Another Fresh Beat Concert?? YEP!

The first two concerts were far out of town, so we made mini vacations out of the trips- but this one was local so we didn't need a hotel! We headed down to the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles last weekend to see our THIRD Fresh Beat Band concert! Yep we are official groupies!

We totally lucked out because the VIP tickets were sold out for this one (I didn't purchase them before they went on sale to the public)... so we expected to have to come home right after the concert... but as we walked past the VIP backstage area- sure enough a staff member remembered us and came right over and offered us to upgrade our tickets-- Woop Woop!
They are just finishing up their tour of 170 shows (all this year) for half million people-- don't ask me how they all can remember us??  Lucky!

Funny you would think that after going to 3 concerts and 3 backstage parties each would seem the same-- but surprisingly- NOT at all! At each one there were special STAND OUT memories that are so priceless to me and we are blessed to have photos of those moments and I know the kids will NEVER forget them either!!

The Fresh Beat Band knows how to throw a party! Although each concert is for thousands of people- they really keep the VIP extremely small so that it is personal. They kick off the party by teaching a choreographed dance- which is really fun! For anyone curious, the dance they teach is basically the "Great Day" dance (with just a few moves changed). They make the party lots of fun for the lucky little ones! They have a DJ playing Fresh Beat music- tents and tunnels to crawl through, hula hoops, instruments, and toys all over the place!! The kids get to mingle with the band, and run around and play- what is better than that?? They also have great snacks and refreshments too!

Maletch even joined in a backstage baseball game where they used a huge inflatable microphone as the bat and an inflatable ball. It was fun watching him pitch and bat!

A Cute Story:
Maletch has a HUGE crush on Marina. He asked me if he could give her a kiss. So I told him, "Well you can ask her." Well I was talking to Twist's wife and I told her about this conversation and she just melted. Well as we were getting ready to leave the party, she realized that he had forgot to ask her. She told Marina and as we were leaving Marina came up to Maletch and asked, "Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Maletch, wasn't sure what she meant, so she asked, "Something about a kiss?" OMGOSH- she is so sweet! She knelt down and we got this shot! Needless to say, he is a very happy boy!!

Sariah:
This was the first time that I actually explained to Sariah where we were and who we were with! I think she thought the first two concerts were just some people wearing clothes like ours and dancing to Fresh Beat songs- which she was super into-- BUT this time it clicked! When I pointed to the stage and said that is Twist and Shout (her favorites) her eyes got HUGE and she froze for a second taking it all in- then she was talking and singing and bouncing and screaming a little- hehe! This time at the party instead of being nervous around strangers- she was wanting to bum-rush the band- cuz she KNEW who they were! Pure awesomeness!
Funny there was an area where people could pose with the band for pics and they had a small curtain around the area- just to keep people from accidentally walking in front of the cameras. Well the curtains were VERY low- everyone could just see right over it-- but not Sariah. She wanted to get a look at what they were doing and she found a split between curtain panels and she opened the curtains and stood there looking through- so stinking cute!!

 

Before we left, they kindly (and discreetly) gave us a few autographed cards (again in spite of the VERY strict no-autograph policy at their parties which allow for more time mingling with their VIP guests)- and that just put the cherry on top of the night! We will frame their autographed cards and put them next to their autographed poster! Neat that they have such cool momentos and stories already!

We are already looking forward to the 2013 tour! We will definitely plan another out-of-town one because making vacations out of them- sure made them more exciting and memorable! We didn't have to go straight home to regular life for 5 days- so we had more of a chance to suck it all in!
As we were getting ready to leave, Maletch was asking if we could go see Hearst Castle again- and he also brought up the beach, the hotel. and even his favorite pizza place! I thought it was so cute how much of the vacation he loved and wanted to relive! It is the same for John and I- kind of like butterfly in the belly memories of our last trip- I'm so glad the kids loved it as much as we did!

THIRD Fresh Beat Band Concert and Party! Slideshow!

Day Out with Thomas 2012!

This was our 3rd annual Day Out with Thomas- and the best one YET!
For those that may not know- this is a REAL train! They created an EXACT replica of Thomas the Train and he travels the rails- touring the whole country all year- and he comes to CA every November! Maletch counts down the days all year to the next time Thomas will visit.

