Sporty had a spring concert tonight, and since this is his 6th concert since kindergarten and all the pictures were starting to look the same, I didn’t feel like lugging my heavy 80-200mm lens to the concert, just to get a picture of him with his mouth opening while singing under fluorescent lighting. So I got a few shots of him at home. He was quite unhappy to sit still for me, but I managed to get a shot of his huge permanent front teeth, which are straighter now that he has had some orthodontic work. When I saw the second shot (with our cluttered house in the background), I was sad to see how grown up he looks. He’s growing up so fast…

I was trying to get a picture that would show how big Sassy’s backpack is compared to her body. Unfortunately, she chose that moment to pick her nose.

Since 2006, I’ve been taking our annual Christmas picture at the bridge near our house. Recently, I pulled out all the old cards to compare them, and it’s amazing to see how much the kids have grown. I miss the baby days, but I enjoy their independence now. Yesterday morning, they both crawled into bed with me at 6:30 to cuddle. In 10 years, they won’t do that anymore, and I’ll miss the days when they did. It’s a good reminder to me to cherish each stage of their lives.

In September, I took the kids out to the bridge to take our annual Christmas card pictures. I was going to be on top of things and get my cards done really early. Unfortunately, the kids weren’t super cooperative. I got a few good shots, but not what I was hoping for. The re-takes were more successful, though, and my Christmas cards are being shipped to me now.

Even with crooked teeth, he’s still adorable to me!

Yes, I realize that Halloween was a month ago. But I am just now feeling like posting pictures.

Sassy wanted to be a dragon for Halloween, and I thought, “Great! We can re-use Sporty’s dinosaur costume and put wings on it!” I bought some inexpensive blue wings which matched the dinosaur costume. She looked adorable in the dragon costume, but then that evening, she came up to me and whispered in my ear, “I don’t want to be a dragon anymore. I want to be a fairy.” Good thing the dragon wings can double as fairy wings. And the tutu she got for her birthday was a perfect match for the color of the wings.

My friend Angie carved this incredible pumpkin.

Sassy started soccer last month, and for one reason or another, I haven’t been able to make it to any of her games. Yesterday, I took her for the first time, mostly because her game overlapped with Sporty’s. But partly because her lackadaisical attitude was driving Howard crazy. The first photo is a perfect depiction of her attitude towards soccer. Oh well, at least I won’t have to be a soccer mom.

My kids wear uniforms to school, which is a total blessing since Sassy can be a pill to dress. She won’t wear anything with buttons, and she changes her mind constantly about what she likes and dislikes. The school has free dress day two Fridays a month, and one Friday, I laid out Sassy’s favorite heart dress with matching leggings. When I got home from work that afternoon, Sassy was still in her heart dress, but she had added her polka-dotted Babylegs leg warmers. Howard informed me that she came downstairs that morning with the dress, leggings, leg warmers, and bright pink socks. He made her go back upstairs and change her socks, but she wanted to keep the leg warmers on. She definitely knows her own mind. And while it can be difficult to deal with now, I hope it will come in useful as she gets older.

Today was the first day of school! My goodness, where did the summer go? My 7yo Sporty is in 2nd grade, and 5yo Sassy is in kindergarten. I love that they wear uniforms to school. Sassy complained about the buttons on her shirt (she won’t wear anything with buttons), but for the most part, she didn’t whine too much about getting dressed. Sporty is used to the routine, though, thankfully.

When I picked them up, I asked them what their favorite part of the day was. Sassy said, “We got TWO recesses!” Sporty said, “Math”. Quintessentially them!

My husband and I love Banff (in Alberta, Canada). Gorgeous mountains, stunning lakes, the beauty of God’s creation everywhere you look. We went there for our honeymoon, and we went back two more times after that. Earlier this month, we took the kids and my mom since they had never been.

Lake Louise is so peaceful with its clear water and the mountains surrounding it.

The poppies at the Chateau Lake Louise were simply beautiful.

We took my mom to see the Banff Springs Hotel, which is designed like a castle. Of course, my husband encouraged the kids to try climbing the walls. And when a passerby saw them, she told her kids to try it out, too.

Over spring break, we were in California, and while my husband and son drove to Phoenix to go to a Seattle Mariners spring training game, my mom and I took G to Disneyland. She wanted to see the princesses, and although I’m not too keen on Disney princesses, I relented and waited in line to meet them. G didn’t want to have her picture taken with the princesses–she just wanted to see the princesses. But I told her, “Uh-uh, if I am waiting for an hour and a half, I am going to have documentation as fruit of my effort.” She was so eager to get away from Cinderella, I didn’t even get a chance to ask Cinderella to look at me.

I never discouraged my son from any of his various interests over the years, whether it was construction, Thomas the Tank engine, or dinosaurs. In fact, I would stalk Craig’s List to find good deals on his latest obsession. But I don’t particularly care for the Disney princesses, and my daughter does not have a single article of princess paraphernalia that she did not beg for. The whole mentality of waiting for some prince to come and rescue you just doesn’t sit well with me, to put it lightly. I want to encourage her in her interests, but this is one interest that I cannot fully endorse.

Today, though, I saw a different angle to my princess dilemma. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo to see their new meerkats, which are very cute, by the way. And I saw a women wearing this T-shirt:

I thought to myself, “OK, I can encourage the princess thing, as long as she is a self-rescuing princess.”