Piano Recital

Last Sunday we attended the girls' piano recital.  So fun to watch all their hard work pay off, they both performed so well.  Mark and I were so proud!

Here is a picture of the girls with their piano teacher Jill

The Hartungs, our friends from way back at Scott AFB, also performed.  Amy and I always reminisce about pool parties at her house when the girls were pre-schoolers. 

McKenna with the Peacocks!

McKenna just started piano this year.  She is so excited about it and never complains about practicing.  Jill has told me that she is picking up concepts so quickly and has tons of potential! 

Bailey has really become an accomplished pianist.  Just like McKenna, Bailey never complains about having to practice piano.  She can spend hours playing music.  We just have to remind her to practice her lesson songs before she moves onto other fun songs.  Mark and I are so proud of her and see lots of potential.  I really hope we can find the right teacher for them when we move to California!

Spring Ballet Showcase

Bailey and McKenna at their ballet Spring Showcase.  So supper fun to see them do something so feminine. 

Back into my most non ballet shoes ever!

When I asked Bailey how she felt about her dress and dance, she said, "Mom, I feel so pretty!"  Love that!

Wicked London

Our last full day was spent in London.  There is no way to see it all in one day, but we did our best.  I have also included our Wicked pictures in this blog even though we did this on our first day.

Before we went to Wicked we found a Pub across the street from the Apollo Victoria Theater.  It was perfect, we ate traditional food and because we had a window seat we could watch all the Londoners going about their business.  I must say, Bailey and I commented a couple of times on the blasts of color that scream from some of the clothing styles there.  They are bold and secure in their boldness!  Our traditional meal consisted of "bangers and mash" which is sausages and mashed potatoes.  I read that the sausages got their name bangers from war time.  They were filled with water to make the meat go longer and therefore would explode when they were fried.

I went for the fish and chips.  I'm glad I did, I have always wanted to try British fish and chips.  My stomach loved it, then reminded me how much it loved it all night long.  Felt like a brick but totally worth it.

Wicked was even better than we imagined.  Such a great twist on the Wizard of Oz and I love how they took the "underdog/bad witch" and gave perspective of why they act (or pretend to act) the way they do.  For the rest of their lives, whenever Bailey and McKenna think of Wicked, they will think "toss, toss" and sing the song Popular. 

Before the show we bought the kids show treats.  Um, you can buy a bucket of candy . . . literally.  The Frandsen's now have included in their tight circle of favorite treats: fizzy cherries.  Mark is going back to the UK in July and these are on his list.  We scrambled the night before we flew out to find some, but by the time we got to our hotel the groceries were closed.  The gas station let us down, no fizzy cherries to be had.

Bailey, eating out of her candy bucket.  Don't think for a minute that my wardrobe choice was by chance.  It was totally on purpose!!

Whispering to Elphaba, probably telling her that she really likes her monkeys and that she would be her friend even if no one else would.  Also, pretty pretty please sing Defying Gravity until the day you die, it is that good, even if Glee did cheapen it.

So onto our day in London.  We decided the best way to see London is from the traditional red open top bus.  Good in theory, but big red buses do not get the right of way, they have to wait in line with everyone else.  It worked for us, McKenna took a big long nap, we were rewarded with a happy 7 year old for the rest of the day.

Look kids, It's Big Ben.  Look kids, "It's Big Ben again".  We drove that traffic circle from Chevy Chase's scene in "European Vacation" but our bus driver knew how to get out.  On the first try!

Here is the back of Westminister Abby.  One thing that surprised me about London is that they charge admission for EVERYTHING.  And not a respectful 2-3 euro for cathedral update and such.  Try a whopping 12-16 POUNDS per site.  Dear London, I'm not impressed by that or by your obscene dollar to pound exchange rate.  I will forgive you because Westminister is lovely and I'm enamored with your royalty.

The girls and I in front of the statue dedicated to Queen Victoria.  This is right outside of Buckingham Palace where the changing of the guard takes place.  No, we didn't see that.  Frandsens are no longer fond of European crowds.

