A Diva & Her Art Show...

Our little "Diva" got to show off in front of the entire school this week! Anne Marie's pre-school had a singing program & art show Monday. The kids 1st had a few songs to sing for the parents and then they took us to show off all the artwork they have been working on throughout the year. Well -- let me just say my child tested the waters this night!!!

Is my child the only one that becomes a DIVA in front of everyone? Most of the night was just like the picture below!! Every time she scanned the pews & saw me w/ a camera she stuck her tongue out, or made a face & REFUSED to participate. If I left the room, she did just fine.. UGHGHGHGHG!!!! We had to have a little talk with her when we got home about "respect" -- but let me tell you, I think she thought she was pretty funny!! Oh boy!!

(This was me even hiding behind a huge pillar in the sanctuary!! And she found me & made sure she made a face for the camera!)

Finally -- I snuck one (YES ONE) picture of her that was "normal"!

We moved on to the art work after the "show" was over. This is her turtle

Her showing Grandpa her paper-bag-fish.

And her special fall -tree w/ a little handprint beside it (that you can't see) that says "I am thankful for my Mommy & Daddy" -- awwww! Then, I felt bad being mad about the tongue-sticking-out-thingy!!

There were quite a few other art/crafts she got to show off that I didn't get pictures of (she was too wired & wanted to run & play, so off she went) -- what a GREAT set of teachers she has -- they come up with the cutest ideas!!

Anne Marie & her favorite teachers Mrs. "B" and Mrs. "L"

Thanks to her VERY special teachers for such a GREAT night!!

Soaking Up More Sunshine!

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here still! We're loving all this sunshine!

This past week it was time to invite a few friends over for a cool-splash on a hot day!

Aren't these 3 just too cute?!?!!?

Splish-Splashin' Away!

3 Bathing Beauties!!

What's This??????????

The hand-made-gift-giving is still going on. And, this is what I made Anne Marie for Easter -- a shirt. (and of course she got eggs w/ candy & a bunny coloring book) But I asked her when she got it "do you know what is on your new shirt?" ... she paused, laughed & said "bunnies" ! YEA!!!!!!!!! Mike wasn't even really sure what they were!! I used pastel colored & white buttons to make little bunnies on her favorite colored (hot pink) shirt. I thought it turned out cute - however I wasn't sure what she would think, but I think I've got her approval....and just found these shorts on clearance @ Tar*et for $1--cute match I think!

YeeeeHawwwww!

This Saturday we decided that we wanted to get out in the BEAUTIFUL weather, but I was limited due to my ankle/foot -- so hiking & walking long distances were out of the question. So I got on-line and researched what was going on around the area (within 2 hours of our house). And I found IT! I told Mike & he was soooooo excited....but we decided to leave it a secret for our girly! We told her we were going on a special trip. (It made her NUTS that we wouldn't tell her.) So, we packed snacks, drinks, our camera & headed out. Since the little trip we were taking ended up being FREE (whoohooo...gotta love when we find something awesome to do and it's FREE!!) we decided that we would treat ourselves to a little "brunch" before heading out. We stopped by our favorite beverage place (and no, it's NEVER too early to start a very bad addiction...because she is now in LOVE with it!)

Lov'n some S*arb*cks....she was actually jumping up & down on the big purple chairs with excitement---she felt very special that this is the place we went to eat.

Now, can you guess where we were? A large horse center in our area was having a horse show/competition. The horses were beautiful, the girls dressed "just-so" and Anne Marie was BESIDE HERSELF when we walked around the corner of the main barn & saw all the horses prancing around!! (We figured with her new infatuation w/ horses & barns we made a good choice with our special day-trip!)

You can't quite tell it, but she's pointing (@ Mike, but actually @ the area behind her) smiling showing me what she was so excited about!


In awe of the beautiful horses! (She stayed in this position for EVER)

One VERY SWEET young man let us pet his horse "Max" - she was a little too shy @ first, but I pet him, and asked a few questions, and then she decided that is was well worth the risk of talking to a stranger (which she rarely does) to be able to touch that beautiful horse!

We then headed over to another barn to watch the "prancing horses" -- they were so light on their feet..and Anne Marie was just amazed @ the "sparkly" clothes they were wearing. (That was as exciting to her as the horses in this area!)

LOVING the view!!

We headed back to the outdoor area to watch some more & took a seat @ the bleachers. She clapped for EVERY girl after they were done w/ their performance...she was just so sweet!

We actually even "had to stay" when they closed one of the areas & started spraying & raking the track-area. We were soooo amazed @ her excitement over all of it!!

Snapshots of Easter

We basically had an "Easter-Weekend" .. it started Friday night with Naomi coming over & having an Easter-egg hunt in the back yard. Saturday we went down-town to a special Easter celebration and egg hunt they were having. Then, Sunday we went to Church - and were to have our little celebration with our family & Mike's family -- however during a little "spring cleaning" Mike and I were doing - I "accidentally" fell out of our attic, so we've put our family celebration off until later this week!

(I know---I am NOT the most graceful person...it's always something!!!)

On Friday -- the girls had a little egg hunt in the back yard. They had a blast ... I won't go into detail, but I will say that by the end of the hunt there was 1 egg left -- and they both saw it @ the SAME time!! Well, a race ensued & they reached it @ the EXACT same time...there were tears by the end...but it turned out ok. Competition is strong even @ 4 yrs old!

Saturday we went to the Easter celebrations downtown--there was a magic show, face-painting, games, snacks & another Easter egg-hunt. We were a little unprepared (we weren't sure if we were going or not until last minute), so we didn't have a basket ... Anne Marie used her cute little froggie purse...it served as a great basket! It was very crowded that day, so she had a hard time getting in there & getting eggs while there were so many kids running around...but our friend Molly & another little girl were very sweet & helped her get a few eggs!

Saturday night we colored eggs. Last year I had picked up an egg coloring kit (it was Hello Kitty) and it came with stickers & little egg holders...she LOVED IT!

My girl Easter Sunday!

Then, the rest of the day was spent on the couch (for me anyway), so I'm sure we'll have a belated celebration with Mike's parents later this week. Well, I am just thankful that I didn't break anything & I'm hoping that it heals quickly ... since this week is spring break & we're off for the whole week!!

Welcoming Summer Weather

Ok--- So, God is blessing us for having to deal w/ all this snow this winter!! This past week has been BEAUTIFUL! Friday we had temps in the high 80's!! My sister & her family came over for a cook-out Friday night (and an egg-hunt...a post on that later). The girls begged to play in the water-table .... well how could you say no to these two sweet faces? After being out in the hot sun I almost felt like doing the same!

They had a blast! The water was cold, but they didn't seem to mind!!

Thank you Lord, for this beautiful sunshine!! It's a welcome site after this long winter!