Windy evening

We didn't let the 40 mph gusts of wind keep us from spending the evening outside tonight. Logan once again joined us for dinner and some playtime in the yard. The girls just light up when I tell them that Logan will be coming for dinner; it honestly gets them moving out the door from school at a much faster rate.

We played with chalk

and looked hideous to any passerby's as we each took turns laying on the driveway to be traced. In all honesty, a few neighbors stopped to chat while we laid on the driveway! And I got dizzy by looking up to the clouds that were moving much too quickly due to the wind.

we found these tiny eggs in a hanging pot.

Ryan had the bejeezes scared out of him yesterday when he went to water the flower and mama red finch came flying out, just inches from his arm/head. The girls are thrilled to watch the eggs and eventually see baby birds.

And in Regan's book, the night just isn't complete until we play a round (or 12) of hide n seek tag! Check out the football hold that Logan has Sidney in; she thought it was pretty fun to be a part of the game but wanted to be carried because she just can't keep up otherwise!

Opening day 2011

This afternoon, after the outdoor temps climbed 20 degrees over yesterday, I officially decided the pool is O-P-E-N! It hit 88F and I just couldn't take it any longer. All the neighbors were swimming (well, they all have heated pools and that makes such a difference), but this little cutie didn't care that the pool was only 66 degrees. She swam her heart out for a couple of hours. Pulled out every toy she could including noodles, life jackets, water wings, water bars and of course, the slide!

Sidney, on the other hand, agreed that the water was too chilly so she opted to go down the slide and immediately be pulled out only to try it again and again and again.

Poor Ryan had yard work to do that kept him busy while we relaxed in the pool. I guess there is an upside to being the one who is responsible for cleaning toilets and bathrooms: I can do it on my time!

I'll have to do a side by side from last year's shot like this.

I wouldn't exactly say that I went "swimming" today; I more went "rafting". But I loved every second of it!

Best of friends

I've mentioned before that I have the best friend in the world. Sadly we haven't been able to see each other much lately. Today, we met up half-way for lunch and it's like we saw each other yesterday the way our conversation flows. Maybe it's the constant emails/texts that keep us up to date on each other's happenings!

The kiddos had a blast too; here are some shots of the afternoon:

getting a picture of all the kids looking at the camera was impossible. Heck, getting a picture of just two of them together was impossible!

This shot was too cute, they were running up/down this path and in height order!

I kept trying, but it just wasn't happening today

Thanks for a fun afternoon,

can't wait for the upcoming playdates!

Still celebrating!

Birthday celebrations tend to last for days on end at this house. We celebrate our hearts out when someone turns one year older (I give myself the week off during my own birthday...heck, sometimes I give myself the whole month off!). Today, we sent Ryan off to golf with my parents before his extended family showed up for the final birthday celebration.

The girls and I cleaned, prepared food and of course, got all dolled up for the festivity!

(Sorry this picture keeps turning sideways, but I had to include it).

For days, Regan has been asking who will all be coming today and proceeded to write up name tags for everyone. Look closely and you will notice we let her spell names on her own. Back at Kindergarten registration, I remember her future teacher informed us that we should have her spell out words herself rather than always tell her the next letter. Something along the lines of kids getting frustrated when they have to ask each letter in every word and then end up quitting the whole idea.

She spelled them phonetically (i.e. Vicky....is Vike. "Vik--E") Get it?

Something tells me this girl is more than ready to tackle kindergarten!

Ryan asked for one thing from "Vik-E" for his birthday: bring the clippers and give him a haircut! For a few minutes, our house turned into a salon! Zevlen joined in on the action and had his hair cut as well. The boys looked great and are all trimmed up, ready for summer!

Ryan got German chocolate cake as requested and the girls were very excited to help blow out candles!

Both Halle and Nalla came over but were forced, by Mr Birthday Man, to stay outside. Regan just loves these two dogs and would spend all of her time caring for them if we let her. At one point, she left Hunter in the toy room and said "I want to go hold the leash"!! Note: our yard is entirely fenced in and neither dog needs a leash but we put them on a leash just so Regan would be content!

Sidney played and played her heart out today, giggling all the while. She is one silly girl, nibbling on a summer sausage sandwich as she snuggled with Grandma Jan.

What night is complete without a fire and a glow from the pool? :)

It was gorgeous and a great night for a fire!

Thanks again to everyone for making the trek

to celebrate Ryan turning the big 3-5!!

Long weekends and big playdates

To help Ryan celebrate not only his birthday, but also his moving on to a new company, we hosted some friends this afternoon for a large play date!

The storms threatened the skies but indoors, no one seemed to mind as the girls (ages 5, 5, 4, 4 and 2) played dress up and ran around as princesses! There was one prince in the gang and he crawled away faster than I could get a decent picture.

Once the sun came out, it was on to outdoor playtime. I know that it appears that Sid is about to be smacked in the head by the glider, but she was actually a safe distance away as she waited her turn :)

Our precious beauty, again waiting her turn (this time it was for a chance to bat during t-ball). Amazingly, our 2 year old didn't do so bad with sharing this afternoon! That isn't always the case with her independent-let-me-do-it-now personality.

We held dinner pool side which is the best place to eat and makes clean up a breeze!

And it wouldn't be a play date without the boys who started out as friends in college!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today we celebrate Ryan's birthday! He's been home long enough to do two things:

open his present....

and eat (aka: share) his extra large cupcake!

