Dance, dance, dance!

Time for Princess Dance Camp again! I went back to my favorite dance studio, Saundra Lee's Dancing Starlets, the last week of July for four nights of awesome princess crafts, dance routines and fun.


I stood out from the group of pink and purple on performance night in my sparkly red costume...it's one of my favorites from my cousin Charity.

We performed dances as Angelina Ballerina, Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, Dora in Fairytale Land, and Princess Belle. This is from our Belle routine. For each dance we had a prop that we had made as a craft...here we are holding our beautiful hand-mirrors.

It was just a really fun week and I LOVED it!

Swim Time!

We went swimming with some of our friends yesterday. As you can see, we had a pretty good time!

L to R: Jessi, Kai, Elena, Blake

Summer Fun '08

Wheee! It's one of our favorite times of the year again...summer! Here are a bunch of snapshots from some of the fun things we've been doing.


We got this AWESOME go cart (ya know, with the big battery that we get to DRIVE) a few weeks ago...Mommy is teaching us much resourcefullness...she found it on the side of the road! (Mom must add that the previous owner helped us load it into the trunk and gave us the charger...awesome.)
We love to read together and Mom took this one of us reading one of my "My Little Pony" books together. Kai is showing his "strong elbows" here.


We spent a week in Wichita enjoying time with our cousins. It was really hot, but we spent one evening at the zoo...Grandma J and our aunts and uncles came too. (Me, Naomi, & Kai walking in).

Kai's favorite was the rhino exhibit! We even saw a baby one...it was still huge!


We posed on these lion statues with all our cousins! L to R: Elena, Annalise, Naomi, Stella & Kai.


Blueberry picking is an annual adventure around here...we were excited on the way!

Walking in with a few of our friends:


The Berry Patch even has this cool train thing we got to ride:

On the fourth of July we had a bunch of friends over to party! This was part of our parade down the block!


Sparklers with Daddy:

Admiring our new baby cousin, William (Will) Allen at the hospital with Aunt Chrissy:


Goofing off at a wedding:

Cutting a rug together at the wedding dance:


Our first lemonade stand! It was a hit and we made about $6!! That's our friend Caden who was one of our favorite customers.

And, of course, time with our best babysitter ever, Maddie Jones! She let us have a picnic lunch this day out under our tree.

Summer News!

This was the first year we went to the Raymore fishing derby and it turned out to be a really fun morning for our family! Kai made our only catch...and it was big enough to get recorded at 10.5" and 9 oz. He was proud as punch and his picture was in the paper this week! I was pretty bummed about not catching anything...my pole even broke in half when my hook got stuck on some grass, but the yummy snacks in our goodie-bags helped make up for that!

Then...ta-dah! Mommy finally let me get my hair cut off real short like Naomi's! I LOVE it!! Mommy is already missing my long braids so I let her put a braid in this morning...around my head like a headband...does that make sense? Well, she says it was super cute anyway. Today at church I got to show all my friends and they liked it too.

Here is a picture from Mother's Day...we all went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We were there for about 3 hours since the line was so long...ugh! You can see Aunt Chrissy's baby bump in this picture...but you can't see it in person any more...she had baby Will last Thursday and he is sooooo cute! We don't have his pictures off the camera yet, but some will be up soon. He has dark hair and is just super sweet.


Two of my cousins had first birthday parties yesterday...Happy Birthday Annalise and Lily...and Aunt Jodi announced this week that they are going to have a new baby in January! So by next year we'll have 8 cousins...and all younger than me! Wow.

Well, stay tuned and I might even blog again soon. I have a busy week ahead while I finish up swim lessons, go to storytime, run through the sprinkler and maybe can talk mom into taking me to the pool!

Luv, Elena

Cousins are fun!

Naomi and Stella came to visit just after Kai's birthday weekend. Oh, yeah, Aunt Jodi came with them too....somebody had to drive.

One day while they were here we went for an outing to the library, Target and Jose Peppers for lunch. No problem having fun for us munchkins!

But, WHERE oh, where could Stella be?


Here we are....


Oh! There you are Miss Stella-Bella!


