Elli's birthday party!!!

Elli turned 2 on July 20th! It is so hard to believe that she is already 2 years old and no longer my baby. She is a full toddler now and believes that she can do everything Laney can do. She has been such a perfect addition to our family and I am excited to see what another year will bring.

Elli had a wonderful party with family and friends to help celebrate.

Long time friends Christi, Joe and their son Drew came to the party. It was great to spend time with them and see how big Drew has gotten.


Alex, Elli's gymnastic classmate and buddy enjoyed the cake and tried to often hug Elli. Elli finally gave in towards the end of the night for a big hug.

Of coarse Elli had another Mickey Mouse cake. She still loves anything to do with Mickey Mouse. So it seemed appropriate to continue with the theme.








We also had a surprise cake for Mack. We did not get to celebrate Mack's birthday since he was gone much of the month. My friend Jackie made this yummy cake for Mack.
It is hard to see from the picture but it is a computer keyboard with a mouse included! Mack was surprised and enjoyed eating the lemon filled treat!

A few of our friends stayed longer to play a game of poker. The kids had a great time running around and playing together while the adults battled in out on the new poker table. I do have to mention that it came down to Bill and one of my coworkers and Mack's coach, Shawn. Bill ended up claiming the victory. Sorry Shawn, just don't take it out on Mack at practice!
This is picture of Kaylin and Elli. "KK" as Elli calls her loved holding and carrying Elli around all night. It was so sweet!

Elli & Laney's Photo Shoot!

Elli and Laney got their pictures take last week. It was more for Elli since she was turning 2 years old. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!










It was a rough start but once we started dancing everyone cooperated and a few cute pictures were taken.

Of coarse a sucker was involved!

Where did my sweet girls go.....?

I had to share these pictures of my sweet girls being "tom boys".

They got on the bike by themselves and they loved it. This could mean double trouble in a few years.








This is a toad that lives around our house. Laney loves to hold it and pet it. The toad will stay in her hand and sleep as she talks to it. We just have to keep reminding her to not kiss it. She is still too young to believe in that fairytale!

Vacation Time!

We finally went on our first vacation in 3 years!
My parents, Bill and all 3 kids made the drive to Gatlinburg, TN for the week at my parents time share. It was a much needed get away for everyone.

The weather was great, no major issues during the trip. The kids loved the rides and water park. My Mom and I enjoyed a day to ourselves shopping and eating while Bill took care of the kids.

Mack and Laney loved the go carts. Mack just barely made the cut off to ride alone on the adult track but Laney had to have help. She turned that wheel as if she was driving herself.

We even got to visit cousins from my Dad's side of the family, Elane and Carl. Bill enjoyed the TN river and spent the whole day with Carl fishing. Mack got to go tubing and the girls stayed on shore and played with the shells and rocks!








Besides the water park, Mack's favorite vacation event was sifting through buckets of gravel and dirt to find gems and precious stones. It was a good experience for him and it was actually educational.


Laney even got to ride a pony by herself and she became really comfortable in the water kicking around with just an float tube around her.

It was an awesome time and great memories! To be honest, it was very tiring! I might need another vacation real soon!

Yellow Flower

Laney in her flower costume! So sweet!

Show Time!

Last night was the Interactive Academy Gymnastic Dance Recital at the ZPAC. Planning and organizing this recital gave me a few more gray hairs but it was worth it. We had 120 little girls performing. Everything went well and we are already talking about next springs recital.
I wanted to share these videos of Laney and her first performance. Her group was the youngest group and she did a much better job than I could have hoped for. The first video shows Laney doing her forward rolls. She is the 4th girl to "pop" out of a flower pot.

The next video is her performing cartwheels across the stage. Laney is still the 4th girl to enter the stage. She really demands the audiences applause after each cartwheel. (Where does she get that from....?) I think she did pretty good considering she had a flower on her head that obstructed her peripheral view on each side. (more pictures to come soon of costume)

If you turn the volume up you can hear my family members laughing. I was backstage so it was hard for me to see her perform.


This last video is her dance. Laney is on the are right as you are looking at the screen. Don't be confused as she gets creative with the choreography and switches places with the girl next to her towards the end of the dance. My favorite part has to be when she actually pushes the girl next to her to get her moving in the right direction. Laney sure has a good memory, just needs to slow it down.

It was a great night and we are so proud of Laney. This is just a first of many dance recitals, I hope!

Here comes the sun!

We welcomed the warm sunshine by spending every moment outside soaking it in. Here are a few photos of the girls painting. Last year we had to do this when Elli took her nap but now she gets to join in on the fun and paint with Laney. As long as there was enough paint on the tray they were happy to create a colorful masterpiece. As you can see from the photo Laney paints with her Right hand and Elli paints with her Left hand. This actually works out well since we only had one tray of paint.

Picking "flowers" (dandelions) is Laney's favorite pastime since the common area behind us is full of them.

This past weekend Bill built the kids a huge sandbox under the swing set. I have been wanting this for them for awhile so they could have something outside to keep them busy. I was hoping that Elli would like it but she is still getting use to the sand. She is content to play with it from the sides. Laney would probably eat and sleep in the sand if we would let her. She loves it and enjoys the fact that Elli is not bothering her or taking away the sand toys.









In April Mack had his last Trampoline and Tumbling Meet. It was a State meet and he did good. He brought home a 1st and a few 2nd place medals. He is gearing up for summer practice and TT camp to work on harder skills for next season.


We are preparing for this month with last week of school events, dance recital, and getting everyone's summer schedule under control.
At this point in time everyone is healthy and looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day this weekend.