spring in full swing

Our Spring was full of fun activities! A big part of April was consumed by dance competitions. We had two competitions, two weekends in a row. The first weekend we were lucky enough to get to stay in town. This not only cuts down on the cost of it all but also keeps us from having to be away from home for two consecutive weekends. Not only did I have kids competing that weekend, but Olivia had two dances as well...tap and jazz.

The girls did a great job! This is only Olivia's second time competing so it is all still very new to her. I was incredibly impressed with how they performed. They placed well and their jazz group even received the "neat & clean" award. This award probably meant more than anything else they received that weekend. Olivia and her little friend accepted the award on stage and they were beyond excited!

The following weekend we traveled to Detroit for another competition. Olivia only had one dance to compete that weekend but she had to tag along with me while my kids competed too. It was a full on girls weekend. She stayed with me and two other dance teachers in the hotel and ran around with her friends all weekend. The night we arrived she had to get her beauty rest to prepare for her performance the next morning.

We were up and at it early for the girls to compete their tap routine. They did a nice job and of course had a good time. As soon as awards were done Olivia wanted to rush back to the hotel to swim with her friend Maggie. It was another long week full of dance but Olivia was a trooper and stuck it out.

While I was in Detroit with Olivia, Todd and Cece were off doing their own thing. They took a church trip to a water park in Ohio for the weekend. After a rough start, with their bus showing up hours late, they finally arrived in the condo they would be staying in for the weekend.

Cece had a blast with their day of water slides and wave pool fun. She ran around with other kids and enjoyed her one on one time with her daddy. I was glad they were able to do something fun while Olivia and I were out of town.

Each year we all anticipate the opening of the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. For many years now my Aunt Sue has given us a zoo pass for Christmas. We love it so much and get so much use out of it each year. Our first visit was great, as there were a few new animals to see.

A trip to the zoo is never complete without a ride on the carousel. The girls love picking out which animal they are going to ride on. We like to take our time when we are there, and the nice thing about the zoo pass is that we do not feel like we have to do the whole zoo on each visit. We see new and exciting things each time we go.

The month of May brought lots of exciting things. One of the highlights was the Mother's Day luncheon at Cece's school. The Primary teachers put on a lovely lunch for the kids and their moms. Cece was beyond excited to have me there.

She was so sweet that day and so happy to be at her school with her friends enjoying this special occasion. She was so excited that it was hard for her to focus on eating. All she wanted to do was hug me...sweet girl!

That weekend we officially celebrated Mother's Day. I didn't need any fancy gifts to help celebrate this day, just my girls. Every Mother's Day I stop and think about just how lucky I am to have these two amazing girls in my life. They make me proud each and every day, and as a Mom I could not ask for anything more.

A few days later I celebrated my birthday. How did I celebrate, you ask? Well I spent the day in my garage selling my old stuff to other people. Yep, it was time for my annual garage sale and the first day of it fell on my birthday. It may not have been a very glamorous day, but we wrapped it up with dinner, cake and presents. That's enough for me!

In May we were in the middle of Olivia's Spring soccer season. Lots of practices and games on the weekends. One of the weekends the girls participated in the "Shoot for a Cure" tournament for breast cancer. The gorgeous Spring weather made for perfect soccer playing conditions. For the first time I took my good camera and zoom lens to catch some action shots of Olivia and her team.

They did not win or make it very far, but they played well and had fun. It's a fun tournament for a great cause!

For me I just enjoy watching as these girls improve with each game they play together. The Spring soccer season was a good one for Olivia. She got the opportunity to "play up" a few times. This means she was asked to fill in on the team that is the next age group up. The girls are a little older and also a little stronger. It was a great opportunity for her to grow as a player. Sure made me proud as her Mom too!

After one of our busy soccer weekends Olivia got to hang out with her BFF Aleah and have a sleepover. These girls have the best time together, regardless of what they are doing. This particular sleepover was, according to Olivia, "the best ever!!!".

Of course it's the best ever when you kick off the night with a trip to the mall. A ride on the carousel, shopping and cruising on a giant panda down the halls of the mall...sounds like a blast to me! Whenever Olivia stays with Aleah her Mom, Lesley sends me tons of text updates of the fun things they do. On this particular night I was actually a little jealous of the fun I was missing.

