Cute Cowgirls

Today was picture day at dance class.

That means full costume.  Hair done.  Make-up done.

The girls love having the make-up on.

Although, because of E's pink eye I didn't do any eye make-up on her.  There was no throwing out of make-up because of her pink eye.

Not that I wear so much make-up.

Luckily for hair, I didn't have to do too much.  I curled it a bit with the curling iron.

This year D&E are taking one jazz class.  And they are dancing to "Footloose".

Their costume is in the fashion of a cowgirl.   Hat, red/white gingham check, and red sequins.

A jazzed up cowgirl.  Perfect.

Cute cowgirls.

Yesterday I realized that I had not bought the tights that D&E need for their costume.

So today I had to go to the dance shop where we have to get the tights.  The store was running low on the particular kind of tights I needed--Capezio Light Suntan. Thankfully I went to buy 3 pairs and I did.

One pair each for D&E and a pair for S, their friend.

Because it was picture day for everyone who has classes on Monday(they do pics all week), it was quite crazy at the dance studio.  And the photographer was running behind.

Which meant there was a lot of waiting around for everyone.  A.lot.of.waiting.

Which also meant there was lots of times for the girls to catch snags on said tights.

And lots of times for me to make the threat that if there was a hole put in said tights, it would not be my money buying another pair of tights for recital.  It would most definitely be their own money buying a new pair of tights.

E ended up putting a very small hole in her tights.  I think I was able to save it from getting too big.  We shall see.  E may be coughing up $13 for a new pair right before recital.

They love the hats.  I think of all the costumes they've had, this one is near the top for my favorite.  My all-time favorite was last years' ballet costume.

Picture day always seems a wee bit stressful at the dance studio.  Glad we've got this years' done.  Now onto the recital.

potd #119.  Everybody cut footloose.

Windblown

After spending much of the last 3 days outside, I am feeling very windblown.

It was windy Friday on the field trip.

It was windy yesterday at lacrosse practice and softball.

It was windy today at the girls' lacrosse game.

Very windy.

It's been sunny.  And warm, when the wind is not blowing at umpteen miles per hour.

Hoping the winds slow down tomorrow.

After lacrosse and lunch, the girls went out with Hubby, my nephew, and my bil with their early birthday presents.

Hubby decided to get D&E kayaks.  For their June birthday.

So, very early presents.  And they have been very excited.

Hubby tying the kayaks on top of his car.  E was helping.

I have to say it looked a little sketchy.  But, it worked.

Excited E peeking through the bottom of the kayaks.

Hubby putting the finishing touches on the straps.

He just bought his kayak a couple weeks ago.

After my nephew, J, and my bil bought kayaks last summer, it was only a matter of time before Hubby bought his own.

Thank goodness for Craigslist.

Smiley E.  Even with pink eye.  She did great today at lacrosse and kayaking.  And then she was exhausted.

She showered and was ready for bed by about 7pm tonight.  She was one tired little girl tonight.

Happy and tired.  Just the way kids should be on a Sunday night after a great weekend.

D was not far behind her.

It sure was a busy weekend.

Lots of great things.

Lacrosse. Softball.  Bunco.  Friends over Friday night.  Celebrating my niece, K's 18th birthday last night at Sissys' with yummy dinner and fabulous bday cake. Lacrosse game with win today. Kayaking for Hubby, D& E this afternoon.

Phew, I am tired.  Happy and tired.

It was a fantastic weekend.  Looking forward to many more of these fun weekends.

Now, I am going to be a couch potato and watch Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Love that movie.

potd #118.  Hubby's kayak is red.  E's kayak is blue.  D's kayak is white.  Purely by coincidence, together they are very patriotic kayaks.  Hubby told the girls they should call them the Star Spangled Kayaks.  D&E thought that was very funny.  Giggly funny.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Today was the girls' first softball game.

Poor E.  She had to miss it.

See, when she woke up this morning her left eye was half swollen shut.  And it didn't look good.

