Spring Update

Very, very long overdue - yes, I know! Excuse the long post, but I've got some things that I NEED to post. And, yes, this is just spring pics! School will be starting in a couple of weeks so I have to get caught up.


Carli's 5th Birthday

Carli had a great birthday! She was soooo excited to be 5 like her sister. For months we asked what she wanted for her birthday, and even up until that day all she wanted was a birthday cake. We assured her that she would get a cake, but what did she want to unwrap, as in presents? Still the same answer - CAKE. So, she ripped through those presents and just wanted her cake.

We went to the mall to get her ears pierced, but she opted out. The offer's still open, so we'll see.

(And no birthday would be complete without Aunt Beth sending Silly String.)





END OF PRESCHOOL

The end of preschool brought many, many activities at AnLi's school. That was the best part about her preschool - just the small, family atmosphere. She had an incredible teacher that AnLi just loved. Miss Miller cried and cried the last week of school. She and AnLi have exchanged notes during the summer, and the girls also went to a dinosaur camp she was teaching last month.

They had a week of dressing up. I've included a picture from "Crazy Hair Day" - AnLi's palm tree hair.

The mother/daughter tea is always cute. Yes, my drama queen REALLY gets into the dancing portion.

And then there was the end of school park day and the school carnival.

At the carnival the girls got to enjoy their first ever sno-cones, which they LOVED!





Preschool graduation



We've had several trips to the zoo this spring/summer.





And we saw "Shen Yun" in May. It didn't start until 7p, so Carli fell asleep before intermission, but AnLi sat on the edge of her seat for most of it. She was thrilled with the whole thing and keeps asking to see it again. Who knows if they'll tour this way next year.



And, of course, we have been swimming - A LOT! It's been a hot hot summer and the pool has gotten a ton of use.



This pic of Carli cracks me up! Who knows what's got her laughing so hard.



Carli has lost three teeth this summer. The bottom two were "shark teeth" for a couple weeks, but they did finally fall out and the permanent ones have moved up into place rather quickly. The tooth fairy came, but we have never had a tooth to put under her pillow. She wakes up in the morning and she's lost them. We've searched all over her room/bed, but have never found them. Did she swallow them in her sleep?

Also, Carli got a super cute short haircut. When we got home from the haircut, the girls were supposed to go upstairs and clean their rooms. AnLi called me up for "inspection". When I went by Carli's room, she wasn't in there nor was her room clean. I found her in my bathroom with piles of hair. She decided she'd add her own touches to her new 'do. It actually still looks really cute!



Enjoying some popcorn and a movie after a day in the pool.



And do you believe after four years, other than nieces, sisters or grandparents, we've NEVER had a babysitter? This summer we've had Dani come over about once a week. The girls have LOVED playing with her and getting a break from mom. :)



Vacation Bible School was a HUGE hit! They are still singing the songs and doing their Egyptian dances.



AnLi decided earlier this year she wanted to take tennis lessons. I have NO idea why. We don't play tennis or know anyone who does. We asked Carli if she wanted to take lessons also. She didn't know what tennis was. So, we said she could watch the first lesson and decide then. About 30 seconds into she said, "No, I don't think so. Maybe when I'm older." LOL!

AnLi's been taking the lessons off and on throughout the summer, and wants to continue this fall, but with everything else she wants to do, something has to go, so tennis will be put on hold for a while.



Swimming pool gymnastics




Sorry for the very long post! Thanks for watching and waiting. :)
Now I'm off to catch up on all of my fellow bloggers' blogs. I might be here for a while!

Next up - Summer!

Summer!

Is anybody still out there? {crickets}

I have a million excuses for not updating the blog, but I'll spare everyone and just update the blog! I'm almost done trying to get through pics, figure out this new software and get things uploaded. But until we get the major update, here's a little tease of the girls walking their "babies".

Happy Easter

Yesterday morning we went to the church Easter egg hunt. Because the girls agewise fell into the smallest age group, it was basically wait in line, walk into the playground and pick up their maximum 12 eggs, turn and walk out. There was no running as fast as you can, hunting, searching, all of the things an egg hunt is supposed to be. They did have fun singing and doing crafts, though.








On our way home, our neighbor texted to tell us our grocery store was having their egg hunt in ten minutes. We were right at the turn-off, so we whipped in, found a parking spot and the girls got in line. The place was PACKED! I think the store realized they didn't have enough eggs out, so they started bringing flats of pop and full-size candy bars and just throwing them out.

Here's Carli realizing there was pop and BIG candy bars out there -




AnLi was on the go - grabbing everything she could.


Carli got two eggs and sat down to open each up, so she missed out on the melee. When she saw AnLi's basket, Carli was pretty upset. When we got back to the car, AnLi gave Carli a pop and all of her eggs. Easter giving at its best!


Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter!

Boy, I'm on a roll! I think I'm out of my winter funk...finally!

Here is Ginger, the new addition to our family. She was a rescue dog my friend was fostering. Of course, the girls and Brian loved her, but I was hesitant. So, I agreed to let her come stay for a day to see how things would go. Well, she is now offically ours. She's a sweet dog, but getting through the puppy stage has been trying at times. Most of the Barbies don't have hands anymore, and keeping shoes away from her is a constant chore.



And then the school pictures:





And AnLi's first "cover" shot.
This is a picture from the summer of '08. NCH called and said they wanted to use her pic for the cover of their annual magazine and wanted to know what she wanted to be when she grew up. AnLi was SUPER excited to get the mail that day, and now thinks she's a "supermodel." It's amazing how much she's changed!


And finally... SPRING! Time to play outdoors with our friends.

Great Friends

At the beginning of March Jolene and Lily came to visit. We haven't seen each other since our short little get-together at the Orlando airport last April. The girls had a great time. We kept busy by doing the water park, the zoo and D*sney on Ice. Jolene and I were able to get out for dinner while Brian watched the girls. It's always great to see them and we don't get to do it often enough. Both of the girls had quite a few tears when they left. And AnLi has asked numerous times when she can see her "best friend" again. Hopefully soon!

Chinese New Year

It was FREEZING outside, but I wanted to get one shot in some light.


The lion dancers are like celebrities


Getting a coveted spot under the lion costume

Texas

At the end of January we made the 14-hour trip, by car, to see Nana and Papa who were snow birding in Texas. We thought we could escape the fridig temps, but we took them with us. Even though it was rainy and colder than we expected, it was nice to get away for a few days. We drove about eight hours the first leg, stopped early enough to enjoy the hotel swimming pool, then six hours the next day. The girls barely made a peep! They shocked us both. The only thing that was said about the long drive was about an hour from the cabin AnLi said, "I love you, but I can't take it any longer!"

The girls loved running down to the lake every day and collecting shells, feeding the ducks and fishing. One morning we toured a cavern. AnLi was totally into it. She asked questions and kept right up with the tour guide. Another rainy day we went bowling. It was really nice to get outside and get some fresh air between rainshowers. The girls were worn out early every night, and the adults stayed up and played Pegs & Jokers late into the night.

The girls running down to the lake.
The water level is so low. This whole area is supposed to be the lake.


The dock. Again, another example of low lake levels.
So while we weren't loving the rain, the locals were happy to have it.








Listening to the tour guide before going down into the cavern











Notice how they're squatting. :)






And then we came back to the frozen tundra and made a snowman.