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

The treetop sisters  is a fledgling project that came out of a need for us to connect with our children and make them part of a dream that we have had for some time. We as parents sometimes have a tough choice when choosing appropriate materials for our young children to watch, and spurring our young girls to use their imaginations and take what they see around them to transform their world into whatever their hearts desire.

Our Treetop Sisters as you will see from our first project are three young girls;  Ruby, Pearl and Jade, who tell stories and are transported to a labyrinth of beautiful colors and friendly faces. As with our story Ruby is the oldest and loves to read. Pearl is our budding violinist, and Jade is our precocious four-year old.

My husband, Terry Ayers, has been involved in music since the 1970’s. He toured nationally with Atlantic Record’s recording artist, Laura Branigan, as well as appearing on NBC’s The Tonight Show.

 Terry continues to earn his living as a full time musician as well as songwriter. But as with many musicians several days out of each week are spent on the road and in trying to connect with his girls when returning home. It was out of his desire to truly bond with his daughters the idea of the “treetop sisters” was born.

The girls have been involved in every aspect of the projects from Ruby our eldest ( 7 years old.) singing the lead vocals to the other girls being involved with choosing colors for the animation, as well as lending their voices to the video game of “The Bear at the Fair”.

My name is Trisha Ayers and I have the wonderful job of being the “stay at home mom” to these three girls. My background is in dance and theater, but now my biggest theatrical production is that of stage manager to my talented and sometimes crazy household.

I hope that you will enjoy the “treetop sisters” and take this magical journey with us from Terry, Trisha, Ruby, Pearl and Jade.
http://www.treetopsisters.com/