Photo Dump

We've been enjoying our school free days around here. The kids have been doing basketball camp, volleyball camp, figure skating, baseball and lots of playdates with friends. The weather is just now starting to warm up, so hopefully there will be some beach and pool pictures in our future. 

 For now, here is a dump of what has been going on around here.

I dyed the girls' hair the other day. I was stressed out the entire time!  Hannah now is sporting red tips and Abby's is bleached.  I probably could have left the bleach on Abby's hair a bit longer to make it lighter, but I'm not kidding, my heart was racing the entire time, afraid her ends were going to break off!  They both love their new summer hair, and now that we've done it once, it will be easy to do again.

My pretty peonies!  I LOVE these flowers. I wish they lasted longer than they do.

More spring flowers!

Hannah whistling back to the birds in the trees!

 THIS is exactly how Griff's been acting all summer. He is so much more squirrelly than the girls.

Hannah dancing in the driveway. Can you see her red hair?

Abby....just got back from skating practice, hence the pants.

Peonies again!

Our little welcome sign :-)

Every year I like to take a picture of the front of our house to see how the landscaping has changed.

And here is Griff, getting in one of my pictures. He wanted to make sure I posted this so Grandmas and Grandpas could see him :-)

Early Father's Day Celebration

We celebrated Father's Day last night due to a variety of reasons.  The kids surprised Mike with a cute book all about Dad they made in school; Abby painted him a picture; and we all made him a canvas picture of the kids.  Abby and Hannah helped me make a really chocolately cake.....it's two layers of chocolate cake with a layer of brownies sandwiched between!  And lots of chocolate frosting and chocolate chips! So good, but you feel a little ick after eating it :-)

#1 Dad

 Yum!

Picture taken over spring break in AZ

Baseball!

Griff had a baseball game last night, a make-up game from one that was cancelled earlier this spring due to rain. The guys played a great game, and lost only by 1 run.  Griff got a hit every time he was up at bat and managed to cross home plate a couple times.  The team looked like they were having fun. I was able to get some pictures of Griff and the team. Griff is number 2. Enjoy!

First time up at bat. Got a single.

 Running to first.

 On deck.

 Playing shortstop.

 Third time up at bat. Got a single again.

 On first.

 On third.

 Confirming the batting order with Coach.

 Just crossed home plate and running back to the dugout.

That is Griff and one of his best buddies trying to give each other high-fives with their gloves. Two seconds later the two assistant coaches walking out to the field told them to stop screwing around and to get "baseball ready" !

 Congratulating the winning team after the game.

Updates Updates Updates

Excitement is in the air around here! Two more days of school, and today is the annual all day kickball tourney, so it's really only one day of school.  It just doesn't feel like the end of the school year, and I'm blaming the weather.  It's been a rainy and cold spring, and it just doesn't feel like summer is around the corner. Hopefully the warm weather is coming.....I feel like I say that All.The.Time.  It's actually supposed to rain all day today (again), so hopefully the school has a Plan B if they  kids can't get outside for kickball.

Below are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. Some are phone pics, so not that great, but want to share what the kids have been up to. Fingers crossed that beach and pool pictures are in the near future!

Abby had her annual figure skating banquet on Sunday morning.  It's a brunch for all the club members.  They receive certificates for tests pasted throughout the year, and there is a slide show of pictures.  It's a nice brunch, and it's a great group of girls and families. Here are two pictures before we left, and a group shot of the girls in the club.

 Lots of baseball on the driveway and in the yard for us lately.  The weather has been so iffy Griff has only had a couple of games this season.  He and Mike get outside every chance they get to practice.

 This picture is so Griff.....he's quite the ham.....and he does think he's awesome :-)

 Hannah has claimed ownership of my other camera and has turned into quite the shutter-bug. One of these days I'll post some pictures she has taken.

 More of Griff, hamming it up.

 Hannah is losing teeth left and right. Can you see the gaps in her mouth?? She almost looks homeless ;-)

 The three kiddos....

This is a constant morning look for Griff (and Hannah, too)....a chocolate covered mug due to the chocolate chip waffles they eat most mornings.

Griff had a chance to ride the firetruck to school with some friends.  It's an awesome way to pull up to the school!

 Abby went to a Young Author's Conference at Bethel University with some other 4th graders.  This is one of her very good friends Emily.  I tagged along because I was a bit nervous about her navigating her way around a college campus, but she did great and it was really well organized.  It was an all day conference that included various breakout sessions facilitated by young adult authors. Abby really enjoyed it.

 The group of 4th graders that went to the conference.

That's all for now.  Will post a last day of school picture tomorrow!!!

Spring Band Concert

Abby had her Spring Band Concert tonight. Her school has a great band and choir department, and you can tell how hard the kids work all year when you hear them play and sing.  Just got a couple of pictures before we headed out.

8 more days of school! YEAH! Fingers crossed the weather is going to WARM UP!

Busy Busy Busy

Yikes, we've been busy these last couple weeks.  Baseball, figure skating, girl scouts, birthday parties, swimming, and general running around.  We all are ready for summer vacay to begin!!

Abby had her year end girl scout activity the other week. It was a mystery play type thing - each girl received a part in the play. They had to try to solve the mystery - who stole the Oscar award.  Abby's part in the play was an actress named Angelina Josephina.  She, along with all the other girls, loved this.  It was really fun to see them get dressed up, act out their parts and try to solve "who done it"! (that's Hannah in there too, in her green and black leotard.  They let her join in the fun since she was with me.  She was Megan Mix-Alot....a stunt actress!)

 We borrowed this dress from our neighbor whose daughter dances. Abby did not want to give it back! And how about those $3.00 silver Goodwill kitten heels :-)

Hannah "graduated" from Daisys to Brownies last night.  They have a special ceremony for the girls. She is excited to be a Brownie next year. She also loved the brownie sundae treat she had at the celebration! (standing, 2nd from left)

Griff has been TRYING to play baseball this spring. It's been AWFUL weather for the boys.  They've had so many cancelled practices and games. I feel badly for them. Below are his team pictures that were taken a couple of weeks ago.

The Trenton Thunder Machine Pitch Baseball Team (Griff is 2nd from the right, kneeling down)

Griff and his best buddies. Helps to have Dad as a coach ... he can stack the team with friends :-)

Da Coach and Griff

Two more weeks of school and then we are OFF for summer! Can't wait...hoping that our weather warms up and we have another warm summer like last year. We are all looking forward to spending time outside, biking, beaching it, pooling it, and just hanging out :-)