xmas morning 2

That VR goggle set may have been the biggest surprise hit along with the transformer robot! The game where you try to pronounce things with that thing that expands your lips is hilarious.

xmas morning

So much excitement and cinnamon bunnnns! I can't forget how many very fresh cinnamon buns were in these happy bellies - thanks to Liz! She was the by far the first one up watching that dough rise. Surprisingly, the first cousin buddy up with Austin, then Cameron, and the Brennan brothers were a late edition to the crew and I found them in their room waiting ;)  There were serious batches of Ninjago, lego, games, lotsa chocolate, and few hand knits in the huge piles of presents...

grinches

These grinchy jammies fit right in with the tshirts Gran found and our new favorite grinch movie this year ;)

xmas eve

G&P made a huuuuge ball of plastic wrap with goodies hidden inside. The excitement was sometimes overwhelming ;)  The make your own snow kit, reindeer ring toss, and lotsa "magic" wrestling kept these grinches busy!

gingerbread

These guys managed to save some candy from being eaten in order to decorate these houses ;)

festive

Our friend's annual cookie decorating party was a hit even with the big kids!

The caroling party at the piano teacher's house was even better since Keaton's best buddy Tyler was there...

class parties

Two fun class parties to end the fun week before the break!  Aiden's class did fun gift making stations including hot cocoa ornaments, bath bombs, and wood slice painted ornaments. J ran the snowball/cotton ball games like a champ! They all had so much fun! Cupcake decorating is always a hit! Keaton and his classmates were so sweet giving their teacher her presents.

carter

The Fa La La Llama blow up edition ;)

Carter came to visit us again this year and oh boy, did he have fun bathing in marshmallows, stealing candy canes, and hanging on a bungee cord in front of his adoring fans.  But oh boy, did that bungee cause some trouble!  I thought it looked like fun to grab his cord and give him a bounce.... and even though I didn't actually touch him, the boys were convinced that I'd hurt him!  There were real tears from both of them that I potentially hurt their elf!  There were texts to their aunt to get the best cures for ill elves - did you know that cinnamon will cure a sick elf!? ;) There were letters written to ensure that Carter actually liked to be bounced and the next day he hung from a bigger bungee and gave us a tube decorated with his name to push him back and forth. Turns out he's a daredevil, but I was told to still be very careful!  Hahaha

good list

The may have a prob-llama! I love the Fa La La Llama merch I see everywhere lately! It makes me laugh, and then I buy it, friend buy it for me... I love llamas.

J ordered this special edition Wool and Honey Hank Fringe bag for me from Michigan. They'd sent him a funny note that said something like... Dear Jason, we hope all your knitting dreams come true this year! - ha!

Fibre Space field trip with my knitting buddies!  Celebrating my friend being half way through her chemo treatments and doing so, so well!

We may be a little Mary Poppins obsessed here anyway, but when the new movie was being hyped I was sent a link to the special Tuesday night preview event - with a free soundtrack and disney pin to celebrate!  I had to get tickets and go straight out on a school night to see it.  The boys were so jealous, but they saw it a few days later and loved it just as much as I did!

neighbor santa

We rolled back into our neighborhood after Aiden's last show just in time to catch Santa (ahem, excuse me, Santa's helper, who happened to be a neighborhood dad with a pillow stuffed in his santa suit) roll up in a fire truck. He had candy canes so Aiden declared it worth it (even tho he's not very thrilled be Santa's helpers and only cares about the real guy himself and maybe our elf). Keaton was all chatty with the elves and the dreidel (also neighbors) about how much he loves candy games and spinning the dreidel.

twinderella

This show is such a goodie. It’s called Twinderella and it turns out Ella has a twin brother Bob who gets invited to the Prince’s ball game and has a Godfather from Jersey. There’s a lot of breaking the fourth wall as the story unfolds and plenty of good music. Aiden and his hysterically long sleeves provided some comic relief as Prince Percy. He manages to charm Cinderella with some ball room dancing and give her a shot at hitting a home run shortly before she runs off without her glass slipper and Bob runs off without his muddy cleat. The age range for this group is 9-16, so you can see some obvious age differences amongst the cast, but Aiden held his own as one of the youngest. They had three performances and they got better with each one. Next up in the Spring is Aladdin - yay!

Twinderella Fall 2018 from LB on Vimeo.

fans

Thanks to everyone that made it out to the see the shows! Keaton pictured with a few of his favorite directors...

if the shoe fits

We've reached a real sweet spot with Acting for Young People, and it makes us all excited when Showcase week rolls around. This is our Saturday sport, our chance to see our  kids be coached in something they love to do... They learn so much about how to be in front of people communicating and learning through experience.

