Purple Belt Advancement

Weeks ago, I'm so far behind, Jade had her belt advancement for karate. I really love that they make an event out of each advancement. She went from the white with an orange stripe to the white with a purple stripe. She was so cute and is getting a bit more excited and full of energy when she's doing karate. So, here are some pictures from the advancement.

Love you, Jade! We are so proud of you.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

The evolution of Ivy...

The other day, Jade and Ivy got adorable little bunny rabbits. Unfortunately, the girls have a hard time accepting the items that they are given- they always want what the other one gets. Ivy really wanted the blue one with pink shoes rather than the pink one with blue shoes. She sat and pouted for a while and then asked me to take a picture of her pouting. She couldn't keep a straight face for very long. But, I love the smile she did once she was done pouting. When all was said and done, she was happy to have the pink bunny. Although, the toss on the floor would make you question her love.

This little discarded bunny gets lots of love now.

What April Fool's Pranks did you do?

In our house, we played several.



Of course lunch and dinner.



Jade wanted to play a few on her dad. So we...



taped his mouse so that it didn't work

switched his sock drawer for my underwear drawer

put toilet paper in his shoes so that the wouldn't fit

un-screwed his light bulb on his night stand



Happy April Fool's Day!

April Fool's Day- Dinner

There's nothing like a yummy "Chocolate Raspberry Pie" for dinner.

My girls were so excited that we were having pie for dinner after we had a lunch full of sweet things. I think they thought I'd gone insane. The Meatloaf and Potatoes were great! This was another great idea from Family Fun- again I made changes to it.

Go here for my recipe.

By the way, the girls were not as thrilled to have real food disguised as sweets. It's much more fun to expect something normal and get sweets than the other way around.

April Fool's Day- Lunch

My little girls were lucky because I worked from home and I made them a yummy lunch. They had fish sticks with tarter sauce, peas and carrots. I believe it is very important to have a well rounded meal for lunch. The girls loved their lunch and they didn't even complain once. Okay, there was one "AH, CARROTS, I DON'T LIKE CARROTS" but she got over it (with her first taste of orange tootsie roll).

I got the fake fish sticks idea from Family Fun. I so love that magazine and website. I made a few changes- it's just my nature.

Here's the "recipe"

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

St Patrick's Day and a craft

I'm a little bit behind. I am just now posting St Patrick's Day.

Unfortunately, I was in Raleigh for the holiday so I left a little the girls little hair pieces and a craft to do. Miss Kim was sweet enough to paint the girls nails a pretty green- so no one got pinched.

Sand Dunes March 21st

Last Saturday was a beautiful day. So beautiful that Scott was prepared and planned a trip down to the Sand Dunes. Every trip they take, they have started taking a group picture to blow up and put in Mark's trailer. So, here's their picture for this trip. Gotta love those jerseys! Really, Trevor and Dave need to get with it and get their own. I'm thinking one needs blue and the other needs black.

I think Scott got some beautiful pictures this trip. Lately, he hasn't been taking many pictures and I wish he would. He's really very good.

Fun at the Park...

Saturday was such a beautiful day we had to get out and play. After ballet we went to the park and ate lunch. I loved that they were both comfortable in short sleeves. Jade has so much fun climbing all over the jungle gym and going down the slides. Ivy, on the other hand, isn't so fond of slides or climbing. It is so wonderful having the girls be so different...

and yet, so similar. When they are on the swing, they both have a wonderful time and smile constantly. Jade wants to swing as high as she can and Ivy's happy with just a little enough to feel the wind.

After we played at the park we headed up to the Haag's. Rick, one of the guys that I work with decided to throw a party for his 6 year old daughter. Rick had set up a race course- only two of them rode their bikes and the rest of them ran. He had also spray painted lines for dodge ball. The kids LOVED playing dodge ball. Although, I will say, 6 is a little young - they don't quite understand that they need to throw the ball at the kids not on their team. Oh, well, they had fun anyway. Rick had awards for the winners, drinks and snacks for the kids. I'm glad we were invited and glad we were able to go.

I'm glad Jade made some new friends. She didn't want to leave when it was time. Ivy hung closely by my side the whole time and enjoyed a Twinkie.

I Heart Kids

Check it out! I made the Top Ten in my first ever photo contest!

Tramps are too much fun...

We love warm Saturdays. Everyone got pink cheeks and had a blast. They were having a "camp out" on the tramp. All of them took out back packs and pillows. The kids wanted blankets but I didn't really want them taking that much stuff outside. During their "camp out" they drew, "napped" and had fruit snacks.

The little kids have a very hard time getting up on the tramp. They are just too short. Luckily, Jade is willing to play the role of step stool. Usually Ivy can do it on her own from Jade's back. On Saturday she was having a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure if she expected Lukie to do it all or what, but there was a lot of tugging and pulling to get her on.

Warm Saturdays are the best.

Baby Z- lost in the shuffle

A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for Baby Zachary's blessing, Kat had me take some pictures of the two of them. We had such a good time and I have the sweetest little nephew. I posted about the shoot on the photo blog but forgot to direct you there. Here are some, but check out more on Kat's site (here, here and here too) and Two Sanfords.

My Mac and Cheese

Oh, and I did this one too...

I submitted a couple of photos at I heart faces. Check em out. Also, check out the other entries.

You have to take care of stuff...

It is very important to help our kids learn that they have to take care of things when they are lucky enough to have them. For Jade, that means she has to help Scott take care of her four-wheeler. So, she had to put away the controller for Mario Kart (after completing a whole level by herself) and join Scott outside to clean the machines. She cleaned under it and behind it and made it sparkle. She ended up having a fun time.

While Jade was cleaning, Ivy was being goofy and playing around with me. She wasn't willing to pose for pictures but I did capture this one that I think is extremely adorable.

More of Jade's artwork...

Jade loves to draw before she goes to sleep. Here are some of the latest pictures she has done. I am so proud of her and her talent. I sure hope that she keeps it up because it is very fun to see her be excited about her progress. Plus I love checking out her sketch book every night while she is asleep.