MAY MOMENTS

THE LAST FEW WEEKS

Well sheesh.  And just like that, May is gone!
I don't know how this month always sneaks away from me so quickly.  Busy month for us I guess.  Despite the lack of updates, we did do some stuff.  Lets talk about it in a mega-post of mini posts!

*warning: it's a dense update.  You may want to consider grabbing a snack before you start, and possibly plan for a potty break


MOM HAD A BIRTHDAY:

The big 29.
Yes it's true, I'm officially into my last year of 20's.  
And I'm officially loved!  My wonderful friends and adorable little family made my day 100% amazing.  I got treated to lunch (twice!), I was given some amazing cupcakes, my kids were whisked away for play dates so I could sit in bubble baths, and I had steak and shrimp and watched my girls eat a pound of peanuts at "the peanut store" (Texas Roadhouse).  Happy Birthday to me! 

MOANA MOVIE NIGHT: 

Several months ago we took the girls to the cheap theater to see the new Disney movie, Moana.  They loved it, and Tim and I really liked it, and we all got caught up in the fun of a family outing, and how dang cute it was to listen to the girls sing all the songs for days and days, so we bought it!... 

And then I was really bothered for some reason by the idea of the girls just getting something like a new movie for nothing.  So, I decided to make them earn it, and we made a chart.  

Their little car moved forward when they were good fast listeners, or when they got their chores done, or when they were kind to each other and peacemakers in our home, or when they were reverent at church, or good at the store... you get the idea.  When those things didn't happen, the car would move back.  And that was a bummer.  Brinlee has had similar systems and was really excited about it.  Mckenna though didn't quite get it, and so she really kind of made it rough.

But, after a LOT of patience and hard work, they finally got there! 
So we did a mega family movie night.  They drove to the "movie theater" (our living room), and I gave them each some fake money, and set up some movie tickets and popcorn and treats for them to "buy", then they had to give their tickets to the person to get ripped in half, and then we all sat and enjoyed the movie together.  It was just as good the second time, and the girls were in love with the whole thing!  Not a bad little evening.

THE KINDERGARTENER IS HERE: 

A couple Saturdays ago I took this little goon downtown for her "kick-off to kindergarten" day!

She was beyond excited.  And, even though I am in denial about this whole kindergarten business, I have to admit it was actually really really fun!  It was put on by the Columbus school district, so it wasn't at her school.  We will get to go walk through Winterset and her classroom and all of that later on.  But they put on a really exciting day for those little soon-to-be kindergarteners.

There were bouncy houses, crafts, field-day games (like the classic colorful parachute with bouncy balls, my favorite!), rescue vehicles to see, school buses to climb into, teachers to talk to, they went through a lunch line and were served a little school lunch in a real cafeteria, and the whole time all the people there were just oogling over those kids and telling them how awesome they are!  Our little lady just beamed ear to ear the entire time!

She made it back home with all kinds of goodies that she could not wait to show Tim.  As soon as we got home, she burst through the door and yelled out a very excited "Dad! The kindergartener is HERE!!!"

Mercy.  I really can NOT believe we are getting ready for all of this stuff! My little emotional cup very easily overflows when I do much thinking about it.  But oh boy is she excited!  And honestly, I suppose I am too.  She is going to do so great, 

and she is going to LOVE it!  

MOMMY'S DAY:

For Mother's Day this year we attempted to get a good picture of me and the girls...
we took several (read: we took way more pictures than a person should ever take at one time), and we only ended up with a few fairly decent ones.  These girls are tough picture takers!  But if you look at them all and then kind of merge them together in your head, you do end up with a pretty awesome photo.  So here they all are.  Have fun merging!

I sure do love being mommy to these blonde little angel babies.  They are my whole world!

IT'S A FAMILY THING:

We have been so blessed to find a family-away-from-family here in Ohio, and particularly lately I have been feeling just how lucky we are to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.  We are seeing each other through a lot, and I just can't imagine a better group to be doing all of this with.  Love this crew!

FAIRY HOUSE:

Remember that little gingerbread house kit that you got back in December that you stashed away in the cupboard and completely forgot about?
Well who says you can't build it in May?
And who says you can't go through your craft drawers and spiff it up in a little nontraditional fashion?
And who says you can't call that gingerbread house a Fairy House instead?
And who says you can't put it outside? And build a flying fairy runway? And decorate that runway with flowers? And add some landscaping?  And a little plate of fake food? And a sign written in darling Pre-K handwriting that says "Fairies Welcome"?

