Anniversary #9

Yesterday was our ninth anniversary and I found a yummy truffle waiting for me in the fridge at breakfast. Later in the day the doorbell rang and I opened the door to find roses and donuts sitting on the welcome mat. A wonderful welcome indeed.


M has been working long hours for the past week and a half so we decided to stay home instead of heading out on the town. We took the girls to a local school playground and had fun running around. After a dinner of left over pizza, we watched some Burn Notice off the dvd that came from Netflix this week. We opened our gifts in bed before dropping instantly off to sleep.
M has been experimenting with donut making lately, so I got him a donut cutter and a recipe book. It looks like there will be some tasty treats coming out of it. He got me a book light for my kindle so I can read in bed at night and not disturb his sleep.
We had a very relaxing evening together. I can't believe we have been married for nine years, but it has been the best nine years of my life. I wouldn't give up what we have for anything. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing man in my life. Happy Anniversary, babe. I love you!

Father's Day Weekend

I went out of town this weekend to enjoy some spa time with my aunt and our friend Sue. While I was gone, M spent some fun quality time with the girls. On Thursday evening they camped out in our new tent in the back yard. M said that they didn't get to sleep until quite late because they kept touching each other and whining about it. But they did sleep in the next morning.

M took the girls on lots of bike rides, one of which was a 4 mile ride. K is getting really good at riding her bike, however she did fall off once this weekend. She ended up with a bloody nose and a busted lip. After crying for a while she was able to get back on her bike and go home to get cleaned up. I am happy to report that she is still enamored with her bike and has gone on a few rides since then.
On Sunday the girls enjoyed playing with daddy and goofing around. They made pigs in blankets for lunch to go with fruit salad and fresh veggies. We gave daddy his father's day gifts: two nice t-shirts that the girls picked out, new tongs to replace our broken ones, and a framed picture of their hands for our bedroom. My aunt helped me with the vinyl and I think it turned out very cute.


It was a wonderful day full of love and fun. M is an amazing father who has great patience and love for his girls. He's always willing to take them for walks, bike rides and to play with them at the park. We are so lucky to have such an amazing father and husband in our lives. Happy Father's Day, babe. You are the rock our family clings to and we love you.

Kindergarten Celebration

K had her last day as a kindergartner today. The parents were invited to a musical program put on by the a.m. and p.m. classes. They have been learning about the ocean and it's inhabitants during the last six weeks of school and all their songs were fishy songs. They also had a slide show of pictures taken throughout the year. We will be getting one of those in the mail for our keepsake.

K had a speaking part and she did very well; she spoke clear and loud.

At the end of the performance they handed out wrapped gifts for the kids. They were books with pictures of them throughout the year. There was also a class picture with a place on the back for autographs.

Here is K with her teacher Mrs. R, she loved her teacher.

With her favorite class assistant Mrs. B.

And with the other assistant, Mrs. M.

This has been a wonderful year for K. She has made lots of friends and enjoyed being in a classroom setting again. She is looking forward to being in first grade next year and going all day long. I have really liked getting to know her teachers and hope her teacher next year is just as great. I am excited to help out in the classroom again, too. It was fun to help out the teachers and get to know the students in K's class. If you are able to, I definitely recommend it.

Congratulations, K! You are officially a first grader!

A Field Trip and Jog-a-thon

K got to go to the aquarium with her kindergarten class on Thursday. I volunteered, along with 10 others, as a chaperon for the 47 kindergartners going on the trip. We arrived at the school at 7 in the morning for debriefing and organizing. We loaded up the bus and headed for the coast at 8 am. It was a long, loud trip and I forgot that I get carsick on buses. Luckily I wasn't the only one and we were able to open up some windows for fresh air.

We arrived at the aquarium at 11am and split off into our groups to explore the animals. I had K and two of her friends from school. They were well-behaved and so excited to see all the different types of animals. I was surprised to learn that a lot of the kids in her class had never been to the aquarium before. My group's favorite thing was the tide pool. They got to touch sea stars, sea anemone and sea urchins.

At 12:15 we all met at the bus to get our lunches and eat under a covered area near the parking lot. I was shocked by some of the lunches the kids had, others looked pretty good. After lunch we packed back into the bus and headed to a spot on the beach where the kids could play in the sand. Since it was such a cold and rainy day, we only stayed for 45 minutes before heading back to the school. We arrived safely back to the lot at 4:30 and I was very happy to get off the bus and head to my relatively quiet home. I went to bed early that evening.
Here are the craft projects K has been working on at school. Each week they would learn about different types of marine life and then make one with paper and paint. She made a sea star, a sting ray, a sea urchin, a crab, a sea otter, a jelly fish and an underwater scene with chalk and stamps. She also made a shark. She asked her teacher if she could make a leopard shark. I think she did a wonderful job on it.
On Friday K had her very first jog-a-thon for school. She did a great job running 9 laps around a 1/8 mile track in 20 minutes. She was sponsored by both grandmas, auntie and her parents. She had a fun time raising the money for her school.

A Trip to Bahmah's and a Relaxing Weekend

The girls always love going for a visit to Bahmah's house; it's like going to camp. They ride horses and ATV's, go for walks around the property, play on the swing-set, entertain the cats and dogs, play games with uncle Luke, and help cook meals.

Going for a walk.

Playing with Uncle Luke and his girlfriend Hannah.

Piggyback rides are the best!

L has been learning how to steer the ATV the past few times
she's gone to visit. Looks like she is getting pretty good.

Watering and petting Red.

L got to have her first horseback ride on Red this weekend.
Bahmah said, "She wasn't at all frightened.
She rode with flair and had a good time."

K loves riding her horse. I think at some point we may need
to get her riding lessons on a regular basis.
She said she got to brush her when they were done.

While the girls were at Bahmah's we had a nice weekend together. We went shopping on Friday afternoon and got M some new boots, which I think he looks hot in. We also got some summer clothes on clearance at the outlet mall for the girls.
On Saturday we got up at 5:30 and went for a jog together. We sanded and stained our deck chairs in an attempt to get ready for summer weather which should be arriving any day now. M also mowed the lawn while I pulled weeds in our front yard.
After feeling like we met our work quota for the day, we headed to Saturday market where M bought me these sparkly earrings. If you are needing pretty earrings, it's the place to be. There were at least five booths dedicated to earrings which made it so hard to choose one set.
We bummed around the rest of the afternoon and went to The Vintage for dinner. I have been there before and thought it was amazing. Now I am wondering if it was because it took 90 minutes for us to get a table and I was famished. I wasn't as impressed the second time around. We got the Pepper Jack fondue and were very unsatisfied, which is hard for M since he is such a cheese lover. We paid our inflated bill and headed to Chili's for appetizers which were much more filling and tasty. Guess that kind of tells where our taste buds are on food. Anyway, we ended our night with watching I Am Number Four Blue-Ray edition from Redbox. We both really liked the movie and are hoping for a sequel.