Vacation Week . . . Moscow Circus

We had a wonderful vacation and I wanted to share just a bit of our fun. . . Our vacation started with going down Monday to see the Moscow Circus at Yakov's theater. It was a fantastic show. I loved the fact that it wasn't just a circus, but it was actually a story that played out in the circus. Andrei the Clown falls in love with Marina the Ballerina but her sister, who runs the circus, does not want them to be together. They struggle to find their way to be together in America . . .

While we were waiting to go inside . . . we spied someone we knew - Noah's best buddy from Scouts and his family. They have a daughter that is also Avery's age, so it worked out perfect. It was so fun to watch the kids enjoy the acts in the lobby together. When we went in for seating they were actually just one row behind us . . . what are the chances. The kids LOVED it and I'm so thankful for shows that we can take the kids to and not be worried about what "previews" they might see or what language they might slip in.




This was Avery's favorite thing - the human slinky . . . amazing. Mine was the bubbles - I cannot even describe how fantastic it was. . . .


I will post more later . . . but right now we are off to do visitation for SBBM.

Have a wonderful day everyone - Lisa

Stop taking my picture . . .

Little miss got the camera again and this time Noah was her victim. . . and he was not too happy about that either. They truly do love each other . . . sometimes they just forget how much.


Peaceful little boy sitting and playing . . . Enter Sister . . .

Not so peaceful little boy saying "Stop taking my picture!"

Little sister pleased to have accomplished yet another day of pestering . . . . hmmmm wonder where she gets that from?

Lisa

The Alvarez Boys

A few weeks ago we had the Alvarez boys here with us and I was able to actually get all of them in the same photo . . . how ? ? ? ? simple - pull out 1 mattress - turn on 1 tv - put in 1 Homeward Bound (the original) movie - and snap away. Not one of them even looked at me. I think this is the first photo I have where little miss is the only girl and little guy is surrounded by boys ! ! !

Lisa

Top 10 things I love about going up North . . .

We actually got to go back up to Unionville, where Bob is from, a few months ago and I thought it would be fun to do a top 10 of the things I love about this place. . . so here you go.

#10 The ol' red barn. The kids and I start looking for this barn about two miles away. Who ever spots it first usually get to drive up the gravel road to Grandpa & Grandma's house. I love everything about this old barn. It sits perfectly on top of the hill and has weathered many a storms - it truly is beautiful.

#9 Green - What a marvelous color it is. This picture captures everything I love about green - trees, grass, and a garden.
#8 My mother-in-law "just planted" these wildflowers and this is what she gets. Me I "just plant" wildflowers and I get weeds. . . Maybe some day I will be able to "just plant" something and actually have it grow.
#7 Now don't get me wrong . . . it's not that I don't like Buddy the mule, but lets just say we have a distant relationship - the farther I am away from him - the better I like it. Avery on the other hand would spend every second chasing him around and feeding him treats. She loves Buddy and even named her stick horse after him. She also informed me that Grandpa said she could have Buddy when he dies. . . . how sad is that - thankfully our little cubical of a backyard just wont be enough room for him. (Mommy cheering happily in the background)#6 - Fishing with little guy. It's not because I don't like fishing with little guy, but because I absolutely despise taking a picture of EVERY single fish he catches (my dear mother-in-law will COMPLETELY agree with me on this one). However, there are very cool moments to this as you can see by this picture. Noah decided to start talking to the fish and shaking them around a bit and when he did out popped a little fish from this guy . . . gross, but cool and I don't know if I love the fish or Noah's face more. (click on photo to enlarge)
#5 - Little Tree Monkey. I love the fact that my kids get to be kids when we go up north. Avery is free to roam and explore and this trip was no different. She found that she could climb the apple tree and it soon became her favorite place to be.

#4 The views . . . It is a wonderful reminder of how amazing God is. I love looking out over the hills and seeing this . . . and this. . . . and this . . . . and this. . . . it is a wonderful reminder of how GREAT God is and how small I am. #3 & 2 OK I know she is going to kill me for this one, but I had to . . . REALLY ! ! ! ! I love my mother-in-law because she is such an amazing woman. She always encourages us and gives 110% to her family. She is an INCREDIBLE grandma. . . . I mean how many grandmas do you know that play softball with their grandkids . . . I mean come on she is AMAZING ! ! ! ! ! ! and WE LOVE HER ! ! ! !

#3 & 2 I couldn't exactly put one of these guys over the other so they both just fit in together under #3 and #2. I didn't have a picture of Mr. Picks-a-lot, but here he is from a photo I snatched off facebook. I must say that it fits him so well. I love the fact that he cares so much about all of us. Who else would get up at 5:30 and take little guy fishing, oh wait . . . maybe it is his fault that this whole fishing thing got started . . . well aside from that - he also pesters little girl to no end and she loves it - and he patiently leads her around on Buddy. That has won him a HUGE GOLD STAR in our book ! ! ! !
#1 And the NUMBER 1 thing I love about up north . . . you guessed it. The love of my life was born and raised in a wonderful family in a wonderful place and is a WONDERFUL man ! ! ! I hope you take the time to think about a top 10 of yours - I have many and I think they are good reminders to show how blessed we really are.

Have a wonderful night everyone - Lisa