was a flurry of activity. 

that saturday afternoon, we embarked upon a journey known as "z's birthday party!"

it began with an outdoor treasure hunt

clues were strewn all throughout the neighborhood

upon rock and under tree...

the elders sat around the table...

there was an indoor treasure hunt...

and then magic chemistry experiments...

brews were created...

and things were mixed together...

creating....

CHEMICAL REACTIONS!!!

they were fun.

they were exciting!

and some of them...

did not work...

and then they DID work...

and then lava full of color flowed...

there were valiant warrior games...

with tough princesses and princes...

treasures were found...

and fire was blown out as wishes were made...

and we all got to eat cake.

z opened his presents. 

thanks to abuela & dr. aunt m for the photos! 

whew. 

what an adventure! 

it's exhausting just remembering it!!!