Buckingham Palace, waiting for our names to be called to visit the Queen.  Someone didn't get that memo.

We took a side tour into Harrod's.  That place is a whole different shopping experience on a whole different level.  The bottom level is groceries, but like famous groceries.  You are lucky to be buying their famous groceries and you better honor that luck.  Beautiful displays though.  Bailey and I got a kick out of the Barbie section (the whole toy section is just like going to kid heaven, only the largest kid heaven that you can think of).  Here is Prince Edward and his new bride and luckily they were put on a higher shelf than Bride Bella and Groom Edward.  At least they have their priorities right in the Barbie section.  And a shout out to Harrod's for putting the Hannah Montana barbie on the lowest shelf, right'o!

 

I loved the reminder all over the city of where traffic was coming from.  Look left, look left, look right. Or was it that I just loved that the reminder was in English . . . 

Garmisch again

Exactly 3 weeks after going to Garmisch with family, we returned with Mark to visit while he worked. We drove down with Nina Peacock, Matthew the keyboard player's wife.  We had a great road trip, we listened to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to and from our destination.

This is by far my kids favorite spot in all of Bavaria, the pool at Edelweiss.  I have to tear them away to go sightseeing.  When we go down, I usually take them to the pool first thing in the morning when it is empty, then we go get ready for the day.  My kids are fish!

Nina, the girls and I went for a little day trip to the Weiskirche (white church) which is the most famous Rococco/Baroque church in Bavaria.  It truly is so beautiful!

This is a picture of the altar at the front of the church.

This picture is looking to the back of the church where the organ pipes are on display.

Later that evening, we crashed the AWAG party so that we could listen to the band play.  The girls enjoy this so much!  Here is Bailey getting her groove on!

McKenna even got a treat, Craig lifted her on stage for the very last song where she danced and danced and even sang a little.  She told me, "That was a miracle mom, don't you think?"

We got a kick out of the "ice cream" rest stop on the way home.

Job Shadow Day at USAFE Band

Job shadow day this year took place once again at the USAFE Band.  The girls and I agree, they have the best job shadow experience in all of the KMC (Kaiserslautern Military Community), especially when scooters are involved!  Plus all the band kids are friends so it is like a big playdate!

The end is near . . .

. . . the end of the school that is. That is an end that I really look forward to. The option to sleep in, a break from a strict schedule, sunshine, swimming pools and all other things that scream summer vacation!

But before the end, there are the events that define the end. For Bailey, it was the end of the year band concert. Bailey is a percussionist and we just think that she rocks!
Bailey was so worried that her Dad wouldn't be able to attend her concert. It is a valid concern, his schedule is pretty unpredictable. But he made it and that made Bailey very happy:
This picture is Bailey with her band teacher Mrs. Poklad along with the other "band family" kids, meaning the kids of some of the musicians that Mark works with, and all their parents were able to come too!
McKenna's kindergarten class hosted an "Author's Tea" where they presented their most favorite pages from their journal. This journal was started back in August. The pages in the final book included one entry from each month of school, which was a great way to showcase their progress with penmanship and story creation.
This is a photo of McKenna with her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Brault. When your child starts kindergarten you hope and pray for the type of teacher that is magical so that their first school year ends up planting a seed that grows into a love of learning. THAT is what Mrs. Brault was for McKenna. The good news is, McKenna will get to stay with her next year too. Consistency is not something you get very often in the military, so I am so happy about this.
My favorite excerpt from McKenna's collection was the following "If me and my sistr are at My house if a stranjr coms in to the house. Bailey is going to run to the kechin and is going to git a frin Pt (frying pan) and is going to smac him!" Must have been after Tangled came out.

13 Reasons . . .

What a month! It was a little ridiculous to be honest. I'm realizing that it has been a whole month since I last blogged. I hope that is not going to be the norm. This is what I did this month: 4 nutrition classes, 3 commissary tours, a Relief Society service activity, an office move that ended up being utterly too complicated (if I elaborate I will become obscene), dental appts (see, I have resorted to abbreviating everything), middle school band concert, and all this on top of an already busy life.

