Audrey and friends in "Aladdin" at Concordia Drama Camp

Audrey and her friends Monica, Audrey P., and Ella S. participated in a drama camp hosted by Concordia University this past week. They took part in a production of "Aladdin" (which was closer to the original version than the Disney version). Audrey played a merchant and a servant, and sang in a song.

Kindergarten concert/open house

It was Open House night for grades K-2 at Audrey and Kate's school this evening. GG, Honey, and GPA came for the event, which was kicked off with a concert by the kindergarten classes. Afterwards, Audrey and Kate showed off their classrooms and recent projects and artwork.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Audrey and Kate helped Dada celebrate his birthday today at the "beach house." They helped Mama make a cake, and helped Dada blow out the candles on his cake.

Kate dances with Ms. Kat

As with Audrey, Kate's kindergarten class got some dance lessons from Ms. Kat thanks to the money they raised with their Run for the Arts. Today was their final performance.

Kids lead the church service

To mark the end of Sunday School for the year, this morning Audrey and Kate and the other kids at Augustana helped out with the 8:30 church service. Kate was a greeter and helped bring up the gifts -- she carried the wine jug -- and Audrey read the First Reading. They also sang some songs they had been practicing.

Audrey, songwriter

Audrey, Kate, and their cousin Lily sing a song Audrey wrote the lyrics to.

New neighbors

Audrey and Kate were excited to meet the new neighbors who moved into the house next door this weekend: their cousins Lily and Cora (and their parents, of course). With the house spruced up and habitable -- save for the driveway that's still torn up for sewer work -- the Taylors began moving in on Friday (February 6). The four girls had lots of time together over the weekend, starting with Lily helping pick up Audrey and Kate at the bus stop. The fun continued with lots of playtime, dancing and skits, dinners, hot tub time, and Sunday School.

"The Nutcracker," take 2

After Audrey's performance of the previous evening, it was Kate's turn to take the stage and dance to "The Nutcracker." Mama, Dada, Honey, Honey Grandpa, and GG all came to cheer her on.

"The Nutcracker," take 1

After practicing with Ms. Kat for several weeks, Audrey and her friend Hannah had their "Nutcracker" ballet performance this evening. For one selection, the girls danced with actual nutcrackers. Honey, Honey Grandpa, and GG came to watch.

Church pageant

The final act of Audrey and Kate's festive Sunday was performing in the church Christmas pageant. As with last year (and the year before that), the girls chose to dress as angels. While skipping down the aisle, Audrey lost her shoe and had to wade back though the multitude of other angels to retrieve it, but made it to the sanctuary in time for the singing. Grandpa Dave and Honey Grandpa came to watch.

Call Me Maybe

Kate sings along to the Carly Rae Jepsen hit.

Farewell party for Stella

Audrey's friend and "bus buddy" Stella is moving to North Carolina. To say goodbye, Audrey helped host a Halloween-themed farewell party for Stella. Audrey helped Dada design a scavenger hunt for the party. In addition to doing the scavenger hunt, the girls (Audrey and Stella and their classmates Eloise and Elsa) made Halloween cards, made and ate pizzas, danced in the dark with glow sticks and watched an "Eloise" movie. Kate stayed right in the mix with the big kids, although was not a fan of the big girls' singing of songs they had learned at school.

Mama's birthday

Audrey and Kate helped Mama celebrate her birthday today, with help from cousins Lily and Cora, who hosted a birthday party at their new house in Beaverton. They helped with making the cake, including the most important tasks: tasting the frosting and application of sprinkles. They also helped open presents and sing the "Happy Birthday" song.

Flexibility

Audrey's taking another dance class with Ms. Kat, this time a beginning ballet class at the Northeast Community Center. Her friend Hannah is taking it with her. It's a "real" ballet class, in that there are certain dress and grooming standards, including girls required to have their hair in buns. The timing is such that Dada is the one to take Audrey and Hannah to class, so he has to help with the hair. This first time out showed that he has much to learn.

Grace Art Camp

Audrey had her first summer-camp experience this week. She participated in the Grace Art Camp at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church. She got to try out many different styles of arts and crafts -- music, dance, glass-making, painting, etc. -- centered around the theme of the Yangtze River and Chinese culture. Her friends Hannah, Cecily, Lilah, and Jackson did the camp with her. This evening the campers performed some of the songs and dances they learned during the week, including the Grace Art Camp theme song, which everyone, including Mama and Dada, had stuck in their heads all week. As a treat, after the performance Audrey and Kate and Hannah went out for frozen yogurt.

Heartwood happy birthday

Since Kate wasn't at school on her actual birthday, her friends celebrated her fourth birthday upon her return from Camp Sherman and Sunriver.

Vacation Bible School 2013

It was time for another round of Vacation Bible School this week, this time at Westminster Presbyterian. Kate got to go for the first time. The girls enjoyed the activities and songs, and especially the refreshments and recreation in the church courtyard after the family night performance. The girls got to see their friends from church, and Audrey's school friend Amelia was there, as were the kids of her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Davidson.

Performance day

Today was a big day for Audrey and Kate. At mid-day, Kate and her preschool friends performed the play they have been working on for several weeks, "Foolish Rabbit's Big Mistake." In the evening, for Audrey's last day of dance lessons with Ms. Kat, Audrey and her classmates danced selections from the ballet "Coppelia."

Pajama party

Audrey and Kate with their friend Finley at a pajama party at Kate's preschool this evening. Kate's teach Amy hosted the party for Heartwood students and their siblings. They got to play games with flashlights and sing and dance. In the meantime, Mama and Dada got to go out for dinner and bike ride before returning to pick the girls up.

Happy Birthday, Dada!

Audrey and Kate rushed home from Audrey's kindergarten concert tonight for a family gathering to celebrate Dada's birthday. They helped Dada blow out his candles and open his presents, ate cake and ice cream, and enjoyed hanging out with their grandparents and Aunt Marie and Uncle Keith.