I don't see any reasons why not to....
So we did!

WELCOME SUMEMR:

I hate to speak prematurely here, but we have been having some awesome, and very warm weather lately, and I find myself replacing what should probably still be the word "Spring" with the word "Summer"...  
In fact, we did the whole sunscreen and swimsuit routine a week or two ago and spent the afternoon at the splash pad!  It was bliss!  Slap my wrists if I'm jumping the gun, but I'm gonna do it anyway - 
Welcome Summer!  
We have big plans for you!

THERE'S NO AGE LIKE 5:

Remember a few weeks ago when Brinlee turned 5?
Well, she's just so dang cute, and she has such a fun little group of friends, and I'm always up for an excuse to eat food and chat with my mommy friends, and heaven knows I love birthdays!, and the weather has been so amazing...
Kind of a dangerous combo.
In fact Tim's exact words were "You failed again to plan a simple little party".

Oops.
But, meh.  Oh well!  It was fun anyway!

We've been stuck in the Land of Oz for quite some time now at our house.  Brinlee saw the movie a while ago and fell in love!  We are in the middle of reading the book right now with her, and we have been singing all the songs for weeks.  Which kind of just tickles me!  I am a big fan myself and have loved that she likes it so much.  Plus, it makes for a really fun, and really darling little birthday brunch!

And, as promised, without further ado, I give you, the Dorothy dress!

Seriously.  Be still my heart.  Isn't that just about the cutest thing you've ever seen?!
And she adores it!
Oh this girl. She really is great!

POTTY TIME PERHAPS?:

Oh yes, we have started testing the waters in the potty department with this little girlie.  So far she doesn't seem super interested.  But she also hasn't refused.  And she does hate getting her diaper changed these days, so... maybe soon!

SISTER SUNDAY:

Because you just never know when an indoor rainstorm might catch you by surprise and ruin your reading time with your sis.  You can't be too prepared!

SWEET NEW RIDES:

I know I've posted a handful of bike pictures already.  But we have been out on bikes literally every day since then, so I thought it might deserve a closer look.  Here she is!

Isn't she a beauty?
Brinlee and The Princess Bike had a pretty classic love/hate relationship for a while.  All she wanted to do was ride it, but she couldn't quite make it go like she wanted at first, and she had a couple spills.  But boy, she's gotten the hang of it now and that relationship is nothing but love!

Mckeena has been going out with Brinlee every day to ride bikes, and she was pretty dang happy on that little push-along bike.  See? 

Darling, obviously! But it became pretty clear pretty fast that she really was too big for that little thing.  So, we added another little wheeled friend to our summer-time-fun family.  

Introducing "Be-oo and Yay-yo and Red Bikle With the Peddlings"!

She loves her new bikle! Buutttt.... so far she is completely uninterested in those peddlings (peddles). She can't figure them out, but also doesn't really want to be helped.  So, she walks it along with her feet... just like the little push-along bike.
Oh well. At least she's having fun, right?

I don't think I'll mind if this is our whole summer.  Watching these girls ride around is fun!

OH LITTLE GARDEN:

A few weeks ago the girls and I went and picked out seeds, and we cleared out our little garden box, and they put on their darling little gardening gloves and helped me get some stuff planted, and we were all really excited!

And that very evening we peaked outside to take another look at our hard work, and all that was there were a bunch of holes!  Some animal had come and dug up all our seeds!

The girls were pretty crushed, and I was just irritated.
But we did get some stuff re-planted though, and look at what we have now!

We are a little late now getting going with a garden (not for lack of trying!), but our round two is so far so good!  Fingers crossed!

CLASSIEST POOL DAY EVER:

Did I mention that we're getting some really nice, warm weather?

And did I mention that our little kiddie pool died at the end of last summer?

Well, today we really could have used it! It was a really warm day, and the girls really wanted to be outside. But we were all just melting.  Luckily we have no shame and don't mind getting a little creative.  I ventured down to the basement and came back up with a few things I thought might work, and before we knew it, we had the makings of the oddest pool day ever.  But hey, it worked!  We stayed cool, and had a blast!

Oh, and had some Otter Pops.  That always makes things great!