The best update of the night was when she shared a picture of the girls wearing their new shirts. Lesley was so kind to buy these for the girls and they were thrilled! Olivia and Aleah will be going to sleepover camp together soon and their shirts will be going with them. So cute!

The fun continued once they got back to Aleah's house. They live in the country and one of their neighbor's has a horse. They paid the horse a visit and brought him a little treat...some carrots! Wrapping the night up with a bonfire and smores...I don't think it was possible to squeeze any more fun into one night. These two have the best time together and will be making many more memories together as the summer continues.

Later this month Cecilia will turn 4. Not sure how that happened so quickly, but it's has and she's excited. Because her birthday falls in the summer she never gets the chance to celebrate it with her friends at school. Each kid in the class gets to have an "all about me" week. They usually have it fall around their birthday. We just picked a week close to the end of the school year to celebrate Cece and her upcoming birthday. The week consists of things that celebrate you. We made an "all about me" poster for Cece, highlighting many of the important people in her life. She brought in a few of her favorite books and she brought in a "birthday" snack to share with the class.

Part of "all about me" week is the walk around the sun. This is a special ceremony that recognizes their birthday. They light a candle and walk around the months of the year that are laid out in a circle. They walk around the circle one time for each year of their life and then everyone sings "Happy Birthday". She could hardly contain her excitement as she waited to make her laps around the circle. I think it's pretty obvious she does not mind having all of the attention on her. It was fun to share this special occasion with her and I am looking forward to celebrating her actual birthday even more at the end of the month.

As the school year started to come to an end the girls were busy wrapping up their work for the year and having fun with friends. It is hard to believe that another school year has passed by. Olivia will be entering 3rd grade next year and in one more year Cece will be entering Kindergarten. Each year seems to fly by faster than the last.

We have a super fun summer planned for the girls...dance recitals, camps, get togethers with friends, and of course lounging by the pool! Summertime is the best time!

hello, spring!

Goodbye, winter...hello, Spring! After a long, tedious winter we were dying to get outside and start enjoying the outdoors. And like always, our schedules were packed with lots of activities. Back in March Olivia and her jazz class had the opportunity to perform at half time during a basketball game at one of our local colleges. These girls have recently started performing more often and were getting ready to compete in jazz for the first time in April. These extra performances helped the girls needed get competition ready! They did a great job in front the big crowd and looked absolutely adorable!

How do you know that Spring has arrived? Spring break! We don't often take a big trip during this break from school, but we did want to do something with the girls, so...we took them to Chicago for a few days. We have been promising Olivia a visit to the American Girl store for years, so we figured it was time to pay up on that promise. Upon arriving, we immediately checked into our hotel. The girls went crazy! It was a great hotel, only a block from Michigan Ave.

We wasted no time, and headed straight to American Girl. The girls could barely contain their excitement as we approached the store. I set up an appointment with a personal shopper so that the girls could have the full experience and not feel too overwhelmed with everything. I am so glad I did that because the store was definitely overwhelming to first timers.

Our personal shopper did a great job helping Olivia pick out the doll that looked the most like her. She helped her find a few outfits and accessories to bring her more to life. The sparkle in Olivia's eye was priceless...she was simply in heaven. For a girl who was never much into dolls was suddenly in love with her new friend.

Next it was Cecilia's turn. She already had an American Girl baby that my Mom gave her for Christmas, so the goal was to find a nice outfit and a few accessories for "Baby Anna". Her attention span for browsing outfits was short lived. We quickly found something for her and moved on, with a little help from me. 

Once everything was picked out we went into a quiet room to sort through everything before making our final decisions. At this point Cece was starting to get hungry and tired. Things were going downhill quickly. Cece's mood can turn on a dime, so we knew we had to wrap things up fast.The girls were so happy with their dolls and outfits. You wouldn't know it by the look on Cece's face, but she really did enjoy the whole experience. 

That night we headed out for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. We were starving from all of that shopping. After dinner we just went back to the hotel for some snuggling. It was important that we got a good night's sleep to get ready for our big American Girl brunch the next morning.

