A Sleepover at Poppie and Gibbie's

A week ago we made a last minute decision to go to my parents house for a quick sleepover. It was such a relaxing trip and every time we go I wonder why we don't get down there more often. We laid in the backyard while the kids splashed in the pool, watched Dad's birds fly, and I even got to sleep in. Allan helped my parents dig up and replant their front flowerbed which he really enjoyed doing. He shares a love of gardening with my mom and it was nice to see them enjoying their morning together. The kids played in the sprinkler a little bit before we headed back home. All in all it was 18 hours we really needed over the Easter break.

The REAL Easter Program

Today Claire's entire preschool put on their Easter program for all the parents and grandparents. Claire once again had a stellar performance as Jesus' friend. She likes to say that she is Jesus' best friend since Jesus was played by her cousin Cooper. I love watching all the kiddos up on stage they range in age from 18 months- 5 years and they are all adorable in their own little way.

It is so great that Allan is willing to take a morning off of work to come watch Claire perform. He is such a good and committed daddy, we are all thankful he is in our lives. I am cracking up at Jacob's "cheeeeeese!" face in that top picture. I can rarely get him to look at the camera these days, but when he does he is ready to put on a show. I know I have said it before but it has been such a fun school year having Claire and Cooper at the same school, their little friendship has really grown. We will miss having him around next year when they go their separate ways in school.

Claire and some of her favorite friends wanted to pose together. She and Hudson (left) and Emily (top and bottom right) have been in the same class the last two years and their friendships make me smile. Nevaeh (bottom right) is not in their class this year but they love getting to play together on the playground a few times a week.

We are going to be leaving this school next year and that makes me sad. I LOVE her preschool so much and have been blessed to have Claire there the last two years. I hope that Jacob will be there in a couple of years, it is such a great place!

Presents From Mimi and Papa

The kids got their Easter presents from Mimi and Papa in the mail yesterday. They were very excited about the candy, movies, books, and other goodies. Thank you so much Mimi and Papa for always being so thoughtful to send them little gifts every holiday. They are so blessed to have you as grandparents and we are so thankful to have you in our lives as well.

Playgroup Easter Party

We had our final Easter party this last Monday for Claire's playgroup...so sad. It was a fun party with an egg hunt, decorating eggs, yummy snacks, and fun with friends. We will miss meeting with this little group of friends on a regular basis when most of them head off to kindergarten next year.

Easter Program- Take 1

This last Sunday Claire's Pre K class got to put on their Easter program for the church she goes to preschool at. She will be performing it again tomorrow with the entire preschool. I love that they do the program on a Sunday so that my parents can come up and watch without having to take off work. Thank you so much Poppie and Gibbie for coming up to watch the kiddos perform! This year Claire and Cooper are at the same school so it was fun to see them both on stage. Cooper played the part of Jesus and Claire had the very important role of Jesus' friend. I am sure I will be posting some pictures of the school program which will look really similar soon ;)

Soccer Season is Over

Well, we finished it...our first soccer season that is. Claire played with gusto the last couple of months every Saturday and some Thursdays. I was so proud of her. She scored one goal this season and you would have thought she won the Super Bowl. She really did seem to improve with every game. I would get such a kick out of watching her run as fast as she could up and down the field pumping her arms so hard, she was adorable.

Claire had such a great coach which made her transition into the sports world so smooth and fun. Her team was so nice and welcomed her with open arms. I hope that she will want to play again next season. At the moment she says "maybe, but she really wants to dance." We shall see what she ends up really enjoying in her little life. I love this little soccer star ;)

Claire had quite the fan club throughout the season, both sets of grandparents made it to a game or two, the Powell family showed up a few times and our friends Hannah, Ava, and Stella Tallo came to her final game. Thank you all for coming to make Claire feel special and celebrated this season!

