The winter months went by fairly quickly this year. We had very little snow which means there was very little snowman making and playing outside. Instead we were busy with soccer and dance while waiting for Spring to arrive. Throughout the winter Olivia continued her soccer training by playing Futsal, which is a indoor form of soccer with a weighted ball designed to help them with their speed and footwork. She has a lot of fun with it and I think it has helped improve her skills quite a bit. The coaches announced that they would be awarding a small scholarship to a few kids that they felt worked extra hard during each session. Olivia was determined to win and during the second session she did just that! I was so proud of her hard work! She was pretty proud of herself too!
Every so often our church puts on great family activity nights. The girls love to go because they usually involve good food, fun games and entertaining activities. This particular family night was probably the best one yet. Wizard of Oz night was a hit and so much fun!
Cecilia was a little taken back by all of the people dressed in full character, but was immediately enamored with Dorothy and her dog Toto. The characters spent time walking around, talking with the kids and taking pictures. Next they put on a little show, singing popular songs from the movie.
After the show the kids could do a Wizard of Oz craft and visit more with the characters. The girls had such a great time and it was such a neat experience. These fun family nights are just one of the reason we love our church so much.
Each year Olivia and her dance studio perform during half time for our minor league basketball team. Not many people attend the games, but it gives the girls a chance to perform at a bigger venue and practice one of their big production numbers. This year they did their Jazz Production dance, "Business Class". They did a great job, and looked SO cute!
Speaking of dance...Cecilia is preparing for her 3rd dance recital this summer! With that being said Olivia will be dancing in her 8th recital! A few weeks back Cece's costume for her tap class arrived and she was nominated to be the one to try it on. Her teacher sent me this pic and I just melted! So freakin' precious! Her ballet costume is equally as cute. She has had a great year of dance and I cannot wait to see her and Olivia perform in their recital next month!
It's not very often that we get to go to weddings anymore but Cece's tap teacher, and a dear friend of mine got married this spring. She was sweet enough to invite me, Todd and the girls to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and super fun reception! The girls had a blast dancing the night away. Cece loves her Miss Noelle. She has been a sweet and patient tap teacher for her the past 3 years. I give her major props for putting up with Cece's shenanigans!
A sure sign that Spring is right around the corner is when Easter rolls around. Aside from Christmas this is Cece's next favorite holiday. Mainly because she loves nothing more than hiding eggs and searching for them. Because this holiday is such a hit with the girls we celebrated for an entire weekend. Todd's Mom had Easter goodies for the girls so we stopped by so they could be showered with bunnies!
Next it was off to Nana's for an evening of Easter festivities. Things kicked off with egg and cookie decorating. The girls were really into it and created some beautiful and yummy goodies!
Then it time for the first of many egg hunts for the weekend. This is Cece's absolute favorite thing about Easter. Olivia, even though she is 9 still enjoys a egg hunt, but the level of excitement is nowhere near Cecilia's. She attacks an egg hunt like her life depends on it. Ultimately it is all about the goodies in the eggs. I think they were pleased!
We wrapped up the night with a fashion show. Nana had some clothes put away for the girls that she needed to give to them before they grew out of them. They had a blast putting them on and strutting through the living room.
We woke up the next morning and got the girls ready for Easter service. It's tough getting two girls and yourself ready that early in the morning, but they sure looked cute as we headed out the door. A fellow parishioner caught the most adorable moment during the service that morning and shared it with us. As Todd and I paid close attention to the service the girls were obviously a bit distracted. It is a cute moment though.
After service was dismissed we went outdoors for another egg hunt. The girls look forward to this each year because they leave with TONS of candy! It's a pretty simple egg hunt as the eggs aren't exactly "hidden", but regardless they enjoy it.
We headed home to rest for a bit in between Easter festivities, which meant it was the perfect time for us to give the girls their Easter baskets. We kept it simple since they were receiving gifts from so many other people. Just a few of their favorite things to put big smiles on their faces.
Every year we have Easter dinner at our family friend's, The Fortes. They are kind enough to include us in their family celebration and they treat our girls like their own grand kids. The girls cannot wait for Easter dinner to be over so they can take part in the big family egg hunt. They are each responsible for finding eggs of the color they were given.
As we know, Cece takes her egg hunts very seriously. She struggled finding all of her eggs and there was one left that just couldn't seem to locate. With some help she finally discovered where it was hiding and she exploded with excitement. This is the face I love more than words can describe!
With the egg hunt over it was time to count the earnings and move onto the very generous Easter baskets they give to the girls each year. To say they are spoiled during this holiday is an understatement. After a very busy Easter weekend we went home and relaxed, with no more egg hunts on the agenda.
Now we are ready for the warmer weather and all of the fun summer activities. It's going to be one busy summer. But what else is new?
