Flip and Ring

During gymnastics, when a student completes a new skill 3 times, they get to ring a bell and everyone cheers for them.  Most times, it doesn't happen on camera day, but this time, Tori completed a new skill and we got video of it.  This is the first flip in the set.

This is the next 2 and her bell ringing

She'll be signing up for summer classes and hopefully doing more bell ringing this summer!

Damn Saxamaphone

This spring, the school started up band.  Tori had been waiting to try the flute.  After winter break, they finally got a teacher.  They had a music store come in with instruments for kids to try.  Tori tried the flute, but it wasn't what she thought it was and was harder than it looked.  Since he brought other instruments, she tried the saxophone and loved it.  She practices once a week at school and has learned a couple easy songs so far.

I think she practices at home on occasion (which would be more than I practiced the guitar).  She still seems to like it and looks forward to class every week.  The only part she doesn't like is carrying the sax back and forth to school.  Now I can act like Homer Simpson and tell her to 'put away that damn Saxamaphone!'.

New Year

Tori had a full Christmas break.  The first week off, she mostly relaxed and did her gymnastics all around the house.  Played with her toys and complained that she was bored.

On Dec. 23rd we headed to Kansas City for her Grandparents Christmas celebration.  We stopped in Hannibal, Mo and she got to learn a little about Mark Twain.  We visited his house, but didn't have time for other activities in town.  We headed off to KC after the house tour, a hike up the light house stairs (244 of them) and some ice cream at 10:30 AM.  She got to see her cousins and meet her new cousin Vivian that was born in September.  She also got to see Santa Claus and get a present from him with Grandma's babysitting kids.  She knows the truth about Santa, but she went along with it anyway.  The next day the full event went down.

Since we stayed at a hotel, her brothers and cousins went swimming in the afternoon.  Then about 4 pm, all the presents were passed out and opened.  She got a ton of make-up, jewelry, shopkins and other toys.  Her grandfather made her a jewelry box which she really likes.  She also got to paint her own Christmas tree carving made by Grandpa.

We headed back home on Christmas day to open the presents Santa brought the kids.  We made it back in decent time, even though lunch was a quick stop at an open gas station.  Tori opened more make-up, Shopkins and her new rocker chair to use while playing on her ipad or xbox.  All in all, she was happy to get new things and had a great Christmas.

The next few days were spent playing and organizing her room.  New Years came and they all went outside to shoot Poppers in the cold.  All the kids made it to midnight, so it was fun for them.  Finally school started again and she wasn't ready for it.  In the 2nd week, she's gotten back into the swing of things, but still doesn't like it.  It is supposed to be in the teens for a high and she still says she's walking in it.  Brave trooper.

Tori is starting back in Gymnastics at the end of February.  She hasn't stopped doing handstands and cartwheels the entire time she's taken off.  She's ready to go back and we'll get a break from accidental breakage.  She'll probably take the summer off like most kids seem to and be ready to get back into it in the fall.

Bat Loopsy

This past summer Tori got bored with some of her toys.  Eli was bored with his.  So, the two put their heads and toys together and made up Bat-Loopsy or Lala-Man.  It is a mash-up of Tori's Lalaloopsy minifigures and Eli's Batman buildings.  Eli's interest waned after the first few times.  Tori's lasted most of the summer.  She even took her creation to Sharon's and played it with the girls there.  Apparently it was a hit with the other girls and Christian's girlfriend Rosalynn.

It seems the start of school was the demise of Bat-Loopsy.  Maybe on a rainy boring day Bat-Loopsy will rise again.  Until then it'll remain in the memory of this blog and maybe Tori and Eli.

Orlando

Our family went to Orlando for our first vacation.  We went to Legoland, SeaWorld, the beach and Disney World.  For Tori Disney World was the best part.  Lego land was 2nd and Sea World was kind of a bust.  There were several rollercoaster's for Tori to ride and rides that were just the right speed for her.  So it was a passable trip for her as far as amusement parks go.

Sea World was bust for everyone.  We started of getting on Journey to Atlantis and the Empire of the Penguins.  Those were probably the highlight of the day and it was the first thing.  Luckily, we got there just as they were opening, so there was no wait.  We then went to see the Sea Lions.  There you can feed the animals food.  We purchased food for them and as soon as the kids saw that it was real fish, they all screamed NO!  That wasn't happening.  So, Uncle Tony and I fed the Sea Lions.  It was pretty gross.  After that we saw a show and some of the kids sat in the splash zone.  They barely got wet and Tori was crying after because her eyes hurt.  After many tears, lunch, shark tank, wild arctic ride and the shamu show, the kids were all done around 3 pm.  We headed back to the house for swimming and relaxing.

Next day was the beach and all the kids enjoyed it.  It was nice to relax and not have to rush everywhere.  We did go to see Hope and Winter from the movies and then to the beach.  We had a bit of a rain delay, but overall, they had a good time.  We now have sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico.  The kids rode a banana boat and got a face full of salt water.  The day was interrupted by a few storms, but nothing too bad except for the storm on the way home.  It was so bad it cost us an extra hour for our trip back to the house.  Luckily no one got much of a sunburn and were able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

Finally it was time for Disney World.  2 days of fun!  It started out that way.  We road the Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain to start the day.  We got through quite a bit of the park.  At noon Tori had her hair done in the boutique.

After that we had lunch and went on a few more rides.  We finished the day with a brief storm, The Haunted Mansion, dinner and the electrical light parade.  They were done and didn't want to wait for the fireworks, so we headed home.

The last day at Disney was a follow-up day.  We finished a few rides and shows, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain and Hall of Presidents.

At about 2, everyone was done.  We headed back to the house for some swimming and relaxing.  Overall Tori had a great time.  They only ran into a few lizards and 1 frog in the pool, but that might've been their favorite part of the trip.  Maybe we'll try another trip in a few years.

Gymnast

Tori has become quite the gymnast in the last 6 months.  She's already passed her first level of requirements and is moving from red to orange.  She's also started to accumulate the leotards and shirts with gymnast slogans.  She's gotten pretty confident in her ability and is able to do most activities without much effort for her level.

She performed in the year end showcase in May.  She performed as part of 4 activities, floor, beam, bars and one other activity.  It was her first showcase and she was nervous, but by the time it came to perform, she was composed and ready to go.  Once it was over, she was really glad she did it.

She also had her birthday party at the school where she takes her gymnastic classes.  There were 10 girls and they all had a good time.  Here's some of the pictures from her party!

And of course, we have to have her best Mckayla Maroney picture.