One Year of Preschool Under Our Belts

Where does time go?  I can't believe that Ava and Reese had their last day of preschool Thursday.  They had such a wonderful year, always asking "Is tomorrow school?"  Their teachers were awesome and both girls really showed growth in multiple ways...socially, academically, etc.  While just going on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year, they will get to go all five days of the week next year.  It will still be just mornings but they will LOVE getting to go every day!

Taking a picture of Ava and Reese on the last day of school with their teachers prompted me to look back at the pictures from the first day of school.  It might just be my "mommy glasses" but haven't they lost their baby faces?!  Oh how I'll miss those baby faces.



First day of preschool...

Last day of preschool...

Center of Attention

There are pros and cons to almost everything.  Having grandparents that live 6 hours away has its drawbacks but the biggest perk is that when they visit the grandkids are the center of attention.  That is exactly how it played out when Nana and Pappy came to visit last weekend...

Playing in the back yard...

Building with the new Lincoln Logs Nana and Pappy bought...

Everyone needs a clown nose....

Along with big red lips...

Brushing teeth in Nana's shower cap...

A little baking...

Stacking and making words with scrabble letters...

Adventures on the trail in our neighborhood...

Outdoor time with sidewalk chalk...

Balance bike time...

Putting on performances...

And don't forget Cosmic Jump...

And then Nana and Pappy's car pulls away and it's back to reality!  (Don't worry...the girls don't have it too hard!)

Easter

For Easter weekend we had Grammy and Larry visit.  Of course any time Grammy and Larry come it means a trip to IHOP and Bass Pro.  Not only did we see the Easter Bunny at Bass Pro, we also checked out the boats and four-wheelers!  Easter Sunday was celebrated at church, focused on the real meaning of Easter and being thankful for Jesus dying on the cross for all of us and for God's power in showing how a man who was dead for three days can live again.  Truly awesome.

This past Saturday our family also had the opportunity to pack food for the hungry through a service day at our church.  This dehydrated food will be used to feed individuals right here in Kansas City and in Africa.  It was a wonderful experience.  And let me add, the girls really pulled off the look of hairnets and aprons!

Little Work, Lotta Play

Zack and I are strong believers of living each day to it's fullest.  So I guess that means we make sure things get done around here but then we make plenty of time for fun!

As much as I hate to see how fast the girls are growing up...this is one of the perks!  They can share some of the cleaning responsibilities =)

We also make sure the vegetables get eaten.  Reese is typically better at this than Ava (unless it's green beans or carrots) but Ava gets the job done, even if it means putting cottage cheese on her broccoli to get it down!  I'm sure she'll be trying this out on brussels sprouts, squash, and asparagus soon too.

And now to the fun...

Michelle came to our house to visit.  We always used to see her when the Southards lived next door because she was friends of theirs but now we don't see her as often.  The girls loved the attention!

We also went to the Spring Fest that Indian Creek Community Church (where the girls go to preschool) held last Saturday.  We took our friends Delaney and Harper too!

And finally, we had a family picnic in the family room and watched a movie together.  Gotta love picnics with Chinese takeout!

A Weekend in Eureka Springs

This past weekend we headed south to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  Since Zack and I don't have a spring break that matches up we decided on a little weekend getaway.  We had never been to Arkansas so this was a first for us.  There was rain on Friday and the first half of Saturday but we didn't let it ruin the weekend.  We enjoyed time in our "Treehouse" as the property was called, hiking around trails in town to look at a couple of the springs, taking in the St. Patrick's Day parade, visiting Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and going for a hike around Leatherwood Lake.  Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is home to over 100 lions, tigers, cougars, bears, etc.  These animals are mostly ones that people purchased as baby animals as pets and then decided they couldn't keep them.  Once the refuge takes them in, they spend the rest of their lives there.  It was a pretty cool place to see these animals up close and personal.  And as you can see, we also found some yummy treats and had a couple picnics.