Arbuckle Wilderness

My sister Sara recently moved to another area of Oklahoma that is significantly closer to my house and that makes me so happy. I can now get to her house in an hour and forty five minutes...woohoo!! When she moved we decided that the kids and I would come up midweek and go to Arbuckle Wilderness which is very close to her new house. It is a drive through "safari" where you can feed the wild animals which mainly consisted of llamas, emus, and zebras. It was a fun way to spend the morning. The kids LOVED having the freedom to wander around the car out of their car seats, they were more wild than the animals I think. Poor Sara's car was trashed by the end of our time there with one kid kicking over a soda and an over zealous llama yanking the food cup out of my hand then spitting it all back into the car. All in all I would say it was a success. We want to go back up soon and go to the big cat habitat that is close by. I love that she lives so much closer and that our kids will have even more opportunities to make memories together.

Take A Guess

I added a poll to the sidebar. Take a guess at who will be joining our family in September. Will we be adding more pink or blue to our house? We will have a sonogram the first week of May and will share with the blogosphere all that we find out as soon as we can.

Stella's Sip and See

Last night I got to co-host a Sip and See for my friend Hannah and her new baby girl, Stella. It was such a fun night and everyone loved getting a chance to cuddle the sweet baby and hear Hannah tell her birth story. Claire was delighted to be invited and acted like such a little lady. I have to give a huge shout out to the other hostesses, Elizabeth and Randi, they outdid themselves with their creativity. Randi made a super cute wreath and the cupcake tree and Elizabeth made the pretty banner. I love celebrating babies, especially the baby of such a great friend!

Birthday Weekend

When Allan asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday this year I said all I wanted was a little family getaway. We decided to head to San Antonio and stay at the Hilton Hill Country where we swam in their heated pools and ate s'mores at night. It was a relaxing place to stay and we had so much fun.
The highlight of the weekend was spending Saturday at Sea World. It was a very spur of the moment decision to go, we were loading up to head downtown for the day and then Allan said "Let's just spend the day at Sea World". It is cheesy, but it was a little dream day for me. I have wanted to go there since third grade.
The first show we went to was Believe, the Shamu show. It was AMAZING to see these massive animals jump and the relationship they shared with their trainers. One of my favorite parts of this show was the mom and baby performing together. Claire and Jacob ooohed and ahhhhed and I even had tears in my eyes.
Another highlight of the day was feeding and petting the dolphins. Allan was the feeder and and Claire and I were the petters, we decided to keep Jacob's feet on the ground so he didn't go swimming which he would have loved to do.
The most beautiful show was Azul. I was too in to watching the show to take many pictures. It was amazing how high the dolphins jumped and how the beluga whales would dive deep with their trainers. The acrobats took our breath away. Claire decided that this is what she wants to do when she is bigger. I say dream big little one. Jacob loved the shows too. I think he will definitely be the kid in the splash zone next time getting drenched (probably with me) and Claire will safely sit high and dry with her daddy.
We did ride a few rides while we there, but the kids favorite non-fish activity was climbing around in this giant contraption. It was fun to watch them interact together and see their little friendship grow even deeper. I love these two kids so stinkin' much!!
Sunday morning we drove over to another hotel, Hyatt Hill Country and took pictures in the bluebonnets. This is actually my kids first time to take bluebonnet pictures...how sad is that?!? I included my 14 week belly shot.
Before heading home we decided on taking a little nature walk. Claire picked wildflowers and made me a birthday bouquet which I loved.

This was exactly the weekend I was hoping for minus the unexpected road trip home since there were no flights for a few days, but I won't go down that dark road ;) I have the best husband that goes above and beyond to make special time for our family and make our dreams, even if they are small dreams, come true. Thank you babe, for a wonderful and memorable 32nd birthday weekend!!

Roger That!

Two weeks ago we got a call from Allan's parents saying they would love to surprise the kids with a puppy. After a few long discussions we decided that this was a really special opportunity and we decided to go for it. Allan's parents had planned to fly in for a long weekend already and just brought the dog out with them on the plane. Our kids had no idea that they were getting a puppy. When Allan drove up to the house with his parents in the car the kids ran up to them and they got out with our new dog, Roger, they were in shock. Once we convinced Claire that it was in fact her very own dog she was beside herself with excitement.

We have an adventure ahead of us with Roger, he is already keeping us on our toes, but we know that in the end he is going to be a great addition to our family. The kids continue to love on him daily and in the rare moments that he will cuddle up beside us on the couch I totally melt.