School World Fair 2013

It was that time again... the school's biggest fundraiser, their fair. It's great that so many people donate and participate in making the fair such a success year after year... it warms my heart to know that there are decent, good-hearted people out there! This school makes me feel so fortunate that Cookie is able to be part of such a warm community that promotes education and a loving environment! Can't say enough AWESOME things about this school! This is where I feel like putting my hands together and cry out "HALLELUJAH!!"

During the fair, each grade of the school were scheduled to perform. If you haven't realized this about me already, I can't miss seeing and recording any of Cookie's performances if I can help it--yes, I am proud to say that I am one of those doting parents in the front (elbowing others who get in her way) with her camera rollin' and iPhone snapping pics, haha!! These moments only come around once--I have to record what I can!! (Sometimes I wonder if Sophia will be embarrassed by some of the things I post here, but what does it really matter?? I am her parent and is within my rights to embarrass her at some point, is it not? Hehe...) These moments that I obsessively record is not only for me to look back on cause I know I probably won't remember half this stuff, but it'll give Cookie an opportunity to see her younger self. Especially with technology, how easy it is to just pull out a camera and shoot away, I say, "WHY NOT?!"

Okay, back to Cookie...

Kiddos getting set-up on stage

I don't know what happened to the quality of the video below =/ boo... but I suppose it's better than nothing. Oh, well, at least I'll still have the original somewhere on some external hard drive in some storage up in some closet, haha.

Last time (violin recital) I tried to embed a video, I felt like MacGyver (Cookie won't know who he is, she'll have to google him, hahaha) having to figure out how to attach the video and such--must say, felt pretty proud of myself for maneuvering my way around technology and did what I wanted to get done! Yeah, I'm easily amused...

Cookie didn't look too excited to be performing... personally, I think she may have been preoccupied and just itching to get off stage so that she can shimmy into her wetsuit for the mini "waterpark" they had. She loves the water... but then again, what kid doesn't?? Especially when it's hot out.

After the performances, Cookie's mind was set on charging for the "waterpark," hahaha... it was so cute to hear her call it that--it literally was just 2 wet slides and 1 slip-n-slide. Cookie and her friends had SO MUCH fun!! It was so cute to watch. (Do you see the common theme here? Pretty much that everything she does is cute, hahaha.) All the giggling and glee does nothing short of bring a smile to your face and warms a soul.

Before Sophia jetted off to change, I had to get in a few snapshots, of course!!

Looking at Eli's get-up, I feel the need to explain the outfit choice, haha... earlier that morning, we were down in Marina del Rey where we had gone parasailing--for the first time! While there, we found out that the parasailing company take children as young as Sophia's age--got me all excited! I think Sophia would totally enjoy it since she loves being high, and with parasailing, it's pretty calming once you're up in the air. Definitely nothing like how I thought it would be like--thought I was going to have some sort of adrenaline rush... not really. But it was a good experience since Eli and I have never tried it before. Which brings me to a point... I hope that as Sophia grows, she learns to try everything at least once (as long as it doesn't involve causing any harm to herself or anybody else, ie drugs). I want her to experience LIFE!! What's out there! Endless possibilities!! To have experiences and adventures! To do things in spite of fear! To grab life by the face and have a stare-down contest!! Haha. I just don't ever want her to be afraid of trying something!!

Anyways, I'm going off track here... let's get back to the fair...

At first, Cookie was hesitant to even go on any of the slides because there were too many people and it was crowded--she is her mother's daughter haha. But once her friends came and were having a blast, she couldn't resist and went wild... kinda, haha...

At one point, I got this snapshot...

If you haven't read my past posts, this is Shahaf, the boy that Sophia has said she is going to marry because he makes her laugh... this is so cute to me!! They actually have a good number of moments such as the above pic, but I'm not camera-ready (hard to believe, I know, haha)... I was fortunate to get this one! After taking this pic, I ran into Shahaf's mom. Turns out that they're only here in the states for a few years, they will be going back to Israel after that. Who knows if Cookie's and Shahaf's bond will continue since school is ending soon and not knowing if they'll get to be in the same class next year in first grade (hopefully), but that would be so neat (and cute!!) if they stayed in touch. We'll definitely be having playdates with Shahaf and his twin, Ella, since they leave ONLY 2 DOORS DOWN FROM US!!! This whole school year and we never knew they lived within a 30 sec walk from us!!! (Sigh...) And by the way, Shahaf's mom was also telling me how he'll talk about Sophia and say how he will also be marrying her, haha... TOO FRIGGIN' CUTE, I TELL YA!!!

And while at the fair, Sophia shared how she now has a loose tooth. This is where I can see the look on most adults' faces as I'm saying this and they're thinking I'm kinda crazy for bringing attention to just a loose tooth. But, unless you're a parent, I suppose you can't really understand this realm, haha. 

Sophia was so excited to share this little bit, haha...

MY CUTIE PA-TOOTIE!!

This has turned out to be a longer post than I had expected... think I'm getting the hang of this journaling thing, haha...

As time goes on, I hope to have more up on a regular and consistent basis.

'Til the next outing...

XXOO,

COOKIE & MAMA