I immediately knew it was pink eye.  Blech.

I called the doctor immediately.  Thank goodness our pediatrician was on call this morning.

They told me to come right down with E.

We were down to the doctors' office and back with a diagnosis of pink eye in about 40 minutes.

That is record time for a doctors' visit.

It was also great that the doctor was able to give us a bottle of antibiotic eye drops.  I love not having to go to the pharmacy.

So, Poor E missed lacrosse practice and her first softball game.

She laid low on the couch at home while Hubby painted the bathroom upstairs.

D had a great time at the game.

D in the field getting ready to play.

I think all the girls had fun kicking some dirt with their cleats.

D getting ready to hit.  The coaches pitch to the players.  If after quite a few tries there's no hit, the girls can hit off the tee.  D did great.  Three hits today off of the coachs' pitch.

She was so funny to watch running to first.  As she got to 1st, she always did a little leap onto the bag and then ran a couple more steps passed the bag.

D on first.

The games are set up for the girls to play 4 innings.  All the girls get to hit in an inning to get on base.  When the last girl in the lineup hits(they rotated the lineup), all the girls run the bases around to home.

The coaches for both teams do a great job helping all the girls.  It's good instruction. And they have fun.

A perfect way for these girls(ages 6-8) to learn how to play softball.

A little bench sitting and social time while teammates are batting.

potd #117.  I love this picture.  I love her stance.  Too cute.

A Step In Time

Today was field trip day for the 3rd grade in town.

We headed to a replica town from the 1830's.

Many of the buildings are original from the time period.

There are all sorts of different houses.  Among the buildings are the sawmill, grist mill, cooper, blacksmith, and potter.  There are barns with animals and houses with gardens.  It's wonderful.

They are from all around and have been moved to create this outdoor "musuem" to show what life was like in the 1830's.

I decided to split my day between the girls' groups.  I was with D's group first, then after awhile I met up with E's group.

Luckily I didn't have to ride on the bus.  I rode with my friend A and a couple other moms who were also going on the trip.

And I have to say after spending 3.5 hours with a bunch of 3rd graders, it's a good thing Bunco is tonight.

I foresee a glass or 2 of wine in my future.

A board being cut at the sawmill.

An oven in one of the kitchen fireplaces.

China being displayed in one of the houses.

D checking out one of the exhibits in a house.

One of the many wooden fences we saw today.  We even saw the "farmers" splitting some logs to make new fencing.  Impressive.

A basket in one of the kitchen gardens we visited.  The sweet woman tending the garden spoke to the kids about what kind of food was grown back in the 1830's.  Lots of root vegetables.  No tomatoes.

Fantastic old chairs.  It was also really interesting to see the very colorful wallpaper on the walls of many of the houses.

I just love the old irons.  I have one of my own that I bought at a flea market years ago.  It's a great doorstop.

Clay jars.  All made at this working museum.  Amazing.

A fire in the house where we learned about how they cooked in the 1830's.

All sorts of barrels, buckets, etc. being made at the cooper's.

A cup being made by the potter on the wheel.  The kids were fascinated.  As was I.

The cup is finished on the wheel.  Now to dry, then off to the kiln.

It was a great day.  It wasn't raining.  Windy, but the sun was out.

Lots of fun and lots of memories were made by the kids.

As I was walking with E's group, one of the boys, L,  said out of nowhere "this is the best field trip ever!" 

 It was so cute and so genuine.  

I took a great picture of him and just want his mom's permission before putting it up on the blog.  He is such a cutie.

potd #116.  It fascinates me to watch the cooper make buckets/barrels.  So cool.

40-Love

Not sure how it happened.

But I am taking tennis lessons with some friends.

Ack.

I am so not sporty.  But I need to exercise.

Even my doctor has told me that I need to start exercising.

See, I've turned an all important "9" in age and as the saying goes,  I am not getting any younger.

So I am attempting to play tennis.

Thank goodness I am doing it with friends.

