Click on any picture to enlarge it

Monday, April 30, 2012

Day 121: Good Fortune

April 30
Vicki's piano teacher gave each student a goody bag after the recital.  Included was a fortune cookie with a personalized fortune.  How cool is that?

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Day 120: Around the World

April 29
Tonight was Vicki's annual piano recital.  Her teacher is absolutely amazing.  This year's theme was "Around the World", so the kids all played songs from different countries.  Vicki's was from Brazil (obviously).  Not only did she do a great job playing a song with some really tough timing, but she had a backup band (okay, a drummer and a bassist) play with her!  She also carried a flag in the opening ceremony and joined a group of girls in a Japanese fan dance during the finale.  I love how her teacher makes the experience about so much more than just notes on a piano!

Day 119: Food, Friends, and Fun

April 28
This is just some of the food that was served at our friends' house this evening.  We had waaaay too much fun eating and playing games with some great people.  Definitely a do-again!

Day 118: Proud Volunteers

April 27
There was no school for the Middle School today, so it was the perfect opportunity to take Vicki's Girl Scout troop to volunteer at the Food Bank.  We helped package 2844 pounds of pasta, which was enough to serve each of the 30 or so volunteers on the shift 60 times, and we had a great time doing it!  I'm so proud of these girls!

Day 117: Hungry?

April 26
I was contemplating making a Carmen Miranda hat for Vicki to wear to her piano recital (I ultimately decided to spare my sanity and not attempt it) and came across this fake banana that someone apparently tried to snack on.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Day 116: Painting

April 25
This week it was the Daisies' turn to paint.

Day 115: The Last One

April 24
I'm surprised I made them last this long.

Day 114: New Game

April 23
They invented a new game.  It's called "Slingshot Lexi".

Day 113: Studying at the Park

April 22
I had loads of homework and studying to do, but the weather was too nice to stay indoors, so I brought it to the park with us.

Day 112: You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

April 21
One of the girls left this top in our bedroom.

Day 111: Sleeping Beauty

April 20
Lexi had a friend sleep over tonight, and they somehow managed to convince Ellie to sleep in the playroom.  When Chris went to check on her, this is what he found.

Day 110: Treats from a Friend

April 19
It's been a really stressful and emotional week around here, so it was a really welcome surprise when a friend dropped off these delicious goodies tonight.  Thanks, Margo!

Day 109: Hope. Help. Courage.

April 18
At our Girl Scout meeting today the girls painted this planter for the family of the girl their school sponsors through Sparrow Clubs.

Day 108: No Parking?

April 17
It's kind of hard to read here, but that's a "No Parking" sign in the back of that truck.  I guess it's only okay to park there after 5pm and on weekends...

Day 107: Just Like a Real Author

April 16
This is the book that Ellie "published" at school (it's titled "Butterfly", in case you can't read kid-spell.)  She informed us that "Eehla" is her pen name, "because all the real authors have pen names!"

Day 106: Flowers in an Unlikely Place

April 15
Chris, Ellie, and I took a Sunday walk this afternoon and Ellie was fascinated with these flowers growing out of a crack in the pavement.  It was the only picture of her she permitted me to take.

Day 105: Favorite Shoes

April 14
I got Lexi these sandals to wear with her Easter dress, and she almost hasn't removed them since then.

Day 104: Sick

April 13
Ellie threw up at 2:30 in the morning and spent the remainder of an oddly perky night chatting with me in the living room.  She finally crashed at about 10:00.

Day 103: Scoot to School

April 12
When the weather permits, we love to walk, bike, or scoot to school.

Day 102: Mr. Panther

April 11
The girls' school mascot is the Panthers, and this guy stands guard in the main hallway.  Different displays go up behind him from time to time, and I love these Spring flowers, one for each kid in the school.

Day 101: Springtime Blossoms

April 10
I love our street in the Spring!

Day 100: Bedtime Stories

April 9
Chris took over the bedtime story reading about the time Lexi was born, and now the girls would almost rather go without stories than have me read them.  Usually if he's gone, I'm allowed to read replacement stories, but not chapters from the books they're reading with Dad.  Ellie looks kind of disinterested here, but I think it was just a combination of enjoying the Daddy cuddle time and not really wanting her picture taken.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Day 99: Happy Easter!

April 8
After a wonderful Sunday morning reminder at church of the Resurrection of the Savior, we joined some friends for a beautiful afternoon egg hunt.  There were close to 20 children running around this yard in search of colorful eggs.  This picture cracks me up because it's so very Ellie: headband slipping?  Doesn't matter!  Must find eggs!

Day 98: Cans

April 7
Vicki and I helped with a can drive fundraiser for Outdoor School today.  I couldn't believe how many cans and bottles were dropped off!  These bags are three deep, and each one is worth somewhere around $20.  There were nearly as many bags of plastic bottles, and cases upon cases of glass bottles, too.

Day 97: Tulips

April 6
Chris surprised me with these flowers yesterday for no reason in particular.  I'm a lucky girl.

Day 96: Packages!

April 5
Apparently today was package-from-Grandparents day, because the girls got one from each set.  It was a pretty exciting afternoon!

Day 95: Your Guess is as Good as Mine

April 4
This is, sadly, the only picture I took today.  It took me a minute to figure it out, but it's actually Ellie (in the turquoise), holding my hand (my arm is the navy blue) in the Target parking lot (see the bag?)  We ran to the store while the older two were at their church activity and I think I was trying to take a picture of the two of us holding hands...I think.  I'm just glad I took a picture at all!

Day 94: Cooking Dinner

April 3
The sauce for a baked tortellini dish that my entire family loves.  The only downside is that there won't be any leftovers tomorrow.

Day 93: The Finished Product

April 2
This isn't the greatest picture, either, but at least you can kind of see how it looks now.  The ceiling is the original color, which was a very light gray.  The back wall is the green color and the other three walls are a very pale yellow.  It's amazing how much brighter the room is now!  Now we just need to hang some art above the bed and on the wall opposite and add a few more shelves, and our room will finally be done!

Day 92: Almost Finished

April 1
It took a little longer than we expected, but we finally finished painting this evening.  We listened to a lot of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", and the girls spent a lot more time in our room than they usually do.  I have a lot of great pictures from today that are better than this one at describing the day, but Lexi had my camera and this is pretty much the only one that was actually taken by me!