Hakuna Matata

A few years ago I saw The Lion King musical on Broadway when I went to NYC with Kolby.  I was blown away by it.  Within the first 60 seconds I was crying my eyes out and had goosebumps all over from the sheer beauty of it.  Madeline was four at the time, and loved to pretend to be an animal and move her body just like that animal.  Through the entire play, I wished she was with me because she would have been amazed by it.  I vowed to take her to see The Lion King if it ever came to our city.

Last night we took the kids to to the Paramount Theater in Seattle to see it.  They loved it.  The costumes in this play are so incredible, and the way the actors move to make the costumes work--I can't accurately describe it.  The actors who were giraffes walked with stilts on both their hands and their feet, and then still had to move the way a giraffe moves.  Just amazing.  And it wasn't lost on the kids. 

One of the things I couldn't stop thinking about was that all those people on stage were doing their jobs.   The guy who designed all of the animals lives in Scappoose, a little town just outside of Portland.  That's his job.  I think it's the current state of the economy and rising unemployment, but I just couldn't stop thinking how amazing it must be to get paid to do something you love so much.  

And we learned something new.   Lions do not get new cubs the same way cats get new kittens.  They still smile at each other.  That part is the same.   But instead of hearts between them, a singing baboon produces the new cub.  Hmm.  

(All photos of the play swiped from the web since there was no photography allowed during the play).

Learning 'bout the birds and the bees, virtually

Madeline has figured it out.   She now knows how kittens are made.  I'm sure you thought she had that figured out long ago, with all the imaginary kittens she's helped deliver, but no.  She figured it out just yesterday.  

Kolby and I were sitting in the living room enjoying a lazy Saturday morning when Madeline shrieked and came running in screaming that Sagwa and Smokey had a kitten.  From the level of excitement, you would have thought it was a real kitten.   Not knowing who Sagwa or Smokey were, we were a bit confused.  Kolby thought this was a continuation of the birthing cats scenario, and he was ready for a psych consult.  But then we realized she'd been playing Catz on her Nintendo DS, and two of her catz had mated and had a kitten.

So then she spent the next little while trying to figure out exactly how that happened so she could make it happen again to get more kittenz.  And it turns out, all you have to do is put a male cat next to a female cat, and then they smile at each other, and there are hearts in the air between them, and then lo and behold a new kitten appears.

Glad we figured that out.

Feelin' groovy

This afternoon Amelia packed her bag and got herself all gussied up for a sleepover at her friend Andrea's house.  As I was walking her around the corner to Andrea's, Amelia said, "Mom,  I know I look really cute.  I can just feel it." 

Short days

Wednesdays are early out school days for the girls, and I LOVE love love love love this. It is so nice to have one day during the school week that they can have a nice long playdate, or relax for a few hours before launching into the nightly homework, dinner, reading, bedtime routine.

Today I had the car loaded up and when the kids got out of school, we headed up to ski. Amelia's friend Ellie came along.

I didn't realize that there isn't a 4-person beginner ski lift on the side of the resort that is open mid-week, so two of the girls would have to ride the lift without me. That was almost a deal breaker. But Maddie and Mia got brave and went on the lift for the first time without a parent, while I rode behind with Ellie. After the first scary time (for me and them! Who was going to hold onto my babies with a deathgrip so they didn't fall off???), it was old news, and we got in a bunch of great runs in the 2.5 hours we skied.

Seriously, where did she get this pose?  She even had her lips all puckered up like my teenage niece Macady does in all her photos.  Kolby thinks it's too much Disney channel.

Spiderweb Park

The girls had school off today for President's Day, so after lounging around in p.j.'s all morning, I made them get dressed so we could get out and enjoy the sunshine.

This is one of our favorite parks.  My photos stink--it was very sunny, and I was taking pics with my phone.  

Happy Valentine's Day

Things you learn

Amelia has pneumonia, which stinks, but she's been feeling pretty good so she's been great company the last two days that she's been home from school. (She gets to go back to school tomorrow).

This afternoon it was sunny, so we headed out for a "run-bike" (Amelia's term--Momma runs, girl bikes). I took her on my favorite trail along the Sammamish River. It's a paved trail that goes for miles, and it's just a 5 minute drive from our house. 

This was our first time on an intentional "run-bike" and Amelia did great.  (We had many unintentional run-bikes last summer as she was learning to ride, but hadn't quite figured out the braking yet).  I loved running while talking with her (yet another reason why I love having big kids).  And we learned a few things.  

• Stay in your own lane and try not to drive like a drunk.
  
• Don't focus on the duck-muck or you just might end up in it.
• It's not a good idea to run over your mom.
• You don't need two legs to ride a bike.
• The playground isn't as much fun without your sister.