Playing in the Rain

We haven't had a lot of snow this winter, but we have had a lot of rain.

The other day the kids just had to get out and play in it - they looked so cute, and they had a great time!

Here's Cole and his best buddy at their Valentine's Day party.  I told her mom that this could be their engagement picture - they're so cute!

Airband 2015

Each year in the winter the kids' school has "Airband," where the students pick songs, and create dances, lip syncs, etc. to go along with it.

This year Laine was in a group that did "So Long Farewell" from The Sound of Music.

And Mead was with other kindergarten girls who sang "Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath."

Cole is still too young to participate, and he is surprisingly shy, so I don't know when/if he'll make it up on stage.  For now he's content just sitting in the aisle and watching.

All the girls borrowed dresses that one of the moms had saved from when she was a little girl.  Pretty amazing - they all looked so cute!

Mead had such a fun time doing her song - her gregarious personality totally shined.  What a fun opportunity for them!

100th Day Celebration

I don't remember doing this as a kid, but nowadays, celebrating the 100th day of school is a REALLY big deal for kindergarteners.  It has to do with the math curriculum - counting up to 100, counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, learning days of the week, months of the year, seasons, etc.

So all year long the kids look forward to the 100th day of school, and at our school they have to make a 100th day project.

Knowing this would be coming up, Mead (and I) decided to show off the Perler Bead collection that has been accumulating around our house over the past few years.

At the beginning of the year we were already up to about 70 Perler Bead creations, so we "only" had to add about 30 more.  Honestly, this is really one of Laine's favorite things to do, so most of the really ornate ones had already been made by her from years past.

The whole family pitched in the make the remaining 30 pieces - it was kind of fun to see the different ideas that everyone came up with, including a Perler Bead Pac-Man that Penny made.

Mead had a great time showing off her 100 Perler Bead pieces, and the rest of us had a good time coming to visit the classroom and see all the other 100 day projects her friends did too.

Father/Daughter Dance

This past weekend was the Father/Daughter dance at the girls' school.

This is the third year Penny has taken at least one of the girls, and every year they enjoy it a little more.

The girls love hanging out with their friends, but this year they also made sure to dance with Daddy too!

And I love the crazy pictures they bring home from the photo booth.

Cole, not wanting to be overshadowed with the girly-ness of the evening, decided to bare his chest and be manly.  So silly!

Smile!

Friday mornings are my special time with Mead, and this past week she asked if I would take her to the Magic House.

We always love our time at the Magic House, and it was especially fun to watch Mead navigate her way through the museum without having to stop to let her siblings play with something else.  She even got a complimentary treat since it was her birthday week!

Love these smiles - everyone is getting so big!

Here's Cole and friends, so proud of their latest block creation at school.

Happy Birthday Mead!

As is our tradition, Mead started her birthday morning with cinnamon rolls.  Since it was a school day, we had to get everyone up and going quickly in order to have time to eat and open presents before morning drop-off.

I just have to say that it has been such a joy for me lately to see and hear Mead talk about her love for Jesus.  She prays the sweetest prayers: for family members, for friends, with thanks for Jesus dying on the cross, and whatever else she is learning.  I know that only God can change hearts, and I am super encouraged about the ways I see Him working in her heart.  What a rich blessing to me as her mom!

Okay, back to her birthday: Mead's big gift was her American Girl doll, Grace.  She's been saving her money for a LONG time - we helped her out along the way, but she's been super patient.

And she stopped sucking her thumb, so that earned her a few extra bucks too.  A new doll and no more dry, cracked thumb or destruction of her upper palate - what a bonus!

Happy Birthday, Mead!  You are a treasure.

Mead's birthday party

Mead turned 6 today, and yesterday everyone had the day off school for MLK, so it seemed the perfect time to have a birthday party.  

This was not a "big party" year for Mead, so we kept it simple and invited a few friends, stayed in pajamas, and watched a movie in the morning.

Then we had pizza and cake for lunch.

Penny wowed us with his baking skills again - Mead requested his popular chocolate peanut butter cake with Reese's Pieces on the sides and chocolate ganache on top.  He even made a stencil and spread crushed Reese's on top in the shape of an M.

Yes, the cake was as delicious as it sounds!

Mead opened presents after cake, and then the girls had some play time.

Of course there was silly time too - they wanted a picture together with their penguins from school.