The sun will come out...

...tomorrow!

It started out as a dreary day today. Good thing Regan and I had tickets to a very special show at the Children's Theater.

Can you guess where we went?

First clue: An incredibly expensive souvenir named Sandy.

Delicious "A" cookie

(still not sure what we saw?)

Hopefully this gives it away

But if not......see below!

Sometimes, the fact that Regan has a toy room full of toys that rarely get playtime is a blessing. You see, Mr. EB wasn't quite sure how to fill her basket last weekend, so he left these tickets for us. At the time, she obviously didn't know just how much fun it was going to be! But she really loves the movie Annie, about as much as I did when I was a little girl, so I knew she'd love to see it in theater format. And I certainly knew how much fun I was going to have! I had hoped to find an Annie doll to go into her basket last weekend, but they're going on Amazon for $95 and Mr EB isn't that rich!

Our seats were in the 3rd row. That's close! I don't mess around when it comes to live theater; just like Ryan doesn't mess around when it comes to live music. Needless to say, we were close enough to see the actors spit. Yep, that's close. After the show, I asked Regan her favorite part...her response was "Annie's voice".
This little girl gets it; was obviously born with it. The fun and excitement of live theater and music.

Thank you Regan for such a fun day! I loved every minute of it!

Flashback Friday

April 2010

Story-telling

Regan is apparently quite the story-teller lately. Last week, we walked into her classroom and Miss Katie asked, in a very concerned voice "is everything ok? Regan told us that your house burned down". Ryan and I looked at each other, then at Regan, who ran to hide behind me as we burst out laughing with a big "R-E-G-A-N!, what did you tell Miss Katie?!". Let's just say that Miss Katie was relieved to hear our house is completely intact but she did go on to tell us the dramatic story told by Regan including how we all escaped, where we met to wait for the fire trucks and what we are now living in. The details were amazing!

And I thought the subject was over.

Fast forward to today.

We attended Regan's final pre-Kindergarten conference this afternoon with Miss Katie. She gave us a great report, explaining all that Regan has learned in terms of writing, sight words, math, etc. Side note: she continues to excel in anything with writing/drawing (i.e. shapes). She just loves pen/paper activities!

After the conference, we ran into another little girl's parents who sadly said "I heard about the fire. We hope everything is ok".

Seriously!?

Maybe someday she'll be a great author!

Sidney melting my heart

My sweet sweet Sidney is at it again. The things that come out of her mouth can sometimes turn me into a puddle. She can be so adorable and loving and then so smart as if to say "I'm listening to every word you say". Here's a bit of what I heard out of her mouth recently, not so melting my heart. Keep in mind that Ryan can have a wee bit of a potty mouth when things surprise him (or sometimes when he spends too much time with Shane). Remember this post?

Scenario: Regan ran into the house from the deck, tossed her shoes off, completely missing the rug.

Sidney follows close behind, sits down to take off her shoes and glances over at Regan's shoes while uttering "put your frickin' shoes on the rug".

Sounds a bit like Ryan; word. for. word. But hey, it's a step up from the other word!

Love you sweetie; even if you do have a bit of a potty mouth like your daddy!

And then she comes home with things like this from school, where the teacher asked her to fill in the blank "I love my parents because....". Clearly showing us that (good or bad), she's going to do (or say) what she pleases.

Because she wants to.

Date day with mom

Taking off work today to spend with the girls turned into the best decision! Not only did the weather cooperate completely, but the girls had lots of ideas in their minds and we were able to accomplish all of them. First stop: the local bakery for a "big foot please!".

Sidney chose the donut with chocolate and sprinkles. The smell in a bakery is simply overwhelming; I would have a hard time refraining from indulging myself if we spent even one more minute inside!

Then it was off to spend the next 2 hours at a park near our first home. Regan vividly remembers spending hours upon hours at this park over the last few years. Sidney obviously can't recall playing there considering the last time she visited she was only 19 months old.

This slide is F-A-S-T! Always has been. Sid bonked her head good trying to go down alone.

Best to stick with a sister :)

It was a lot of "mom watch me!", "mom give me a push", "mom, catch us!". Loved giving them 100% attention and forgetting about technology for the morning.