My good friends A, R, and K(lives in my neighborhood with me & R) are playing too.

Other friends M, G, and V are playing as well.

We are very fortunate that my friend K(the girls' lacrosse coach) is our tennis coach.

I don't think any other coach would put up with our laughing.

And thank goodness for the laughing.  It made me forget how far out of my comfort zone I was by being on the tennis court.

Guess what?

It was fun.  I had a great time.

I couldn't ask for a better group of friends to get me out of my comfort zone.

It was great learning how to hit a forehand.  Where to turn my shoulder.  Making sure I was stepping with my left foot.  Keep my head down.

The trick was then to actually hit the ball after trying to remember all of those things.

Which I did actually do.  Hit the ball.  How 'bout that?!

I even learned a little backhand.

We will play for the next 5 Thursdays.

Boy, I hope I am better in 5 weeks than I was today.

Might have to get some extra practice in between lessons.

potd #115.  Since I was starting to play tennis, I needed a racket.  Love my new racket.  Good symbol for stepping out of my comfort zone.  And once again, what happens matters.

The Drive-Thru

Saw Sissy today.

She wanted to take a ride over to Whole Foods today.

The nearest Whole Foods is about 25 minutes away.

We both love their Cranberry Ginger bread. They make it in their bakery and it is delicious.

Like want to eat the whole loaf by myself delicious.

From there we headed over to the Goodwill.

We both found a couple things.

I found a great old metal coffee pot.  Love it.

After that we headed over to Starbucks.  Sissy wanted one of the famous chais that I get there.

She even made me write it down for her.  She was driving so she was the one who would be ordering it at the drive-thru.

So, I wrote it for her.  Grande, non-fat, light water, 5 pump chai.

As is our usual, we were talking as she was driving into the Starbucks parking lot. Go figure.

She heads into the drive-thru lane.  And we are talking away.

And she continues to go around the building.

Next thing you know, we round the building and are 1 car from the pick-up window.

But, we haven't ordered yet.

Oops.  I start laughing.  And say, "You didn't order.  We drove right by the order speaker!!"

And then we are both laughing.  At this point we realize there is nothing we can do. Now there is a car behind us and in front of us.

Nowhere to go.  So we wait.  And giggle.

Sissy now realizes that she is now going to have to read the order off the notebook right to the Starbucks worker.  As opposed to the drive-thru speaker.  Oops.

And we laugh some more.  And more.

Finally the car in front of us drives away with their order.

Sissy pulls up to the window.

And the Starbucks worker has the order for the car behind us ready to hand over. Oops.

Sissy apologizes and tells him that we drove right by the speaker and can we order from here.

Mr. Starbucks Worker is very sweet and says no problem, of course we can order now.

Then Sissy does something more funny.

She holds up the notebook that I've written the order in and says, "Ok, so we need 2 of these."

I am trying hard not to laugh.  It's not working very well.

Mr. Starbucks Worker looks at the notebook and says, "ok, 2 grande, non-fat, light water 5 pump chais."

And off he goes.  I would love to have been able to read his mind at this point.

A few minutes later we have our Chais and off we go.  Still laughing.

I don't think I will be able to order another Chai at a Starbucks drive-thru without thinking of Sissy.

That's one of the best parts of spending Sissys' days off with her.  Lots of laughs and some really good stories.

See, what happens matters.

Even when you're just trying to order a Chai at a Starbucks drive-thru.

potd #114.  Love this metal coffee pot I found today.  I love it with the cover, but can also picture it with some wildflowers in it this summer.

A Win

Came home today and found Lucy in the cozy corner.

She is not supposed to be there.

See that green blanket in the  bottom right of the picture?  That's where she's supposed to be laying.

On her end of the couch.

In order to keep her on that end of the couch, we usually lay a small stool on the other side of the couch.

Today, in my haste to leave the house, I forgot the stool.

And wouldn't you know it she took full advantage.

My silly dog loves to lay her head on pillows.

