Saturday Morning Dance-off

Tradition stays alive at our house!  The music is turned up and booties start shaking every Saturday morning.

A magical birthday

Aubrie LOVES birthday parties. Last year, she didn't have one because of our move and cruise. So, for two years she has been planning the perfect Harry Potter birthday party!

Her sweet friend allowed her to borrow her "Sorting Hat" so all the girls could be sorted into the proper house.

And classes began with a teacher for each subject. Professor Snape taught potions. Perhaps the favorite teacher was Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures (I got on Dave's shoulders, wore a trench coat and taught the class!). Don't you love their Harry Potter glasses they made out of pipe cleaners? I think Dave and I ended up having as much fun as the kids!

       

We had a special "Honey Dukes" candy shop. During the party, the kids earned galleons for winning games, participating in class, etc., and then they were able to use their pretend money to buy their favorite treats at the candy store. The girls loved this!

                 

Who knew that my doll cake pan would eventually be used for a broomstick cake!

I can't believe my baby is 10!! A whole decade!

 

We decided 10 was a good age to allow Aubrie to pierce her ears! This has been so exciting!

Her siblings were concerned and interested!

About Aubrie at age 10:

She is having a wonderful fourth grade year. She has great teachers and friends -- both of which seem to really like Aubrie. She appears to be happy with herself and content in her life. She is being appropriately challenged in school; she was placed in 5th grade math, reading, writing and spelling classes. She seems to have a strong sense of right and wrong and a desire to be kind to others. She is very self driven. We enter her room and see Post-it notes on her mirrors each week of her personal goals -- some of these goals have been to study the scriptures, write in her journal, be kind to others, etc. This year she has continued to dance ballet and has started on a competitive volleyball league. We are so proud of the young lady she's becoming! Now, if she would just be 10 forever!

CES craziness

This is Dave stepping in to share about my experience at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. For years, my dream has been to attend CES, because I love new gadgets! When I accepted my latest position at 3M, I knew I would finally get my chance to check out the big show. The show exceeded my expectations with over 30 football fields worth of amazing, bizarre, and cool gadgets making their debut to the world. Here's a little sampling of some of the crazy stuff I saw...

Electric powered roller shoes,

Laser virtual keyboards,

Neck massage robots,

"HapiForks" that buzz and light up when it senses you are eating too fast and too much,

And of course the iPoddy for the little Junior that has to have an iPad in reach wherever they go.  Other than these great creations, here is the list of my personal top 10 favorites from the show.

10. Synchronized dancing robots to Gangnam Style

9. The 1st ever see-through, 3-D TV

8. Smart Appliances - kitchen appliances that you can control with your cell phone

7. Cleaning Robots - robots that glide along windows and floors and suck up everything in its way

6. Medical Tracking Stuff - watches, bracelets, etc that tracks all health related activity

5. 4K TVS - Super, super, super High Def TVs

4. 20 touchpoint Tablets - bigger tablets that several people can touch

3. See-through Touchscreen Walls

2. Nekomimi - "cat ears" you wear that wiggle when they sense excitement from your brain waves

1. 3D Printing - create three dimensional objects anytime from your home

Aubrie's Locks of Love

Aubrie wanted to grow her hair long, but I didn't. So, we made a deal. Because her hair is as thick as it is, I'm not a fan of it long because it is so much work! But we agreed that she could grow it out until it was long enough to have enough inches to cut and donate to an organization that makes wigs for kids without hair. 

I decided it was way past time to make the big cut.

The hair stylist cut about 8 inches. 

Tadaaaa....she was thrilled with her new look. And so was I!

We mailed the hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

And then a couple weeks later she received a letter in return. I'd like to say this was all Aubrie's idea, but even though this was one of those things that I pushed on her, I think in the end she felt good about it, learned from it, and was glad she did it.