SUMMER, and other exciting developments

Summer has arrived! We've been doing all kinds of fun stuff, like kicking back while the kids wash our cars.



A couple weeks ago was the last day of school for both kids. Here is Elsa with her preschool diploma! This fall she'll go off to Wyoming Elementary for Kindergarten. Lila will stay at the Family Center and attend 3-year-old preschool.


Yesterday was SO hot, and today will be even hotter. We ate popsicles, played in the pool, and went to our favorite beach with some friends. You can't really tell, but here they're doing a "welcome back summer" dance.




Yesterday was also the official first digging day of our new house! We went out there around 6 pm and told the girls we were going to go look at a big hole. Needless to say, they weren't too excited. But when we got there, they (and we) were totally amazed. It brought me back to when my parents built our house when I was 5 and my sister was 3 - the same ages as our kids. What kid doesn't love dirt piles?! They ran around and played house in the basement. Lila sat in the corner of the big hole and I said, "What are you doing?" She looked at me like the answer was obvious and said,"Watching TV!"

dancing, and some questionable new friends...

Last Saturday was Elsa's first dance recital. It was so cute! They danced to Daddy's Little Girl, Single Ladies, and California Girls. Also there was a surprise... Julie and I decided to do the Mother/Daughter dance, which was Mama Mia. There were a lot of moves and we only practiced twice, but I heard we did pretty well. I guess all those years dancing to Paula Abdul in middle school really paid off!

Me and Julie with Elsa and Violet.


Our little dancer, star of the stage!


Elsa and Mama.


Baby cousin Avery came to the recital, too. Here she is, cute as ever!


This is Lila and her friend, the water meter on the side of the house. Is it a water meter? Well, whatever it is, she named it Fee-Fo. She talks to it. One time I saw her grab it by the bolts on top and say,"Do you have ears, Fee-Fo? Yes, you do!"


They also have another friend. Meet "Mud Freak", the mud puddle. I kid you not. When the sun finally dries it up, they say,"Mud Freak has gone away!", then they pretend-cry.


I bought some plants and flowers the other day, and the girls each got to pick a plant of their own, then help plant them in pots. Here's what they chose:


Mmm, summertime snacks!


On Mother's Day, the kids got to see Avery. They just love her. They counted her toes, gave her kisses, and got drooled on in return. :)





How about this for a Mother's Day/Kentucky Derby drink? A perfect Mint Julep, made by Grandpa Barney. Yum!

slacker!

I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated this. Spring has been super busy so far. Here's the recap:

There's no need for a van down by the river... when you can have a cabin! The kids were so excited to check out Grandma and Grandpa's new "playhouse".


Nice!!


While Elsa is in preschool, Lila and I get some one-on-one time at the park.


This was the end of March. Warm enough for a t-shirt, but still a giant snow pile in the yard! It seemed to last forever.


The kids recently went to a birthday party together and dressed up in their new dresses from Grandma K. They love wearing dresses.



A few weeks ago we went to DQ with Grandma E. We have to take advantage of the warm days while they're here - the weather is still pretty wintry for the most part.


Ashley's 4th Birthday party. They had a blast running around with all their friends, especially because it was a princess party.



This isn't the greatest photo of Elsa, but look how cute (and big!) baby cousin Avery is!


Easter.

A trip to the zoo

Last week we met some friends and went to the MN Zoo. I forgot how huge it is compared to Como! It was great to see all the green plants and trees on the tropical trail.
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Elsa loved the pink flamingos,"Just like in Florida!" she said. She's never been there, but she's heard enough that she loves it there already.


You have no idea how long it took us to get this picture, but here they are: Elsa, Lila, and Cole.


The coolest exhibit had to be the grizzly bears. You can see two in the water and one off to the left. They wrestled and swam and showed off in front of the glass the entire time.


After we saw the bears, Elsa and Cole climbed this rock and roared! We left after about 4 hours, and the kids were asleep in the car in about 5 minutes. :)


Elsa is big into making trails, usually out of books to make a "book sidewalk", but in this case it's a bunch of toys and shoes.


I left the kids a little too long while I was upstairs cleaning, and came downstairs to the strong scent of dry-erase markers! You'd figure they'd wash off easily in the bath, but no.

St. Patrick's Day and other stuff

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We did an art project and made these beaded necklaces. Elsa isn't into taking photos lately, but too bad, I still like this one!


Last Monday we went to babysit our niece Avery for a little bit in the afternoon. She's such a good baby!


I took some photos of Lila while she danced with her puppy.

Check out Elsa in the background...not having it! :)



Really, another photo?
I know I can get some better ones once I get her outside! We went for a nature walk through the woods this week and the kids loved it. Elsa is sooo excited for spring, and loves the warmer weather. All she talks about is Florida. That's my girl!


We've been having sleep issues with Lila that have only become worse. She stalls at bedtime, and on top it she wakes up sometimes 6 times a night. Realizing it couldn't get any worse, we decided to move her into a big girl bed. She's so proud. We're hoping that feeling like a big girl will make her act like a big girl. It actually seems to be working!


Lila's hair when she wakes up. :)