But the highlight of the month was taking Bailey to the Taylor Swift concert in Oberhausen. It was a complete surprise for her, she thought we were going away to a relationship building retreat. Once I said that, she stopped asking questions and I was able to breeze through the secrecy. We revealed our surprise to the girls right before driving to the concert. Here was their reaction:

Every time I watch that, traitor tears leak out of my eyes, why is that? It is a bit goofy.

In honor of Taylor Swift's lucky number, here are 13 treasures about our trip:

1. It is Taylor Swift combined with a 12 year old girl . . . that's some big magic.
2. We got to go with a bunch of fun gals
3. Moms rocked and will continue to hold the "rock" title until the day we die just because of this weekend:
3. Costume changes, lots of them.

4. Pretzel vendors as opposed to hot dog vendors. That was really the only clue that we were still in Germany:
5. This smile, oh and an indoor mall across from the arena:
6. And this smile too:
7. Together with my main girl, oh and the fact that we both wore red but didn't plan that ahead. THAT is AWESOME:
8. I really love TS, she has original, creative songs that are sweet and clean. She sings, plays the piano, guitar and ukelele all while dancing. And yes, she was in key! Plus she gave her band a break but she didn't take one. Pretty please don't ever let the world change you, just keep putting out this type of quality entertainment for our impressionable girls.

9. We got to stay up late, and when we finally got back to the hotel, it was really hard to fall asleep so we just stayed up and talked and re-lived it all over again.

10. Paying for shirts that were exceptionally over-priced was not a treasure, so I won't expand on that. That is show-biz baby. But they look awesome in them:
11. I had so much more fun than I thought I would. Sure, I really enjoyed surprising Bailey and watching the girls reaction to the concert. But, I really enjoyed myself outside of being a mom. I danced and sang along with the songs. The show was SO gosh darn entertaining!

12. I got to drive the Volvo with a Diet Coke in the drink cup holder and Swedish fish on the side.

13. I got to spend quality time with my daughter, who I love so much that it squeezes my heart sometimes, and I can't breath for fear of loosing her or missing anything before she grows up. She bring bright sunshine into my life!

And if you want to see our very Rock and Roll treasure, look here:

Let it snow . . . . PLEASE

Another crap-shoot day, (that is the nastiest word I can use without completely offending my peeps). Car back at the mechanic, this time it's a new fuel pump. Should be about another million dollars in euro. Waited 9 hours to get ADAC to do their job. Broke my phone, cuz I threw it across the room in frustration with a mean 'ol German ADAC dude. He actually yelled at me, THEN hung up on me! Cried in front of my German neighbors (I'm sure they wanted to run away and cover their ears and hum Edelweiss), then cried some more in front of my bishop and my mom. It is bitter cold and raining ice up, not down, because of the wind.

But in keeping with my goal of being an optimist (I'm hangin' by a thread), here is the low down in the Frandsen hood. Tomorrow might be a snow day, meaning no school for the girls. We have extra girls tonight, our good friends the Hartungs are staying the night. It is a torture kind of a sleep-over because I have strictly told them it is a school night until the Army decides it is not, so they can't stay up late. I checked again before I turned out the lights, because I am a good, fun mom (the more I say it the more it might come true). School is not canceled.

The girls are desperate, they really want a snow day. They want to sled, play wii, soak up their Grandmother, bake cookies, eat pancakes, and just be kids for the whole day. So in their desperation they performed a ritual presented to them by their Social Studies teacher. Wear your PJ's inside-out and backwards and do a snow dance before bed. Uh, our girls took that literally. This is what they came up with:

Where in the world is McKenna you ask? She absolutely positively does NOT want a snow day. She has a Christmas party to attend with the promise of cookies, cake and all the other stuff her mean Dietitian of a mom only lets her eat in moderation. My mother and I would rather not have a snow day as well, we have pedicure appointments tomorrow for heaven's sake! So Grandma and McKenna rebelled against the song and dance:

I guess we'll let Mother Nature make her choice, all whilst watching and listening to the AF and Army dispute and come up with different ideas of whether or not people should or should not go to work/school. It is a bit of a ridiculous system that I laugh at (in a cruel kind of a "making fun" of way) Those of you that live here, can I get a hua, hua (raise your hands in the air like you just don't care . . . please)

Love Song

Here is the other song that Bailey performed the other night. It is with her friend Jacob. Oh, and yes, that IS me in the back playing keyboards. You just can't say no when your music director is a Togisala . . . I think they thought I had so much experience, they found out all my experience is supporting from the cheap seats.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

The girls performed tonight at our church. I'm so proud of them!