Most of you probably know how much Maletch loves Thomas, but I bet most of you don't know how much Sariah LOVES him too! It might be hard to believe, but she is JUST as MUCH obsessed with Thomas (and friends) as her brother! She LOVES to play trains (much of her day), she also loves to watch Thomas DVD's, and anytime she sees an image of Thomas ANYWHERE- she yells excitedly, "Choo Choo Train, Tomma!"
So this year, John and I couldn't wait for her to see him too- and we were right... her eyes got HUGE and she kind of freaked out (just like he did the first time). She was so excited- they BOTH were- and it was so FUN!

I really considered getting her a conductor costume like his- since she LOVES trains so much, but I knew she would look like a boy- and we cannot be having that! I even thought about sewing flowers to a costume- but thought that wouldm't look right... so I finally decided on this dress that her Grandma had given her. Even though it is actually more nautical than train- somehow it really worked and everyone noticed the "little girl conductor!"

I thought they looked so cute together walking around holding hands!

 

It is an all day event with so MUCH to do from: Bouncy Castles, a Video Room, a HUMONGO play area with every train and track imaginable, Photo Opps with Thomas the train AND Sir Topham Hatt, a Hay Bale Maze for the kids to run through, a Petting Zoo, and of course the best part a REAL train ride pulled by Thomas!!
The Orange Empire Railway Museum hosts the event in Perris, CA and that is just such a cool place on its own!

They have really cool Thomas stuff that is not sold in stores- exclusive for event goers- which is a neat treat! So we usually load up on gifts and stash them for Christmas (of course we don't let him see it) and we have always told Maletch he could pick out one toy while we are there- which is always a fun surprise for him because he never expects or asks for anything.

Sariah and her whistle:
I don't know why initially it didn't occur to us to tell Sariah to pick something out too (I guess because we considered this mainly a boy thing? I really don't know?)-- but as soon as he picked out a HUGE Thomas shaped train whistle, she asked for it and she didn't want to let it go! We have never seen her so attached to anything- but she literally held onto to it ALL day! She didn't even want to let it go to put her coat on- she acted as if it were attached to her hand! Just before we boarded the train, we bought another one for her- well really for him because she hi-jacked his, hehe! Good thing for us, he likes to share so he didn't complain at all! I should be clear, she  never set it down from time of purchase- all day- continued holding it the whole drive home- and even to bed that night and fell asleep with it in her hand! Needless to say, she LOVES that thing and she will undoubtedly tell you all about it!

Of course Sariah is too small to jump in the Bouncy Castles (she would get trampled on)- but she sure had fun watching her big brother jump! Maletch had so MUCH fun jumping with all the kids- he laughed his head off in there!
They both LOVED running through the Hay Bale Maze! They are both so fast too, funny I watched daddy try to catch up to them and he had to really run!
They both got tattoos: Maletch suggested as we were walking up to the tattoo booth, "Mommy, we should get Sariah a 'Rosie' tattoo because she is a girl." Rosie is a pink train (friend of Thomas). The lady handing out tattoos overheard him, she smiled and asked, "Do you want to get Rosie for your sister?" Everyone thought it was so cute, because he didn't even pick out one for himself. The ladies gathered all around him, and asked which one he would like, and he chose Thomas.

When it came time to ride the rails... Sariah was very serious I think partly tired, but mainly the same thing that comes over the kids when they are really meeting the characters- they are so shocked and have to really check things out! Is this for real? He had fun pointing out everything that we passed including crossing signals (he thinks those are so cool) and he loved waving at people on the street!

After we put this sweater on her, we called her "Snowball" for the rest of the night! 

 

Fun day!! Check out lots more pics of our fun with Thomas in the slideshow below...

Day Out With Thomas 2012! Slideshow!

Happy Halloween 2012!

Fun Craft Project:

These little ghosts were easy and really fun to make! Sariah is a little too young for projects like this, so Maletch and I enjoyed this project with even a little help from daddy- we asked him to blow up the balloons- hey that counts! Maletch really liked using the die cut machine, and of course he loved getting his hands all messy with the starch, hehe!

