Happy Halloween 2013

Hope you've all recovered from last nights festivities.  Here's some highlights from our day.

I love how Roman (Link) is sitting on Santa's knee.

Roman didn't want a store bought costume this year, which is a good and a bad thing.  If you're a gamer you'll recognize him as Link from Zelda.  If you're not, you might think he's either Peter Pan or an Elf!

Roman enjoyed practicing his fighting moves.

That's Callum under the green cardboard head, he's a Creeper from another video game Minecraft.

I'm surprised he didn't bump into anything or fall down any stairs.

Of course you have to sort the candy at the end of the evening.  Lucky for me, Roman didn't like the snickers!

Downtown Farmer's Market

source

I recently received a comment from a reader asking about fun things to do in Salt Lake City in the summer.  One of the first things that came to mind was the Downtown Farmer's Market that is held every Saturday morning at Pioneer Park.  Not only is it a great place to buy food and art from local vendors, it also is a fabulous place to people watch and take in the fun festival atmosphere.  Of course I am a little biased because for the past few weeks my boys have been playing up a storm there making some extra spending money by busking (street performing).

They were even featured on the local news.  Here's the video.  It's just a short snippet at the beginning.

It's a great way for them to practice their instruments and be paid at the same time!  Here they are performing to quite a crowd.

Sometimes Damian and another family join in to form the Dingley Lee Supergroup.

So if you're in the area, come by, it's a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Roman & Callum's First Official Gig

Roman & Callum had their first official gig in a bar!  Yes I'm so proud.  Sounds weird doesn't it?  Fortunately the bar was full of parents and kids and only a few unsavory types.  The boys' band that they were playing in is called Sound Chase and is made up of a bunch of kids from 3rd to 6th grade.  It was a Halloween themed gig so they performed Monster Mash & Ghostbusters.  You can barely make Roman out on the drums and Callum is playing guitar on the right.  I thought all of them did an awesome job.  Unfortunately I only got half of the last song because my camera was playing up, but here they are.

Rock on!

Happy Halloween 2012

Normally I go all out decorating the house for halloween, but that didn't seem to happen this year, for one reason or another.  Next year, I promise.  I also didn't have to spend any money on costumes because Callum wore the costume that I bought him last year (which he didn't wear last year, yes I know buying 2 costumes, but I couldn't resist this one seeing as he's such a monkey fan).  And Roman's costume which I had ordered 2 weeks ago didn't turn up!  So I got a refund.  Instead he decided to go as Slenderman (I have no idea who that is, but apparently he has no face and wears a suit, hence the white mask).

The weather was unseasonably warm for Utah and so the boys managed to score lots of loot.

Notice Callum's methodical sorting.

 Yeah, we hit up some pretty richy houses (not in our neighborhood).  Full-size candy baby!

Roman's costume looks much better without the mask.  He actually looks like a Beatle from their fab days.

Roman sorted his candy into piles too.  No explanation needed.

Wanna trade?

Yeah, it was a pretty good day.

The boys have their first official gig tonight playing at Mo's Bar & Grill.  So excited for them.  Wasatch Music Coaching Academy are putting on a showcase featuring 11 bands!  The boys get to play on 3 songs, all covers of course.  I'll post the video tomorrow.

Music Room in Action

Doesn't the library/music room look calm and serene here in the photo that I submitted to Apartment Therapy?

Looks can be deceptive.  Here's what it was like two hours ago.

It's the boys performing a new song they wrote last week called "Gumball Machine".  They've composed songs before but that was with the help of their old music teacher.  This one they completely wrote themselves.  I think it's quite catchy.  What do you think?

Those with a keen eye will notice how I managed to store the amps in the bookcase.  Always trying to find design solutions for everyday life.  Now I just need a separate room to store all of Callum's lego models.

And if you like the room, then please do me a favor and vote for it on Apartment Therapy's Room for Color Contest here.  Thanks!

Happy 8th Birthday Callum

I can't believe my youngest turned 8 this weekend!  To celebrate, he decided that he wanted a Club Penguin themed birthday party this year.  So I channeled my inner Martha and came up with this:

It took me FOREVER!  I'm not kidding.  I've never covered a cake in fondant before, and I still don't get how they get it perfectly smooth without any creases.  I certainly won't be going into the cake making business anytime soon.  But Callum loved it, and that's what counts.

I also made some Puffle cookies.

Here's the table looking all nice and tidy before the kiddies descended and rifled through their bags, messed up the tablescape and proceeded to grab the fondant figures off the cake!

I got another year out of the number 8 candle.  Unfortunately it's time to retire it.

It seems that the only time it rains in Utah in the summer is actually on the day we throw Callum's birthday party!  Can be quite tricky when you're hosting a swim party.  

See I told you there were lots of grabby hands.  All that work to be gobbled up in two seconds.  Of course I had to take a bunch of photos.

Ahh, but there's a surprise in the cake.