At night, she sleeps on the floor on Hubbys' side of the bed.  More often than not she lays her head on the extra pillow(the one with the sham) that is taken off the bed at night.  It is usually leaning against the wall, next to the bedside table.

And she finds a way to get her head on it.  Silly Lucy.

The gash that is beneath her eye is from a run-in with a rabbit in the backyard.  We think.

We found it on her Saturday after she had been rooting around in the bushes where a bunny hangs out. There is a hole near one of the bushes that we think the bunny lives in.

Something tells me Lucy got her nose too far down the hole.  And the bunny let her know.

I love my dog.  She makes me happy.  Even when she's not where she's supposed to be on the couch.

Today was the girls' first lacrosse game.

They were so cute.  As we were heading to the game, Hubby & I could tell there were some pre-game jitters.

D&E did great.  Both got the ball and made some passes.  D skipped a little on the field.  She was a happy little lacrosse player.  Even when the ball was nowhere near her.

D getting on the field for the start of the game.

E(in center of pic) warming up before the game.

My friend A's daughter is the farthest to the right.  She is in 5th grade and normally plays with the junior girls' team(5th & 6th grade).  She plays with our team too, to help the younger girls get some good experience.

E, at one point during the game tried to hip check one of the other players.  Pretty sure the whistle got blown on her.

Our girls won against a rival towns' team, 13-1.  Needless to say, all the girls were excited.

They were fun to watch and it was fun to chat with friends on the sideline.  Now if only it will get a little warmer for Thursdays' game.

potd #113.  I just loved finding this little johnny jump up today.  It is growing in the crack between the driveway and the garage.

Back to the Grind

This is just one of those days.

Don't have much to write about.

It was the first day back to school after Spring Vacation.  Boo.  I think we are all counting the days until summer vacation.

E was slow moving this morning.  Very slow moving.  She is going to have a rough time when middle school and then high school comes around.

We even talked this morning about how early the high school bus comes through our neighborhood.  And about how early they will have to get up to be ready for the bus.

I think E about fell off her kitchen stool when I said she would need to get up at 5:30. She's having a hard time getting up for 7:30.  Like I said, its going to be rough.

She was even in disbelief when I suggested that I would most likely still be in bed while they were getting ready for the high school bus.  And that maybe I would get up to see them off.  I think she was a bit disgusted with that idea.

Like I said, E is going to have a rough time.  Good thing we have a few years to work up to the early high school time.

D, on the other hand,  is my pop out of bed girl.  I went in for my shower and she wasn't up.  Came out and she was snuggled in bed with hubby.  She is such a snuggly girl.  But up she got when I told her we needed to go wake up E.

After getting the girls off to school, Sissy and I went out to run a few errands.

Nothing much.  Trip to the fabric store, Savers, BJ's, and a final stop at the Goodwill store.

I found another small glass coffee pot to add to my growing collection.  Forgot to take a picture of it today.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Then we headed off to lunch.  Yum.

One last stop at HomeGoods/TJ Maxx.  We tried to commit to artwork, but alas we didn't.  That is the story of our lives.  Can't commit to artwork.

After school the girls had jazz and lacrosse.

Today was the day that D&E got their 5 year trophy for dance.  They were very excited.

I was bummed because I didn't bring my camera.  Thank goodness for the camera on my phone.

At lacrosse they had a final practice before their first game tomorrow.  Again, they are very excited.

Can't wait to see how they play.  Not sure my kids are super athletes, but they sure do have fun.  That makes me happy.  I was so not that kid, so I am glad my kids enjoy playing sports.

potd #111.  D&E and S with their trophies.  So cute.  So glad they all started dancing the same year.  The only year they all haven't been in class together was the first year they all danced.  Yay D, E, & S!

Return of Sunday Songs

Took a break from Sunday Songs last week because we were at the Cape.

Here are the songs we sang today:
Here I Am to Worship
I Will Offer Up My Life
Teach Me Lord To Wait
Thy Word
Forever
Mighty To Save

All of these are just wonderful.  I love it when we sing so many great songs in one service.

