Tap shoes to ball fields

I've realized that May is my least favorite month when it comes to glancing at our daily calendar. Turns out, the sports seasons overlap in May and it's been pure chaos for us. Tonight after the busy day at the zoo, dear Regan had to dash down to the local high school for dress rehearsal and then rip off that snazzy costume and climb into her softball garb to hit the fields. I was tired just thinking about it! 

So we got all dolled up, and loved every second of that big poof in her hair, adorable curls in the back and layered skirt. 

 That's her in the middle, on stage, hamming it up!

 Sid gets to come along for the ride, and thankfully had some company from our neighbors to keep her busy at softball tonight. Otherwise I tend to hear "I"m hungry" over and over and over again. I swear she has a tapeworm inside that belly. She should weigh well over 50 lbs with all that she eats!! 

 Oh just look at that catcher!! Let's just say this is NOT her most favorite position to play. She covered her face with nearly every pitch, fearing the ball would smack her in the face. After the inning, coach came up to her and tossed a ball directly at her chest. Now she knows it doesn't hurt :) She said to me "but there's a hole in the top of the mask, what if the ball comes right there and goes through it?!". For the life of me, I was not going to convince her the ball was much too large for that hole. Instead, I would suspect coach should place her in the field as a better option. 

We are soaking up this opportunity to expose her to various activities, letting her explore and choose what she likes to do. She is such a laid back-try anything type of girl it's been hard for her to quit anything! But seriously, we have swimming, dance, gymnastics and softball already! Eventually we will add many others including golf, tennis, golf, volleyball, golf (if daddy and grandma Jan have their way!). 

Lions and tigers and bears

Today I had the opportunity to help chaperon Regan's Kindergarten class to the MN Zoo. It was a wonderful day and the kids were very well behaved. We broke into small groups so it was two adults with four children....thank goodness! That proved to be an excellent ratio.

I had lots of opportunities to practice with the new camera, and clearly I have a lot to learn!

Here is our day in pictures:

Regan and her buddy

Helping to train dolphins

 On a trail to see more of the zoo

 Lunch during the bird show

Regan and mom

 Chicken head!

 Don't worry dad, I was keeping careful watch on them :)

 Regan and her BFF



CURLZ

Regan has her dress rehersal tonight for the upcoming dance recital. So to get in the spirit, we put her hair in curlers, as per request of her dance instructor. And the results are incredibly curly!!

Toothless grin

BEWARE: Not for those with a weak stomach!

Regan lost her 3rd tooth this morning. It was traumatic as she bit into her breakfast and the whole table heard a nail-across-the-chalkboard kinda crunch and suddenly, a shriek. Blood dripped from her tooth as it dangled from her gums. Ryan quivered reliving the crunch sound as I applied a wet rag to the tearful girl. She then pushed the wiggly tooth with her tongue and it flipped out of her mouth into her lap! Viola! Time for the tooth fairy!

At nap time, she asked "I wonder if the tooth fairy will come at nap time?", knowing this could possibly influence her nap I replied "well that means you have to take a really good nap".

With a two plus hour nap under her belt, the tooth fairy showed up!

Boy o boy was she happy to show me that big five dollar bill for such a traumatic event!

Then tonight at bed time, after she spent about 15 seconds brushing her teeth, she announced "it doesn't take as long to brush my teeth now because i don't have to brush the missing one".

Another day (in paradise)

We celebrated Memorial Day with a grill out along with some water fun. We were joined by a great group of friends that included 6 other children and their parents. That's a LOT of children to keep eyes on in the water!

Sidney was so very excited to get a chance to hold baby Addie. She's getting so big!! We can't wait until she can join in on the crazy fun like the rest of them. 

 Dinnertime with princess dresses :)

 Martin was LOVING the pool!! He had a great time splashing around. His expressions were priceless.

 And there is no way this little girl was going to drown today; floaties, a noodle and a life jacket and she was ready for some fun!



Happy Memorial Day

Wishing everyone a glorious Memorial Day. Regan finally understands the meaning of today (more than just a day off from school/work) and really really really wants to honor folks with fireworks tonight. The mind of a 6 year old.

