Avery's iPod Touch

SHE DID IT!!!!!!
After months of saving LOADS of tooth-fairy cash, working for any amount of money, and some very generous birthday gifts,  Avery had saved enough money to buy her iPod Touch!
She was MORE than excited!!!!!
She had her money in hand and was ready to go!!!

She was a little nervous when it came time to pay....but stood in there like a trooper!  (Luckily the guy ringing us up was a former student of Mark's! )  She dumped out the change and counted bill by bill!!!

Congratulations Avery!!!!  We are so proud of you!!!!

Bridging to Brownies

Avery has officially completed her second year as a Daisy Girl Scout!
She had a "Bridging" ceremony where she was declared an official
BROWNIE Girl Scout!!!

It was a perfect afternoon....the sun came out and the ceremony went off as planned....OUTSIDE!!!

Families joined us as these girls celebrated the change from Daisy to Brownie!

The girls each had a chance to tell what they enjoyed the most about being a Daisy Girl Scout.  It ranged anywhere from arts and crafts activities to selling cookies to "EVERYTHING"!!! :)

These past couple years as a Daisy were spent primarily learning the foundation of the Girl Scout Law.  As a Brownie she'll be more involved in trying new things and learning new skills!  It has been a great experience for Avery and she's excited for this next adventure.

Annalise is 3!!!!!

Really???  Our little Annalisee is 3???  How is that possible???
It seems like she was just meeting her big sister....

And look at her now....
Our pretty little princess who goes through at LEAST 3 outfits a day.

Annalise asked EVERYONE for a "Rapunzel toy" this year for her birthday.  And in fact, when people asked about her birthday, she would proudly tell them that she was getting a "Rapunzel toy".  And Rapunzel she got!!!!!  Rapunzel after Rapunzel after Rapunzel!!!  And she LOVED every single one of them!!!!

And frankly....ANYTHING "princess" was a hit!

And when she got a Rapunzel wig....oh my!!!!!!

Our funny little Annalisee is 3.  She has a larger than life personality and such a great sense of humor.  She keeps us busy and is really good at pushing buttons!  We love this little girl very much!
Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

Avery's 7th Birthday

Our sweet Avery is 7.  She had quite a busy birthday!  It was a school day (which she thought was AWESOME!).  Our district has gotten away from the birthday treat tradition, so we didn't do any celebrating at school.  After school it was off to soccer practice!  (She was also THRILLED that this fell on her birthday!)  She had long since decided that she REALLY wanted to go tot he Olive Garden for her birthday dinner.  We tried to convince her to do it on a night OTHER than her birthday after soccer at 6:30, but she really wanted it to be ON her birthday. SO....we indulged her and headed to Olive Garden.  The dinner was great, but Avery (and Annalise) were exhausted!!!  We didn't even make it home until almost 9:00!!!  YIKES!!!!!

Avery was VERY particular about what she wanted for her birthday this year.  She's been saving since the end of last summer for an iPod Touch.  Every tooth fairy dollar, any dollar she could con out of us, and gift $$$ has been put in her piggy bank.  So....anyone that asked this year, she told them she would just love some money to go toward her iPod Touch.

She opened all her gifts....many of them containing cold, hard CASH.  And....it was the final package....

.....that sent her over the edge!!!  SHE DID IT!!!!!  She has officially saved enough money for her very own iPod Touch!!!!!  SHE IS PSYCHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
(Way to go Avery!!!  That patience and perserverance paid off!!)

She also had a very clear idea of what kind of celebration she wanted. 
Just a few friends, bowling and pizza.  So....this was the birthday party crew.

They had a blast!!!  They bowled like crazy, drank 2 pitchers of lemonade, ate a large pizza, kept asking Mark for more quarters for the video games and squealed and squealed!! :) 
Avery felt well-celebrated by this sweet group of girls!

Even Annalise got in on the action!!! (She loved the hand blower!!)

It was time to open some presents....

Happy 7th Birthday Avery!

Mother's Day

There is nothing in the world that can describe the feeling of being a Mom.
People told me when I was pregnant with Avery that it would change my life.
Words can't accurately describe the change that happens.
These girls of ours consume me.
They consume every thought and emotion that I have.
With every decision I make, I have them on my mind.
And I am so, so, so thankful that I have them in my life.
I love them so very much and am so proud to be their mom.

Becoming a Mom also puts into perspective the sacrifices your own Mom
has made for you in her life.  It has made me thankful for the wonderful and
supportive Mom that I have in my life.  Love you Mom! :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there who make the same sacrifices
and love your own children in that same, special, all-consuming way.

It was a great Mother's Day and I am so proud and thankful to be a Mom.

Spring Soccer

It turns out Avery DOES like playing soccer!
We wondered a little after the first few practices and first game when there was a lot of crying.
Once she got over her "fourteen knots" in her stomach, she was good to go and had a blast playing.

NOW...our little soccer player is done with Spring soccer and is amped up to play Fall soccer in September!  It's a nice little group of girls who welcomed Avery into their already-established team.
Go Ferndale Red Lions!! :)

Easter

Avery and Annalise were very anxious about the Easter Bunny's arrival this year.
Avery missed her scavenger hunt last year on Easter because we were on our way to Hawaii.
So this year she was excited to see how the Easter Bunny would do.
He left her some pretty good clues and she found her basket quickly!

Annalise slept in but as soon as she was awake, she followed a pretty long trail of jelly beans (stuffing handfuls into her mouth along the way) and found her basket, too!

The girls did a great job coloring eggs!

They were excited to find and hide them!!!  (Think the game could have gone on all day!  We called it when I sort of forgot where an egg had been hidden.  Yes, we later found it! : ) )

We had a very nice, quiet family day.  It was a lovely Easter.