While waiting for a friend/old neighbor to arrive, Regan found various plays to "hang out".

Sidney, on the other hand, was eager to explore every inch of the playground. And this particular playground is incredible!

And finally, it was off to dance class. Today was Bring a Friend and since I didn't quite fit the bill, Regan asked if she could bring her sister! How sweet :)

Watching 2.5 year old Sidney participate fully in an organized dance class was amazing. She listened intently and then suggested she sit out during the footwork portion :) A little too advance for her.

First it was stretching...

and then on to "across the floors" which were her favorite. She proudly told Ryan all about it when we got home tonight. She's definitely ready to start in her own class next fall when she turns 3. My little dancer!

I had an amazing day with my girls. I can't wait to do it again!

Easter 2011

Brace yourself, I took a lot of pictures on Easter this year. We'll start it off with the family picture and a cute "awwww!" because it actually turned out :)

Regan likes to get so serious when we ask her to take a picture. You'd think she went to modeling school and learned not to smile with her mouth open!

Ok, back to waking up and Easter baskets and all that jazz. The girls woke up, walked to the couch and zoned out on a DVD for a bit before Sidney walked past the Easter baskets for the 3rd time and stopped to stare. Regan quickly joined in on the action to discover what Mr. EB had left for them.

Regan's favorite was a new PINK bike helmet. The girl stopped wanting to ride her bike because her helmet was grey. Oh dear. Sidney's favorite of the year was a doll that swims in the pool! Can't wait to try that one.

We got ready for church and headed out the door (and as much as I wanted to take pictures in church, I refrained. But our church is beautifully decorated with flowers every spring). The girls received lots of compliments on their adorable yellow dresses and a mom even came up to ask me where I found them because she wanted to get her girls' yellow dresses!

Grandma Sheri and Pampa along with the girls.

All morning long we saw Regan doing this as she peeked into the yard to see if she could spot the eggs left by Mr. EB. She could hardly wait through church for that egg hunt to begin.

and their off!!

This was a priceless picture: "I found one!"

After every discovery, she yelled for someone.

And it was a 70+ egg hunt!!

Grandma Jan and Papa with the girls

After a delicious lunch (thanks Papa for cooking!), opening presents, playing with presents and sitting in the sun, Pampa decided "all that Easter celebration makes me tired"...

night night!

Regan and Amy went to bask in the sun. We laughed so hard because Regan would keep looking at Amy as though she was wondering "are we still doing this?"

Apparently too much time together makes you start to act silly :)

Later in the afternoon, we all convinced Ryan that now, with all of the people at the house, it was a good time to uncover the pool. And before I could grab my camera, they were pulling off the tarp!

Dipping toes in the pool, what a great way to end the perfect Easter!

Thanks again to the grandparents and Shane/Amy for all

of the wonderful treats, presents, food and fun times yesterday!

Easter Eve

The best part about hosting Easter is having family at our home for a full day celebration. The second best...is the fact that it's OUR house, which means no need to travel and spend time in the car with 2 little kids that utterly dislike long car rides. So this morning, we lounged around long enough to realize the cloudy, dreary morning was not going to be a real fun morning to spend at the local Easter egg hunt.

Enter Plan B.

Free fun at a local shopping center turned petting zoo/face painting/Easter Bunny!

And did I mention it was all free :)

We started off with the petting zoo, where Sidney had already announced (before evening leaving the house to be exact), that she had no intentions of petting any animals. Regan was brave, entered the animal area and then totally fell apart. She clung to me, begging me to pick her up (not an easy feat these days!, that girl is getting a tad bit tall for me to be carrying her around). I thought this guy was pretty cute, til the lady next to us mentioned "He looks like he's about to spit!". Exit stage right. Regan was relieved.

On to face painting. We waited in line 45 minutes. Patiently might I add.

This was Sidney's first experience with face painting, she's always been to nervous to go through with it.

Something tells me that seeing her big sister's face turn into this beautiful butterfly had something to do with Sidney's bravery.