Here is "Mighty To Save".  Enjoy.  Love the lyrics.

After church we all came home and laid low for the rest of the day.

It rained all afternoon.  Much needed rain.  Our town had 3 brush fires this weekend. There have been many other brush fires across our state.

I really can't remember when we last had a good rain.  It's been awhile.

The girls were supposed to have lacrosse practice, but it was cancelled because of the rain.

Hubby did some painting in the bathroom.

The girls relaxed by watching a couple episodes of Gilligans' Island.

I went to the grocery store.

Which I hate to do on Sunday afternoons.

And today was the Sunday at the end of April vacation.  Families in town getting ready to head back to school tomorrow.

And we live near a major university.  Sundays always mean college kids are on their way back to school after a weekend at home.

They all seem to stop at the grocery store with their parents to pick up groceries. With the parents paying.  Smart college kids.

All of that equals a super busy grocery store today.

It took me about 20 minutes to get through the deli counter.  Boo.

I always vow not to go to the grocery store on Sundays. It never really seems to work out for me.  I always end up needing something.

Today I was happy to get out pretty quickly.  Even after my trip to the deli counter.

I was focused.

Now we have food in the house to get us through the next few days.

And then it will be back to the grocery store for me.

potd #111.  It makes me so happy that D&E are loving to play Yahtzee.  I have such wonderful memories playing with my mom when I was a kid.  We would play for hours on warm summer nights.   This afternoon we played a couple games with the girls. Hubby scored 2 Yahtzees.  Hmmph.  Not sure if we will let him play next time. But we probably will.  Because it was lots of fun.

Play Ball

What a full day we had here at our house.

The morning started with the girls having softball.

They did great considering it was only their second practice.  Opening day is next week.

It will be fun to watch them play.

D playing 1st base.  She looks very serious.

E playing over near 3rd base.

The coaches did a great job rotating all the girls through the positions.

And they all got some great batting/running the base practice.

E playing catcher while D is hitting.

D playing catcher.

D&E were the only girls that volunteered to play catcher.

I was very proud of them for trying it.  They both did great.

Hubby stayed home while we were at softball practice to get started on some much needed yard work.

Once home, I went out to join him.

Throughout the day, bushes were pulled, leaves blown, and shrubs trimmed.

Hubby even worked on building a small rock wall that will line the backside of the vegetable garden.

Every time he brought a wheelbarrow full of brush & clippings, he would fill it with a few rocks to add to the wall.

I have to say those rocks looked heavy as he was pushing the wheelbarrow back up the hill from the woods.

This was just the start of a lot of yard work that we will be doing over the next couple months.

Glad it was a good day to get a lot done.  Tomorrow looks like a complete washout.

potd #110.  E playing catcher.  Good form E.

Feel Better

Isn't it funny how things happen to the kids when the mom isn't around?

Hubby took the day off today.  Which was great.

The girls and him made plans to go back to the rock climbing gym while I went to get my nails done.

And then we made plans to meet up at one of our favorite burger places for lunch. We were also meeting my mil for lunch too.

I will back the story up just a bit.

Yesterday when we were outside, E was wanting to take a stick and do some whittling with her Swiss Army knife.  She was wanting to make it shaped into a point, like an arrow.

Hubby had bought the girls' each a Swiss Army knife for Christmas.  We hold on to them and they know they are not allowed to use it without adult supervision.

Thankfully my girls are rule followers.

So, I told E yesterday no way.  I told her that she needed to wait until Hubby was home and that he would show her what to do.  She was good with that.

Fast forward to this morning.

E asked Hubby if he would show her how to do the whittling with her Swiss Army knife.  Hubby was happy to show her.

As I was leaving for my nail appointment, all was good.  D was finishing her piano practice.  E and Hubby were outside starting their whittling.

Fast forward to me meeting Hubby and the girls for lunch.