Sidney posed for me this morning by the pool, looking all dolled up in her summer outfit and her hair blowing in the breeze. This little girl is growing up way too fast!

We spent some time in the pool this morning, where the temp in the water was warmer than the temp in the air. Boy does that feel wonderful! Regan is getting some moves jumping off the board and I'm working on teaching her to dive (when she is interested in my lessons). I managed to convince Sidney to both go down the slide and jump off the edge of the pool without me catching her! Here's to hoping her indepedence in the pool grows and grows this summer!



Happy Birthday Ryan!

We celebrated Ryan's birthday today, as we do every Memorial day weekend and it was a fun filled day. The girls planted him tomato plants and he is praying they give him some crops too. 

 Regan continues to do just as I ask of her while I work to understand this wonderful beast of a camera.

 She had a quick playdate with a friend (behind her in this picture), before the full-blown pool party started later this afternoon. Regan is going to turn into a fish pretty soon! She was in/out of the water for 8 hours today. Boy was she tired tonight. 

 Sidney is (finally) starting to like being with Ryan in the water. Last year she would bolt the other direction like he was a stranger! 

 My sense is that her new found adoration comes from the fact that he tosses her high up into the air (see her in this picture below?!?). 

 And we got to meet Harlow!!! Man alive I've been so excited to meet this sweet baby and since she left, I just want to hold her again! She's so sweet and the girls really loved her up. 

 I think we need another one..... :) 

 Oh I just know Regan is loving sweet Harlow. She sat so patiently holding her while she slept. She admitted it is "kind of fun" but also "she doesn't do anything!". So innocent. 

Happy Birthday Ryan! Hope it was a great day! 

Out with the old, in with the new

Back in January, Ryan told me that for my birthday, I should buy myself the camera I had my eye on for the past several years. I didn't even bother going to the store. I couldn't imagine spending the money on a camera when the basic point and shoot camera that I had worked perfectly. Fast forward to our recent vacation . We had no longer landed, drove to the beach and SMACK, my lovely camera was making impact with my heel and then the ground, falling roughly 3 feet in total (for those of you who care, yes, it did remove skin from my heel and gave me one heck of a bruise!). Anyway, the poor camera also lost its face though we managed to use the mangled equipment for the next several days. I did, however, now have great reasons to make my birthday present purchase.  

So yesterday, I did just that!

Learning to use a new camera, one much more elaborate than my point and shoot, is not an easy task.

I find myself playing with it at every free moment.

Sid had a rough day today so pictures of her are sparse, but Regan was a wonderful model.

 Anytime, I'd ask her, she would look in my direction and allow me to take a picture. Even when she was mid-play.

She still wasn't sick of my requests by early afternoon, turning her head and allowing me to work with a different lens from across the room. 

 I'm clueless still and found this blurry shot....ASHLEY help!

 Oh but does it take some amazing close up shots. It's going to take me a lot longer to get through parks and flower gardens now!

 Nope, still not tired of my "look at mom" :) Her smiles faded by 8pm, and she was deep in memories while looking at her Kindergarten Year Book, but she was still a willing participant!

Tomorrow we celebrate Ryan's birthday with a pool party in the 90 degree heat, I hope to get in a lot more camera practice.



Softball practice

Regan's playing softball in a new leaque this summer. Slightly more intense, including coaches pitch from the rubber, working on fielding and multiple practices/week.
Folks, let's remember something,she's in Kindergarten!!

Anyway, so we took a family outing this evening across the street to practice her hitting. Ryan pitched and Arnie/I took turns catching. Our little girl is working hard on making contact and is so proud of herself when she can do so! Way to go Regan!

Opener

With 90 degree temps today, I requested a hike in the pool heater to jump start our summer.

I let the girls skip nap (Regan was off school for teacher's wokshops) and we spent over 4 hours reaquainting ourselves with our pool toys.  It felt great!

I requested that Sidney become a bit more brave in the water this summer. She was a rock star our first summer, but then last year refused the life jacket and it made for the feeling of my arms falling off after a couple ofmonths.

Today she proudly picked up the water wings and away she went!!



Eventually they stole my "boat" for a relaxing float around the pool. We are looking for MANY more days just like this one. 



