Preschool Program

It's hard to believe we've been going to this preschool program for five years. Gavin was once Hadley's age up on that same stage, and now five years later, here Hadley is in the "onesie" class. It is also hard to believe that Ellie is almost a Pre-K graduate. Time, oh sweet time...once again I BEG you to slow down.

Ellie has been excited for weeks, asking how many days until her performance. And she asked multiple times who all would be coming to watch her. She was so excited. And Hadleys teachers had told me how animated she is during practice and how she sings all the songs and LOUD.

Well on the big night, NOT SO MUCH for Hadley. She waved at me as she got on stage, and then just sat there staring at the audience. I did give her benedryl for the first time yesterday so maybe she was a little off because of that....or maybe just maybe she is like her mom and hated being on the stage in front of a room full of strangers staring at her. She did do a few verses of "Jesus Loves Me." And then decided it would be much better to sit on her teachers lap. :)

Ellie on the other hand hammed it up for us. She did all the motions, and sang her little heart out. I told her she did awesome afterward and she said, "Thank you mom for saying I did awesome, because I DID do REALLLLLYYYYY awesome." As you can tell she has a real problem with self confidence.

Before the show:

Hadley in a daze with her class singing (or lack there of) "The Wheels on the Bus":


But we did get a little with, "Yes, Jesus LOVES ME":


"For the Bible tells me so":


And then she's had enough and scooted to her sweet teacher:


Ellie Loved the spotlight:

And dare I even post this from when we got home???

Yes, my kids are spoiled rotten. Two more baskets to support our awesome preschool. This time, Frank and I were not the ones to blame...it was the Grandparents. :) But as you can tell the kids were super excited! And my living room is looking lovely with all the loot.

Criminal Kind

This past weekend my brothers new band came to play in Houston. We were so excited to go see them! My brother was in the band CORD for years and just recently decided to start a new band. They just released their first self titled five track EP this month. And I am loving their new sound. Check out their music at www.thecriminalkind.com

It was a GREAT show and I can't wait to see them again.
Thanks for a fun weekend guys!!

Water Balloons

Yesterday the kids were playing with the neighbors and they all wanted to play with water balloons. If you could have seen how they were begging me, you'd realize you just couldn't say no. So, Traci (my neighbor) and I sat in chairs on her driveway as we watched our kiddos run all around ecstatically happy and silly with water balloons.

It started out with innocent fun and play....

And then things got a little...well....SILLY....

And then Ellie had to copy....

And then Gavin thought this would be fun...I mean..seriously?? What do you say to a boy acting like a boy?

Traci and I were in tears by this point.....and then he broke out with his signature dance....

It was a fun afternoon.

I definitely see more water balloon days in our future.

Made out like Bandits....

Last weekend Gavin's school had it's School Carnival Fundraiser. It was an awesome day. Gavin goes to school where I used to teach and I must admit it was much nicer going as a parent than as a teacher who gets squirt at with water guns by all the students. :) They had games, raffle, silent auction, food, bounce houses, and all that good stuff. The kids got their hair sprayed colors and Ellie's nails were painted, it was awesome. I am a big fan of supporting the school in the silent auction. But imagine my surprise when I bid on 4 baskets 15 minutes before it ended, and finding out I won 3 of the 4 i bid on. Seriously?!?! It was all good though. The kids were SUPER excited. Gavin really wanted the "Nerf" basket and Ellie the "Arts and Crafts." And I got a "Date Night" basket for Frank and I. :) Then when it was raffle time, Gavin won one of the 15 things auctioned-an erupting volcano. He was stoked! We came home with A WHOLE LOTTA LOOT... Good times, good times. Now, where to put it all??

Friday Favorites- My ZOKU

Have you ever heard of a ZOKU maker? I hadn't until I got one for my birthday. My mom went to William Sonoma (one of my favorite stores) and stumbled upon it. She was so excited to give it to me. And I must say, we are in LOVE with it. It is a new favorite in our house. It is a popsicle maker. Not just ANY popsicle maker either. It makes pops before your eyes in 7 minutes. So we've been making pops multiple times a day since I received this. The kids LOVE it. I put fruit on the table with yogurt and juice and everyone gets to make their pop with what they want. And then they stand over the Zoku and watch it freeze. Dessert and snacks have gotten a lot healthier. Here are a few we've tried in the last two weeks. And yes...these are just a few....

Here we are the first time making them....blueberries, raspberries, orange juice, and pina colada yogurt.

See all that fruit in there?? Did I mention it took 7 minutes to freeze???

The next one is made with chocolate milk, bananas, and strawberries...and for a few of them, I added coconut.

This one is strawberry milk and chocolate milk and it was yummy:

And Chocolate milk with yogurt and strawberries:

Strawberry yogurt, Naked Juice Mango Wellness, and Raspberry juice. Definitely a hit:

And my favorite so far, pureed watermelon with lemonade and lime juice:

I have made all sorts of creations in this thing. Frank bought a Bolthouse Farms coffee protein drink and it made a delicious afternoon snack.

My mom also gave me a Popsicle recipe book, and lets just say I have list of pops I want to make.

So....does this post make you want a Zoku? Trust me, it's worth every penny. If you want to see how they are made, you can see the video on the William-Sonoma site here.

Spring

Oh, how I love this time of year. The weather is PERFECT. We've been outside a whole lot.

The flowers are starting to bloom. The world is starting to get colorful again.

Last weekend I made hanging baskets for the backyard with these. I love the colors.

It is also starting to get warm enough to where we don't have to really heat the pool to get in. Pool season has officially begun.

Tippy is even enjoying the weather.

The only downfall with Spring is the allergies it brings. We've all had the sniffles this week. Along with headaches, and Hads and ear infection.

But it's hard to complain too much when it's so beautiful outside. Hopefully this weather will last awhile and the summer heat won't be too eager to get here.

My 32nd Birthday and Easter Weekend.

This past weekend I turned 32. Seems like such a boring number, hardly worth celebrating. But I was pleasantly surprised when I did the math and realized I was in fact turning 32. You see, this last week, I had told a few people that I was going to be 33. I guess I was getting ahead of myself. So when doing the math (I'm smart..I know) I was happy to realize I was 32.

I had a great, relaxing birthday. I actually celebrated for a few days. Some of my girlfriends took me out to dinner last week and we had a fun night.

Then on my birthday I went and had a morning at the spa. I had a deep tissue massage and sat in the steam room and it was dreamy. I did forgo the complimentary wine as it was early in the morning but the day had started off GREAT!!

And then it got better. Frank heated the pool and it was 95 degrees. It was not hot at all..just perfect. The kids loved it and so did I. I got to relax, read, lay out, and play sharks and minnows until my little heart was content. :)

Gavin and Frank grilled turkey sliders and made sweet potato fries- my favorite! And Frank made pina coladas for all of us. The kids were kid friendly- no worries. :)

Then we got dressed and headed to Tommy Bahama for a yummy dinner! I love that place!!

Next was back home to dye eggs...

Then we did our Easter Bunny thing and went to bed.

Easter morning the kids were up at the crack of dawn excited. They loved going through their baskets and finding eggs.

We made resurrection rolls for breakfast...

And then got ready for church....

We did our 4th and final egg hunt at Church and then came home.

My family all came over to celebrate Easter and my birthday. We had a great time.

Thank you for all the phone calls and texts. And for all of you who made me feel so loved on my birthday!! It was a great weekend!! 32 is feeling GREAT so far. :)