Marlie's Recital!

We were so excited for Marlie's recital!  She seemed uninterested all day and when we got to the gym I got the feeling she was very nervous.  She panicked because Nene wasn't there, her shoe hurt, etc.  So I grabbed her and we got her friend Emilie and went to play on the floor in front of all the people.  That seemed to do the trick!

The girls did great and I was SO very proud of Marlie.  She didn't look nervous at all and performed very well.  I have watched the video several times already!

We were happy as could be afterwards which was the perfect time to take MORE pictures!

 We even found Payton and Mrs. Danielle and got to take pictures with them too!

Marlie we are so very proud of you!  Even Matt said "Marlie you were the best one out there" which made me cry of course.  You worked so hard in class and at home and did great listening to your teacher.  I can't wait to watch you again next year!  You are my favorite "Tiny Dancer"!

Ballet Trophies!

I can't believe another year of ballet has come and gone.  Marlie really enjoyed ballet this year because her friends Lauren and Emilie were in her class.  Her teacher, Mrs. Danielle, was very kind and sweet with these little ballerinas! 

This was a big week!  We practiced hard for our upcoming recital.  The girls performed for the parents and did great!

We got trophies and the girls thought they had won a national competition! They were excited and even gave us some silly poses as we were snapping pics!

Stay tuned for pictures from the big recital!!

Matt's First Guitar Recital

Santa brought Matt a guitar for Christmas so we decided we should take lessons! In February Matt started lessons with Mrs. Kristi.  Her son Zach plays on Matt's soccer team and is in Kindergarten at FCE too. 

Neither Doug or I know anything about music.  So I was happy that I am able to sit in on the lessons and try to learn too.  I kept up for the first month and then Matt blew right past me.  Unfortunately we aren't too helpful when he practices at home, but he seems to be able to figure it out himself.  I am amazed at how well he is reading music already.

We had our first guitar recital last Sunday and I thought Matt did really well! He played a difficult piece and also did a duo with his teacher.  I like his smile towards the end of his song.  It's that "I nailed it" look he has. 

We will definitely continue lessons with Mrs. Kristi.  She is a great teacher.  This is not Matt's favorite thing to do so I don't expect him to be the next Santana, but I hope he can one day sing and play for his children when they are babies or around a campfire.  Matt we are really proud of you!

The Big Show

Marlie loves to sing and dance.  She also loves performing for people.  Her expressions are just adorable.  So I thought I'd sign her up for a theater/acting class.  The age range was 4-6 so I thought I might as well sign Matt up too. 

We had 10 weeks of Mom driving the kids into town to Main Street Theater every Wednesday.  The kids loved it.  They wouldn't let the parents stay during class so it was nice that I got to run errands or do a little shopping. 

Last week was the big play!  I was glad it wasn't crazy and over the top, but disappointed in how simple it was.  Oh well, Matt and Marlie had a blast and met some new friends. 

For their performance they did 4 plays from Aesop's Fables:
The Tortoise and the Hare - Matt was the Hare
The Lion and the Mouse - Marlie was the Mouse
The Cat and the Fox
The Grasshoppers and the Ants - Matt was a Grasshopper, Marlie an Ant

Matt was the first to come out and was very nervous.  Luckily it didn't take him long to warm up and by the middle of the Tortoise and the Hare he was good to go.  Marlie was not nervous at all!  The kids made their own masks which were very cute, but hid their facial expressions which I think is the best part??? 

Here is the video and some pics.  Matt is the tallest kid with the navy blue shirt on and Marlie has a light pink shirt and a skirt.  I hope you get a good laugh like we did!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a happy Easter!  We had a great time in San Antonio with our friends and family.  We started Saturday morning off with a trip somewhere with all the kids.  We worked on something for our Mom's for Mother's Day so I will have to post pictures later so we don't ruin the surprise for Aunt Dawn and Aunt Dani. 

Saturday evening we spent with the Hatters and the Zunkers.  The Hatters moved and we were excited to see their new house.  The kids were excited to see their new pool!  The kids all ended up getting in and were absolutely frozen, but had big smiles on their faces! Luckily Hayden had a brand new bathing suit to loan to Marlie so they could match!!

 Here are Davis and Marlie...she just loves these boys!

 And Cale and Marlie.  This picture is so cute it makes me laugh!

And these handsome men...Parks and Matt.  Matt loves hanging out with Parks.  Wish we loved in the same place so I could watch them play ball together.

The Dads that let them swim...watching the kids closely!  :) 

It was so nice to see you guys and we love the Hatter's new house! 

After lots of partying Saturday night we woke up so tired that the kids didn't spot their Easter baskets for awhile.  When they did they were excited to see that the Easter bunny brought them what they had given up for lent.  Matt - soda and Marlie - chocolate. 

We got dressed and headed to a very long Easter mass.  The kids looked so cute but it was so sunny and I didn't get a great picture.

Then it was off to Gram's for the big Easter egg hunt!  The kid's had fun finding eggs and then swimming in the freezing water again!

School Daze

I am so proud of both kids!  They are working so hard in school and we have gotten such good feedback from their teachers. 

The first line in Matt's assessment was "Matt is an independent student who completes work showing his best effort."  This meant so much to me as we try so hard to teach the kids to give 100% no matter what they're doing.  Mrs. Grady said he helps her in class and works hard.  He is 1 of 3 kids in his class who gets to do research on a topic and then prepares a presentation for the class.  He is reading very well and even got an award for reading 25 Caldecott books! 

Matt was student of the week a few weeks ago and we had fun putting this poster together with pictures of all his family and friends.  Matt we are so proud of you for working so hard and mostly behaving in school! 

Marlie is doing so well too!  She has started reading already!  Mrs. Lisa said she loves having her in class and can always count on Marlie to give the right answer...sometimes before she's even finished the question!! Marlie got the award for "Best Personality" and also got a "Star Student" award, both of which she was VERY proud.  If you've been around her she's probably told you about it. 

Marlie loves school but has asked me a few times if I could please teach her at home!  She is the perfect student but the 2 times she has been in trouble she went all out!!  One time she "mooned" someone during nap time and the other time she whacked another little girl.  YIKES!  It's that red hair...you better watch out!

We made it to the Superbowl!

Pretty funny...last weekend our football team made it to the Superbowl.  We lost by 2 points but we never thought we'd make it there so the kids were excited anyway!  They got a medal and Matt was sure only the second place team got medals! Gram and Papa Howie drove up for the big event and Nene was there too.  We all cheered Matt on! 

Matt also got a medal last week for being "honest".  I'm not really sure exactly what he did to earn that but he was very excited so we will be too!

It was nice to have all the Dads pitch in to help coach.  Coach Doug, Coach Joel and Coach Dan all helped and we all laughed a lot.  Once because Doug told the ref he should throw a flag because the other team's coach had shorts on that were too short, another time when Doug got on Coach Dan, walked onto the field and Coach Dan proceeded to yell and throw his hat on the field.  I love these guys! 

Here are some final shots from the season.  Matt can't wait to play again next year, but for now...we are full speed ahead in baseball world and that is so much fun too!