We had a busy Spring, and our crazy schedule followed us right into Summer! On Friday I realized that we have not had one Saturday together as a family since April that we were not travelling, had company here, or Mike was working. Not one! We needed a family day! Usually this involves hiking, fishing, going on a picnic, or all of the above. The Metroparks around here are phenomenal and offer so many settings for family fun in nature. I choose a park we hadn't visited before, just 10-15 minutes from our house. Oh my gosh! It was awesome! Beautiful scenery, great trails, lots of fun rock formations for climbing, a lake for fishing, a spillway for wading and catching little water creatures like minnows and crayfish, we had a wonderful time. I'm disappointed that we just now found this spot. I know we'll be back often. The only downside? The raccoons. We ended up moving the picnic to our car. There were some bold (and apparently hungry) raccoons that raided our picnic. I managed to snap a picture of one on our way down the trail.
Here are the pictures from our sunny Saturday:
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ava's First Dance Recital
Ava had her first dance recital this weekend after nearly a year of Kinderdance (ballet based beginning dance instruction). It was a full weekend for our tiny dancer. Rehearsal Saturday morning at 9 am followed by her first performance Saturday night at 7 pm and one final matinee on Sunday at 2. Nevermind that the little ballerinas had to be at each 3 hour performance a full hour before the show began in full make up. I'm sure it's just because I'm new to this, but it seemed a bit much to me. Not that Ava minded. She had a blast getting all dressed up and playing with her little friends. She did a beautiful job on-stage too, but I can't show you that footage. No video taping allowed. We had to buy the $32 DVD from the dance studio. I did take lots of pictures. When I asked Ava what she thought about the recital and asked if she had fun she replied, "Well, it was kinda boring. I think I better tap dance next year." Oh boy! Tap shoes on our ceramic tile. I'm SO excited!
Here are the pictures:
Here are the pictures:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Girls Day Out
The weather has been just perfect for the last couple of days. But the forecast predicts storms for the rest of the week. I decided to take yesterday and today off from our usual "To Do" list and spend some quality time wallowing in summertime bliss with the girls. Carpe Diem! On Monday we headed out to the West Side Market. I told the girls we were going "out". Minutes later, Emily emerged "ready" for the day wearing Ava's shoes. Not bad...they were even on the correct feet. She's in that stage where she wants to dress herself. She's also in the stage that constitutes making a seriously cheesy face when you pull out a camera. Her "cheese" face is a little Quasimodo. You'll grow to recognize it in each and every picture. She looks like she's winking.
My original plan was to hit the market and then head for one of the Metroparks and have lunch and go for a hike before naptime. I packed a cooler for lunch and we all slapped on our hiking shoes. Then I remembered that the zoo is right next to the market and that it's free on Mondays. Perfect. We could lunch at the zoo and then Ava could pick three or four exhibits to see before we headed home for Emily's nap. I shouldn't have told her the plan. Once it's out there, you can't take it back. Apparently free Monday at the zoo is absolutely crazy when school is out. Compounding the problem, the main road to the zoo is closed...under construction. It took us TWO WHOLE HOURS to make the usual 10 minute trip to the zoo. We were grid-locked. It kinda stunk. The girls were awesome. We had lunch in the car. We jammed to that great Cleveland rock n' roll on the radio. And once we got to the zoo, it was already naptime. No rush to get home now. We had a lovely time. A new dinosaur exhibit is open. It's kind of like walking through Jurassic Park. The dinosaurs are animated. The girls loved it. I didn't take pics of the rest of the zoo, but I did capture Ava and Emily exploring the dinosaur exhibit.
My original plan was to hit the market and then head for one of the Metroparks and have lunch and go for a hike before naptime. I packed a cooler for lunch and we all slapped on our hiking shoes. Then I remembered that the zoo is right next to the market and that it's free on Mondays. Perfect. We could lunch at the zoo and then Ava could pick three or four exhibits to see before we headed home for Emily's nap. I shouldn't have told her the plan. Once it's out there, you can't take it back. Apparently free Monday at the zoo is absolutely crazy when school is out. Compounding the problem, the main road to the zoo is closed...under construction. It took us TWO WHOLE HOURS to make the usual 10 minute trip to the zoo. We were grid-locked. It kinda stunk. The girls were awesome. We had lunch in the car. We jammed to that great Cleveland rock n' roll on the radio. And once we got to the zoo, it was already naptime. No rush to get home now. We had a lovely time. A new dinosaur exhibit is open. It's kind of like walking through Jurassic Park. The dinosaurs are animated. The girls loved it. I didn't take pics of the rest of the zoo, but I did capture Ava and Emily exploring the dinosaur exhibit.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Summer Update
It's been about a month since I've updated here. Summer is always busy, with lots of fun places to go and things to do. We were away for the last two weekends in May. Memorial Day weekend we headed back to Indy. I threw a small baby shower, we went to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's annual Indy 500 party, we spent a nice relaxing day on the lake, obtained a new swing set, and the girls went up to my parent's house to be in a parade. I didn't have my camera handy for any of it. Ooops. I did get some footage of Ava going down the waterslide at Mike's parent's house. That's about it. I guess I've gotten too comfortable with leaving my camera in the kitchen. Occupational hazard.
