Ivy's Wave

 Ivy (finally) decided to take another surf class.  She was pretty shocked and disappointed she would have to do another swim test in the ocean because she wasn't confident in her swimming ability and didn't like the reef underneath (and there happened to be 12 ft surf and strong current! ) But she did great, and here she is standing on a wave!

Soul's 2nd Birthday!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Soul!!!

You are a joy to our lives.  I love this age of discovery that makes me and all of us appreciate the tiniest things in our everyday experiences that really merit awe and wonder.

What a fun 2 years it's been!

We had our neighborhood friends, Leslie, Tabitha, and Eliza, Jackie, Joe and Pueo, and the Clarks over for an evening dinner and cake and ice cream.  Then we talked and the kids played all evening.  It was loud and so much fun.  I love our friends!

 Then the kids put on a play for us.

And for your gifts you got… a potty!  And a box of 2 year old clothes from the closet.  But Walter and Irene knew what you really wanted, and got you a motorized truck.  You love it.

*And please excuse the silly "Sir Lancelot" haircut.... it's a work in progress :)

At Tutu and Me preschool, you were so excited to get a birthday crown!  You usually try to snag a crown from another birthday recipient, so you were excited that this one really was for you!

October Happenings

October started out with Nate’s birthday.  We went to the circus for his birthday.  Nate’s best friend growing up married into a circus performing family and we were able to get tickets from his friend who was in this circus.  It was small, and full of stunts.  A lot of fun.  And we got to take along a friend for each of the girls, which made it extra cool.  

Nate grew out a goatie.  I thought he looked pretty good.  But it didn’t last long.  And he still looks pretty good. :)

Kezia was AMAZING at our latest Fro Baby event.  She was professional, and needed no help taking orders and doing the money math.  Totally proud of her. 

And Nate and I came up with an ingenious way to unscrew the tow hitch on the new truck we bought.  Thank you, Physics 101!

Soul – Man is a bundle of joy.   

One day as we were out at the beach with our friends, he pulled me toward a surf board and pointed to the water.  We happily went to the water’s edge, and then he froze and ran back to the sand.  After a bit of coaxing, he laid down on his board and we “rode” the surf break.  He got to the point where he really relaxed and enjoyed it.  

Elysse is doing really well in school, especially with her reading and writing.  I am really surprised at some of the things she says, where she is able to problem solve or come up with some really complex thoughts.  She loves her new friend Abby, and apparently plays with her all during school. 

Kezia and Nate went to Santa Cruz for Brad and Amy's wedding.  This was a miracle, really.  I really felt like she should go, but we didn't know how it was going to happen financially.  But I felt so strongly that she needed to go with her daddy that we said we would do it anyway.  

It was a Sunday when I said, "Nate, we've got to order the tickets NOW."  He suggested we wait one more day.  That Monday Nate's Dad called and said he has connections with someone at Hawaiian Airlines and could get us a steep discount on tickets.  Then later that week he said he would like to purchase the tickets for us. 

Shortly before they left, she had some trouble with her friends at school.  It was now very clear that she needed to get away, enjoy time with Grandma and her cousins and family that love her, and enjoy time away.  Nate and Kezia ended up extending their trip by 2 days.  Guess they had fun!

And while Nate and Kezia were in California, I cleaned Nate's office for a surprise!  This was a big project -  about 5 days worth.

Halloween!

Oh my, has it really been that long since I posted anything?  It certainly wasn't because of lack of action.  Boy, things have been really busy around here.  I guess I'll start at Halloween first.  Here are the kids' cute constumes.  Nate made Soul's, and Ivy made her own -- she's the night sky. 

 Kezia the Cat (of course) with her friend Sara the pirate

 Eww!  We ate eye balls for Halloween breakfast!!

 Nate was a magician and I was a playing card.  How we come up with these last minute matching costumes every year, I don't know...

We went to the Fall Festival and it was super fun – totally old – school style festival with free rides, cotton candy, kettle corn, chili and rice and cornbread dinner (yes, all free) and carnival games.  Oh, yes, and a pie eating contest.  My favorite part is seeing so many friends from around the community.  I love this town!

 Soul charging the kiddie rides at the fall festival.  He wasn't into his truck costume, so he just became "the boy with a monkey on his back"

 Nate had a great time doing magic tricks for people in line.

Elysse was excited she was finally tall enough to go on this ride. 

 Duo of the Magicians! 

 Okay, so only watch this if you haven't just eaten -- I really just put it on for the girls to see. :)

With everything going on, we didn’t even get to pumpkins or decorating this year, but with no school on Friday, we decided to do it one day late.  

Elysse was so sweet -- telling Soul what a good job he was doing,

 (um, the real pumpkin is on the left...)

Ivy's Movie Experience

We were so excited when we got a call that Ivy was chosen to be a photo double for a character in a movie!  We had attended the movie casting call, but got the impression they didn’t need us.  Then a few days later, the casting agent called us saying she didn’t realize at the time how much Ivy looked like one of the main characters and would like more photos of her and stats and stuff.  So when she was chosen, she, of course was soo excited!  We met the crew on Tuesday and got to watch a scene be shot.  Everyone was super nice and excited to meet Ivy.  Friday was filming day and to Ivy, it seemed like eternity.  Here’s how the day went:

 

We got to see the back trailers of the movie set -- just like you'd think, with "directors" and "costume" and "hair and makeup" on the doors.

Cool!  A movie mirror!

 Ivy had her own trailer to change into her costume.  This photo says it all -- look how excited she is!

 Then they did her makeup -- which really meant spraying down her whole body with foundation to make her pale white. 

 Then she got her hair done, including extensions that matched her hair completely.

 Set and ready to go!  We got a catered lunch that was delicious. 

 Here's Ivy with watching a scene be shot.  The director is in the red hat in front.

 Ivy with the other photo double.  Both we waiting, waiting, waiting for their take. 

Here's the girl that Ivy was supposed to be the photo double for. 

And so then here's what happened:  The mood of the directors was very much different than on Tuesday -- you could tell they were under a lot of pressure, since this was the last day of filming.  They had 3 more scenes to film in just 2 hours.  I overheard the director say that they may not be able to use the photo doubles.  I shared this with Ivy and she started to tear up.  I told her there's still a chance, so hang in there.  Then later, they moved the set and some people told us to follow them.  Ivy got really hopeful, but as soon as we arrived, the director said thank you for being here but they didn't have time to film them afterall.

I was proud of Ivy for holding her chin up after such an awful way of having her hopes dashed, and after she got changed, makeup removed, and hair undone, she and I sat by the beach to cry and cry.  It was really heartbreaking.  But it made her very determined to someday be in front of a camera for real.  With Ivy's natural acting and performing ability, she just may be someday....

And, although for her age, the experience is really what matters, she did make a lotta $$ for just sitting around on the beach all day...plus it was really cool to see how a movie is made.