Yup, here we go again . . .

Oh yeah folks, we are in for it again. We are doing it kicking and screaming with a little crying on the side but we are in. What may you ask are we in for?? Another deployment. during Thanksgiving. and Christmas. Bah Humbug.

Here is a little clip that the military reporters are doing on the band that Mark is in. Bittersweet as he is not going down with the same group, who by now are like a second family. But the job is the same and hopefully the result will be the same: increasing troop morale downrange.

I think reality really set in this week. Mark was tasked to take a course in Combatives so that he can be certified to take the knowledge back to the group and teach them. Yes, combatives, learning how to defend yourself from the enemy in hand to hand combat. It has been a grueling week for Mark both mentally and physically. He falls into bed each night completely exhausted. We are seeing the results of the course all over his face as he has been hit, punched and scratched. He has bruises all over his arms and the look on his face each night is not the look I want to see anymore. This has not gone over well with us girls. McKenna was horrified and has pleaded in her prayers each night that "the mean guys will stop hitting her Dad". I want the "mean guys to stop hitting my man". But it is over, he passed and we will help him recuperate all weekend long. At least the next time we are in Paris (because we are going again, I tell you, soon . . . or else) Mark will be able to defend my honor in case a Frenchman gets a little too close for comfort or someone set's their eyes on my Vera Bradley purse. They'll never know what hit them.

God Bless the USA

Piano Party

Yesterday the girls performed at their Piano Party. This is an idea that I love, a casual celebration and sharing of the kids piano skills. There is no pressure, they can wear pants AND there is the promise of sweet treats at the end. In a few months we will do the traditional recital which is equally important. Bailey's new piano teacher is great and her main focus is that piano playing should be fun. With the knowledge and skills that Bailey gained with her former piano teacher, who we just loved, she has now continued. Jessica has let her pick songs that she has always wanted to play, that are challenging and allow her to continue to utilize the skills she has gained. Plus, we decided to start McKenna on the piano. I was a little worried as she has not learned how to read yet, but we found a book series that is made just for that stage. Yippee!! Meanwhile I continue my role as roadie to my musically talented family. Plus I get to make sweet treats along the way.

I found this idea for cupcakes from a Martha Stewart magazine. Her idea was to make hearts for Valentines cupcakes and I liked it so much that I tucked it away, waiting for a moment to use it. Super cute, super easy. Just melt chocolate chips, put them in a ziploc baggie, snip the corner and go to town. I "drew" my designs on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Then they went into the freezer until we were ready to go. I thought they would be super fragile but they made it to the party in one piece. This has opened up a whole new world of baking ideas for me.

So here are the girls performing their pieces. The first two are their solo pieces and the last two are the duets with their teacher.

McKenna with Magic Tree House:

Bailey with Wild Rider

McKenna with Cuckoo Clock:

Bailey with Prelude:

Road Trip Entertainment

Okay, I admit it. I was a fan, in fact, a huge fan back in the day. I was the high school girl that had MJ posters plastered all over my walls. He was super human and you couldn't help but find him captivating. But things change, and let's just admit it, he got super weird and pretty creepy.

I decided to splurge and buy this CD for our road trip to Italy this week. It was fun and I was in the mood to give the girls a little MJ history, you know, share this nostalgia with my kids. Two things happened that were a little fun and surprising. First, I remembered the words to most of the songs and some of them I haven't heard in what, 15-20 years. I loved seeing the wonder in my kids eyes as I sung these groovy songs to them. Not to mention the fact that I absolutely floored Bailey when I moonwalked for her while watching Thriller. Yep, I can do that and I loved seeing the look of, "My mom really is cool". The second surprising thing that happened on our road trip was how much my girls really enjoyed this music. It was new to them, they have no idea about MJ and every song made them tap their feet and desperately want to sing along.

