Oh the people you will meet!

Our second day at Disney was ALL about the characters! For kids who don't handle surprises well or tolerate disappointment, character meals are the only way to go - so we dined with friends! 

Breakfast....

 Lunch......

You might notice that a certain princess was missing from the lunch pictures. We did feed her, but she had a little too much Disney at this point, so every time a princess came to the table...this is where she went....

Oh well - even a princess has an off day every now & again! 

(she did recover after a two hour nap....) 

A Day at Disneyland...

 We had an incredible opportunity to spend a couple of days at Disneyland and California Adventure - and stay at the Grand Californian Hotel. It was a gift - and what a treasure of a gift it was! 

Doug is the very best Disneyland dad - so much so that when Matt & Ashlee and were younger, they actually had to ask him if they could take a weekend off (!!) 

 Delight....

 The characters are definitely Katie's favorite part of the entire Disney experience

 (start humming the theme song to the Monkees.....)

"Here they come, walking down the street"

Day 1 - a resounding success! We rode a lot of rides and had some great time together! 

Day 2 up next! 

The first of many....

....Graduation days.

For weeks before, I could not even say the word "Kindergarten graduation" without tearing up. All that it represents hit me every single time like a ton of bricks. Growing up. First steps of independence. A milestone into their future. 

She, however, was significantly less emotional about the whole thing. Found it rather mundane and uninteresting...until the morning of! 

 Her kindergarten teacher has been simply amazing - the perfect balance of nurture and discipline, of love and logic and fun and serious learning. 

 Our elementary principal - Mrs. Swaney - is simply adored by Becky. I think Becky literally glows when Mrs. Swaney talks to her! 

 My girl - 

 As timing would have it, the kindergartener's were responsible for opening the last week of school, so the whole class led it on the last day of school. 

 Not a shy one in the bunch! One of the amazing things is looking at them together, and knowing that for the most part, they will share the next 6 years together as a tight knit group - it is going to be so amazing to watch them together! 

 Their last prayer together as a kindergarteners! 

 And so it began....

 Becky letting everyone know that she will be an artist when she grows up 

 Getting graduated - as she called it! There were more than a few tears on my part here....

 A real life, first grader now! 

Thanks to Mrs. Holloway for an amazing experience - 

 We had some really super special people sharing the day with us. Aunt Mari has a special place in her heart for Becky. We walked and prayed together many, many mornings while we were waiting for our referral. After Becky came home, many more mornings were spent walking with the dogs and the stroller - where did that time go??

 Tia Annie was on hand as well - making the day even more special for all of us! 

 Our sweet baby - the first of many big milestones and moving on days. I am relatively sure that this might have be the hardest one for me (although check back in June of 2025!!) 

Activities Abound

I don't think I have ever gone 11 days without a blog post - but we've had a lot going on. Not so much in activities, but in processing stuff - which as we sort some things out I am sure I will be sharing. For now - updates on the activities! 

We had the annual Eastside Christian Schools Spring musical. The girls did a great job and had a blast! 

 But the best part of it was that Uncle Mike was in town for the show! 

The next night was the end of the year gymnastics show. The girls have taken a small class every Monday at school after school. It's marginally technical, but some of their friends are in it and they like it, so that's what matters! 

 They each received an end of hte year award; I tried so hard to get Becky to look at me, but she sometimes gets very shy & embarrassed in front of a crowd! 

 There was also the annual ECS jog-a-thon! They ran laps - and this year, I had to run with both Becky and Cami....good thing I train for distance & endurance! 

There were a lot of activities going on, but none bigger than Cami's 11th birthday! She opted to have a party at the roller rink - which was just fine with me! All I had to do was invites and cake....perfect! She LOVES roller skating so it really worked out well! 

Everyone was pretty excited about the party - and ready to roll!! 

 but had a little trouble keeping their feet under them! 

 Katie very quickly decided that the carpet was much easier to skate on then the wood floors! 

 And then they brought Cami to the center and sang her happy birthday - it was very nice! 

 next up.....cake & ice cream! 

 One of Cami's best gifts was that her teacher Mrs. Richardson came! She loves her teacher, and we are so blessed by her love for Cami and for us! 

 Katie finally got the courage to try it on the floor with about 15 minutes left - which turned out to be more than enough time! 

 She needed a lot of help - and her feet pretty much were disconnected from the rest of her - but she had FUN! 

 The birthday dinner at home! 

Birthdays can be hard for kids from hard places - but Cami did really well this year. What a difference a year has made for her....