Yep, Martha, I tell you.  Rainbow cake at its finest.  I must say, it did look rather cool.

Callum loved it!

Look even the plate matches.

Ahh, Callum holding Gary The Gadget Guy, his favorite Club Penguin Character.  And that was the last we saw of him!  Gobble.

Salt Lake City Street Pianos

For the past two weeks a really cool art installation has graced the streets of downtown Salt Lake City.  A number of pianos were donated, painted and setup on street corners all over town with a sign that encouraged people to sit and play.  The boys had some fun trying a few of them out.  Some sounded better than others, but all looked really fun and unique.  The art installation or movement (not really sure what you call it) originated in Britain and has been all over the world, but surprisingly to not that many places.  I'm so pleased they picked Salt lake City.

And here are some videos of the boys playing said pianos.

Roman playing Coldplay

Roman playing Nyan Cat theme tune

Callum playing something classical

The Dingley boys playing some kind of boogie woogie song

Roman playing Downton Abbey

Roman playing an original song

You can read more about this amazing art installation here.

I was trying to encourage Roman to play a tune by the British band Keane, who played at the Gallivan Center on Tuesday.  There was a piano actually just outside the concert venue.  The Keane song was one of the first tunes that Roman's old piano teacher taught him to play on the piano.  Unfortunately he'd forgotten how to play it.  But, we were fortunate to actually meet the lead singer and piano player from the band before they did their sound check.  The boys got their autographs, but despite the fact that I had just filmed Roman playing one of the street pianos, I forgot to get a photo of the boys with the band.  Ugh I was so annoyed with myself.  Anyway, the lads were very nice, and we chatted for a short while before security kicked us out.

We surprised the boys with tickets to see Keane perform later that evening.  The show was fantastic of course.  But what I really love is when we get to see famous (in the UK at least) bands play smaller venues, it makes it so much more personal.  The boys are doing quite well for gigs this year.  Last month we saw The Shins at Red Butte Gardens, and next week we're all going to see Ringo!  Rock on!  Peace and Love, peace and love.

The Boys Perform at the School Talent Show

This morning I attended my boys' school talent show.  It's so much fun watching all the different talents.  There were a couple of pianists, some mime acts, lots of hula hoops and then The Nothings!  They performed an original song called "Let's Go Crazy" that  they co-wrote with their old music teacher.

Roman also decided to show his sensitive side by playing The Downton Abbey theme tune on the piano.

I seriously don't know how they get up in front of a bunch of people and do what they do.  I was never so brave.  Let's hope they keep this confidence.

And here's Roman's performance from the talent show last year.  Notice he's wearing the same t-shirt, purely a coincidence I think (although it is a Beatles t-shirt which happens to be his favorite band).

Callum's 7th birthday

Hello people.  Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I decided to be very European and have the summer off.  But I'm back now and what better way to come back than with a post celebrating the birthday of my youngest son, Callum.

I can't believe he's seven already.  He started 2nd grade a week ago, and I couldn't be more proud of him (it's a mother's prerogative!).

We did our traditional annual birthday party at the swimming pool club house at Redpine Condos in Park City.  Thankfully the weather cooperated (it's been a bit thundery around here lately).

Each year the children choose their own party theme.  Last year Callum chose Mickey Mouse because we had recently been to Disney Land.  This year he wanted a Domo themed birthday party.  Despite 7-11 pushing Domo a few years ago, there's surprisingly little Domo related party supplies.  If you don't know who he is, you're not in the minority.  All I know is that he is, I believe, a Japanese cartoon character who's a bit cheeky.  He also lets off gas when he's anxious!!  (Oh those Japanese, they are funny).  Anyhoo, I was feeling a bit Martha Stewarty (if anyone knows me, they'll know that I tend to go overboard when it comes to the kids' parties), and so I decided to do some crafting.  Et voila!

Looks like an army of Domos with the General at the top.

And here's what was inside the homemade Domo bags.

I bought the buttons/badges from ebay and the little plastic figures from amazon.  I decided to make the figures into necklaces.  It was fun seeing the kids wearing them.

Callum received some great gifts, including lots of lego.  Thank you everyone for being so generous and thoughtful.  But I have to say I was most impressed by the homemade fort kit that one of the parents had made.  

It took us a while to figure out what it was.  But we couldn't be more pleased.  It even goes perfectly with the decor in the playroom!

The kit came with 2 sheets, some pegs, some bull clips, a washing line, some suction cup hangers, and even a flashlight.  All wrapped up in a lovely homemade cloth bag, which I may have to steal and use as a gym bag.

 It even inspired Callum to do his guitar practice, all cozy in his little den.

Hopefully this will encourage the kids to keep their playroom tidy, so they can keep their fort in there, and not in our living room, or bedroom, or anywhere else that they've commandeered in the past.

Hope you enjoyed my little post.  I've got loads to tell you about my summer hols so stay tuned.