Now, I have feelings over the amount of press that his passing has attracted. Yes, it was tragic, but really, all facts point out that he brought it on himself. AND here is my point, why is this getting more coverage than the deaths of our soldiers that are happening daily? Was MJ a hero? a role model? defending our freedoms? brave? Absolutely not more than about a million other people out there. All he was, was an entertainer, and in the grand scheme of things, that really isn't the type of person that moves mountains and makes big positive change. Maybe we needed someone like this to distract us from reality at times and put a smile on our faces. He did do that . . . well at least he did in the 80's.

I think McKenna sums up MJ perfectly when she describes him as "the guy that lights things up when he walks (remember Billie Jean?)" or "the guy that dances with the monsters", either description fits right?

What are our favs? Mark=I want you back. Leslie = The way you make me feel. Bailey = Black or White. McKenna = Rockin Robin or ABC.

McKenna was looking at the CD cover and there is a picture of MJ when he was 5 years old. She was mesmerized by it while listening to "I want you back". So here is the conversation:

McKenna, "So he was my age when he sang this song?"
Mom, "Yup"
McKenna, "Did his mommy let him do that?"
Mom, "yup"
McKenna, "Mom, you HAVE to let ME do that!"
Mom, "I do let you do that"
McKenna, "But I want to do that on a stage"

Folks, I am going to be a roadie for the rest of my life.

Leave a comment on what your favorite MJ song is!

For Mark

The girls performed at our ward talent show on Saturday night. I think it is important to note that it was Bailey's idea all the way. She even picked the song and went on the internet to find the lyrics. She knew this was a special song for Mark. The girls worked hard all week. I thought for sure that McKenna was going to freeze and not do it. After all, she is still somewhat allergic to church and I find her utterly unpredictable. But, knowing it was a present for Dad helped.

This was a song and dance from the new Hannah Montana movie. Bailey and her friends found a tutorial on uTube and learned it within a week and a half. Bailey practiced everyday for at least 30 -45 minutes. It was so fun to watch.

The girls definitely have Mark's love of performance in their blood. Bailey gets so nervous but keeps in mind the exhilarating feeling of having completed a hard task and to be able to share it with others. Her week of performance continues with a spring concert scheduled for Friday. Stay tuned . . .

We are down to the wire, Mark will be home soon.

Wii love Plan B!

When planning your future, there is always one piece of advice that you hear over and over, "Have a Plan B". That way if Plan A doesn't work out, you have something else to fall back on. Well, the Frandsen's have changed their Plan B. Wii are tired of all the school mess, who needs it? What is the big deal about a dissertation anyway? Sure, he will be a Dr. but can he save lives? School loans and tuition are for the birds! Responsibility?! Enough already! Our new Plan B involves gettin' the band back together (wait, Wii never were a band to begin with but I love that phrase)

Mark got Rock Band for Christmas and Wii are finding that Wii are one talented group of techno musicians! It does not matter that Wii can't get past the easy level, what matters is that Wii rock! and because Wii ROCK! Wii are going to rule the world, have millions of fans, and make millions of . . . dollars?!

Here is what works for us. Mark is now on drums. Bailey and McKenna are our vocalists (I can see trouble in the future as usually a band can only handle the ego of one lead singer). Guess what??? I, Leslie, am one slammin' guitar player! (on easy level) Who new? Just all this talent bursting at the seams! Wii have only been booed off stage one time! Wii are livin' the dream.

We had a great Christmas this year. The highlight for me was having Rock Band be a complete and utter surprise for Mark, that is hard to pull off. Thanks Mom's and Dad's. Here are a couple of images from the day:



The following video will go down in history as one of my favorites. I was trying to capture Bailey opening a gift from her Grandmother but what you hear from McKenna in the background is so classic. She opens her gift with excitement, then the realization comes that it isn't another toy. More Pajamas!!!! More Pajamas?!