FIVE YEARS OF FINN

We all got together on March 7th to celebrate this kiddo. He's five now. He got a indoor trampoline, and everyone loved it. We love Finn and is everyone's friend. He is thoughtful and sweet and Vivi loves him so much. He is amazing at putting together hard LEGO sets and being awesome. I can't believe a whole half a decade has gone by since the day we met.

OUR LIONESS

When Stella did not get a call back for Lion King auditions in September I asked her if she still wanted to be in the play even if she was back in the chorus and she told me that she didn't care what part she had, she just wanted to be in the play. That kid. I don't know how much of that attitude is how we've raised her or how much of it is just who she is, but I sure admire her attitude. The play this year had SO many kids and even though I had front row seats for one of the shows, you couldn't see Stella most of the time. Still, she loved it.

I had a pretty involved part behind the scenes this year. It was my third year volunteering on the art committee. I was there early to sell tickets I was at all of the planning meetings and I was in the middle of all the drama. I love to volunteer at the school, but I don't really like working in the classrooms. Working with the arts has been a great fit. However, our president has been a mess the last two years and it really made the play more drama than it needed to be. This was the last year our director was going to be involved, she has been involved for the last ten years and she was done. She was such an amazing person who I really admired. This year started off with her getting paid less than last year and I consider it my best contribution that I made sure she got a bonus at the end of the play that made her salary what it was in years past. So what little power I had was used for good this year and I am happy about that. It is crazy how intense some of these parents get about the play. I'm not sure what my involvement will be next year, but overall I am sad that all of the hard work that I have put in is now coming to an end.

Definitely the best part is being more involved in the play and seeing the joy Stella has being a part of it. This year she was an adorable Lioness, and she missed the school performance because she was sick. She also had to perform sick one of the nights. I am always proud of her when she sucks it up because the show must go on.

The performances were February 21st and 22nd.

VIP SEATS WITH KELLY

My dad got my mom Kelly Clarkson tickets for Christmas and she just couldn't get her little self home from Florida in time to go on January 30th. Stella and I ended up with the tickets and I felt kind of weird about it because they were never a gift for us. My dad's seats were pretty high up and so I was looking into upgrading to better seats and I found some side stage seats for the same price as the ones my dad had bought. I could not do the upgrade  myself though, Tyler had to pretend to be my dad and do it for me. And Tyler was not into it, and I almost gave up a time or two because it was such a hassle. If I had known the amazing seats I was getting though, I would have never given up. When Stella and I sat down, we realized the stage was RIGHT in front of us. Only two people were in front of us. Every time Kelly came up  to that wing of the stage she was so close to us and it was amazing. You could see both Stella and I on the giant screen the was projecting the show. I had forgotten how much I loved Kelly and her voice was amazing so we had a really fun night. Plus we got to sit the whole time and that was also a bonus. The best part was hanging out with my girl. I love doing things with just Stella. I'm so glad we went and also I'm so glad I didn't let Tyler scare me off from upgrading the tickets.

FAMILY FLORIDA TIME

We made our way down to Vero Beach for a few nights of our trip. We only went to the beach once. The was the night of the Super Blood Wolf  Moon. This meant the it was a really close full moon and it was going to have an eclipse and then turn red. It was totally cool and we all stayed up late enough to see it. We all laid down on the sidewalk and looked up at the moon. It was one of  my favorite memories from the trip.

We headed back to St. Cloud and then mom took the kids to the store Five Below to pick out silly gifts for Papa. We got decorations and junk he doesn't want or need. It was hard to sit by and watch money getting spent on junk since I am still in the "don't buy stuff I don't want or need" stage, but the kids loved it. They loved surprising Papa the next morning with presents and blowing those horn things in his face.

We headed home that late afternoon. I loved this visit. It was relaxing and fun. The girls loved being together and Vivi and Finn had the best time too.