The last weekend in May, Mike's parent's came to our house to watch the girls and we road tripped to D.C. with our friends Brandon and Amy for one of my sorority sister's wedding. We were gone for a couple of days and then home again for long enough for me to un-pack and re-pack the suitcases (3 days). Then we were off again for Indiana for the Relay for Life. You can see more details from the Relay on Krista's Kitchen. We returned home on Sunday night and we've finally enjoyed a full week at home! Yay! So nice to be home again. We're loving the nice weather and spending lots of time in our back yard, which is like a nature preserve, by the way. Tons of birds, bunnies, and squirrels, chipmunks, etc. There's always some form of wildlife to watch from our breakfast table. We've been busy with playdates this week and just getting back to life as usual.
Here are some pictures and random video from the past month:
The last weekend in May, Mike's parent's came to our house to watch the girls and we road tripped to D.C. with our friends Brandon and Amy for one of my sorority sister's wedding. We were gone for a couple of days and then home again for long enough for me to un-pack and re-pack the suitcases (3 days). Then we were off again for Indiana for the Relay for Life. You can see more details from the Relay on Krista's Kitchen. We returned home on Sunday night and we've finally enjoyed a full week at home! Yay! So nice to be home again. We're loving the nice weather and spending lots of time in our back yard, which is like a nature preserve, by the way. Tons of birds, bunnies, and squirrels, chipmunks, etc. There's always some form of wildlife to watch from our breakfast table. We've been busy with playdates this week and just getting back to life as usual.
Here are some pictures and random video from the past month:
Friday, May 15, 2009
In case you're wondering....
If your 16 month old can handle a drive thru ice cream cone in the car...
The answer is: not really.
Ava was having fun too. Kept jumping in front of my camera and laughing at me. Silly girl.
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The answer is: not really.
Ava was having fun too. Kept jumping in front of my camera and laughing at me. Silly girl.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Happy Mother's Day and Pictures from Our Weekend
Happy Mother's Day!
Here is the card and the gift that Ava made for me for Mother's Day. So cute! I even got breakfast in bed this morning- an Egg McMuffin and flowers to start my day.
Yesterday we played in the yard and planted some flowers. Or I should say, I planted flowers, Ava dug through the soil and hunted for worms for her "farm" and Emily sampled rocks, dandeloins, and mulch to see which tasted the best. Still, a good time was had by all! The montage below has some pictures and video clips from our day.
Here is the card and the gift that Ava made for me for Mother's Day. So cute! I even got breakfast in bed this morning- an Egg McMuffin and flowers to start my day.
Yesterday we played in the yard and planted some flowers. Or I should say, I planted flowers, Ava dug through the soil and hunted for worms for her "farm" and Emily sampled rocks, dandeloins, and mulch to see which tasted the best. Still, a good time was had by all! The montage below has some pictures and video clips from our day.
Ava's Spring Pre-School Program
This week will be Ava's last week of school until August. You may remember her first day, it sure doesn't seem like 9 months ago! She loves to learn and it was exciting to see all of the new concepts and ideas forming in her little mind this year. Some of the children in her class will be moving on to kindegarten next year, so the class participated in a graduation program. Ava will be attending a pre-kindergarten class for 5 year olds in the fall. Her birthday is 10 days before the cut-off. Which means that she'd still be 4 when the school year begins. Mike and I have agreed to have her wait another year. This way she'll be one of the oldest in her class, rather than the youngest, and I will get another year with my baby (who's not so much of a baby anymore)! Mike took some pictures of the program. I am sorry to say that I missed the whole thing. I got stuck at home with a flu bug. Thank goodness for the digital camera! You can check out Ava's big night below.
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