These guys go really well with our other Halloween decorations. We all really like how they turned out, I like how they are a little transparent. Maletch kept saying, "These are so cool!" We will definitely be making more of these! 

Trick or Treating:
Well we got a late start heading out for the festivals- so we skipped trick-or-treating. Although that was a little disappointing, since it is fun for the kids- they love knocking on doors and talking to the neighbors... it wasn't that big a deal since they didn't miss out on the best part- the candy- LOL!
Unbeknown to them, when we do go trick or treating- I always sneak their goodie bag straight upstairs and dump out the candy they received and replace it with SAFE candy that mommy bought anyway, hehe.
Just before Halloween we buy a TON of candy and have it all ready for the switch. This world is getting too crazy and it is a shame that we just can't trust anyone anymore! I know a lot of parents don't take their kids trick or treating because of the worry- and it seems like fewer kids go every year! John and I want our kids to look forward to the same Halloween fun we had as kids, which is why we allow them to go, but just not actually eat that candy- haha! When you think about it, all that walking to collect candy that we throw away, seems silly, but it is just for fun for them- and that is why I haven't told Maletch the truth just yet!
But, since we already had all that candy for them, they got to knock on our own door and they got their buckets filled- LOL!

Costumes:
We all dressed in theme again, and this year we were the "Lucky Family"!
John was a 'High Roller' (Gambler), I was Lady Luck, Maletch was a Leprechaun, and Sariah was a Bunny (for the lucky feet- ya know?).
I asked John, "What should we call our theme? The Lucky family or Viva Las Vegas, or you are the gambler and we are your lucky charms?" He said, "We're all of that!" Well there you go, haha!
Sariah looked so cute walking around because her 'bunny tail' was like a big round pillow attached to her butt, hehe! That pillow tail was full and very heavy- so it kept pulling her skirt down- so cute!

Scroll down to see our Halloween Slideshow!

Happy Halloween 2012! Slideshow!

Slideshow Issues, BUT Some Posts Anyway!

Well Photbucket.com, the site I use for uploading slideshows, has been recently making a bunch of website changes. The site has been unstable and crashing for a few days much to my frustration.
So thanks to that, I was unable to finish our vacation slideshows..., HOWEVER, I did post the details of the trip and directly put a handful of pics in the post. Slideshows will be coming ASAP! Scroll down to read about the trip and see a few sneak peek pics AND keep scrolling to read about a fun secret SURPRISE, I have in store for my family!! I'm so excited!!

Family Road Trip & Vacation!!

Well the highlight of our Summer was a jam packed vacation!! We took what some call "The Great American Road Trip" up to California's Central Coast to Paso Robles.
We stayed at the cutest Inn which was filled with amenities- many of which we were too busy to take advantage of. They even had a Miniature Golf Course, and even a cute Koi pond among lots of other things!! It was located right across the street from the Mid-State Fair Grounds where we had tickets and backstage passes to our SECOND Fresh Beat Band concert!

 

Our hotel supplied a lot of restaurant recommendations and menus in a book in our room- so we decided to try Red Brick Pizza - and Maletch KEPT saying, "This is the best pizza I have ever had!" We have never seen him eat so much in one sitting! He kept asking, "Can I have another piece please?" John and I wondered how it all fit in his little belly! We ordered from there a LOT on the trip since he loved it so much! Even now, back at home, he has brought up that "best pizza" many times- I will have to see if there is one near us.   

 

The concert:
This concert was a little different since it was outdoors in the Fairgrounds Stadium, unlike our first concert which was at the Arena, but they did have it set up nicely. The kids had fun singing and dancing- even Sariah who knows every word to all their songs- and all of the dance moves- and John and I had fun singing and dancing with them!! It was so hot for the first half, we were all sweating bullets, but the sun went down and it cooled off nicely for the second half- which was perfect! Twist spotted Maletch in the crowd again and he sure got a kick out of that!

