Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We actually celebrated on Friday since we didn't get back from Florida until 7:00ish on Thursday evening.

Our Disney Cruise

Well, we just had another amazing trip on the Disney Cruise Line. Ron planned this trip with about 3 weeks notice, but it all came together perfectly. It was three days on the Wonder with two travel days on either end to drive to Port Canaveral. We boarded on Sunday morning and had 2.5 days full of activities (when we wanted to). We dropped off a pillowcase for Laurin to get all the character signatures and met Zoe in guest relations. Later that afternoon we had a letter from Zoe that we were chosen as a "Magical Family" for the cruise.....pretty amazing pixie dust we received. We got lots of extra treats and were able to attend the Concierge Party. Our future cruises will pale in comparison to this one. Laurin had a great time with all the tween activities, and Ron and I had plenty of time to relax. Castaway Cay was as amazing as we remembered and the service was totally a treat.
We've booked future cruises so if anyone wants to join us, let us know.

New 'do

Here is Laurin's new haircut "with bangs"....her specific request. You may think she wore the shirt all week since our last post featured the shirt too, but she got to wear her costume to school on Friday so she was still wearing it at dinner. Trick or Treating tonight and then we can retire the costume. 4 times total....feel like I got my money's worth:-) We should have pictures from Trick-or-Treating later. Laurin and Jessica will be heading out with Grandpa in the golf cart to get their candy.

Pre-Halloween pictures

So glad Laurin had two Halloween parties to attend so I can post these pictures and be ahead of the game instead of behind in posting (as usual). Her friend Megan had a Halloween party/sleepover on Friday night and then she attended Spooktacular on Saturday afternoon. Now I know she is ready for the real thing next Saturday. For a while there I thought maybe she was done dressing up because she kept saying she wanted to just hand out candy, but when she got the invitation to Megan's party, she changed her mind. So we quickly put together her "Tweenage Witch" costume.

Face painting after attending Spooktacular

Ranger and Coconut

Some updated pics of Coconut and Ranger. We received a bit of bad news about Ranger when we took him in for his teeth cleaning. The blood work revealed that he has chronic kidney failure. What all that exactly involves, we aren't totally sure yet...but we do know he will have lots of visits to the vet and need some extra TLC. Our first course of action is a special diet for 30 days and then we'll go back to the vet for blood work to see if he is improving. We'll keep you posted.

Miley Cyrus concert!

Finally getting around to posting pictures from the concert.....only a week later. We had an amazing time. Laurin and Hannah really enjoyed the concert and Kathy and I had so much fun hanging with our tweens. I don't think we embarrassed them too much. She sang lots of her hits, including "The Climb" and "Party in the U.S.A."

On the TRE headed to the concert....only way to go.

View from our seats....it was great being so close

More pictures from the concert. A great time was had by all.

Laurin's sign for Miley

Riding the motocycle, singing "I Love Rock n Roll"

Miley Cyrus concert tonight

Since it has been almost two months since the last update, we figured we better get something posted. Laurin and I are headed to the Miley Cyrus concert tonight with Kathy and Hannah. We'll also be meeting up with Kelly and Jessica and their friends for a great night of fun. Many thanks to Kelly for the great tickets. Just wish it wasn't a school night.
Ron is still in Japan....he'll be back next Saturday. It is already his birthday over there, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ron!

First Day of 4th Grade

Here she is....ready for the first day of 4th grade. Complete with her new bag she got in St. Louis. It is one she could color on and she completed the whole design before she got back to Arlington. Her teacher is Ms Bingham and some of her good friends are in class with her. Hopefully not the friends she likes to talk to all the time though...even during class. We're looking forward to a great school year.

New Sheets

All summer, Laurin has been wanting new sheets for the Queen size bed she got when we moved things around. Finally (with a little help from Aunt Linda), she got exactly the ones she wanted. I think they are very cute and perfect for a tween room.

Trip to St.Louis

Laurin and Ron got to enjoy some time in St. Louis with Nana and Papa and family while Alison had to stay and work. With three new schools opening in the district this year, it wasn't the best time to be gone.
Ron and Laurin visited the Arch (a lot less crowded since St. Louis schools had started), and spent time at the pool and visited with friends and family.
A great trip for them right before school starting.

A Trip to the Farm

Laurin, Mom, and Grandma got to take a quick trip to Minot, ND to visit family. Alison's trip was quicker than most. Poor planning meant she only got to stay Sat. and Sun. and leave early Monday morning to be back in time for work. With all the new schools opening, this was the worst time to be gone from work. But Laurin and Grandma stayed Sat.-Wed. Even thogh the trip was brief, we all had a great time. And getting to meet Kya and Hudson for the first time was wonderful.

Laurin, Jadyn and Kya after a successful grasshopper hunt.

Craft time with the Grandmas

We have one or two other versions of this picture from years past, but Laurin has gotten bigger while the tires are the same size.

Laurin got to drive tractors and gators and all kinds of farm equipment. Maybe she'll be ready to work for real next summer.

2nd Session of College for Kids

The 2nd session of College for Kids was just as fun as the first. This time she took Sculpture, Vocal, ER (first aid techniques), and CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). All four were a big hit.

Laurin's self-portrait sculpture out of Model Magic

Laurin's Vocal class (part of them). They sang "The Star Spangled Banner," We Are the World," and "I'll Be There." Their instructor was a big Michael Jackson fan. They all did a great job and I recorded the tracks. When the CD is made, I'll be sure to send you all a copy.

A Day at the Lake

We got to spend an enjoyable Saturday at Lake Texoma with Bob and Pat recently. The perfect place to spend a 100+ degree day. The dogs got to spend their first day at Doggie Day Camp and really seemed to enjoy it.

