Fall pictures

Fall is such a beautiful time and we have tried to seize more outside time, after the very hot and humid summer that we had it has been a very welcome change. I took advantage of the photo opportunities and the girls had fun also. I just love the fact that other than Jade who decided to cut her own hair, that the girls have let me keep their hair long. I can remember from my childhood having very long hair and just bugging my mom  to let me cut it because all my friends were doing it. So she let me have it cut,   I hated it and spent the rest of my teen years trying to grow it out. Not to mention the perm I made my  mother give me ,oh that just makes me shudder thinking about that.Well let me not get off track from the great pictures that the girls let me take and the fun that we had that day.

Fall is on the way !!! Please

After what seems months of 100 degree temps  we have experienced a cooling front and rain.. what a wonderful sensation to be able the open up the windows and let fresh air come blowing through the house !!!!.

Life is at full swing in our house we are back to school, we also have guitar and violin lessons, Jade has informed me that she is going to be a drummer we may need a little more sound proofing in the studio for  that one.

And also dance classes have started some of which I get to teach, Ruby is taking a class from me and she has done a great job letting mommy be the teacher. I am certainly enjoying using my skills as a dance teacher and the ages of my classes range from 3-4's up to teenagers.


Pearl had a birthday and she is now 7 going on 40, and all the girls are doing so well in school and most mornings Jade is enthusiastic to get out of bed and go and then some she informs me that this is a good day to watch TV and eat popcorn and I am hard pressed to argue with her on this point sometimes.

Ruby has been working on a diorama of Neptune and I am proud to say that she did everything herself I have no need to do my children' s homework for them, it also may be that I have no talent in that direction .
so if we can keep up with all the activities and deadlines we will be doing great, I don't know how families who have something going on every night  keep their sanity.

Princess Jade in the Studio

I am pleased to say that all the girls auditioned for the school music "Willy Wonker and the chocolate factory" and got in, I think I would have had a hard time if one of them had not made the cut but I know that we will have to deal with this in the future as that is the nature of the beast. But for now we all get to practice being an um pa lump a !!! love it.

Daddy has been locked in the studio working on computer courses and also fine tuning our next animation project " surfer puppy" the girls have no idea what a huge part of this process they are and how much power that they wield. Well on the wash some dishes and make some lunches for tomorrow.

Pearl and her MP3 !!

We have found that it is not always possible to travel with Terry but we do have one location that works so well for all the family. Lake of the Ozarks has all the things the girls like to do, swimming and movies and also a wonderful facility  called Miner Mikes http://www.minermikes.com/home.php it is an inside play  area that has bumper cars and ferries wheel and a train. not too mention a play area with slides and ball pits. It is for children up to the age of twelve and with the incredible heat wave that we have experienced it was the perfect entertainment for the girls. 

And we are getting to the stage where we have great time in the car traveling playing eye spy and watching movies as well as sonic stops for slushes. Jade is now able to get into the climbing area without my assistance and my knees are very glad of that. We also have the swimming in the pool under control without mom having  a nervous break down, I am not quiet sure how I started off as a very calm person and now at times I can  be a little manic to say the least, breath !!!!!!!!! 

 So our girls are growing up and we have fun when we travel together, although when I look at the van after the journey and see the sea of trash that never made it too the garbage can I have to have a quiet moment and remember all of the great moments that we had on the trip. While we were at Miner Mikes I  am glad that  I dont have a smartphone, as alot of the parents  where busy with the  laptops and phone Apps rather than enjoying the kids and all the fun interactions .  Don't get me wrong I have my moments like right now as the girls are playing in tents right next to me as I am typing  this!  I should really be  on the floor playing and do this at a better time. 

 But we are only human !!!! so we made it through the summer, school is about to start and I think that we made some memories and grew as a family.And now we will tackle Kindergarten, first grade and 3rd grade. 

Is sumer half over or half begun !

We are now in the middle of our summer as we count down  the weeks until school starts again and Miss Jade will be a full fledged Kindergartner..... I am sure that that it will be a roller coaster ride in the beginning. 

VBS Rock Star

But trying not to get a head of my self there are still some weeks left to enjoy.Although we try to stay pretty close to home we have still managed to pack in  a sleep over and some vacation bible school time as well as trying to keep up with dental appointments. I know for some of you that is not the hectic pace that your family has but I just feel that I see them for such a short time when they are in school that I want to enjoy every minute that I can in the summer.