Backstage:...
We were lucky to receive special treatment as the band and staff remembered us- don't ask me how.... they have been on a huge tour all year in full arenas meeting thousands of people-- as soon as they saw us, "We remember you guys- you were at..." and they greeted us with a warm round of hugs. They remembered a lot of details too, like how Sariah cried when Shout held her, and more!
They even said, "If you guys can hang around after everyone else leaves, we will all sign Maletch's poster!" They have a very strict "no-autograph policy" at the backstage party, since they are busy mingling and taking photos with all the VIP guests, there just isn't enough time to do autographs-- so that was super awesome they all signed his poster!!
At the backstage party were also the royal court of the event, with the titles of Miss California Mid-State Fair and the 2 runner ups. Maletch quickly noticed the princesses, and he was so charming and flirtatious- it was so cute! They just loved him and he gobbled up their attention!

The Fresh Beat Band with Our Fresh Beat Family!!

Maletch's Autographed Poster! They each signed it by their photos!

Maletch and the Princesses!

Maletch talking to Twist backstage! I have to say again- he is the nicest guy! He knelt down and had a long conversation with Maletch while the rest of us were all chatting about different things- every time I looked over, he was listening to Maletch so intently! I asked Maletch about this conversation because I didn't hear any of it- and I loved everything he said! Maletch and him are best buds!

Day 2: The Fair

The next day we went back to the Mid-State Fair to actually check out the Fair- it was the largest fair we have ever seen and a lot of fun! Of course the kids loved everything, and I really enjoyed the shopping! They had so many very unique booths with all kinds of fun and unusual stuff that had my name all over it! Funny thing was I bought some very large and unusual shaped items, and at one point John said, "I don't know how we are going to get this stuff home." LOL! He was right, all of the stuff fit fine in our hotel room, but when it was time to go home a few days later, along with our luggage, he had a HECK of a time packing the car. It was like a big game of Tetris, and although I was getting worried watching him pack it, unpack and rearrange, my awesome hubs had a plan B if it wouldn't fit, we would mail/ship it to us-- but luckily we didn't have to hassle with that- he finally got it to fit- although we did have an awkward drive home with stuff in between everybody, hehe!

 

There was a cute sign shop at the fair- that custom made this for me- it is so much more beautiful in person! It is a HUGE dark brown frame with a glass panel that has our last name in black vinyl -AND - it is hard to see in this pic- but going across that is all of our first names in white vinyl script- I love this!
This was one of the packing culprits being fragile and measuring 4 FEET long- told ya it is HUGE!!

These are two more of my favs that I picked up at the Fair!! These look like wooden shelves with vintage books, and glass vases, BUT both entire pieces are metal art from a metal art shop! Love them! This is not how or where I have them arranged on my wall- just hung them quick for a pic! They are each 3 feet tall- which caused more packing problems.
 

I don't know why but all of these wall hangings look so much more beautiful in person.. this is another goodie that the sign shop customized for me- it is a beadboard photo holder! I wanted to use our blog name and I will put up my favorite current pics on this. Photos can slide into the slots either vertical or horizontal and can be 4x6 or 5x7- but yet again this being a large square amongst all the other things was hard to fit!

This is a metal scroll work Floor Lantern. It has a door that opens for a candle!! This thing caused all kinds of trouble on the ride home, and almost didn't fit! It is big and awkward- it's almost 4 1/2 FEET tall- but I think it was worth all the trouble- cuz I love it!

I really love this piece! It was the least expensive and the smallest in size- so John loved it too, haha! It was one of the few things I bought that didn't give him a hard time! :) I love wooden book boxes and I have a small collection of them- I was excited to find this because this is the only one I have that is 3 stacked books that opens to one compartment- so cool! This looks so nicely with the rest too! John actually really likes these too!

 

This is how the car was packed on the way home- yikes! We were actually driving in this picture- and when I was turned around talking to Maletch and saw all of this stuff around him I had to take a picture. Crazy family vacation memories are always the best ones-- we can call this "The time mom bought too much stuff and we barely fit in the car and we had an almost 6 hour drive home like this!!" Haha! Actually we meant to throw away the beach stuff since we could always buy more next time- but when we didn't see a place to toss it- we hit the road! Good times, hehe!

