The Ballerina

We don't usually have the opportunity to take pictures of our little ballerina Aubrie because cameras are not allowed in her dance performances. But, at the end of the dance year, the Papparazzi is allowed to come to class!

Aubrie just loves ballet. She told me that she loves it because she can do all her favorite things: dance, act, perform and enjoy classical music. The intensity of her ballet class has filtered out many of her friends and her class size is small and down to only the girls who love it. This is a little hard to not have her best buddies in class, but it's also nice because those who stayed are focused and ready to learn.

 Aubrie has had two wonderful teachers the past couple years, but graduated this year to the main studio, which will mean new teachers next year.

Aubrie's teachers say not only does she have natural dance abilities, but that she's also a hard worker. I think this girl has a future!

Teyah's Time in the Spotlight

Sweet Teyah had so much fun in her Kindergarten Spring concert. She continued family tradition of being on the front row, behind the piano (where the shortest kids stand).

 

This is a classic Teyah look. She is just the most pure, innocent little girl. We sure love her! We are so proud of how well she did in Kindergarten.

 

Daddy was able to attend her Fairy Tale Ball. They had so much fun dancing together and enjoying her school's fun activities.

The Never-ending Winter

Last year in March, we were walking around in shorts and basking in 80 degree weather ... this year, we were toying with sub-zero weather.

We had to snap a picture to remember the crazy snowstorm of April 23.

Just when we thought we had broken through to spring for a couple days, we snapped right back into winter again with more snow.

But then to our dismay, we had to capture the crazy snowstorm of May 2 also! We sure got great use of our winter clothes/boots this year!

Everyone kept saying, "I can't believe this crazy, horrible weather." But then, we ended up saying it over and over and over again, for four months! Minnesota truly lived up to its reputation of a horrible winter/spring. In fact, it completely outdid itself! We broke record after record.

Poor Ellie's soccer season got cut extremely short. The snow wouldn't melt, and when it finally did, it was too soggy for the city to open the fields, so many games and practices were cancelled. Mentally it was a tough spring for everyone! But, somehow we survived!

The Sorcerer's Apprentices

Aubrie and Teyah loved performing together in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" for their Spring Ballet performance. The Spring show is so much fun.

Teyah performed as a creature. We loved the stuffed tummy! So cute!

Aubre danced as 'fire.' She was pretty hot.

 I enjoy helping backstage. It's fun to see the behind-the-scenes action. This is the creatures rehearsing behind the curtain before the show. Performing is definitely the girls' favorite part of ballet!

Our volleyball player



Growing up a volleyball player, I always wanted to be left-handed. I knew it would make me a better setter. So, I tried to switch hand dominance by doing everything with my left hand. I became obsessed with learning about hand dominance. So, when my first-born daughter was born a lefty, I immediately had lofty dreams for her!

We decided to give competitive volleyball a try this winter. Aubrie was a hard worker and improved tremendously. 

Ballet is probably her ultimate passion, but it sure was fun seeing her play my favorite sport and with her left hand!

Barbie Drive-in

 

One of Daddy's pocket projectors + Ken + Barbie + Pink Barbie mobile =

A romantic night at the drive-in for Ken & Barbie!

Easter 2013

I'm dreaming of a white Easter....Not quite, but that's what we got for Easter 2013. No outdoor Easter egg hunts at our house!

Despite the downer weather, we enjoyed our typical traditions.

Beautiful eggs

It seemed a little strange wearing spring clothes to church.

This year all of our kids found baseball gloves and outdoor gear in their Easter baskets. It almost seemed cruel, since they couldn't really play with the gloves.

Attempt #1 at family pic. Nope.

The perfect Easter pic. Kyler was actually really sick and didn't even make it to church. Poor guy. You can't even tell in this picture though!

Miracle of the Pea

We had a crisis moment on our hands. A routine dinner at home (while Mom was away) featuring Mac 'n Cheese and peas, turned into a moment of panic and uncertainty for our little Teyah -- the one who planted the said pea in her brother's nose. Then, panic set in for Dave when he unsuccessfully tried to remove it. Even after googling and trying all kinds of solutions, still no luck. We even called the doctor for some advice since the pea was lodged so far up Kyler's nose you could barely see it. The pea was not coming out. In such a time of panic, what did Dave do?  He pulled out the video camera and captured the moment.

After about 20 minutes, Dave was about to give up and take him to the Pediatrician, but before doing so, he thought he would try peppering up Kyler's nose one more time. Just when he was about to give up, the pea sort of just fell out. Right then, Teyah came downstairs and proclaimed that she had prayed for that pea to come out (she had fled the scene bawling and had disappeared into her room). She was so excited to have her prayer answered so quickly!

