Dress Rehearsal!!

Tuesday was the long-awaited and anticipated dance recital dress rehearsal. I was so relieved that they didn't ask us to put gobs of make-up on our 4 year olds. In fact, they didn't have to wear any make-up at all but said a little bit would, of course, just make the event even more special and fun for the girls. I let Ruby wear some blush, lipgloss, and a bit of mascara. She loved it!!
Ruby and buddy Kennedy (above) and Sophie (below).

They worked their magic to "Milkshake Mademoiselle." Can't wait for the big event on Sunday!

Maumelle Fire

Recently we toured the brand new Maumelle firehouse with some Maumelle Mommy & Me friends and got some valuable fire safety tips. Above, Ruby is with our friend and neighbor, Malia.
Trip is learning that the big Darth Vader-sounding man with the mask is not scary and there to help you. Don't run and hide if a man like this ever comes to your house!

No surprise that this was the best picture that we could get of 20+ preschoolers!

Preschool Graduation

Last Thursday 2nd Presbyterian had a little program for the graduating 4 yr. olds.

Ruby with her best friend from school, Avery Baber, who we will greatly miss since they're moving away from Little Rock soon. =(

Ruby with her long-time pal, Kate Barrera. Ruby and I were even next door to Kate and her mom Dawn at Baptist when the girls were born. They're just 2 days apart.

Ruby and Ms. Melinda. Both Ruby and Trip were so blessed to have such wonderful teachers this year. We loved them all and I only hope we'll have such luck with teachers in the years to come.

Ruby and Ms. Susan. Thank you ladies for a great year! Ruby adores both of you!

A Memphis Mother's Day

On Mom's Day weekend we went to Memphis for a lovely, but quick, visit with Mom, Dad, & Jer. On Saturday afternoon we met them at the zoo.
Rex tested out the "smile capture feature" on my new camera that will take the photo exactly at the right moment when someone smiles and got these 2 cute pics. Cool!.... And thank you Rexy for the much-needed and perfect mom's day gift- a much smaller camera that will fit in my pocket and not take up 1/2 of my purse. So, I now have no excuse to not have my camera with me at all times to capture every precious moment of motherhood.

Rex realized that Trip looks like a little football coach when he wears his headphones over his baseball cap.

And a trip to Memphis is never complete without a ride on the carousel and train at "YaYa's mall."

Not far down the road back towards Little Rock we look back and see Ruby, who rarely sleeps in the car (or ever for that matter), very properly seated and snoozing. Is it just me or does she look 9 ft. tall in this picture?

Thank you family for a very pleasant Mother's Day weekend. It couldn't have been better!

The Ducks 2010

We recently took our annual spring trip with the Days to see the ducks at The Peabody. I included some pictures from last year as a comparison. Can't believe the difference a year can make.
above, 2009

Sweet girls.

2009

Soccer is over..... finally!

After weeks of 4 hours of soccer per week with long drives out to Pinnacle from Maumelle, I'm definitely glad that the season is over. The kids are enjoying their medals and I'm enjoying the thought of no scheduled activities for a couple of months- just lots of playdates, swimming, and misc. summer fun!.... Ruby made a new friend, Ella, during the soccer season and we hope to get together with her fam this summer.

Sprinkler Fun!

One of our new fave things is playing in the yard with the waterball. So glad that warm weather is here. It's going to be a great summer!

IPhone Download

I finally downloaded all the pictures off my phone from the last few months. Here are some worth sharing.

They've both really gotten into Batman and all super heroes lately and frequently wear their matching Superman/Supergirl shirts or Batman/Batgirl shirts.
I loved their quiet contentment on the swings this day at Lake Willastein.
Entertaining themselves while I shopped for cowboy boots.
Ice cream sundaes in the park! They're sitting with our friends Danny and Drew Mayer.
Rex and I at the Tim McGraw concert.

Silly Trippers! He looked so ridiculous that I laughed until tears came to my eyes. Just one of those moments.

Heil, Ruby!! This was a marker mishap that cracked me up..... but then Trip wanted a mustache too so I made him Mayor of Munchkinland.

"Look Mommy, I'm a walrus!" Nice to see that Trip's putting his creativity and Tinkertoys to good use.

Just took these at the zoo on Monday where we had several close encounters. Love Ruby's expression above. The "sweet" lion later tried to take Ruby's head off through the glass......Mom, can you believe we're getting a 3rd summer's wear out of that outfit on Ruby?

Ruby Meets Frances

The Day's came over for a playdate the other day and Ruby finally met her best friend Vivian's new baby sister. All together now, "Aaaaawww....."

A Bike for Ruby

During our garage sale a couple of weekends ago, I looked over at the ruggedy Barbie VW beetle (I got it for free off Freecycle and then bought a new battery for it so it looked very used) that's been ridden twice in 2 years and then asked Ruby if she'd mind selling it. I told her that if it sold we'd use the money to go on and get her a bike. She quickly agreed and a half hour later, SOLD for $65. The next day Rex took Ruby to pick our her new bike and helmet. To no one's surprise, she picked out the Ride With Me Barbie bike. Check out the attached mini bike for Barbie. Cool! .....and check out my clean garage. We now actually have room for her to ride it.

Disney on Ice!!

For the past few years when Disney on Ice comes into town I just keep quiet...... well, avoid it like the plague and pray they don't see the commercial and ask to go. I didn't want to spend that money on something they may not sit through or even remember in a few months. Well, after hearing my Bunko girlfriends say how much their kids loved it and that it was worth the $15 tickets, I decided we'd give it a try this year. Luckily I purchased the tickets just a few days before the actual show because every morning they'd ask, "Is today Disney on Ice?" They were beyond excited! And once we got there, way too excited to look at mom's camera for a decent pic of them together. And I forgot to have someone take a family picture. =(
They were each allowed to pick out one extremely overpriced treat. Ruby chose a light-up tiara and Trip a light-up Buzz sword. I was just glad they didn't beg for the $10 cotton candy.

I guess it was worth the price for a fun family night out. Ruby was absolutely mesmerized by everything. Trip seemed to enjoy it too though he just sat and stared, unlike Ruby who danced and sang along. I can't imagine the excitement that we'll witness when we actually go to Disney World! Can't wait!