Wouldn't you wait in line 45 minutes to look like this? These two had absolutely no problem, watching as each kid before them walked away with an amazing creation on their face. Regan finally announced "mom, I think that lady is an artist!". Indeed she is :)

Despite both girls having told us they didn't want to sit with Mr. EB, it was after they had gone through all the various "stations" that they realized it was Mr. EB handing out the candy. In order to get any for themselves, they knew they needed to sit with him. Sidney clung and whimpered but as long as she knew I wasn't getting up without her, we were all good.

And now, I just finished cleaning the house, prepping the food, decorating the table and stuffing over 50 of these. I think we're ready!

Egg Dyeing: Round 3

You might remember this face from last year:

Oh my sweet Sidney, she was definitely not a fan of the vinegar smell last year. You can imagine my hesitation of dyeing Easter eggs with vinegar this year after remembering that face of hers! So, we did the first round without vinegar (not required by the package), Grandma Sheri did the second round, and today, I finally tried it with vinegar.

To my surprise, it didn't phase her a bit!

But, wow o wow, has that girl grown in just 12 months!! She is spirited, energetic, loving and a downright 2 year old (you know, the ones that throw some amazing tantrums?!). She chose her own method to get the eggs in and out of the water today. Only one catastrophe when she tossed it across the table in a not so gentle manner; Regan was happy, it meant she got to eat that one in egg salad for dinner :)

Regan concentrated so hard on her decorating skills. This kit came with chalk and she was thrilled when I let them use it at the kitchen table!

You can bet that Amy, Grandpa Arnie, Grandma Jan, Papa and Ryan are going to fight over these very beautiful eggs when they are created into deviled eggs on Sunday morning!

Dedicated fans

Tonight we froze our tushies while watching Logan's softball games at Bethel; it was a double header in the cold, wind and rain. But we came and had a great time! The girls were a tad bit sad that the concession stand wasn't open and all I had was an apple and goldfish. Regan pulled out her Leapster during a break in the action; and it kept her busy for all of 5 minutes tonight.

Go Logan! We love to watch your games; even when the weather doesn't cooperate!

My guess is that the girls liked the "after the game" experience best. It was so funny to watch Logan go back and forth to each girls' request of "color with me!" and finally, for fear she was going to get dizzy and fall off her chair, we suggested she try coloring on both of their pages at the same time. It worked great!

Love ya Logs!

Those double header games make for late nights. Amazingly both girls zonked out on the drive home. Let's just hope all that fresh air will help them to sleep in tomorrow morning, cuz this mama is tired too!

Beauty

No cavities...

...but she does have not one, but TWO loose teeth!

Not to mention one of her 6 year molars is rearing its ugly head.

Alas, we have an explanation for her recent complaints of her cheek hurting, or pain in her ears.

Once again, Regan was a rock star at the dentist tonight. She's been seeing this dentist for roughly 2 years but has needed to switch hygienists for one reason or another. The girl just rolls with the punches. And as hard as Regan tried to convince Sidney, there simply was no way Sidney was going to let go her vice grip of me. Visibly shaking, she wasn't interested in her own "happy visit". Good thing we don't have any concerns, we'll give it another run in 6 months.

Bath time

Please bear with me. I've had Photoshop for over a year and this is the first collage I've attempted. Still working out some kinks but that will have to wait until another day, so for now, this is my work in progress!

Birthday Celebrations

Tonight we finally had the chance to celebrate "Pampa Arnie's" birthday.

The girls got dolled up with some of Amy's lipstick during a few rounds of Candy Land; let's just say they were in their glory :)

Grandma Sheri had the camera out in full force, and per Amy's request, we got a picture of the girls. Shane was behind my camera and asked Sidney "do you ever smile?!". Yea, well, not for Shane she doesn't!

What a sweet picture of the boys.

What's a birthday without presents?! The girls enjoyed "helping" Pampa open his presents, even if what was inside was nothing more than tools, clothes and scary movies! Notice where Sidney is standing?, it's the closest she has been to Shane in a long time. It it weren't for presents, there is no way she would've gotten that close. (and nice face Shane!)

Priceless.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAMPA!!