Keaton is really enjoying his time with the Adventures cast and is the perfect age to enjoy it for a few more shows. I just love that they have this 7-8 year old age group all together, and they all help add to the script written by the directors. In this case it was a Cinderella Adventure called If the Shoe Fits, where all the jealous Disney princesses show up and complain that Cinderella gets all the attention. Keaton made a really great Prince Charming offering all his ball attendees "a complimentary cheese platter" and talking about how much he's learned about romance from Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies (jokes for the parent's since he has no clue who either of those actors are - ha!) The video snippets below give you a good idea of the show... and I'm so glad I caught so many expressions from our animated guy. If the Shoe Fits from LB on Vimeo.

concerts

So many holiday concerts for Aiden including band concert at school where we had a tiny view of him on the bells in the back corner. But he was decked out in a back up set of black pants/white.shirt/black shoes because his main set was on the costume rack at AFYP. But he didn't have to wear his dad's giant black shoes pictured here luckily!

Also, a concert in downtown Fairfax at the holiday market with the super grandparents that came out to watch that action all crowded together in the cold. They deserve some sort of award!

meadowlark

One of my favorite holiday traditions is wandering around the lights at the botanical garden. It was a pretty mild night so we were all cozy.

Keaton was not thrilled to be holding the naughty sign while Aiden proudly displayed the nice sign... aw, poor little brother.

santa

We saved Santa again this year! His flight school was in full effect with these guys scanning in as a mechanic and a reindeer caretaker. They took good care to help Santa find his path and were rewarded with a snowy dance party under the big sleigh dome.

thanksgiving

We enjoyed a nice relaxing Thanksgiving thanks to the Brennans after a really busy few weeks. I baked a cake that ended up being a lesson in not picking recipes I've never tried and that require you to beat anything into peaks ;)  It was nice to see everyone!

thanksgiving lunch

Such a fun tradition to have a turkey lunch with neon yellow gravy at the kid's school the week before Thanksgiving. It's fun to hunt for their turkeys and art spread out all over. Keaton's Tom the turkey was hiding in a pile of leaves he cut out and he was saying "I'm not here!" - pretty good way to hide, haha!

sweater

The Throwback sweater pattern was calling for some throwback colors for those chevrons. Turns out I knit even tighter this time of year, and it ended up fitting Keaton really well. He was very excited and even wore it to his Thanksgiving luncheon at school.

recital

In the middle of all the hustle with Mary Poppins, these boys pulled off a really great piano recital! Keaton was so excited for his very first!  It was the day after they finished Mary Poppins, and I was tired so I know they were too. But they did such a great job with the giant duet pieces and their own individual pieces too.

Piano Recital 11-18-18 from LB on Vimeo.

mary poppins 2

So grateful all the big fans of these guys came out to enjoy the show! Thanks!
I'm also so appreciative of the directors and all the other parent volunteers that help make this show possible. It's amazing what they pull off with two 90 minute practices after school for ten weeks! They have so much fun up there!

Here is the complete show I filmed:

https://youtu.be/sCSZSjeobqQ

mary poppins

Mary Poppins was such a treat! Admittedly, not just a few of these kids had ever been introduced to Mary Poppins, but now that they have they love her! (and are so excited for the sequel coming out soon!) Aiden was a very convincing George Banks, going from grump to charmer over the course of the show. Keaton was thrilled to be included as the only second grader and sang his little heart out in the the opposite scenes from Aiden. Aiden and his show wife, Olivia, were so incredibly shy with each other, but somehow ended up with some chemistry in their little dancing scene. I was so excited to costume these kids again, and Mildred's blue dress might have been my favorite...or perhaps Keaton's red plaid pants!

The bumble bees stole the scene when they came buzzing around! 

Top left if the "Oh, my, word!" face when George discovers how he saved his job!

snow day

November 15th was a big surprise snowfall no one expected! The ground was still warm, but somehow it stuck around long enough for some actual sledding - even with the grass peaking through a bit... These boys were deep into tech week for Mary Poppins, and despite missing their full dress rehearsal were grateful for a day to recharge and relax.  We had the show ready to roll the next day and were so grateful school was back in session so the show could go on that night! And they did not break a leg sledding! ;)  Check out all the color still on the trees that hadn't shed all their leaves yet...

winery tour

Neighbors and friends took a winery tour on a beautiful fall afternoon which was such a nice break from the busy season... I do have to admit to knitting on the 'party bus,' but I wouldn't have it any other way!  At our last stop, wine paired with chocolate truffles, yes please!

birthday boy

This is 11!

today show

These guys were beyond excited to make it on live tv at the Today Show!  We even got to talk to Al, who went out of his way to talk to everyone.

NYC shopping

These guys had fun window shopping and bouncing around the city.  We got in quickly to Ellen's Stardust diner where the sang happy birthday to all those celebrating! The boys got treats at the Harry Potter shop and the Disney store.

believe it or not

From our hotel window we could see a giant gold hand, and it turns out it was connected to the Believe It or Not Museum. The boys really love all the creepy and strange illusions in there ;)

sea glass carousel

This is such a cool carousel ride right at Battery Park at the edge of the ferry terminal. The original music, light and movement is so unique.

Seaglass Carousel from LB on Vimeo.

ferry

It was a bit gloomy, but we cruised past the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island Ferry (eating the big bags of candy we'd collected at Candytopia). We saved the Statue of Liberty up close visit until after they are done renovating the National Park area.

candytopia 1

This place! There was a surprise around each corner!  So many fun things made out of teeny tiny candies!