This is what happens when I tell them to "go jump in a lake." (just kidding)

Bob and Laurin on the Wave Runner

1st session of College for Kids

Laurin really enjoyed the first session of College for Kids. She took Photography; Draw, Paint & Sketch; Ceramics; and Cooking. The pictures below show some of the fun she had. She will definitely be signing up next year!

Making Fettucini Alfredo for the parents

Working on the ceramics wheel

Friday was a late night!

This is Laurin in the car on Saturday afternoon while running errands. It is hard partying all night like a Rock Star!

A Dream Come True

This post may be long....there is so much to tell. Friday we received a call from our friend Kelly (Jessica's Mom) letting us know that she received more tickets to Friday night's special Jonas Brothers Concert at Cowboy stadium. What a surprise. We knew the JoBros were doing a concert, kicking off their World Tour on Saturday, but there was no way I would fight the crowds and the heat to go on Saturday. So Friday's intimate concert for 2,000 of their family and friends was perfect!
Parking was free, tickets were free and a tiny crowd to contend with...how could we say No? Not only would we get to see the Jonas Brothers, but also the brand new Cowboy Stadium!
Once we finally got in to our seats, we knew we were in for an amazing evening. First thing they did was announce that no pictures of the concert were allowed. Since the real kick off of the world tour was supposed to be Sat. night, they didn't want pictures of the set and the show to get out ahead of time. After all, the Sat night concert goers had paid big bucks to be the first to see the show. As a trade off for not being able to take pictures, they promised they would do the show in its entirety instead of a shorter dress rehearsal.
First a band called Honor Society performed and then Jessie James sang her song, and then Jordin Sparks came on, which was a great performance too. But all we really wanted was the Jonas Brothers.
Finally the time arrived and they appeared on the stage! We've never been so close to a stage. We could see everything! They performed songs from their new CD, previous CD's and they even sang "Sweet Caroline," which got the parents up and singing along. Very cute.
Our seats were by one of the sound system areas and it also seemed to be where many of the JoBros entourage liked to sit. Big Rob, their bodyguard was maybe 10 feet away for quite a bit of the concert. I think Laurin was more excited to see him then the JoBros. Also, our seats were close to the path to the souvenir stand and who should walk by, but none other than Frankie Jonas (the youngest Jonas, or Bonus Jonas as he is known). Who knew he would have to go buy his own light stick, but that was definitely the hot item of the night. He walked by a couple of times and even sat in Big Robs lap. We had a great sideshow in addition in to the concert.
It was truly an AMAZING night and we can't thank Kelly and Jessica enough. I know I am leaving out details, but Laurin will be happy to share her memories.....just ask her:-)

Laurin and the Jonas Brothers' bus before the concert

Here is how close we were to the stage

Big Rob and the girls

Laurin getting to sign the bus after the concert (her favorite part)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Dad's Day to all you male parental people. Hope your day is great!

Laurin's New Hobby

Laurin has started making dresses and other clothes for her dolls. She is doing a great job. She has figured out Grandma's sewing machine better than her Mom ever did.

Newer picture of Coconut

Another commended performance

Laurin got her Math TAKS results back today and she only missed one (just like her Reading TAKS)....Way to go Laurin!!! We're so proud of you!
Hopefully this is just the start of great standardized test scores.....look out SAT!
Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. It was nice and relaxing around here....nothing too exciting or I would have pictures to post. Laurin and Ron got to go to Hawaiian Falls (water park close to our house). Laurin has a bit of a sunburn to prove it....of course she has her Dad's skin so it is already just the start of her great summer tan.
We took the dogs to the dog park so they could run around....that was a lot of fun and Coconut made a whole bunch of new friends (dogs and humans)....she really is a lovable little girl.
End of the school year is coming soon (June 4th). Maybe I'll have pictures from Laurin's awards assembly.

Roller Coaster Week

Well. after a crazy week Coconut is still here and adjusting to the Mendelsohn household. We received a call on Wednesday evening that Coconuts "owners" had come in looking for her and would like her back. After going back and forth with the Animal Shelter (can you say poor communication?!) we were ready to give her back. Then we received information from the shelter director that led us to change our minds and keep her and we thought it was over with..... only to receive another call Friday evening saying they still really wanted her back, they were missing their family member....etc. Again, we decided we would give her back to them, so we made a plan to meet at the shelter @ 11:30 on Saturday. They showed up and turns out it wasn't their dog! Can you believe that?!?! Pure emotional craziness.
Going to meet them caused us to miss our scheduled grooming apointment (which we had all been looking forward too....well, maybe not Coconut, but the rest of us). But the wonderful ladies at Foxy Pup were able to squeeze her in so we didn't have to wait until Monday. So below, you can see some before and after pictures.

So now we'll spend some time getting used to her and her to us. Hopefully her and Ranger will stop "playing" so hard that it scares us.....we think it is just playing, but what do we know? They do great, except when it comes to food. She is still eating puppy food and Ranger wants to eat puppy food.....thus the problem.

Coconut before grooming, enjoying our back yard.

Laurin and Coconut watching the "How to Train Your New Dog DVD." Hope they both learn something.

"After"


The groomer owns 5 poodles and believes that Coconut is pure Poodle and her "Cafe Au Lait" coloring is kind of rare in the poodle world.

Going Coconuts!

Here is the newest addition to the Mendelsohn family! Her name is Coconut. She is an 8-9 month old puppy we found at the Arlington Animal Shelter. No background on her as she is a stray. We weren't able to bring her home Friday evening because she had to be "altered." So she is going through that now and we'll pick her up on Sunday afternoon. She is a poodle-mix (not sure what the other half is). Hopfully the meeting between her and Ranger goes well. Not sure if he'll like having a sister, but we think he is laid back enough to tolerate most anything.

Coconut licking her nose

Coconut waiting patiently for the door to open