Sunday Mornings, Master Bathroom

Crazy May

Everything happens in May:

Ballet recital for Hanna, Maranda and Ruthie
Piano recital for Maranda and Andria

Mother's Day
Prom for Hanna and Mark Soelberg
Tumbling Recital for Andria (and Annie Brown)
School Program for Ruthie
And several other things that will get their own post :)

Preschool Graduation

Zanya LOVED preschool so much, we were sad that it ended. She was in a class with all girls and their final program was very fun. Ready for kindergarten!

Locks of Love 2011

Maranda and Andria had barely 10 inches which is the minimum to donate. I wanted them to wait a few more weeks to leave a little more hair on their heads but they were ready. So we cut it off the last week of school. Summer is so nice with a cool short hair-do.

Camping for Littles

In our family we have the 'Bigs', 'Middles', and 'Littles'. Ruth and Zanya are our Littles. One weekend before school was out, Dan took them camping with their friends, the Melzers: Ryan, Lucy and Elsa. They had a great time with just the Dads and girls. There was plenty of room to share the trailer.
They went fishing and caught 3 fish!
Then they ate them for dinner.
The girls also roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.
It was a beautiful campground, they want to go again soon.

Easter 2011

This is how we get curly hair: (Danica made the curlers in Zanya's hair, they are so great!)I haven't made Easter dresses since Andria was a baby so this year I decided I was due for the project. I bought the fabric 10 days prior to Easter Sunday. Don't do that.
Dan says the flowers on these dresses look like first place ribbons. . .
Luckily, I make simple skirts for Maranda and Andria.
I think they turned out fun and the girls liked them.

Zanya turns FIVE!

(picture from preschool class)

I cannot believe that my baby is already 5 years old. Zanya is my little buddy and we go everywhere together. She is used to getting what she wants but is also willing to share and she is easy to reason with. She loves teasing her siblings, watching Cake Boss and playing with friends. Zanya wanted to read the most books ever in her preschool class this year and ended up reading over 1400 books! She would beg everyone to read to her so that she could write more books on her list. Her favorite hairstyle is a plain ponytail because it is quick and easy.We had a friend birthday party this year. Zanya's birthday was extra special because it was on Easter Sunday. She wanted to have an Easter themed birthday party so we: made bunny ears,
ate corn dogs (not Easter related but Zanya's favorite),
and made bird nests. We also made Easter baskets and had an Easter egg hunt but we didn't take any pictures of that (?).

Zanya insisted on having a bunny on her cake. She didn't want a cake in the shape of a bunny but an actual bunny on top of her cake. She was so specific and it sounded like a challenge so we had to try. Google images is very useful in these situations.
I think she was happy with her cake.

We love you, Zanya!

Easter Pageant 2011

This year we had some good friends in the pageant, don't they look awesome? We love the Easter Pageant so we go early and get good seats and we bring dinner. We visit the visitor's center while we are waiting.This is my grandmother, MamaGinger. She does lots of things with us, we love her.
The Pageant starts just after it gets dark, we can't wait.

Little Girls

Girls playing with ponies: Ruthie, Zanya and Addie (thier cousin)

Ruthie: Addie, you can't just take someone's house.

Zanya: She's our friend so she can do whatever she wants.

Ruthie: Can she pick her nose or pee on the floor?

Addie: (giggles) Well, I wouldn't do that.

Beauty and the Beast

Andria was in the School play again this year. She was a napkin, a darn cute one. Here she is backstage with one of her fellow napkins, Annie.

Applying stage make-up:
Whole cast (note to self: when you take only one picture of a large group, at least make sure your own child is smiling)
Flatware and napkins (enchanted items)
During the play, Andria always knew exactly where to go and what to do. She knew her dances perfectly and was a darling napkin. We are so proud of her.

I was on the costume committee again with this play. Interestingly, every costume was actually two because everyone turns "human again" at the end of the play. Andria was a napkin/castle servant. I made five napkin/servants.
I also made Mrs. Potts and Chip. Sadly, I never got a picture of Chip :( Mrs. Potts really loved her costume and that was gratifying. When she turns human, she has a green skirt that matches her cap and she keeps her apron. She was a great Mrs.Potts
On performance nights we brought special Beauty and the Beast cupcakes to sell at the concession stand. We thought they were appropriate.

Double Digit Andria

Our Andria turned 10 years old! Andria is one of my girly girls. She loves to have her hair curly, loves the color pink and loves to wear dresses and skirts. Andria has a fun sense of humor and likes telling jokes. She is also a talented tumbler and rarely goes anywhere without a few cartwheels. She frequently bumps into furniture doing back hand springs in the house. Her piano teacher loves her and tells us she is very talented. Her school teacher also loves her and gives her extra responsibility because Andria is so trustworthy. We love Andria!
Andria's birthday was on the Saturday after spring break this year. We didn't have much fun during spring break so we thought we would go swimming on Saturday and check out a Chandler public pool. Andria and Maranda invited some friends and it was very fun.

Then we came home for some delicious chocolate cake. This cake is layered with chocolate ganache and topped with buttercream frosting and fondant. Andria's favorite is chocolate. The flower pot was supposed to be on top of the cake but Hanna and I couldn't figure out how to make modeling chocolate and it just wouldn't sit right. Oh well. It was covered in chocolate buttercream and tasted great anyway.

Hanna just got her wisdom teeth out 2 days earlier but she was still able to decorate the cake. What a trooper.
Happy Birthday Andria!