Ah.  Spring soccer.  I signed up Mimi and Mac, hoping they would enjoy it, and they only kind of enjoy it.  Granted, this league is not nearly as good as the league they last played in, and that may have had a lot to do with it.  Nevertheless, they are fun to watch run around after the ball.  Mimi is in the middle if you can't spot her.

Teacher Appreciation Preparation!

Being the room mom for Mimi's classroom puts me in charge of decorating her door for Teacher Appreciation week that comes starting next Monday.  I saw this one on Pinterest and really liked it.  It actually came together much better than I thought, and I'm so excited for her to see it on Monday!  The best part is that Mimi helped!

A close up of the sprinkles on the cupcake.  Each sprinkle had the name of a student in the classroom.  Mrs. Cobabe is an awesome kindergarten teacher and Mimi has been so lucky to have her this year.

Activity Days today.  The girls learned about faith and we planted zinnia seeds!  I hope they turn out and actually grow!

Aaaand, it begins!  I finally got the trimmer fired up, after trying forever to get it going.  This will go on all summer, and every summer I seriously consider paying a company to come and take care of the yard! 

Mimi was so excited about jumping rope today.  She wanted me to video her while she tried so hard!

Activity Days today.  The girls learned about faith and we planted zinnia seeds!  I hope they turn out and actually grow!

Aaaand, it begins!  I finally got the trimmer fired up, after trying forever to get it going.  This will go on all summer, and every summer I seriously consider paying a company to come and take care of the yard! 

Tulip Festival

We headed down to Thanksgiving Point today to see the tulips!  They are so beautiful and I love this time of year!

The tulips make for great photo backdrops! 

The girls really just wanted to see the Koi pond, so they went running through the park. 

*I* was interested in the flowers, too. 

 

The girls found a big swath of grass and we ran around and did gymnastics for a while. 

Meemer is a ham!

It's a gorgeous time of year, and Thanksgiving point really outdoes itself with these tulips every year.  I'm thinking about coming down and buying some tulip bulbs after they pull them up later this spring. 

Here are some of our shenanigans!

Went running in the rain, today.  It turned into a workout, therapy, and a shower all at once!

I'm going to try and keep up the running this summer, so it's on, rain or shine! 

Violin Recital

Naptime snuggles with this little guy!

Leiden had her first violin recital today!  She was pretty nervous, but you honestly couldn't tell.  She's a pretty cool cucumber.

It was held in the meeting room at the Sandy Library.

There were four students involved.  Three on the violin, one doubled up with piano and violin, and one on only piano.  The girls played a piece together all three, and they each had several pieces to play by themselves.

Leiden played Turkey in the Straw, and from her Suzuki Violin 1 book, she played Gavotte and Minuet 2.

But this face!!!  She was SO proud of herself when she finished her piece.

After that smile, she threw her head and arm back in this dramatic gesture that I was SO lucky to have gotten on camera!

She did a great job showcasing what she's learned this last year or so on the violin.

Went to lunch with mom, dad, Mad, Joni, and this little man, today!  We headed to Hires, and when Thomas started getting antsy before food came, I pulled up Snapchat on my phone and tried to keep him entertained with the various tricks.

Some pretty scary stuff, actually! 

He just likes looking at himself, too!  Or whatever little friend he thinks he sees! 

Spirit week continues, with crazy hair day!  The girls loved using the colored hair spray last year, so we rounded some up again.  Leiden wanted hers curled with color, and Mimi wore french braids to bed to achieve her tousled look.

Went on a date tonight...we went shooting!  He has an AR, so I got another chance to shoot one.  I DEFINITELY need to get myself one!  I did pretty dang well firing, once I figured out that my dominant eye is my LEFT eye.  No one has ever said anything to me about that, before, and my shots immediately improved.  Those 'M's in the middle?  Those are my AR shots!  The larger holes are from my .40.  It was a fun night!

It's Mustache Day for Spirit Week!  We had the bright idea this year to DRAW on the mustaches with eyeliner pen, instead of going and buying cheap ones that just fall off.  The girls were looking very debonair on their way to school!

I haven't made this bread in such a long time, and I forgot how much I like it.  It is so delicious and so easy.  Super crusty, kind of hard outside, with salty soft bread on the inside.  MMMM!

Another cute Activity Days activity.  The girls made little charts about themselves that list out some of the things that make them beautiful.  The real kind of beautiful...the things on the inside.

It's so fun to have Mac and Leiden both in the program together.  Leiden will be in Young Women's next year, which is scary and wonderful at the same time. 

This group of girls are really sweet and I am lucky to be able to be one of their leaders. 

I am super thrilled about this.  The girls all like to look through the blog books I have made.  Also their baby books.  They like to go through and read about themselves and our family.  But recently Mac has taken it upon herself to read each one in detail!  She plops down on the floor in the evenings, sometimes with a pillow, and reads.  She laughs, and shares funny stories and pictures.  I LOVE that she loves these books!  Plus, it gets me motivated to make more...I'm several years behind, so she'll have lots of new material as time goes on!

Thomas was so sweet today.  He loved taking a walk in the stroller to get Mimi from school.

He is such a cheerful little guy.

I have not been feeling well.  I haven't been able to kick a stuffy nose, and it has in fact gotten worse.  Grandmere saved me today and came to watch Thomas for a short bit while I finally went to the urgent care.  Apparently I have a sinus infection, so on the antibiotic I go.  I HOPE it helps me feel better quickly!  Thank heavens for modern medicine.

But pretty much any children are better viewed in action!!!

This sweet little thing got up to bear her testimony today.  She is so outgoing, and has no problem at all getting up in front of a sacrament meeting full of people and talking!

This afternoon after church, the girls wanted to do salon, and they wanted to introduce facials to the lineup!  This is Mimi, with her pillows on the toilet (yikes, I know), cucumbers on her eyes, and smashed avocado on her skin.  The girls are endlessly creative in their endeavors. 

Mac got a new pack of earrings today to celebrate being able to change hers out!  We survived another girl's ears being pierced and no infections or complications!

I'm trying to get back into running and was very excited to hit 4 miles today!  I just need to keep it up. 

But my very favorite part about today...firing up the grill for the first time this year!  We had hamburgers that were delicious. 

We headed down to the Museum of Natural Curiosity this morning, and did the ropes course!  These girls are amazing.  They weren't afraid, not even Mimi.  There were spots that *I* was afraid!  We had a great time, but couldn't take any pictures up in it.

They each wanted a selfie with mom.

Leiden meant to make this face, because she made it in several different pictures before I gave up!

Then we played in some of the areas of the museum for a little while.  The girls like the jungle, which has tons of climbing and sliding stuff.  They literally get lost in there.  There's only one way in and out of the area, so I know they're there, somewhere, but they are impossible to find!

I found these delicious little variations at the store.  Definite impulse buy.  But they taste EXACTLY like cotton candy.  Perfect flavor.

This afternoon I went on a hiking date, and we were up east of the Draper temple.  Can you spot it in the picture??

I don't know that this closer view is any better!