Anna's Day

We had a great day yesterday. It was Anna's actual birthday and her day to pick what we did. I can hardly believe I have a 6 year old! She started off the day eating her very own box of cereal which she picked out at the store. (Thanks for the tip Marla.) Later, she headed off to school for a 1/2 day with her treats in tow to share with her class. Right after school I met with her teacher and went over her report card with her. Anna is one of the top students in her class and we are so proud of her. Then we started with her list of to do's for the day. 1. Go get her makeup done. (The lady at Dillards was very nice and Anna looked so pretty.) 2. Go to the library. (Anna got her very own library card and checked out 10 books, we also played outside in the fountain behind the library.) 3. Eat at Pizza factory. (She loves the breadsticks and alfredo sauce. She also opened her presents here and ate some ice cream.) 4. Go to the park. (We can't get enough of this place.) 5. Go to my volleyball game. (Okay, this one wasn't really on her list, but she gladly added it for me.)

All things Ava

It was just Ava and I today...Anna was at school, Lainie playing at a friend's house. So I followed her around a bit and took these. That girl loves a good book. And by "good book" I mean one that has real pages that tear easily.
She also has an interest in anything that she can grasp and throw...ie this rock shown above which flew my way. I think she may have a future in softball.
She has recently discovered her ear canals and nostrils and is often seen with her finger in one or both...just checking things out.


She is definitely our little sour patch kid...she's quite a stinker, but is oh so sweet afterward and you just have to love her.

Birthday Party

This year we opted for a joint birthday party for Anna and Lainie since their birthdays are only 10 days apart and they have a lot of the same friends. I explored many options for locations, but in the end decided on our house simply because we invited 20 friends and I wasn't interested in being responsible for so many little ones in a public place. They played a few games, hit a pinata, had their faces painted, and jumped in the bounce house to their hearts content. Lots of white trash nachos, candy, and cake later, I am left with a house full of beaten up party decor and way too many presents. And though it will take me all day tomorrow to get my house back into an orderly state...it was all worth it when Anna said to me, "I wish it was my birthday everyday, today was a good day."

Lainie's Day

I woke up this morning to my sweet Lainie Grace telling her sisters, "I'm the birthday girl." Today was her day. She got to choose everything. This was her list of to-do's for the day. 1. Make her own birthday cake: Vanilla cake with fluffy white frosting and sprinkles. 2. Go to the park: Flood St. Park, a little busy today, but still very fun. 3. Go to the library: Unfortunately the library was closed because of President's Day so we went to Target instead and bought things we didn't need. 4. Eat @ the blue place: this is what my girls call Wingers. They love the popcorn and the noodles. 5. Go bowling: we tried, but again we were disappointed...it was league night and closed to public until 9pm. Too late for us. 6. Open presents and eat cake: more dress up and lots of yummy cake. It was a great day.

Sunday curls

Love these girls in pink rollers. I could just imagine them as grandmas looking this way... and still best friends. There's nothing better than sisters.

the freezer was full...

And when the freezer gets full of bread heels, that means it's time for us to once again go and feed the ducks. (I hate wasting.)

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day in our home was filled with lots of love and lots of sugar. The girls woke up this morning with a V-day sack of goodies next to their beds. We were already off to a terrible start with sugar at 7:30am. Around 10 I made them my best attempt at heart shaped pancakes. (I was trying to be like you Kath.) Around noonish I insisted we all have veggies for lunch because it wasn't going to get better with Anna having a Valentine's party at school full of treats. For dinner I made a copy cat recipe of Macaroni Grills pasta milano...my favorite! Followed by many more sugary treats including ice cream sundaes. By the end of the day we all had tummy aches...we don't usually eat too much sugar, but it was Valentine's Day and it was fun!

Feeling Crafty

Somewhat of a minimalist, I have a hard time finding valentine's decorations that I like. I've never once thought to make my own. However, since many of you are so crafty and have shared your talent with me...I decided to venture out....to the fabric store! My intention was to make many small hearts to put in a jar I have, but I had so much fabric leftover that I made this cute little pillow as well. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

8 years with this man

8 years have flown by and I'm more in love now than ever. I remember all the pep talks I used to get when we were engaged...how marriage was hard and that you needed to work on it constantly to be successful. I must say, that being married to this man has been pretty easy. We go so well together-what one of us may lack the other one makes up for. I'm so thankful you "chased" me babe. And after all these years, you still put butterflies in my stomach.

At the bus stop...

Still enjoying the snow. These girls were ice skating on the road while we were waiting for the bus.

Snow...again!

This is the most snow I've seen since we moved here 6 years ago. My neighbor measured 9 inches! The girls have been loving it and even Ava got in on the action. I need to make it a point to purchase snow gear...my poor white trash kids were out there in jeans/sweats.

Rock Band

Paul came home with this game tonight. The girls LOVED it. They took turns playing guitar, drums and singing.