Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

This dress is so pretty! Go check it out!

Dance Recital

Peyton had her first dance recital this weekend. My mom, grandma, and in-laws came for the momentous event! The costumes were incredibly fluffy and cute and she twirled and twirled every time she wore hers. The actual dance lasted maybe 30 seconds to a minute and it was lots of toe tapping, spinning, etc, but it was so cute. I think the whole point was to expose the kids to what a dance recital is about and to give them a chance to get up on a stage. She was a bit nervous at first, but once they started dancing she was smiling and had a good time. The high school auditorium was packed so I'm sure it was a bit nerve wracking to see all of those faces staring back at her.

Spring

I love this picture of Peyton. Her eyes are so blue! Spring is here and we are expecting temperatures around 75 today and high 80's tomorrow! It should be a fantastic weekend. The other night we were outside playing and the wind started to kick up and the temperatures dropped. The dogwood blossoms were so pretty blowing in the breeze that I grabbed a picture. I love that you can see the blur. We're having tea at Mrs. Hardesty's with my mom, grandma, and the kids today, then library, then shoe shopping. Both kids need some summer shoes, crocs or sandals or something. I've pulled my sandals out of hibernation too!

Circus!

Mark's dad treated us to the circus on Saturday and it was awesome! I don't think I've seen the Ringling Bros since I was in elementary or middle school. I did see the Cole Bros Circus a few years ago, but it was not at all like the Ringling Bros. Cole Bros is under a big top tent, but it's like comparing apples to oranges in terms of animals and pageantry. Anyway, it was certainly a spectacle and the kids loved it. Liam kept pointing to things and Peyton was literally speechless! We went to the pre-show and tried on costumes, watched jugglers, and saw the clowns close-up. Liam was fine until the man on stilts walked right past us. Then he started acting nervous and was ready to go sit down. We tried to get close to the elephant, who was painting a picture, but the crowd was pretty thick, and Liam was really unhappy at that point. He was riding on my shoulders and had a death-grip on my head!

I think my favorite part were the acrobats, the trapeze artists, contortionists, etc. They had men and women hanging on long ribbons winding themselves in them and then dropping, much like Cirque de Soleil. It was impressive. I'm so glad we got the chance to go with the kids. They really did have a blast!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

So so cute! Go check this out!

Route 11 Potato Chips...YUMMY

Eating chips and drinking "beer" (root beer that is)

Rockingham County....the turkey capital (it says so on the statue)

On Friday I got the crazy idea to take the kids to Mt. Jackson to the Route 11 potato chip factory. We called first to make sure they were cooking chips that day. There is nothing worse than making that drive and only getting to eat chips (we've done this twice)! Peyton and Liam were really interested in watching the peeled potatoes shoot out of the hopper into the oil, but they were the most interested in sampling the chips. I watched to make sure they didn't eat too many and we did end up leaving with a sampler box and a big bag of sweet potato chips!

We drove Route 11 back to the 'burg and stopped in New Market to say hi to a friend, then we saw the turkey statue so we had to stop. Peyton thought it was pretty funny, but then she saw something in the field behind the turkey and she yelled, "Hey, somebody chucked their underwear into that field!" Then Liam was yelling, "Where? Where da underwear?" I love being able to load them into the car and just take off. They are always up for a new adventure!

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely Easter weekend. We were going to attend a local egg hunt on Saturday, but the morning was cold and wet so we decided to just stay home. The kids spent most of the morning in their jammies and we just puttered around for hours. We colored eggs with the kids and Liam and I made a quick trip to the farmer's market, but that was about it.

We attended the 8:30am service at church on Sunday, then went to Sunday school, then taught the 11am children's church. It was a very busy morning, but I don't think there is any better place to spend Easter Sunday than church. We have talked a lot about the Resurrection and about Jesus' sacrifice and I think some of it is penetrating their minds. Peyton told me that the empty plastic Easter eggs are like the tomb, empty, because Jesus is risen! Liam told me that Jesus died on a cross. I love hearing them talk about God and Jesus. I try to incorporate our faith into our everyday lives. I feel like my job is to lead them to a relationship with Jesus, so I am actively modeling my faith for them, even though I fail often, and I'm talking to them about Jesus a lot.

It's Monday now and our neighbor's daughter is here playing. So far, so good. All three kids are behaving and being very kind to one another.

I Heart Faces - Easter/ Spring

I love this picture of Peyton. She was so fast gathering eggs on Sunday, but once her bucket was full, she ran around showing Liam where to find eggs and she shared with him. What a sweet big sister! Take a look at the beautiful Easter and spring pictures for this week's theme at I Heart Faces!

I Heart Faces - My Friend and I

Check out the great pictures at I Heart Faces this week for the theme "My Friend and I"! What a fun theme! Here's my submission, Peyton and her friend, Abel, at the pumpkin patch. This is a yearly tradition and we have a picture from each year starting when Peyton was only 2.5 months!

Your Photo Tips

If you are interested in entering a contest to win a camera, visit Your Photo Tips. You can also read the site for some information about digital photography. I am always interested in learning new things, especially new tips for using my photo editing software! The contest is running until June 30th and there are multiple ways to enter.

Good luck!

Easter egg hunt

Our church hosted an Easter egg hunt this morning at the home of a church member. The rain stopped yesterday, but the wind kicked up and was fierce. We ended up having pretty good weather, not too cold and not too windy. There were between 15 - 20 kids and 500 eggs! Peyton and Liam filled their buckets quickly. The kids were incredibly sweet and helpful to one another, the big ones were helping the little ones to fill their baskets. They had a lot of fun running around grabbing eggs and then opening them and checking out their stash! They formed little groups to swap and trade sweets. What a HUGE difference compared to one I attended in our community pre-kids. The parents were so competitive and the kids were shoving each other out of the way...I swore I would never go again. After the eggs were all gathered, the kids gathered around to listen to the Easter story. It was a very sweet morning.