*ALEXA'S SCHOOL PICTURE*

*ALEXA'S SOCCER PICTURE*

Her team is undefeated this year! They are doing so great.

*PUMPKIN PATCH IN WESTON, MO*

It was the most beautiful day to go to the pumpkin patch. I of course over dressed the kids, but they could have worn just plain t-shirts and had been fine. The weather was the best, but at the same time it scares me it may be the last weekend like this.
We started out the day by going to eat brunch at a cafe in Weston. They had all of these people with Hand crank music boxes. Which the girls liked. We went to a couple of shops too.
Then we headed to the pumpkin patch, which was pretty packed. The girls loved running through the corn maze and looking at all the farm animals. At the end, both girls got to pick out two mini pumpkins to keep in their room.

*WE GOT A NEW CAR*

Ok, by "we" I really mean "Jay" and by "new" I really mean "in great used condition."
Jay loves Infiniti, so we went with a 2005 Infiniti G35X sedan with only 42,000 miles on it. I knew he did his research on it and he liked this body style better then the newer style. (I think I do too.) However, it is really hard to sign a paper for a car I will only ride shotgun in.
I originally went to the dealership the car was at (Jay went earlier in the morning and test drove it) and I told him what I wanted to pay and he simply responded "No." After awhile of speaking to him, it ended on these terms:
Mr. Carsalesman: "You have my number in case you change your mind, right?"
Me: "I think so, but you have my number in case you want to actually talk numbers, right?"
And off I went. A little nervous my husband would be mad at me, because I was really only suppose to be there to give him my information to see what rate he could finance us at. Surprisingly, he wasn't.
That night Jay was looking again for a car similar to the one I walked out on and found the exact car listed at another dealership (the dealerships are owned by the same person.) Jay decided to email that dealership and offer the price we wanted to pay. After a little back and forth (Jay had to throw me under the bus saying that I won't budge, which throw away, I have no shame when it comes to talking money), we finally got it! We got it for $3,495 less then what the Kelly Blue Book suggestted. Go team Adams!
Oh, I cleaned out my car as well. I figured I would try to make myself feel like I am in a brand new used car. It didn't work.
I also offered to make Jay a brand new mix cd for his car (unlike my car, his car is not IPod capable - who has the better car now, Jay.) Plus who wouldn't want a new cd to rock out to in a new car. I always say New Car = New CD.

*FIRST COLLEGE AND NOW A RESUME*

Alexa asked me awhile ago how you get to be on stage in plays. I told her by taking classes and going to auditions. So she decided to quit dance and take acting classes. I figured I would track down an open audition (usually they for union only.) Unfortuanetly, he wrote back and said all audition slots were booked. Which was fine, we weren't quite ready, I just wanted her to see what it was like and go to her first one.
Then I got an email that said this:

Hi Niki,
I know it may be last-minute, but we would LOVE to see your daughter for auditions tonight. You may come down anytime between 6:30pm & 10pm. Feel free to call me to confirm. My cellphone is 816-XXX-XXXX. Auditions are at the address below. Let me know! Thanks!
Chad Gerlt
Musical Theater Heritage
Marketing Director / Associate Producer
www.MTHKC.com

So I called him and he said for us to bring 2 different style songs for her to sing. I said, "Oh we just started looking into auditioning and I can't say that she has any songs prepared." He said not to worry about it and to just bring her in.

Once Alexa got home from school, I called her and told her about the audtion. She was super excited and asked a million questions (trademark for Alexa.) I just tried to explain that she was just going to go and see what it's like.

Lucky for us, she had piano that night prior to the audition. He also is a voice teacher, so Alexa mentioned she was auditioning for a play and what songs she knew from her acting class. He actually had the music and a practice cd of her song. (Dites-Moi from South Pacific) I came to pick her up and she ran through the song and it sounded great. I was surprised she knew it that well.

We signed up for her audition time once we got there. We had a couple of people infront of us, so we had sometime to talk. She said she was getting nervous, but excited at the same time. Then right before she was to audition, she said "Mom, I forgot the sound on one of the parts of the song." I told her it was no big deal and as soon as the piano started playing she would know exactly the sound she forgot. I've been through it a million times. It never fails that as soon as you are about to perform (dance in my case), you try to go through it in your head and you always forget something! I knew she was going through the same thing and once in there, she would do fine. They called her name and she went through the doors.