These Mommies deserved their yummy lunch date out...it's hard work wrangling 4 busy kiddos! Later this week, we'll decend on their home for Naomi's birthday....boy, I sure do love birthday season!!! Did I mention Aunt Jodi is going to be 30 right after Naomi's birthday? Yup, really.

Kai's First Interview

Since Kai turned three, he got to have his first birthday interview this year...just like mine from my third and fourth birthdays! (Yup, you can click on those links to go right to my interviews.) It was a few days after his birthday and me and Mommy set him up in the rocking chair with the promise of some M&M's if he would sit and answer the questions...no problem....he did great!

1. Favorite Color: Blue and Green

2. Favorite Movie: Diego and the Monster Movie

3. Best Friend: Eli, Rock, Harrison and Tatum and Blake

4. Fav thing to do outside: Play on the slide and on the green swingset (he swings on the green swing, Elena uses the blue one).

5. What I want to be when I grow up: A tiger!

6. Favorite toy: A dinosaur dragon.

7. What I like to wear: A pumpkin hat and a helmet.

8. Favorite book: Einny the Pooh and Tigger. (no typos) And Eyore.

9. Favorite food: Ticos. (Do you mean tacos? cheese triangles? quesidillas?) Yes.

10. Favorite Song: Um, Jeee-sus. (Which Jesus song?) He breaks into song:

Jesus loves the little chillllldren
All the people of the worrrrllld.

11. Favorite Place to Go: Uuuummmm....UtDonald's

12. Fav thing to do with Daddy: Play a game.

13. Fav thing to do with Mommy: Play a game. Like Roll & Play.

14. What I am scared of: A monster. Ya, when I hear a monsters, when I hear em stomping in the garage...I will wake up. And then I'll stop on them like this (jumps up and starts jumping) really fast. Ya, when it does that I'll wake up and JUMP UP like that and the monster will get in the garage and the monster will will will will will (thinking, thinking, thinking) will stomp really fast like this (more jumping and stomping). (Kai, you're really brave, aren't you?) Ya, but um that stomping was too loud when it waked me up.

15. What place I'd like to go: AtDonald's (Yup, McDonald's again)

Yeeee! I'm Threeeeee!

Kai here...I get to do my very own first blog post and let sissy take a break.

I turned 3 on Feb. 15 and had great fun at my pizza party! Oh yeah, that's me:


Our first fun thing was the SLIME FACTORY!!! Daddy checked out the slime kit from work (yes, there are great advantages to having a mad scientist for a Dad!) and set up shop for me and my friends. We made really COOL slime and everybody got to take some home (sorry about your table finish Miss Maria).

These are my friends that came: Harrison (my honorary big bro), me, Elena, Maddie & Rock. Jet was there too, and Ben and Seth...I love them lots!


While I got busy playing with my new toys, Elena found herself a new chair and footstool...oh, wait, noooooo...that's Grandma and Grandpa!!!


I had all kinds of ideas for my birthday cake theme...and Mom let me do them ALL: Dragons (that's my T-Rex), Spiderman, Diego & Baby Jaguar (that's my tiger), and a puppy (I love puppies & keep a pile of them on my bed). COOL!


Last, but not least, here I am on my new twin bed. I finally got to use my Spiderman sheets and got a really cool Spidy-head pillow from Grandpa Bob. This bed used to be at my Great-Grandma Ruth's house...thanks, Grandma! Oh, maybe you can see my pile of puppies in this picture.

Sand & Sun!

I've been waiting to go back to the beach for years! So it was with much excitement that we visited Siesta Key beach while on holiday in Florida last week. I don't remember my last beach visit since I was not quite one year old, so this was totally the BEST!

Mommy says this is a "pure delight" photo:



Kai was up to his arms in the sand...Daddy is a great digger...he uses his hands like badger paws!


I decided to get in on the sand action...it was fun!


There's Kai in the Gulf of Mexico at almost sunset. This one's a keeper.


I searched for some shells and a runner guy gave me a couple really cool ones. We stayed for the sunset and then left with a new set of seaside memories!