As I get out of my car and walk up to them I can see E has a look on her face.  Kind of a smile and kind of a "something's up" look.

I innocently ask how rock climbing went.

And that's when the story comes out.

They didn't make it to rock climbing.

"How come?" I ask.

And then E holds up her pointer finger on her right hand.  Her bandaged pointer finger.

When they were whittling, something happened and the knife slipped a bit.  And E cut her finger.

Thankfully not too bad.  No stitches needed.  Barely.

I am assured by both E and Hubby that she is fine.

Hmmmm.  Not so sure about this.

Hubby assures me she is fine.  And that it's not a bad cut.  And that E now has a greater appreciation for the Swiss Army knife.

Well, she better or there will be no more Swiss Army knife for E.

By the end of today, her finger was feeling even better.  Healing nicely.

She'll have a good scar.  And a story to tell.  That's what scars are all about, right? The stories that go with them.

potd #109.  This lego "Feel Better" sign has been in our house for almost a year and a half.  E made it for D when D shut her finger in the car door.  To say the least, D was very sad/upset that day.

E very quietly went in the basement where the legos are and made this for her.  I love that she misspelled better.

It was such a sweet gesture, I couldn't bring myself to take it apart.  So, we keep it. And whenever anyone is feeling sad, sick, or hurt one of the girls will go get the "Feel Better" sign.

Today as Hubby was helping E and getting her settled, D rushed off to the hall table to get the "Feel Better" sign for E.  Sweet sissy love.

Jumping Rope

D has discovered the joy of jumping rope.

And she was jumping all day.

Just about every spare moment.

I love the mid-air jump shot.

Both of the girls got new jump ropes from Sissy for Easter.

Today D happened to come across her new jump rope.

She jumped high.

She jumped low.

She even tried jumping backwards.

Apparently there are kids in her & E's class that can only jump rope backwards.

Interesting.

Here is some crazy jump roping.

I am amazed looking at this picture that she didn't end up falling.

E even got in on the jump roping.  Then my camera battery died.  Oops, should have charged it last night.

I love her hair in this picture.  Definitely some jump rope happening here.

I will not be surprised if she wakes up wanting to jump rope tomorrow.

D loved to count how many times she could jump before missing.  I think she got close to 40 times.

She made me laugh when she said, "Mom, jump roping is so much fun!"

potd #108.  D discovers the joy of jumping rope.  Love the expression on her face.

Home Sweet Home

There's no place like home.

We got home this afternoon from the Cape.

The ride would have been great if we didn't hit traffic as we neared the Sagamore Bridge.  It took us over an hour to go a little over 2 miles.

Bleck.

They are doing road work on the bridge.  Sissy and I are hoping that they will be done with the roadwork before summer.  We shall see.

So, what should have taken us 45 minutes to get off the Cape took us 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Bleck.

Our ride home today took us just about 4 hours.  It should have taken us only about 2 hours 30 minutes.

It felt great to finally get home.

Lucy was very happy to see us.

And we were home for about 2 minutes and D found her way over to the piano.

She really does always have music on the brain.  All week she was humming away.  Sometimes even singing.

When the girls were little we listened to a lot of Laurie Berkner.  She has such great kids music with wonderful lyrics.  Her songs still pop into my head.

One of her songs is called Song in my Tummy.  It's a cute, catchy tune.

One line in the song is "I've got a song in my heart".  I always think of D when I hear that lyric.

Because she really does have a song in her heart.  Always.

Here is D playing a song called, "The Campbells Are Coming."  It is one of her piano songs and she has it memorized.  She really enjoys playing  this song.

This afternoon after getting home, I took Lucy out in the back yard.  It was amazing to see all the leaves that have popped out in the last 5 days.

And the flowers that are starting to bloom.

I have no idea what these white flowers are called.  I wish I did because they are beautiful.  And they smell amazing.  This bush is in the backyard and it is filled with blooms this year.

So pretty.

potd #107.  Lucy smiling.  I think she was glad we were home.