We got up bright and early to head back to the American Girl store to have a special brunch with the girls and their dolls. But first, Olivia's doll had a hair appointment. Yes, you heard me right. She wanted to get her doll's hair styled, so we had to make an appointment to get the style she wanted. I've got to hand it to the American Girl people...they sure know what they are doing!

It was then time to head into the dining room for our special meal. To say that the American Girl people know how to put on a great dining experience for the kids and their dolls is an understatement. Everything was top notch!

Everything from the food to the details in the place settings...it was pure perfection! They attach little chairs to the table for the girl's dolls to sit in. They give them little cups and saucers to drink out of. No detail was forgotten. This was definitely one of the highlights of our little roadtrip.

While staying in downtown Chicago we took some time to walk Michigan Avenue. Our shopping was limited as browsing through stores was not Olivia and Cecilia's idea of a good time. They couldn't resist the Lego store though! What kid could?

We thought it would be fun to take the girls to the top of the Sears Tower while visiting Chicago. It was fun to see the girl's reactions to being that high above the city. It was quite a view. Todd and Olivia took it one step further and did the "tilt" experience. A hydraulic contraption leans you forward to give you the feeling of hanging over the city skyline. Cece was too young to partake so we watched as the daredevils took in the experience. Olivia loves this sort of thing.

It's hard not to eat well while in Chicago...so many choices, so much great food! We took care of the deep dish pizza on the first night, so for night #2 we took the girls to Ed Debevic's. Ed's is a 1950's style diner where the servers are rude to you on purpose. I know...sounds silly, but it really is a lot of fun. I explained it to the girls before we went so they weren't confused. They ended up really enjoying the experience and had no trouble slipping into the role...especially Cece!

Our final big activity while in Chicago was to tour the Shedd Aquarium. We had never been so we were really looking forward to it. We saw some pretty awesome things that day and it was a great way to wrap up our short getaway. 

Slipping away to Chicago during Spring Break was a great idea. We jammed a lot into two days, and to say Cece was exhausted from the non-stop excitement speaks for itself.

With Spring in full swing Olivia is back outdoors for her soccer training. But first she had to wrap up her indoor training. Through the Fall and Winter she continued soccer with her indoor league as well as her Futsal league. Futsal is a form of soccer that is done on a hard surface with a heavier ball. It moves quicker which means she has to move quicker. I believe this has helped her tremendously, but of course she had a blast playing with her best bud too! 

Another sign Spring has arrived...Easter! Such a fun holiday with the girls. No better way to get ready for the holiday than to dye and decorate eggs. We really haven't done this much in the past, not sure why really...but I'm guessing it has to do with the mess it creates. My Mom was kind enough to host the egg dying at her house. The girls got creative with their eggs and were pretty proud of their creations!

What do kids enjoy most about Easter? Egg hunts, egg hunts, and more egg hunts. Cecilia is obsessed with plastic eggs and loves any activity having to do with them. Now before the egg hunts could begin on Easter we had to first attend church. That is the reason for the holiday anyway. My cuties were ready to go in their Easter dresses!

As soon as service was over we went onto the church playground for the first egg hunt of the day. The kids do not have to look far for these eggs. They are everywhere! It's a mad dash to grab as many candy filled eggs as possible and my girls did just that.

After church we headed home for a bit before the rest of the day's activities. While at home the girls opened their Easter baskets from us. We kept them small as i knew they would be getting a ton of stuff from other people throughout the day. A few movies and some candy...that's all it takes to make these two happy!

Next it was off to The Forte's for our annual Easter feast. Our dear family friends include us in their family dinner each year which consists of more delicious food than you could possibly imagine and yet another egg hunt. They treat our girls like their own grandchildren and include them in all of the activities and give them very generous Easter baskets. It's always a great time!

Now if you think the girls were tired of egg hunts you would be wrong. They were still up for one final hunt at their Nana's house. It amazes me how neither of the girls seem to get tired of searching for eggs. Cecilia especially would do it everyday if she could. And you can never have enough candy or trinkets. I cannot begin to explain how much candy we had accumulated by the end of the day.

It was a super packed Easter. So nice to spend the day with family and close friends. The plastics eggs are now all put away until next year. (thank goodness!)