He spent the morning golfing and now is having a long lunch with the neighbor. I'm eager for him to come home and get that "cocorn" machine working so we can have a snack after nap!

Inaugural gymnastics meet

Regan participated in her first ever gymnastics meet tonight. She was a bit "squirrely" and overly excited so it definitely wasn't her best performance, but she had a pretty good time and is interested in giving it another shot.

I'm guessing it's all the ribbons and the trophy she earned just for participating that's luring her back.

We have to often remind ourselves that she is only 5, that it's difficult to sit still for 60 minutes while teammates are showing their skills. Nonetheless, it was a tiring evening for a lot of parents to 5 year olds tonight! We are all still very proud of our squirrley girl :)

Look out below!

Regan really loves to draw pictures. Lately, she's been drawing spring pictures of sorts, using lots of colors to depict whatever it is she is imagining at the time. But the last few pictures, she's been drawing birds in her spring scene. Not just the typical bird with a "V", but with circles underneath the V. Any idea what that is?

She tells me the birds are pooping.

Wonder who she learned that from ;)

ABCD...

you know the rest. And so does Sidney. But her singing it is just so much cuter than me or you, especially when she giggles through the last few words :) Apparently Sid is taking after her sister's love of singing. We tend to hear songs over and over again. The one I've really wanted to catch her singing is "You Are My Sunshine". It's one of those songs that my mom sang to me, I then sang to Regan and now sing to Sidney before bed. She can be tough to catch with video though.

So for now, here's the ABC's. Click HERE to enjoy!

or copy/paste this into your browswer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9PSAmNSdb8

Ball games and Splashes

We managed to make it through 2 of Hunter's softball games this morning/afternoon and amazingly stayed relatively dry. Oblivious to the horrible weather closer to home, we had a good time despite the clouds.

The girls fought over Halle and gave good excuses to Ryan in hopes of someday getting a dog of their own. (they aren't making much ground)

Rain delay caused a long lunch break.... and the girls were more than happy to be sharing a dessert with Maddi and Logan!

And once home I finally decided: "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

The girls and I headed into the rain to splash away in puddles.

And splash they did!

We walked down the block so Regan could watch where the water was headed.

Note to self: good science lesson.

This picture cracks me up; it looks like Sidney is drowning in her boots!

The beauty of this rainbow was perfect!

Interestingly the rainbow is in the ugly part of the sky.

Seeing the rainbow gave Regan the idea to serenade us with rainbow related songs on the walk back home. And for those that haven't heard, Regan was awarded "Future American Idol" by her preschool teachers during graduation last week. They know her well :)

Proof is in the boot...check out that lake she dumped out. Regan kept saying "my boots are croaking!" because with every step, her foot made a croak sound inside her boot!

Another busy day

We have a tendency to pack our weekends full of fun and lots of together time. Today was no different. We started the day with a quick movie date for the mom and dad of the bunch (this is rare...but well deserved!) and then a quick nap for the wee ones of the bunch (which thankfully isn't rare!). The rain stopped and we headed to watch Hunter play softball and run around a park in between games.

I'm not sure what the girls find more exciting: venturing out to new parks during the softball season or hanging out with extended family!

Tonight, the answer was easy. Hands down they both preferred to spill their love onto Vicky. It really was quite the sight; Regan left her lap only while they colored a picture together. Poor Grandma, she kept asking if she was chopped liver!

Wishful thinking

Monkey see....

Monkey do....
And this one too!
Ok, so they really didn't jump into the pool today but with the humidity this evening, it sure felt like we could. The pool temp is slowly rising, we're up to 63 now :)

Winding up to wind down

Every spring, it's the season to wind up to wind down. In other words, every activity/event/hobby holds parties, ceremonies, etc to wrap up the school year. We celebrated one of those tonight. And it's one special event we are SURE to miss this summer: weekly dinners with Logan! I can't tell you the excitement on the girls' face when I announced "Logan is coming tonight" each week; it was priceless!

We can't wait until you come back to school in the fall!

2011 Graduate

She did it!! Regan participated in the first (of many in her life) graduation ceremonies. And what a ceremony it was, held at a local community college! Of course, I was that tearful mom seated center stage, watching as my little girl proved to be ready to tackle Kindergarten next year. She cheerfully sang, she energetically danced and she proudly talked in the microphone. We had a lovely celebration and are so proud of you Regan!

Here's a couple videos from the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQUeDg3UxHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJsnLryN97I

(clearly someone isn't afraid of performing in front of a crowd!)

Unfortunately she wasn't real interested in pictures with her cap/gown, claiming to be hot; although I think she knew that the faster she left her gown behind, the sooner she could grab a piece of cake with her friends.

Katie, Regan, Melissa.

Once home, she discovered balloons to celebrate and presents! Of course she had oodles of presents to open with both sets of grandparents on hand today.

We spent the afternoon lounging poolside. Below, Sidney is trying to convince Grandma Sheri that the pool really isn't that cold...Grandma isn't buying it.

Regan plays t-ball on Wednesdays for our former city team. It was a great opportunity for the grandparents to check out a game while they were in town.

Then it was on to ice cream treats after the game. Sidney clearly preferred Papa's treat over her own and then completely crashed on the drive home. Poor girl was without a nap on this very busy day.

And once we got home, the 'school ager', as she is now called, wanted to play on her new swing from Grandma Jan/Papa. "It's just so much fun, mom!"

Congratulations on your big day Regan!