Santa Update

Wheee! I got to sit on Santa's lap the other night. I saw him from across the room and ran all the way and jumped right onto his lap. He said "Ho! Ho! Ho!" a lot! I was a little shy and didn't ask about my letter or anything, but was real excited.

Now, Kai, on the other hand, clung to Daddy's shoulder and wouldn't even look at Santa. His newest sentiments towards Chris Cringle are that he will SHOUT at him if he sees him. He says he's going to say "Santa! Go Away! We Not Want You!". We all kind of giggle at his seriousness about the matter. I bet he might change his mind on Christmas morning. Luv, Elena

Movie Moments

I love movies. Especially princess movies. I call all the princess movies by the name of the princess...even if that's not the real title--like "Belle" is "Beauty & the Beast".


Here are some of my favorite moments:

Giselle ("Enchanted"): When the motorcycles (bikes) ran over the prince!



Cinderella: When the fairy Godmother turned into the coach.
Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty"): I like when, um, she was singing and walking with her friends the rabbits and the birds and the owl.
Ariel ("The Little Mermaid"): When Ursula was singing the song when Ariel was there (Poor Unfortunate Fools). I like that song because there was rainbow stuff and pink on there and I like that color.
Snow White: I like when I saw the pretty cottage.
Belle ("Beauty & the Beast"): I like when Belle and Beast were playing in the snow.
Mulan: When all the ladies dressed up her.
Pocahantas: I like Pocahauntas when her Grandmother Willow and her was talking.
Anastasia: When they danced around the hall. And I like when she had her princess dress on---the one with the sash and sparkles.
Jamine ("Aladdin"): When Aladdin was hiding Dieago...It's on Aladdin II (Return of Jafar).

Dear Santa,

I'm writing a letter to you and I'm wanting to tell you what I'm wanting to get. And, um, I'll give you a card so you'll know what I'm doing and what I'm wanting to do. And I was wondering if you could make some My Little Pony stuff in your toy shop?

And I was wanting some My Little Pony movies. And I want the Barbie the Island Princess movie. And I want a dolly crib. And a My Little Pony book & dress up clothes and Rarity the Unicorn.

And I was wondering if I could get a My Little Pony puzzle and TeaPot Palace. And I was wondering if you had a fifty dollar so I could buy Baby Alive? And I want a My Little Pony baby.

Are you feeling good? Santa, where do you get the stuff to make toys? Santa, we have lots and lots of ornaments on our tree.

Love, Elena

(I drew a rainbow on the front of Santa's card and then we put it in "Santa's Magic Mailbox" that he gave to Mom and Dad. By magic it was gone to the North Pole this morning!)

Dear Santa,
No! I don't like Santa. I not doing it. --Kai (He put his in the Magic Mailbox too...but his had a Halloween sticker and some scribbles on the front. I don't know if Santa will like it.)

Halloween Week

We did lots of fun stuff the week or so around Halloween!

This is us at library storytime with a bunch of other kiddos...that day I dressed as a ballerina princess, Kai was superman (in jeans & a cape).

Here's our trick-or-treating crew! 7 kids, all boys except for me...and I was the FASTEST trick-or-treater of them all...me and Isaac were the oldest too! (I was Cinderella this night)


Here is Kai (aka Robin Hood) with Rock and Jet the lions...how cute is that?

Can you tell Daddy was excited about his "Daddy Candy Tax"?

We also all went to the Como/StarWars family's party again this year! Robin Hood was checking out some of the creepy stuff.

I was the beautimus Maid Marian (Robin Hood's love).

Oh yes, don't forget about Mommy and Daddy...Miss Bianca insists on costumes...and of course, Mom and Dad love to dress up anyway. Daddy was the "more cowbell guy" from the SNL skit and Mommy was a Japanese Geisha.

One of the games was eating a donut on a string...WITHOUT your hands Kai!!

We went to the pumpkin patch and each picked out a pumpkin to paint. I did mine with a rainbow of colors. My rainbow turned out grey, but I loved it! Maybe next year we'll delve into the realm of carving pumpkins.