You can see the Floor Lantern in this pic- I had the large flared base by my legs, with the stand (pole) running across my side, it was laying backwards- with the top/lantern part between the kids- that thing was so on my nerves, hehe!

 

Day 3: Hearst Castle
The next day we went up to Hearst Castle and took a tour of the Grand Rooms. I had been there once as a kid, and I remembered very little of that trip. A few things were just as I remembered and many things were very different. Once you check in with your tickets, you get on a bus and take a 20 minute bus ride up the mountains to the Castle. That bus ride was CRAZY- I should say our driver was crazy and it reminded me of a bus ride John and I were on in Acapulco, Mexico- with tires squealing from taking corners way too fast, and swerving from going too fast through mountains and feeling like we were going to plummet off the cliff-like embankments. I looked at John and we both had the same flashback- we laughed and freaked at the same time- and we sure held on to the kids very tight! I tried to focus on the narrative on the bus which was by Alex Trebek who provided almost a documentary/commentary during the drive up.
It was nice to get off that bus, and head with our guide (different person) to go through the Castle- it was such an educational and informative tour! The castle is very beautiful with details that are unbelievable! A few things that I DID remember were the ceilings! Every inch of the ceilings throughout the castle are exquisite: some mosaic tiled, some detailed in murals, and some carved wood! I also remembered some of the furnishings, tapestries and most of the main Dining Room details including the long table and the flags of the world hanging and also the built-in carved chairs around the room. I did not remember some things like sitting in Hearst's media room and watching Hearst's home movies- that was sure interesting!
Maletch was so excited to be in a real castle and he kept comparing it to Snow White and Cinderella's castles!
After the tour, we got to lounge by the pool where we played Fresh Beat Band music and had a nice time! The view was breathtaking, sitting poolside looking down the mountain at the ocean!
Once we decided to leave, we luckily boarded a different bus, and we got a nice smooth drive back!

Neptune Pool

Neptune Poolside: It was cute when Maletch asked so excitedly, "Mommy, can we go swimming?" He was ready to jump in, hehe! He was sure impressed with this pool! 

Sitting Poolside at the Neptune Pool: You can see behind us the view of the ocean.
 

John said these pics look like post cards- we got so many neat photos at Hearst Castle! Since it was hard to take photos inside- no flash photography, we took a lot of video, which I will either upload some of those or try to extract some photos from the video.

Day 4: Pismo Beach
The next day we went down the coast to beautiful Pismo Beach for the day. We were lucky because it was perfect beach weather! We played in the water, built a very cool sand castle complete with moat, and had a lot of fun feeding the Sea Gulls! Maletch especially thought that was neat, he kept wanting to give the birds more food, well to the point of giving away ALL of our food just to keep them around, hehe! He loved that they were close enough it appeared we could just touch them- except of course they are too quick for that!
Maletch likes to tell the story about how a wave knocked him over, and I have some photos of that too.
I wish I could say that our moat was awesome, cuz we wanted it to be, hehe! Maletch had a toy boat and he was so excited when we told him, "We will build a moat around our castle and you can drive your boat in it." Well after we spent a lot of time building the huge sandcastle: mainly Maletch and I built while daddy dug the moat (cuz that was a harder job) -- finally, the exciting moment came- "Ok lets get some water and fill our moat.." Daddy kept bringing buckets of water back and it kept draining/seeping right through the sand- DOH- never had that happen before- but we were just a tad too far back from the water! So our moat wouldn't hold water, Haha! Oh well, Maletch thought it was cool anyway! He really got a kick out of other families that would stop by our sandcastle to check it out. There were a lot of friendly people there with really nice kids!

 

 

Wipeout!!

 

 

 

The 5 hour road trip (each way) was quite long but beautiful. We took two totally different routes on our way up and back which made the scenery very different. The way up we traveled a very remote and desolate mountainous way, and the way back we traveled the coast- the scenery was beautiful both ways- and the roads were wide open and the kids were talkative and enjoyed the drive! Maletch loved spotting cows and horses along the mountains.

----We took MANY photos and videos on the trip- I am STILL working with Photbucket- and will be adding slideshows with lots more pics ASAP-------- I did make a slideshow below of Pismo Beach.... and keep scrolling to see the surprise too!!