Baby Harlow

Ryan's cousin, Ashley had a baby girl last week and she/Jamie sent us this adorable picture last night. We couldn't be more thrilled to be your Godparents Harlow!!

California (in a post)

About 2 months ago, we announced to the girls that we were heading to California. They were so excited and amazingly we didn't have to answer "when do we leave?" a million times a day (probably closer to a thousand). We started a countdown last week and when they had crossed off the last day, and helped pack up their clothes, containing their excitement was beyond difficult!

We had a full itinerary laid out; the only way I travel. Don't get me wrong, we had downtime built into the trip, but it started out heavy. 

A rocky start (nearly missing our plane due to an unorganized Terminal 2 and a promise to never return due to 90 minutes for check in/security, no breakfast, etc), we set out for the beach the second we landed. At 11am we were soaking in the California sun. 

Hermosa Beach is a lovely place to visit. Or live for that matter! I fell in love with the small beach city and so did the rest of the family!

 This guy hung out a little too close for our liking. Doing all sorts of yoga and what not....I couldn't help but laugh at him. 

 The girls went back and forth from ocean to sand. The waves were gigantic, occasionally crushing both of them to the ground and giving them the equivalent of a "snow wash". A visit to the beach is not complete without them both having a small taste of salt water! 

Not to mention sand on every inch of their bodies. 

Yes, every inch. 

 Throughout the trip, the girls were rock stars at napping when they had the chance. In the car, on my shoulder, wherever they could rest their sweet heads. 

 The next morning it was off to Disneyland! We slowly wandered the park, climbing on rides, taking it all in. Finally, when we couldn't stand it any longer, we made a bee line to meet Miss Minnie Mouse in hopes it would quiet Sidney for a while ("I wanna see Minnie Mouse!" and "where is Minnie Mouse?"). 

Alas, there she is!!! 

 The girls managed to meet many other Disney characters and although Regan continued to state "I don't like princesses", the way her face lit up during each interaction, has us thinking she's fibbing a little bit. They were both in their glory to meet a 'real' live princess! It was definitely worth the 45 minute wait. 

 The amount of time that each princess spends with the children is wonderful. They really make them feel like they are the only children in the park. They talk to them, ask them questions and get to know the kids (no wonder the lines are so long!). 

 Eventually Ryan went off with Regan on some big kid rides while Sidney and I met yet another princess (Tangled). She was so in love with Rapunzel though not so much with her side-kick prince: Flynn Ryder who kindly stepped aside when Rapunzel realized Sidney was apprehensive. 

 The girls lasted 11 hours at Disney! ELEVEN! 

Maybe it's more impressive that Ryan and I lasted that long! 

They were troopers, never whining or crying and just taking it all in. 

 The next morning, it was just me and the girls. We sent Ryan off to a golf club with his cousin and we headed down to San Diego for a visit to Sea World. What an amazing place! The forecast was 67 and sunny. Let's just say that 67 in California is NOT the same as Minnesota. We were roasting hot, purposely sitting in the splash zones of various shows in hopes to get wet! 

 Both girls agreed that the Sea Lion show was their favorite. I have to admit, it was incredibly entertaining. Not necessarily the animals themselves (then I would have to say Shamu or the dolphins), but the man narrating the show was hilarious! 

 I'm not sure how safe it is to be driving and taking pictures (while talking on the phone to my mom which I later learned was illegal!), but I had to capture the scenery! It was incredible. I think this highway was built by carving out mountains. Sure felt that way. Even the girls commented at just how beautiful our drive was (between their naps of course!). 

 After 3 days of excitement, we were ready for some downtime. Fortunately, we were staying with Ryan's cousin who had a lovely pool and back yard for us to enjoy. 

 We managed to climb out of the pool long enough to get dolled up and enjoy a Mother's Day meal at Danny's country club. It was the perfect way to spend Mother's Day---on vacation!

 Of course there was plenty of more time for the pool and having it all to ourselves really made it so much more enjoyable. Sidney gave us a run for our money as she had a Code Brown on the pool deck. 

Boy that wasn't fun. 

 A big thank you to Megan and Danny for letting us crash with them a few nights! We had a lovely California vacation and the girls are looking forward to our next visit!