Teyah, then proclaimed, "I think Jesus is coming" as she pointed outside to an amazing sunset in which we could see rays of sunshine reaching through the clouds. It was a miracle and a small, tender mercy that reminded our family that God truly does hear and answer even the smallest child's prayers.

Ellie's Baptism

 

In our church, turning 8 is a special birthday because it means you are old enough to make the decision to be baptized. Ellie chose to have her dad baptize her, and it was a wonderful day.

Part of what made it so perfect is we had so much of my family here to be a part of it! Do you like how Kyler was obviously done holding still at this point?

Ellie shared her baptism day with her old Joy School buddy, Reece. It made for a huge crowd and extra memories!

We love seeing Ellie so happy! She doesn't love being the center of attention, but she sure loved her day.

The day was filled with family happiness.

The rest of the weekend was filled with lots of fun cousin activities!

 

Some of our favorite memories included a huge ice cream sundae party...

 

 

A fairy tale play that included a cute Little Red Riding Hood.

 

Thank you Grandma for being so giving and making such great efforts to be a part of these special events!

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

 

Rochester has been our second home this spring as we have had more than our share of appointments at Mayo Clinic, searching for clues to Ellie's medical mysteries. Ironically, these getaways have turned into some of the best "vacation memories" for our kids. It's a reminder that kids are sometimes just as happy to spend their Spring Break dancing with Chuck-E-Cheese, than going on elaborate trips.

And when else can you hang out at the children's museum with no particular agenda or schedule? 

When else can you paint your face to your hearts content?

Oh my goodness! There are no words for this picture!

Sampson loses his strength

 

For the past couple years, Kyler has sported the surfer locks -- by Daddy's choice. But after a minor hair-cutting mishap, I convinced Dave to let me go short.

I gave Kyler my phone to help him hold still while I did the chopping, and he conveniently snapped this self-portrait of the cut in action.

It's a new look! I have been having fun giving him faux-hawks, spikey do's, and the slicked back old-fashioned do. With Kyler's fun personality, he can pull off any look!

Ellie's 8!

Eight years old is a big birthday in our family. So, we had to have a big celebration! Ellie opted to have a friend party -- which she hasn't had in a couple years.

 

Ellie chose an American Girl craft party. This mom wanted to make it extra special for the big birthday and also since she hasn't had a 'real' party in a couple years. However, this ended up being the most work a birthday party has ever been! In the end, I realized, I got a bit too carried away with this one.

  

We had star-shaped sugar cookies, star shaped Jigglers and fruit skewers in sizes appropriate for the girls and their dolls, along with crepes!

This is the miniature table set for their dolls.

The girls ate it up -- literally and figuratively!

We also made tutu skirts for the dolls, pipe-cleaner crowns, wands and gave the dolls and girls sticker earrings. They looked lovely.

 

 And, I made my first rainbow cake. Making it dairy and fructose free, and all the layers was SO. MUCH. WORK. I do not recommend doing this! It was pretty, but for how much work it was, it wasn't even that good. Oh, and did I mention that just after spending um like six hours or something ridiculous on this cake, Kyler dug into it with his hands right before the party started! I don't mean to post all the drama behind the fun, but sometimes it's good to record what life is truly like!

 

But, I think Ellie, and the girls enjoyed it -- and in the end that's all that matters!

Happy Birthday little Ellie!! We sure love you!

About Ellie...
•Ellie is a quick learner
•She is reliable, focused, efficient and driven
•She started piano last summer and has flown through her books. Between her dedication, natural music talent, and ability to learn quickly she has picked up piano at an extremely accelerated pace.
•Ellie does not seem to be growing much. She is just under the 5th percentile in height, which has mom and the doctors a bit concerned. She has her fair share of doctor's tests and appointments and we still have no real answers for her chronic mouth sores.
•With Ellie, you ask her to do something just once and it's done before you even turn around. She is amazing!
•Ellie started competitive soccer this year. The coaches love her work ethic, skills and tenacity! She participated in an indoor winter camp where the coach said she is one of the best players he's ever seen at her age! He thinks she will go far! And with a work ethic like she has, we agree!
•She is intense, but has the best smile! A smile that will light up any room!
•Ellie has the best sense of fashion. She has started to do her hair (and it looks good!) and her outfits are often original but always contemporary.


Ellie is such a special part of our family!