Happy Easter

Easter 2016! Lets color eggs!

Spring break 2016

Today we had some fun at the Eagan community center and played in the Blast. It is an indoor park and the girls had a BLAST! The best part is it is very affordable! After we met Rhonda for lunch on Grand Avenue which the girls both received high praise for the good behavior. Prior to lunch we stopped at a used book store and Ellie picked out Goo and Hadley grabbed a new/used chapter book. She is getting much stronger in the reading department. Now the challenge is to find her chapter books she doesn't want to put down. She loves Junie B. Jones but there are some harder/funny words for her to read. She likes Henry the horrible I think it is called... that is what she grabbed today. She likes Tree House mystery series... again name escapes me but close enough. Anyway, I love seeing her read, it is so cute!

Ellie is 5

Our baby is 5! This can't be true. It was only moments ago she was taking her first steps holding her monkey blanket and sucking her thumb. Wait she still does that, except her first steps are swim strokes and funny stories. I'd say she is our dreamer, fashion girl diva who loves to play outside. She is boy crazy already and thinks she is prettier if she wears tank tops... even in winter.

Some Ellie facts...
Favorite food: Spaghetti
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite singer: Justin Bieber
Favorite accessory: Wonder woman headband
Favorite game: Sorry
Favorite character: Wonder woman
Favorite book: The day the crayons quit
Favorite snack: Fruit, cookies, snack plate

She loves to eat out... a few favorites are Panda Express (Orange Chicken) and Chic Fillet (Chicken nuggets.) For her birthday she asked for American Girl Doll clothes and accessories, new bedding with throw pillows and a chandelier.

It was great that she turned 5 the week of spring break. I was off which was nice because I could enjoy the day. We went to visit Omi and had lunch, spent the day at the park and had a tea party after in her condo. The girls and I walked to Trader Joe's and Ellie picked out Spaghetti for her birthday meal and pink roses. A couple days ago we had the Heinsens and Coadys over for a taco in a bag dinner and had cake and presents. She picked out a fruit tort for her birthday dish and received a bunch of great gifts including pink flamingo sheets, a wonder woman t-shirt, a fun day designing a chandelier with Katie and a WiiU dance game plus many more girly things. She even gave cousin Joe a hug.

Next weekend we plan to go to Isle since it is Easter on Sunday. Saturday we will have another Ellie celebration with family.
These 5 years have flown with you our sweet little girl who keeps us on our toes. We love you so much... to the moon and back and more than all the stars in the sky.

Snowy Day

Tonight we went to Children's Theater Company to watch A Snowy Day and other stories by Ezra Jake Keats. The show was mainly shadow puppets which was really fun to watch. I was surprised at how well it kept my attention. The girls seemed to like it too... I think Robert did as well. One of the best things about our location is the distance to downtown MPLS. We can get there in under 30 minutes and the Children's Theater Company is a very easy drive too. So far we have enjoyed several shows including The Wizard of Oz, The Grinch and another one that had the word snow in the title but the name escapes me. Our next show is in May and we can't wait.

Long weekend and its only Thursday!

The best part about today was Hadley and I got to take Ellie to her preschool. Ellie's preschool follows district 196 so I assumed she didn't have to go today but they don't follow every day off I guess which was great for us! Ellie was so excited to have her mommy drop her off and pick her up. It was fun for Hadley and I too.

I love my new job but I miss out on being more involved with the everyday school things for the gals. I am thankful though that my job allows me time off when the girls are off and I work the exact same hours as they go to school... so with the help of my wonderful neighbors I am able to pretty much bypass daycare and next year it will just be drop off and pick up they will have to worry about since Ellie will be in Kindergarten. YIKES. This year... Ellie has spent M/W/F with Krista and T/TH with Kerstin. Soon Kerstin (bless her heart) will have Ellie everyday until summer break since Krista and family are moving... tear!

The worst part of my day today...
My first crown! It was bearable... but I couldn't wait to get out of that dental chair that's for sure.

Snow Day

We had a early dismissal today! Out at 12:30pm...
It was a fun day. The girls played with the neighbors outside for a little bit after school. Then we spent the day inside doing crafts. I made manicotti for supper. We baked cookies. I met the neighbor outside for a yummy winter cocktail. I shoveled... it was a great snow day!

Rollar skating makes me a cool mom

We went to Skateville tonight to roller skate since it was the Parkview skate night. Ellie, Hadley and I attempted the challenge. I thought maybe Hadley was a little better since she skated at school and came home with a grin ear to ear stating that she loved it! But, she needed a lot more help. And, Ellie well she had never had wheels on her feet before. We survived. Only a few tears, lots of encouragement and a little tough love. We left just after an hour of "torture"... seriously my back hurt from the tenseness. I called Robert and said I needed 3 advil, a stiff drink and 2 bowls of icecream ready for our arrival home! We will do it again but hopefully on a really quiet night!