Turning Four...

What a grand party this little girl had again! 

up at 6am and ready to party

one of few pictures of the three of us

the singing we did for her made her pout

(we are all pretty sure we disappointed her when we sang loud and off key

 instead of something more like in a princess movie complete with pixie dust)

a party wouldn't be complete without Nick climbing up something, and a pink bike to make her day

You can tell by the crazy smile on her face that having her cousins here made her "super cited", and

I really could have made a blog just on the pictures with the three of them and that gigantic spider...
the funniest part, Sam.  He had the same pose in every one and was ready to take that spider out if need be.

Finally, what four year old wouldn't LOVE to have a Francesco car...Ava that is. 

 It was her least favorite gift.  :-(  Guess who got it for her?  US!  (insert double sad face)

Happy 4th Birthday sweet girl!

Leader

Being leader at school is always a big deal, & the last time being leader for the school year is no exception. Dress, belt, earrings, CARS for show & tell, & her BUZZ backpack all capture my daughter to a tee. Sparkly, sweet, quiet, smart, happy, courageous, loving, sassy, giving, & super tall. That's my sweet girl & I've got a tear in my eye thinking she is turning four in two days. She has changed so much & I can't wait to post about her final day of school & what a wonderful experience we have all had.

Fly to your heart...

This makes my heart sing...I only wish the blog world would have let me upload the whole video.

I love these girls and how cousins can be such great friends. 

Being 37

This is where my life choices have lead me...

I love being able to have the time to help at Ava' s school and

see her, first hand, being a school kid

A few class trips have kept the kids busy this week. 

This one was to the Canteen for milk shakes. 



This one was to the Eye Dr.'s and those kids LOVED those sunglasses.

We also started swim lessons this week.  Now that she knows what goes on, we will see if the next class is as successful.  She did have tears, but said she had fun...who wouldn't when you get an ice cream sandwich after.  :-)



 The anticipation was killing her.

She was eager to go with the swim instructor.

there is a funny story to go with that...my sister (jenn) and i cried bloody murder as kids during swim lessons with an older lady.  my mom pointed the famous finger and said, "class is paid for, you are finishing!"  we cried the ENTIRE time.  needless to say, by the fourth class we had a new instructor, a cute young man with a mustache, and guess what?  we jumped right in and put on a real show...without tears.  the apple clearly doesn't fall far from the tree, i've never seen ava so willingly go with anyone before.  he was even able to get her to stop crying EXTREMELY FAST after dunking her under water.  how the hell did he do that?!?!?

waskily wabbit

These two actually think they are going to catch a baby rabbit with MY garden lettuce in THAT contraption....stay tuned. 

 (don't worry, no killing will go on in my yard- i once made my husband catch a mole, contain him in a bucket with dirt, and later, i actually drove that mole out into the country to give him back his freedom)

Dad's are so fun to have around.

a whole slew of things keeping us busy

Happy Birthday to Yammi and how about that stare down with the cupcake...ha

  Watching hockey and having a beauty parlor all fall within these girls fun meter.

 Harris and Nick always shy away from the camera, but I did catch them...secretly of course.

 Also, Happy Birthday today to Nick!!! 

 I slept in the same room as this guy and his RED heat lamp  :-)  I think I would have slept soundly,despite the light, had I not been kicked by a three year old and annoyed by snoring from my other half.

Doing Dot Art at Hotel Vetro

US Olympic wrestling try outs in Iowa City hosted this cute guy...the only one as I could tell.  ;-)

 Can you believe there is only a month of school left.  We have had a great year!

I like this picture for many reasons, but the swagger Ava has going on is number one.