The McPherson Chronicles

The girls moved up to Level Three in ballet in February. They were so surprised and excited when the move-up list was posted and their names were on it! They have worked so hard during Level Two and improved quite a bit. They were definitely ready to move up but didn't expect it. Level Three is a HUGE difference! Not only are they in the big studio now but this level is much harder. It will be a while until they move up again and they are just getting used to the new pace and expectations. They still love ballet though and are super excited about their In-Studio Concert in just a few months.

We had a very low key New Years Eve but it it was still super fun. We talked about possibly going to The Rose Parade but the kids wanted to stay up late, watch the ball drop and then make breakfast in the morning so we opted to stay home. Kevin and the kids went to the grocery store and planned the night with pizza, ice cream sundaes, games, and the 9pm ball drop. The kids were in bed by 10 after we wound down from our celebration. In the morning we watched the entire parade on the couch and enjoyed a yummy brunch. Perfect start to the new year.

We took a quick day trip out to the Living Desert Zoo near Palm Springs over the Christmas break. It was a great zoo and we will definitely go back. The highlights were feeding the giraffes, seeing the cheetahs run and the giant model train exhibit. We want to go back to do the butterfly exhibit and ride the camels.

 

Nutcracker has come and gone (along with the rest of 2017)! The girls were again Mother Ginger's children and mice. They love Nutcracker even though it is a huge commitment. They rehearse every Saturday from September to December. Plus tech week is a nightmare with rehearsals every night followed by 6 performances over 4 days. I'm hoping they grow enough this next year that we can just do the battle scene and not double up as Mother Ginger's children again. We shall see. I was super sick Nutcracker weekend and only did one partial volunteer shift as a chaperone so we only have a few photos of the girls in their costumes. We loved watching them perform and knowing they were mice number 1 and 2 helped so we could track them onstage. They have improved so much from last year. Kevin and I both noticed their huge smiles while they were performing the Mother Ginger scene and they have that choreography down perfectly. We are so proud of our little ballerinas! ...

Thanksgiving was a much needed week off with the kids where we were able to spend so much time doing fun stuff and just relaxing together. It was probably one of my favorite Thanksgivings just because it was so chill. Our first outing was to dinner and glow in the dark mini golf. So fun! The kids loved it and none of us minded that Andrew did not take it at all seriously. He would try once and then pick up his ball walk it over to right next to the hole and putt it in. It was quite efficient! The kids keep asking to go back so we'll definitely have to try that again someday. Another day we went to the movies and saw Coco. It was adorable as every Disney movie is. I just saw that some theaters were showing the movie in Spanish and I was slightly bummed that we didn't go see it in Spanish. But then I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much so oh well. I think I'll still try and find it for them to watch in Spanish in the future. It was super hot the week of Thanksgiving so...

The girls are rocking third grade! We had parent teacher conferences and got their report cards for the first trimester and are so proud of them. Third grade is actually a really tough year; maybe even the hardest. It's a big transition both in curriculum and in DLI. They are at nearly 50/50 English to Spanish and learning all sorts of new concepts. The teachers warned us that a lot of kids that have previously thrived have trouble in third grade. We were thrilled to hear that the girls are doing great! In a lot of ways, it has felt different. Their homework is really light this year (not a complaint) and a lot of what they do is totally independent. I think we've only had to help them with a handful of things. They just seem so much more mature this year. Their reading levels are up to mid-fifth grade in English and sixth grade in Spanish and getting better each time they re-test. They love chapter books and can read the smaller ones in a day or less. Definitely little boo...

We checked off all the usual Halloween festivities. Olivia was the Statue of Liberty, Lucy was a cupcake and Andrew was a firefighter this year. Pumpkin carving Trunk or Treat Preschool Parade/Party School Parade