Pismo Beach Slideshow!!

The Big Surprise....

 

I am almost beside myself with excitement, looking forward at our calendar. We just have so many fun things we are looking forward to! I even have one BIG secret up my sleeve which I will share with you--- but if you are John, Maletch, or Sariah you are not allowed to read beyond this point, hehe!! I was able to get tickets before they went on sale to the public for a show that I have been wanting to go to- since I learned of it back in Jan, but they were not in California at the time. Yep, I just scored FRONT row, CENTER ice tickets to Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream!! The kids are going to FLIP out because the show is a montage of acts/short stories featuring almost ALL of their favorite characters from MANY of our favorite movies. 

They will get to see Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Peter Pan/ Captain Hook, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Ariel, and SO Much MORE! To make it even more fun, I got tickets for the night of John's birthday (Dec 12th) - which will just make the night and the event so much more special!! I know he will love this gift!! But remember it is a surprise, so shhhh.....
And you know the front row has to 'represent' so I have already picked out- you guessed it-- our costumes, LOL! Although, I am not telling even John about this until we get all the way to the show- they will kind of know SOMETHING is up- when I give them their costumes to put on, hehe!

What costumes will we be wearing?? Well, Sariah will be Snow White, l will be Cinderella, and John and Maletch will be our handsome Prince Charmings- YAY! Gonna be SO fun!! Yeah, pretty sure when I hand John his Prince Charming costume and say, "Here honey wear this"- meanwhile it is the middle of December and not Halloween, I'm pretty sure he will ask questions, but I will just say, "It's a surprise, now could you please drive us to the Staples Center?" haha--  Then I know he'll be thinking, there isn't a Laker game tonight so what's up?? He'll never guess, cuz he doesn't even know about the show, plus it is at a different arena than we went to Toy Story on Ice- so he will never figure it out, and he will be super worried cuz of what he will be wearing, haha!! It's his birthday, so I gotta mess with him a little, right?
I hope we get to meet the cast and go backstage!
I LOVE the costume quality of all of them and can't wait to see everyone in them! My main concerns I have is that my costume has a SUPER full petticoat (it's more full than my wedding dress) - which I love but didn't think about and that might be impractical for sitting at the show and Sariahs gown might be a little big (I ordered a size larger for just in case)-- so might need to have it altered- we'll see how this goes, hehe- at least I know my gentlemen will look dapper!  Here are pics of the exact costumes I ordered (although these all look better in person)...

Love the detail (in person): The gold design towards the bottom of the gown is actually a pattern in glitter and the dress is very full, and the sleeves are puffy and gorgeous. Even has a white stand up collar and red cape- just like Snow White! We will top this off with a tiara and wand!

 

I can already picture Maletch in this one!

 

 I sneakily got John to try this on, told him it was for Halloween, he looked so handsome- oops I just changed my mind about Halloween, HAHA!

 

 I couldn't love this one more, so full of details!

Below, I posted two videos from youtube that give some idea as to what the show is about, and a few sneak peeks at the scenes- if you watch the first until the end you will get an idea about how powerful the Disney on Ice stage/effects can be.
Note: Remember to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog before playing videos or the soundtracks will be battling. The pause button is toward the upper right corner of the player, and the same button will resume the music if you want.

Disney On Ice: Dare To Dream VIDEO!!

Disney On Ice presents Dare to Dream: Highlights

Mickey and Minnie!

We like to dress up in costumes a lot at our house! Needless to say we are all ready and excited for Halloween just around the corner- YAY! We have had a lot of fun dressing up in theme for Halloween, and we plan to continue the tradition every year (we have a lot of themes already planned, haha). As a family we have "been" Romans, Germans, and Air Force,  and outside of Halloween we were the Fresh Beat Band and Toy Story characters....
Since it is so close to Halloween, should I tell you what we are all going to be this year? Or do you just want to be surprised and see pics? Or do you want a hint? Haha!
Tonight the kids wanted to put back on their costumes from Sariah's birthday party (which was Minnie Mouse themed) and I took some pics just for fun! I threw a few in a slideshow below...

Mickey and Minnie Slideshow!