My kids are readers.

We have this 'issue' in our house.  Well, technically it's not an issue.  It's just what we do.  We read.  We read a lot.  Each of kids has their own, rather big, collection of books.  There are bookshelves in every room, including the playroom.  We have a reading issue.  :)

All this reading has led to some success for our family.  We recently found out that A has the highest reading score in the entire 2nd grade (at her school).  You should have seen her beam when her teacher told us about it.  Out of our three kids, she is the avid reader.  She loves Junie B. Jones, the Rainbow Magic Fairies and is really getting into the Magic Treehouse series of books.  Non-fiction is a big hit with her as well.  Right now she's reading about the American Revolution.  Books (and soccer) are her things.

Our little man is a great reader as well.  I'm especially happy for this.  He has been able to read since he was about 3 1/2 or 4, but he never really liked to do it.  He would rather have a book read to him than to read it himself.  Now, he's found a couple of book series that he really likes.  Bad Kitty is his new favorite followed closely by the George Brown series.  He loves both of these series because they are funny!  He reads some pages to us each night before bed and, I can't lie, I have laughed at more than I probably should have.  There is just something hilarious about a 6 year old reading about a 'super burp'.

Then there's CS.  She loves anything Barbie or Princess related.  Go figure right?  Although, she did get to do something super special recently.  A while back I wrote about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and what it meant to our family (read about that here).  Sadly, CS graduated out of the program last month when she turned 5.  She was sad that she wouldn't be getting any more books in the mail.  Then we got a call from our local community foundation.  They are the ones responsible for bringing the library to local kids.  Anyway, they were calling families who had kids that were just graduating out of the program.  We happened to be home and answered the phone.  Cool!

The foundation invited us to join them in celebrating the distribution of the 50,000 book to area children.  They ask if we would allow CS to be the honorary 50,000 book recipient.  Excited and humbled were what I was feeling.  The night of the event, CS turned on the charm.  They ask for her to come onto the stage and receive a few gifts.  One of which was the cutest books shelf with train bookends.  It is adorable (I still need to find a permanent place for it).  She also received autographed copies of two of our families favorite books (btw, I'm not just saying that, we actually LOVE these two books and I was elated when she was presented them).  LadyBug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by Jacky Davis and David Soman and Otis by Loren Long were the books she was given.  There were other gifts as well, like a bag to carry books to and from the library and a Shakespurr stuffed animal.  Shakespurr, a lion, is our local library's mascot.

The thing is, other than encourage and read to the kids, we haven't really been too strict on what they can and can't read.  We have allowed them to find their own way into the love of reading.  In my opinion, as long as they are reading, it doesn't matter if it's a comic book, classic, or a book about a super burp.  Reading is reading and reading is great!  Now, if I could just get those Kindles that A and I want......LOL.  Christmas is coming correct?

Do you encourage reading in your house?  How do you do so?

We had a Princess night!

A while back, Andrea posted about Disney Princesses on Ice coming to our area.  My mind immediately said "oh yeah, we are so there!" Just let me say, Disney knows how to put on a show!  We all went.  Yes, all of us including hubs and Ren.  Ren loved it.  His favorite part was the "fight scene" between Beast and Gaston, oh and singing "Hi Ho, It's off to work we go" with the 7 dwarfs.  All the kids loved that part actually.  The dwarfs appear on stage and the you hear a "Hi Hoooooo". CS stood up, spread her arms and yelled "Hi Hoooooo" right back!  So adorable!

Now, I won't go and spoil the whole show for you, but let's just say that Tinkerbell and Fairy Godmother make the show extra magical.  On a personal level, I adored it!  I mean, what little girl didn't grow up wanting to be a princess?  I know I did!  Snow White and Cinderella were my favorites growing up.  For this one magical night, I caught myself smiling, participating, laughing and generally acting like my little girls were.  It felt wonderful.  I was at a show that made my kids eyes sparkle.  They participated by clapping, singing and waving.  They laughed at the evil step-sisters in Cinderella (who are hilarious btw).  We gasped when Fairy Godmother appeared and cried when the evil step-sisters tore Cinderella's dress apart (which is a little harder to watch in real life than on a movie).

The finale is phenomenal!  I'm not giving that away here, but it took my breath away!  The dresses, the princes, the shear talent of ice skating in those dresses are all awe-inspiring!  If you get an opportunity to attend a Disney on Ice show, don't pass it up!  In true Disney style, they are fantastic!  Here are a few pictures I took

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You can follow this link to find a Disney on Ice show in your area.  For those of you in the Cincinnati area though, the Princesses will be arriving tomorrow!  Here is the information.

Disney's Princess Classics is coming to US Bank Arena Oct 6-10 you get to SAVE $4 ON ALL PERFORMANCES! by using CODE: MOM2 Restrictions: Not valid on Front Row or VIP seats; limit 4 per transaction; no double discounts. Here is the Ticketmaster Link to Cincinnati Disney On Ice: http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/180631/821550

***I received tickets from Feld Entertainment for providing the discount information and review of Disney on Ice presents Princess Classics.  The opinion of the fantastic, exciting and awe inspiring show are my own!***

I want to add in our experience also. ~

I (Andrea) took my oldest 2 on Sunday and all I have to say is WOW.  Scarlett dressed up Cinderella. She was so excited just to have a reason to wear it out. We kept it a BIG secret from her. Once we got there you should have seen her eyes. Both Evan and Scarlett sat so focused on the show. You never heard a peep from them.  At one point Scarlett looked at me and said "Mommy I love this. It is so beautiful. " Nothing like the perspective of a 5 yr old. It just brought tears to my eyes.

I was a little skeptical of taking Evan to it as it was Princesses. But Evan LOVED it also. It was a great show. And for all the men out there complaining that they don't want to go you will not be lacking in EYE CANDY on the stage.

I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did. Thanks Feld for this chance to make some AWESOME memories with our kids.