Road Trip...

We couldn't let a week off from school and work go to waste so we packed up and took a little road trip.  Thank goodness we have Kate to make sure that everyone knows that we are not home. Do you think she noticed that we took her fantastic signs down before we left? 

Our first stop was in Yakima, WA for some Miner's burgers and shakes.  the burgers were HUGE! We didn't stay long as we headed up to this cute Bavarian town called Leavenworth, WA. If you are a fan of beer and brats this place is for you! My favorite part was being serenaded by the cute old man playing the alphorn during breakfast, and literally having the greatest nights sleep I have ever had in a hotel bed.  The highlight for the kids was the massive jacuzzi in our room.  

Then we hit our favorite stop during our trip, Cafe Rio!  I would give anything to have one in Portland so I didn't have to drive all the way to Seattle to eat the best Fresh Mex known to man.  And of course our trip to Seattle wouldn't be complete without a trip to the American Girl Doll store? We stayed at the kids favorite embassy suites hotel. 

The next day we played in Seattle's children's museum.  Thank goodness for their art room, otherwize I think next time we will find something more exciting for the older two kiddos to see and do, but they were good sports. Pike's Market is always fun to walk down and we finally found the infamous Gum Wall! We added our wad of gum to the wall and ended the night at a family favorite, Maggianos.  

We still had a few days left of vactaion when we returned home so talked our friends, the McCauleys into going to the beach for the day to catch clams.  Unfortunately it was the worst day ever to catch them(according to a man who catches them daily). Seriously though, that is just our luck.

I sure hope the kids remember these little side trips we take. 

Coach Romeo...

We said good-bye to one of the greatest coaches that Zach has been lucky to train with thus far.  Romeo runs a tight ship and Zach has learned so much from him. What's crazy is to think about all the coaches Zach will have in the future and the truth is that Romeo is just coaching Eastside Timbers to ease his commute, so he isn't even going far. But if there is someone I hope he remembers, it's definitely coach Romeo.  

 

The Smartest Boy...

Ryan has been practicing his numbers and ABC's.  Check it out!

And we have officially started the toddler phase, as in when I ask Ryan to do something, 99.9% of the time he does the opposite!  It's funny I find him sneaking around very quietly distructing things he knows he shouldn't get into like the pantry, my bathroom drawers, Kate's American Girl Doll stuff, and the computer and all my craft stuff that I have tried to keep hidden. He thinks he's pretty funny too when I ask him to come back or stay by my side and he runs as far away from me as possible.  Seriously, the kid is FAST! Thank goodness the weather has been unusually warm this winter so we have been able to play outside.  The boy loves his scooter and loves to ride it down to the mailbox and back. Finding ways to burn off his energy is a daily goal of mine. Will someone please remind me that I should really appreciate the simpleness of this daily routine. 

Crustless Quiche..

Sometimes when I take time to upload pics and videos from my phone to my computer I come across little gems like this one that make me smile...Zach and his buddies, Nate and Ace, making Crustless Quiche!

Dancing up a Storm...

Kate's still at it with her dancing. Being apart of the Performing Company at Elite has given her tons of opportunities and has exposed her to a lot of great things. Things I sure wish I had when I was kid.  I hope she realizes just how lucky she is, but something tells me that because she is so young, that she doesn't. 

Kate experienced her first Dance Convention! What a whirlwind of a weekend. I don't think she knew what she had signed up for because by the end she was ready to drop! I am so proud of her though and she did the best her little body could do.  When it came to the audition portion of the comvention she jumped first in line. I can't believe how brave she is! I hope she remembers the amazing teachers she was able to learn from. Some of which were previous members on SYTYCD!

With Laurie Johnson

 With Marty Dew

 With Tiffany Maher

 With Derrick Schrader

SYTYCD came to Portland, and Miss Karin, Kate's coach, offered up 3 extra tickets.  Well being that SYTYCD is my favorite show I could not pass it up and with my mom's birthday a week later I thought what a perfect birthday gift to her to celebrate how much we love and appreciate her and everything she does for us. So we hit a little Pastini's first and had a great night watching our favorite dancers light up the dance floor.  That Tanisha is A-MAZE-ING!  

In February the company took a master class from one of the Broadway Cast members from the the musical Cinderella.  Then later that evening we went to go see the Show. Afterwards the girls got to tour backstage. So fun! 

Last weekend the company performed at Liberty High School for the Drill Dance Competition opener.  Very much like a halftime performance.  Here's some video! Like I said they experience a little of everything! No doubt she enjoys every bit of it, especially the friendships she is making.  This is her buddy Alyssa.

4th Grade Basketball...

Somehow we managed to squeeze a basketball season in between all the soccer this year. No matter how many times we tell Zach this is just for fun, he just can't quite let his competitive nature go and can get pretty hot headed when calls and things don't go his way. All in all though he enjoyed playing with his buddies from school.    Here are some highlights.  Have I mentioned just how much I love iMovie?