A pinch of sugar...

 Brynn has become my little sous chef.  Anytime I am in the kitchen cooking she pushes her chair up to the counter as she is asking me if she can help.  How can I say no?!  We love baking together. 

 I bought a Martha Stewart cookie book a few years ago.  It has the BEST sugar cookie recipe.  The secret:  Lemon zest and lemon juice. 

 The perks of helping mommy bake.

The results.  Sooooo good!

Spring Dance Recital

The girls had their Spring dance recital at a local community theater in downtown Greensboro this year.  This is a giant leap from the humble beginnings of Mrs. Shelley's living room. 

 My Brynn bug!  She performed to "Let's Go Fly a Kite".  She was so comfortable on stage. 

 

 Caroline performed in two numbers: "Let it Go" (Hip Hop) and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Ballet II).  She knew her routine and hit every mark.  I was so proud. 

A Backyard Story...

 When Kevin and I began looking for houses to buy we insisted it have a great backyard for the kids to run and play.  When we discovered the Windermere house we loved it but then we saw the backyard!

 Yikes!!

But we loved the house and we loved the potential of the backyard.  We envisioned sitting in the sun room or on the back deck over looking our plush, green yard while the kids ran and played.  But we knew it would take a lot of work. 

The problems we were up against:
1) A LOT of trees; big trees, saplings, branches, etc. 
2)  Years worth of leaves.  The good news is that underneath those layers and layers of leaves was the best dirt we could ask for.  All of the vegetation basically mulched itself for years. 
3)  Uneven dirt.  Because the backyard has been untouched for most of its existence there were valleys and holes and slopes.

First item to tackle:  Tree removal.  This tree had a large branch hanging right over Russell's room.  One good storm and it would have landed right on top of him.  (I shudder just thinking about it.)
PS.  Check out this guys awesome beard!  Kevin was impressed.

 

 

Ok.  So big trees are gone.  Time to take care of the ground.  Using a bobcat, the landscapers removed the top layer including leaves, saplings, branches, etc.  

 That trailer is how much stuff they removed.  Crazy. 

 Next step was fill dirt.  It took 3 dump trucks full of dirt to cover the backyard.  The girls loved having big piles of dirt to play on.  Such a difference already. 

 Side Yard

 Last step, GRASS!  The guys aerated the dirt, seeded, aerated, and seeded a second and third time.  Then they put down straw to protect the seeds.  Kevin and I were so impatient to see any growth.  We would check every morning. We got so frustrated.  Did we water it to much?  Did we not water it enough?  ARGGGG!  Then one morning we walked to the sun room and saw this...

 We were so giddy!!! 

It keeps growing and growing!  The girls love it and have been begging to go outside and play. 

Totally worth it!

Random Sampler (May)

 This is a typical scene at our house around 3:23pm.  Caroline has finished her homework, the games come out and the girls are glued together.

 For teacher appreciation week at school Shelley decorated Mrs. G's door with photos of the kids I took.  Each student held up a letter and they all spelled out "We love Mrs. Garrison!"  Caroline and her BFF got to be the hearts in the middle.  What hams!

 I finally got back to my roots (pun intended) and planted a garden.  It has been hard work but so worth it.  The girls love to check on our garden each day and it never disappoints.  Can't wait to sample the fruits (and veggies) of our labor.

This is a typical scene in my bed each Saturday morning.  We have a king size bed but honestly when you have have little wiggle worms in bed with you it doesn't matter. 

Soccer Season (Russell)

Well, I can't leave the boy out. 

He was such a good cheerleader!

Soccer Season (Brynn)

Up next is our Bug...

A friend told me that in the 3 year old division of soccer if you can teach the kids how to not use their hands and which goal to score in you have had a successful day.  So true. 

 

Her coach was so patient with the players.    Brynn learned to move the ball down the field with a game called "Tick Tock".  She learned to get past a player with a game of "Shark vs. Minnows".  But most of all she learned to have fun.  

Before practice Brynn would tell me how she wanted her hair done and I would have to convince her that "No, we don't wear dresses to play soccer."  My favorite is when she asked for Anna braids.

It was so fun to watch her run all over the field without a care in the world.  We could hear her giggling the whole time from the side lines.  If you have never seen a group of 3 year olds play soccer do yourself a favor and try it.  It is the most entertaining thing to see. 

 

In almost every picture I have of her playing she has her tongue out.:)

Up next gymnastics...

Soccer Season (Caroline)

Both girls decided they wanted to play soccer this year so we signed them up for the YMCA league.  They were super excited.

Caroline has never played soccer before but wanted to try something different.

 

Her team had a mix of kids who were new to the game and seasoned veterans.  She was really nervous.  She was honestly scared of the ball and would not go after it like some of the other kids did.  We even had one game where the ball whizzed past her head and she walked off the field in tears.  We soon discovered that she was scared a ball would hit her and knock her tooth that was loose at the time out. 

Well, good news.  The tooth came out on its own and she was a whole new player.  She realized she likes playing goalie.  In one game she made 4 saves!!  She was on cloud 9.

A coach taught her how to do a goalie kick to help her team mates and she did great!  Her confidence level was through the roof.

 

She finished her season on Friday night and is already asking if she can play again next year.  As Brynn said, "She is the best goalie in the world!"