By luck I found these high quality, very gently used clogging shoes for only $10 at a local store. Up to this point Lily has been wearing tap shoes for her clogging classes. Tap shoes are not the same. Clogging shoes have an extra plate that makes more noise and is more fun to dance in. The shoes are a size 13 so Lily will have some time to grow into them. She couldn't wait to give us a little show in the kitchen. Annie was happy to join her.
Dr. Seuss has a birthday in the month of March. Annie's teacher has all sorts of fun activities centered around his books. Annie was selected to bring home the Dr. Seuss bag this week. She is supposed to take the Cat in the Hat with her everywhere she goes and write about it. Annie was mostly excited to snuggle with him every night and read the fun books that were in the bag.
The snow is still coming in full force. Tommy wouldn't have it any other way. It is hard for me to get out and play with him since I can't leave Joey alone and I can't set Joey on the freezing ground. So we sneak outside during naps and try to make the most of our time. Tommy is a snow eater just like the other kids. Just like their Papa Wanner! Tommy lost his favorite Olaf hat. We've searched high and low for it. Lily let him have her Angry birds hat since it matches his snow jacket.
Lily had a state-wide dance competition near Blackfoot. She loves dancing and had a lot of fun. But we noticed that the quality of dancing that her school is putting out does not match up with what other schools in the area are showing. If she decides to dance again next year, we will move her to another clogging school to help build her technique and give her a little more confidence.
The girls gave their all. But it was tricky for them to be missing a few dancers (again!). I don't want dance to become our whole life, but it is disappointing to work hard on a team only to have team members simply not show up for the performances. Then it throws the poor kids off. Yet another reason we're looking for another dance school.
I think the highlight of the day was taking the kids to McDonald's. They got to have Happy Meals and ice cream. Perfect way for them to end the day.
Tommy's imagination is blooming. He spent the better part of one morning "talking" into an old cell phone Grampy gave us.He was cracking himself up. I just wish we could understand what he's saying.
Annie had a dance festival at the high school. She was absolutely perfect. She loves to dance and tries her best every time she gets on stage.
I love this series of pictures of the kids together. Pretty much sums up their sibling relationship!
Gymnastics is going strong. I wish we had enough time and money to let every kid to every activity that interests them. It will be hard to say goodbye to gymnastics. Annie is getting pretty good. I guess we'll enjoy it while we can.
Kindergarten Round Up was successful. Shots are done. Paperwork is done. Now we just wait to see who her teacher is and whether she'll be in the morning or afternoon session. She is so ready. Annie is going to love school. She is quick to learn and has the most excellent memory. We can't wait to see the places this firecracker will go!
The leprechauns brought a wee bit o' fun to our house on St. Patrick's day. Gold covered chocolate coins led the kids to a stash of green treasures. We had Lucky Charms for breakfast - what else? And then found anything green we could use to wear to school.
Annie's class had a treasure hunt, painted rainbows, made hats, ate lots of green snacks, and sang fun songs. Lily made it through the day without getting pinched, which she was relieved about.
To really celebrate in style, we grabbed a green shamrock shake to share on our way to dance class.
The rest of March passed slowly. Cold days, long nights, and just trying to get through every day life. Daddy always gets busy at work in March, so we don't see him as often as we'd like to. For Spring Break, Mommy and the kids made a trip to Washington. Apparently we can't travel with less than 8 blankets. Everyone needs their favorite plus a back up just in case we get carsick. The drive went to smoothly it almost made me wonder why we don't travel up to Washington more often. Almost. 13 hours behind the wheel trying to keep four kids entertained, fed, clean, and happy snapped me back to reality.
It rained a lot while we were there which made outdoor playtime difficult. But we found a break in the clouds one morning and drove to Lake Meridian. The park is so well maintained an designed. So many toys to explore. The kids loved it. Only hunger and some big raindrops convinced them to leave.
The kids said their favorite part of the trip was our afternoon at the Simmons' house. Auntie Sue and Uncle Dusty hosted an egg hunt for their grandkids and let us join in the fun. It felt so good to see green during an egg hunt. In Idaho our grass is still brown and sometimes frozen when Easter time arrives.
Lily had so much fun, she crashed when we got back to Puna's house. Maybe it was all the sugar.
Puna never misses a birthday for her grandbabies. We decided to have a party for Tommy (and Mommy) in Washington. Puna made Tommy's favorite chocolate cake and we decorated it with Tommy's own trains. It turned out so cute! Tommy was so excited about everything. He just sat quietly at the table and silently pointed at all the wonderful things he could see.
It took him a while to warm up to the party hats.
He got to eat noodles for dinner.
Present time was his favorite. He loved the garden tools and new train toys. Uncle Norm and Auntie Sue gave him a huge bag of Cheetos. They know the way to his heart!
Tommy enjoyed every bit of his cake....and then some. He licked his plate clean and then he couldn't keep his fingers out of the frosting. Thanks for a wonderful 3rd birthday party Puna and Papa!
Finally it was time to head home. The drive back seemed long. We made it to Grammy and Grampy's later than we had hoped. But at least we were safe and nearly home.
Grammy and Grampy gave Tommy an awesome tool set for his birthday. All the kids loved playing with it. Tommy used it the entire four hour drive home the next day, The battery powered drill was his favorite part.
We made it home from our trip just in time for our neighborhood egg hunt! The kids found so many eggs. The Easter Bunny even showed up for a little while. Tommy wouldn't go near the bunny.
We were so happy to be back home with dad after a whole week away.
Tommy loves his bubble gun. It kept him entertained for hours.
We opened our Easter baskets Saturday night before going to bed. We had treats from Puna and Papa, and Grammy and Grampy too. It was a fun little family celebration. We're amazed the kids were able to sleep that night after all the excitement and sugar.
Easter Sunday was Tommy's actual birthday. So we had a small family party that day. Tommy loved being the center of attention. His one request - besides cake - was to jump on the trampoline with Daddy.
I love the joy on his little face in this shot.
There's no place like home!
Annie was eager to fly her new kite from her Easter basket. Go Annie go!
Presents and cake - again! Tommy wasn't too excited about his underwear and pajamas from Mom and Dad. Sorry bud! At least the ice cream cake was a hit.
We sure love our boy!
When I got back from the Washington trip and looked through my pictures I found these selfies of Annie on my phone. She is such a drama queen!
Monday the 28th was Mommy's birthday. We celebrated with the other half of Tommy's birthday cake. Joey helped me blow out the candles.
Jeremy gave me a dozen of these beautiful orange/coral /yellow roses. They felt like indoor sunshine. The color was perfect to brighten the gray and brown Idaho days.
Silly Annie playing dress up!
Tommy still loves his gymnastics class. And now we bring his tool set to share with friends while we sit and watch Annie's class. Tommy is the most popular kids there.
As the days of our Hawaii trip draw near, I am having some serious Mommy anxiety about leaving the kids - especially Joey and Tommy who are too young to understand when we'll be back. But I am keeping a prayer in my heart that all will be well and Grammy and Grampy can keep up with the kiddos for 10 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment