Family Love and Sister Secrets

 My two girls love to tell secrets to each other and it always makes them giggle.  I'm not sure what they tell each other, but I hope they always stay this close.  I hope they always have that sister bond.  I hope they always giggle together.  There's nothing sweeter.  Nothing.

 Yesterday was my birthday and Abby made me a card.  She worked so hard on it.  She was more excited to give me the card than the present.  She read it to me and was so proud.  The front cover was adorable, but the inside stole my heart.  She created this saying all by herself.  This one came from her heart.  And I love you Abby!  You are the beautiful sunshine to me!!

Rain can't keep us away!

 Today we headed to Tulip Time's final parade.  It had rained all morning and I was glued to the radar online watching the weather.  I really wanted to make it to the parade, but the weather was putting a damper on everything.  Finally the decision was made, let's go anyway.  If we get wet, we get wet.  So I pulled out the wagon and loaded the van (with kids, snacks, chairs, blankets, etc) But, then the rain stopped!  It was awesome.  We met up with our friends Beth and Kim and off we went.  We had a great time! This first picture makes me laugh out loud because none of the five kids are even looking at the camera.  But at least they're all sitting down and Grace hasn't gotten away yet. 

 Abby oohed and aahed over every float that had any "pink" on it.  It was so fun to watch her get so excited about the glittery ones.  She also loved the horses and the bands, both of which had plenty in the parade.

 Grace decided to spend her time making as many friends as she could as well as hijacking everyone else's water bottles, cookies, goldfish....you name it, she wanted it.  Silly girl!

I love this picture because Abby and Levi are waving to the parade goers and you can even see Nyah's hand in the corner also waving.  Too cute!

The ABC Rap

I love the fact that Abby goes to school with me!  I get to see all of her little moments and peek in on her during the day. I run into her in the hallways and kiss her when I catch her at the drinking fountain.  I get to see her so much since we're together all day and I LOVE IT! 
Last Friday Abby's kindergarten class was singing at our all school assembly.  I did get video of it, but didn't want to bore all of you with the song so I just uploaded a picture of her.  She's the cutest one there! She had the motions down and all the words to The ABC Rap.  It was so cute and I didn't have to miss work to come and see her.  We go to school together. 

And she's off!

Today we had a half day of school due to all the Tulip Time festivities.  After Grace had her nap we all headed outside for some play time.  Abby asked if she could ride her two wheeler bike.  At first I said no because I was wearing a skirt and the wrong shoes to run after her and teach her how to ride.  She begged and I said, "Ok, but only one time."  Well, one time is all it took!  Seriously, I didn't have to run behind her at all.  This girl is a born biker!  I held the bike and balanced it while she got her feet set and off she went.  After 10 minutes she was hooked and enjoying it all by herself.  She even goes down the driveway and all around the cul-de-sac.  The training wheels are being put away, I now have a bike rider!  So proud of you Abby!!

Tulip Time Fun!

It's Tulip Time!  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  The flowers are beautiful.  The weather is warmer.  The parades are fun.  The school year is almost done.  Ahh....Tulip Time! Every year we head downtown for a night with the Dutch dancers and some fried junk food.  Last night was that night.  It was beautiful and oh so much fun!  

Both girls have costumes (my mom made Grace a new one and it's adorable!!!) so I wanted to get the annual tulip picture.  Abby was more than happy to cooperate, but Grace was a different story.  There was no "sit" in that girl and it took everything I had to get this picture.  She was just too interested in everything else going on downtown.   

 

But I did snag this cute one of Grace.  I just love her costume.  The colors are perfect on her.  As she walked closer to the tulips I worried that she was going to pick one and there's a $100 fine for the picking of tulips.  We quickly diverted her and she gained interest in the sticks on the ground rather than the flowers.  Catastrophe avoided!

 When I asked Abby what color flower she wanted to start with, she quickly picked out the yellow ones.  She's right, this color is a great background for her.  What a cutie!

 Each Tulip Time also requires a feast on fried junk food.  This year brought cotton candy and elephant ears.  Grace didn't really like the cotton candy, but she loved the elephant ear! 

 Guess who chose the cotton candy and ate it by the handful!

 Abby entertained Grace by playing ring around the rosie.  What awesome sisters!

 We met lots of friends downtown.  It was such a great night and the dancers were performing at 7pm instead of 8pm so lots of friends came down too.  Here's Abby with Marcy, Leeza and Faith. 

Abby was "up" all night and loved every minute of it.  She giggled with friends, smiled at the camera, danced in the streets and ate lots of candy.  Grace tried hard to follow in her sister's footsteps, but quickly became tired and wanted momma's arms.  That's okay honey, they're always open for you to snuggle.

Graduation and Mother's Day

 We started the day with  Mother's Day on our minds.  After church the girls gave me my gift, complete with a homemade card (which was my favorite part!) and then we gave Nana our gifts.  Then it was out for lunch because no moms were cooking today.  This is a picture of my mom.  She the coolest mom ever!  Every daughter should be so blessed.  Seriously, this woman rocks!
After a quick, and I mean quick, nap we headed out to Hope for graduation.  We knew several people who were graduating and we were so excited to see them all.  It was a gorgeous afternoon and graduation was awesome. 

 Abby did get a little bored about halfway through the ceremony and ended up dancing in the aisle.  It was so fun to watch. She also sat with Papa and he entertained her with giggles and tickles.

 My cousin Peter graduated!!  Yeah!  We love you!

 Jessica graduated!! We love you too!

 We finally got a good picture of Steven and Abby.  Yeah!  Abby got into every picture.  What a cutie!

The whole gang with Jessie.  We love you!

Family Night Fun

 Tonight we had dinner with the best family ever. We've been friends with the "Z's" for...well, forever! They're in town for Jessica's graduation so we got together for a bar-b-que and a backyard campfire. It was (and always is) amazing.




Abby wanted to take a picture of her with Steven.  Don't you think it's funny that all you see is Abby's face with just a little of Steven?  She likes to be in the spotlight.

 Grace was happy all night long.  She was also into everything all night.  She loved playing in the bird bath and was drenched by the end of the night.

 Watch out world!  Are you ready for this girl??

 Yep, that's Grace sitting outside with her food alone.  I got her all set while everyone was filling their plates and the poor girl sat alone for a few minutes.  Good thing she giggled about it. 

 Playing tag and running around with Jessie!  Woohoo!

We ended the night with smores and a campfire.  Yep.  Another great night with family!