I sat there waiting for her while she performed. Once done, she came out and seemed excited. She said that they said she did quite well and that she did the song in French and then in English.

No matter what I am pretty impressed. Boy does this girl have confidence! Not many kids her age can walk in a room and belt out a song without being scared to death. She's always been a natural infront of audiences.

Now we have to wait a couple of weeks to see if she gets a call back. However, this was a great experience to know exactly what is needed in an audition. The next one won't be so scary.

*MAGIC WOODS 2010*

We made it a family tradition to go to the Magic Woods at the Lakeside Nature Center in Swope Park each year.
Radio Disney was DJing for the first time this year, so when we first walked up the girls got to play a game. They stood in a circle and passed a pumpkin around until the music stopped. Once it stopped the one holding the pumpkin was out. Alexa got out before Maren. Maren would have won it if she realized exactly what to do, but I think she hesitated to pass it.
This time all of the kids decided to get their face painted. Of course it couldn't be a cute tiny bug on the cheek, it had to be the full blown face paint. I am surprised it didn't get everywhere, but somehow it stayed put on their faces for the most part. The girls went over to Angie's to eat pizza and she had make-up remover to get it off easily.
The weather was amazing too. We have had to come with huge coats, hats and gloves on in the years past, so to be able to wear short sleeves was pretty great.
We all have each portion of Magic Woods memorized. They always switch up the animals that we see, but they always have Eco-Elvis and Katie the Mule at the end. I think I like standing back and watching the kids reactions more then watching the different skits. Maren's face was by far the funniest to watch. She looked so excited seeing the animals talk. All the kids were really into it and paid really close attention (not counting Audry - who kept wanting to take off.)
This was one of the best years of going. It's much more enjoyable with the weather being nice out.

*THE NOTE*

Alexa came home upset today about a note she had gotten from a friend. It was a mean note saying they couldn't be friends. The friend said she didn't know who the note was from and in the note it read that Alexa would have to figure it out. I think that's the worst part. Could you imagine being in that situation? Picture coming to your desk at work and finding an anonymous note saying "One person here thinks you are weird looking! Figure it out." For the rest of the day you would be analyzing everyone. Not fun at all. However, Alexa is a sharp cookie, so she quickly came to the conclusion that it was the girl that handed her the note. (Silly note-giver. Like she couldn't figure that one out!) This girl has written her other notes and I know the handwriting, so I can for sure confirm. (see below)

Now this is the part that's hard about being a parent. I never know what to say or how to handle these things. Do I quickly tell Alexa to drop her as a friend? or to ignore her? or to write her a note and some how politely say screw off? (how do you tell a young child that politly anyway?) Plus, I had to figure all this out on the fly. She was telling me the problem and I had to respond right then.
This is what I decided to do. I explained to her that no friend worth having would cause her pain on purpose all the time and only she could decide what that limit would be. If she was being hurt by this girl constantly, then she should move on and find one that would be her friend all the time and treat her well. Also to act like the bigger person, ignore the note and just play with someone else at recess. Oh, and not to blab to everyone else what this little girl had done, becuase it would only make her look like she wanted to focus on drama.
After our long discussion in the car, we were at the store and the most crazy thing happened. The girls mom was in line checking out! I didn't think I would call the mom and tell her the issue, but since she was there I decided to explain the situation. Of course you never, ever tell a kid anything you don't want repeated, because the first thing Alexa said was that "My mom said that she was probably doing it all for attention." Which is true and I told the mom that it's how I felt and explained to the mom that I told Alexa to move on for now from her daughter. Super awkward by the way. The mom said she would speak to her daughter that night and figure out what's going on.
Now for the rest of the day, I will be super eager to come home and find out what happened. This is ONLY 3rd grade too. I know there will be several more challenges to face in the years to come with both of my girls!
Please note: This little girl has a history of doing random acts of meaness like this. However, I never want to be quick to judge, because I think Alexa has the gift of bringing out the niceness in people. Other children known for being mean or controlling have actually been some of my favorite play dates to have over.

On a great side note, she also got a few wonderful notes. One little girl passed her a note with a best friend bracelet asking her to be her best friend. Then another little boy sent her this note: