Friends and the Magik Theatre

With our upcoming move Shane and I are anxious to get our fill of our favorite stops in San Antonio.  The Magik Theatre happens to be top of the list.  This children's theater is one of a kind and a favorite for kids and adults and will be greatly missed.  It's a fun way to spend a Friday evening.  Avery and Amelia enjoyed every second with their friends, whom they are sad to be leaving.  Audrey enjoyed every second of the show keeping her eyes glued to the stage until the very end.

Music Recital

With the school year wrapping up we are also coming to the end of a few extra curricular activities.  One of them being our music class at Music Maters.  Avery and Amelia both had mixed reviews on their latest session of classes, but seemed to enjoy preforming during recital.  My take on their mixed reviews, they didn't enjoy practicing the piano at home, or attending an afternoon session of classes, when there was playing to be done after a long day at school....I don't blame them.  With that being said, they both sang and played beautifully.  I really hope one of them likes music enough to pursue it during their middle and high school years!

This is a devious smile....Avery decided last minute to forgo his music book (notice no music book on his piano) and play his recital song by memory.  He played his song without missing a note, while I held my breath the entire time. 

Avery vigorously playing the tambourine showing his music theory knowledge.

This was my favorite part, a solo vocal featuring Avery as a dragon....so appropriate.

Avery was loud and very much into character.

This is my sweet Amelia preparing for her buzzing part as the class bee.

My favorite part of Amelia's recital was when the teacher approached each child asking them to sing what they wanted to be when they grew up.....Amelia responded...."A wild girl."  The teacher had to ask Amelia to re-sing her response three times before the audience could clearly hear what she was saying.  When they understood there were plenty of laughs, leaving Amelia's feelings a little hurt.  I later had to explain why they laughed and told her maybe saying "world explorer" would help people better understand her aspirations.

You can see the concentration in Amelia's face as she plays the finger cymbals and tambourine.

Amelia did a great job on her solo and was very focused the entire time.

During the singing portions of the recital Amelia was very carefree, smiling, and moving the entire time.

She was so excited for the xylophone portion of the recital, because she was selected to play the big xylophone with the wooden bars, providing a richer tonal sound....(for Amelia this translates to a louder sound!)

Nature Hike Pictures

Every first and second Saturday of the month Eisenhower Park either has a presentation or a nature walk.  We have enjoyed a snake presentation and a nature walk discussing the native flowers and grasses of the surrounding area.  Our last visit included a discussion on nature photography.  In preparation for the discussion on nature photography, we grabbed some cameras, learned a few operation basics, and experimented by taking pictures around our neighborhood.  Both kiddos enjoyed taking numerous pictures, but the photographed subject in question varied for Avery and Amelia based on personality.  Avery took nature pictures only and didn't want any pictures of his family, or people for that matter.  Additionally, he enjoyed taking pictures close up and of only one subject.  Amelia on the other hand enjoyed taking pictures of scenes, focusing on the big picture.  However, her favorite subjects were of people...specifically Audrey.  Audrey ate it up and was a good model for her older sister.  Below is a sample of our work.

                            Photographer 1                                                      Photographer 2

The model

Amelia - Oakwood

Amelia - Oakwood

Amelia - Eisenhower Park

Avery - Oakwood

Avery - Oakwood

Avery - Oakwood

Diane - Eisenhower Park

We enjoyed watching this Dung Beetle carefully roll his precious cargo (hint...."Dung" Beetle should give the cargo contents away) into a camouflaged, shaded spot.

Diane - Eisenhower Park (Texas Thistle)

Diane - Eisenhower Park (Indian Blanket)

Skirts are not necessarily suited for hiking.

The End!

Mother's Day 2012

"The Best Thing in the World is a Mom"....Amelia. 

I enjoyed breakfast made, brainstormed, and planned by my hubby and babes, and an evening at the pool....our first for the year.  It was a wonderful mother's day.

A gift from Amelia...a lavendar sachet.

A gift from Avery....pins with original self portrait art work.

Things to Remember #2

Maybe we have a future hair stylist in our midst?  I love the unstaged moments of life.

Vancouver Round 3 - Bridges, Bikes, and Food

On the last leg of our trip we visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge on a very rainy day.  It was kind-of miserable yet beautiful all at the same time.  Because the suspension bridge was located in the temperate rain forests of Canada, I felt like the rain set the mood for a more authentic "rain forest" experience.  

We also rented a couple of bikes and made our way around scenic Stanley Park, which is surrounded by water on 3 sides and mountains on the north side.  Additionally, Stanley Park is very large, 20 percent larger than Central Park to be exact.  I felt like we saw only a 1/4 of this vast park on our  1.5 hour bike ride.  Amazing!

For the Dieckman's a vacation can only be great if the food is great, and we love fabulous food.  Luck for us Vancouver was full of wonderful restaurants.  We ate and ate and ate some more.  All dining experiences were memorable, however, I really enjoyed our evenings with residents/staff and their significant others.  We found yummy recommendations from the hotel concierge and our travel guides, but the best "eats" were tips received from the locals.

This was such a fun vacation that I am already plotting for an excuse to attend Shane's next conference.