Doing what we love and loving what we do...: May 2011

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Dancing Queen...

Last weekend, Harper had her end of the year Dance Recital. This was something she had been practicing for since the Chirstmas Show. This semester, they combined two company classes and the KinderDance kids did ballet, jazz and tap! That seemed like a lot for 5 and 6 year olds...but they did an amazing job! Harper was most excited about her costume this year. She was excited that it was sparkly, had a skirt, pants and tutu...and most importantly...that it came with a big pink feathery flower for her to wear in her. We all had so much fun watching her recital and were so proud of the excellent performance. Way to go Harps!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mother's Day...Zoo!

The Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, we loaded up the fam and headed to the Zoo for the first time this season. I love that they are open on Saturday evenings until 8 pm. It is so much cooler, not a soul is there and the animals are all out! Well...most of them, we went specifically to see the new baby elephant but it was already put up for the night.

We had a great time looking at all of the animals and it was great to see how much more Owen enjoyed it this year. It was a gorgeous evening and a great Mother's Day!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Big Race!

I should have posted this sooner, so you knew that I survived...but I made it through my first half-marathon. Our (what I would call amateur) running group set out at 5:30 am to get in the "chute" for the race. After we were dropped off downtown...it started raining...pouring...blowing wind and rain! They delayed the race until 7:00 am and we had to sit under the closest awning we could find for almost an hour. Eventually it was time to line up...by this time we were freezing, a little damp but still ready to run. We ended up getting behind a bunch of slow starters & walkers, but we eventually snaked our way through by mile 3. It must have been adrenaline that got me through...or my running buddy...because I was absolutely freezing and soaked to the core by about mile 6. But then, I got to see my kiddos cheering for me from the sidelines...totally made it worth it. We made a short potty stop at mile 10...and found the finish line in 2 hours 25 minutes and 43 seconds. Let's just say...my goal was 2 and a half hours and in the 42 degree freezing cold rain...I was pretty excited. Gotta find a new race soon to keep me motivated!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Harper's Camping Party

Ever since we made s'mores last fall...Harper has been telling me she wanted to have a Camping Birthday Party. Well, I knew spending the night was out of the question for a bunch of five and six year olds, so we had to improvise.

We hosted Camp S'More at our house on a Friday evening for six extremely energetic little girls! They had an absolute blast. We made pine cone bird feeders, beaded necklaces, sat around the "campfire", made and ate pizza packets, concocted their own trail mix, danced to some tunes and of course...made yummy s'mores! There was not a single one of those girls that didn't finish off every last bite of their s'more. They loved them!

I think the girls' favorite part of the night was dancing to the tunes on Harper's ipod. Richard had set up for them to watch a movie outside...but it didn't get quite dark enough in time. Instead he hooked up the ipod to the speakers and the girls jammed to some Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. It was a gorgeous evening and we all had a ton of fun at Camp S'more!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Toy Story Birthday!

Owen is an avid Toy Story Fan...so it was a must that his birthday party must follow suit. In grand tradition...because Harper says it wouldn't be a b-day party without it...we rented a moonbounce. It was super easy to decorate...I just gathered up all of the Toy Story memorabilia and placed it around the house. Of course, I got some decorating help from various blogs on the internet too...blog-lifting...Great!!!

The kids had a ton of fun jumping and sliding and running around playing chase. Uncle Cole did more entertaining than the moonbounce! :) It was a little bit chilly at first...but it turned out to be a pretty nice day!

Owen loved opening his presents. He wanted to stop and play with every single one. He thought they were all so cool. I believe his favorite present of the day was the pedal tractor that Richard, Harper and I got for him. He was ecstatic...he even ate his b-day cupcake on it!

Overall...it was a great day with friends and family!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Happy Easter!

We had a fantastic, fun-filled Easter weekend. It was a little bit chilly, but we still had a ton of egg-citement. We started the weekend with the city Easter egg hunt. It was the first year Owen could walk...last year he was just crawling and he was a pro. He was double-fisting it, picking up two eggs at a time. We stopped when his basket got full, so the other kids could get some eggs. Harper had her most successful egg hunt yet. She was aggressive and didn't get overwhelmed by the crowds. She had a strategy, run to the back of the grassy area first before the rest of the kids got there...It worked!

Easter morning was a success as well. Both kids were so excited to see the goodies that the Easter Bunny left for them. The best surprise for each of them was...of course...the Chocolate Bunny!

Easter Morning Mass was wonderful. Perfect weather, beautifully decorated church and celebrating with family! Harper picked out her Easter dress this year and decided on a white tea length dress. She was most intrigued by the hats she had seen at Dillard's. She asked for awhile and I finally caved in to get her a hat/headband that fit her much better. It was very Kate Middleton-ish and was super cute. She was so proud of her "hat". Owen looked like he could have been sailing on Gilligan's Island and was so proud of his snap-on tie! :)

Easter lunch was so yummy and it felt good to get to spend some relaxing time with family. Harper and Owen got to go on a massive Easter egg hunt inside...because it finally rained! They had the help of cousin Kyle and his girlfriend. Don't worry, they got a cute of the profit also!