We really seem to slow down during the summer, no dance, no violin and some guitar. We go old school... read books, draw pictures and play barbies and go swimming. I must say that I enjoy these low key days, hopefully we are teaching the girls that you don't have to have technology to be entertained ! We have been trying to get in the kitchen more, not my favorite place. I am English and you have all heard about our cooking talents. But I want the girls to have some skills and I could use some more inspiration on that front. I think that it stems from working on cruise ships for over ten years and never  having to cook a meal !!!!!!!! or do laundry or clean a toilet, OK  I will stop now or I will be in a tail spin. 

End of School and on with Summer !!!!!!!!!

Happy campers

Well,  we are finished with school !!! We have now graduated from pre school, Kindergarten and the 2nd grade. I found that as we got closer to the end of school we had to initiate donut Friday, this was a great help in getting everyone out of the door and on our way. 

Pearl Last day of Kindergarten

Pearl loved Kindergarten and is reading up a storm we will see if we can keep up the summer reading !!! This was my first Kindergarten graduation as Ruby was home schooled for K and part of 1st grade. I must say it was a proud moment for the parents the kids just wanted to get to the refreshments. 

Terry and Miss Jade

Terry got to come to Jade pre school party! wow.... those kids no how to expend some energy.

Last day of  2nd Grade

  

 Ruby had a great second grade and is full steam a head for 3rd grade... it is all going a little to fast for me. Hopefully we will make  our summer last till the bitter end and that we will make the most of every opportunity ( with lots of quiet moments also )

 

Then we got a much needed vacation visiting Grandparents and having some family fun... low tech no computers or TV's in site.... I loved it !!!!

Family in Grandma's sprinklers !

Road Trip

Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN. 

 Spring break was here and so we packed up and went to Music City, USA. Nashville TN where we had once lived when Ruby was a very little girl. We had not been back in a few years and so we thought it a great spot to visit once again. Driving in a minivan with 3 young girls was not my idea of a fun time, but we occupied our time with eye spy, videos and some singing along the way. Although Jade does not like it when mommy sings in the car how wonderful to have once  earned a living  singing only to be silenced by a four year old. Children can be very humbling sometimes !!!!!

 Who knew that we would see the King!!! while in Nashville, but I guess that maybe he was here on Spring break also. As you can see Jade did not what to be part of the happy group although mommy made her !!!!

Here is a close up of Jade when she does not want to join in, it is amazing the determination of a four year old.
We had a wonderful time in Nashville visiting friend and what feels like family, hopefully it will not take us that long to get back next time.
 

Snow Day !!!

Finally the snow day that we had dreamed about over Christmas ! Well not quiet the two feet of snow, but it was enough to spark my girls into action. We got layered up and went outside to sled and build a snow man and before we got too cold and had some tears, we got to do just that.

We called a snow day and so we made the most of being home bound for the day only venturing out for this short time. And our snowman was nothing to brag about but we had the best time constructing it, making certain that we had a carrot in the house to add the finishing touch.

As you can see not a big amount of snow but how wonderful to see the eyes of the girls light up when those first flurries started to come down, it makes you smile and feel that warm glow of joy and also wanting to capture that excitement that it would seem only children can posses. 

Terry ventured out with us and got a well deserved break from the studio to play with his treetop sisters, I don't know who had more fun Terry or the girls. 

We are due to have more snow tomorrow and who knows we may have another snow day and capture some more memories. Once we retreated inside we warmed ourselves and felt the need to go into the studio and play a song even Jade joined us on the drums! glad to say it was precious and glad there was no-one to hear but us.... I think my violin was out of tune!!!!!.

Happy New Year.......  Miss Jade is helping daddy with the next project, I think that this one is going to be about a Mermaid. 

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas as well as a  Happy New Year and now it is time to get back to work and school. 

Just before Christmas our studio was filled with Christmas cheer as Terry's sister Linda came in to finish her recording project, what a wonderful pianist she is!

 

We are egerly awaiting the final animation on "Larry the lumberjack" and hope to preview that in the next installment and Ruby has just completed singing a Spanish version of "Bear at the Fair"!

 It is amazing that children have such great ears for languages! It took her no time at all to record it. A big thank you to Rebbecca Pullen for working with Ruby on the pronunciation. Ruby also performed during the holidays with her school choir and did a great job with seasonal songs and handbells!!!!

Pearl has been hard at work with her violin, but I think she has enjoyed the winter break and everyone in the house is ready for her to move onto a different song.  She is also ready to get back into the studio and add her vocals to another of daddy's wonderful songs. 

Miss Jade was back to pre-school today and she was ready as she told us she needed to get her sillies out. And from this photo you can tell that she is doing her best to do that.

Merry Christmas