MEET GUS AND GOLDIE!

So, this isn't the best picture of our new friends, but at least we can introduce you to them. Gus and Goldie are our newest addition to our outdoor friends. They are adorable little goldfinches that visit our yard everyday....and they are scared off by very little. Kind of friendly in a way!! Anyway, we just LOVE them, (especially Clarie and I), so we came up with names for our little couple!

FINALLY!

THE SHOW IS FINALLY OVER!!! It has been super fun for the kids and it has been very wonderful for us to watch them as they learn and grow, BUT THE SHOW IS FINALLY OVER!! WOO-HOO!

Ayden and Claire are both glad to have a break now, too; however, they are already planning what classes to take next year! It will be especially exciting for them next year since they know what to anticipate. Ayden has decided he LOVES to be on stage and in front of an audience. Surprise, surprise! (I'm not sure where he gets that!) Claire smiled the ENTIRE perfomance, but said, "It was a little sca-wy with all those people watching!" Needless to say Jason and I could have watched them a billion times without ever blinking an eye. We are so proud!

And yes, Ayden now thinks he is really "It"!!

The weather for our holiday weekend was GORGEOUS! As a matter of fact it was hot enough for the kids to swim, and the water wasn't as shockingly cold as it usually is this time of year. Jason and I were even brave enough to take a dip....okay, my dip was MUCH shorter than everyone else's BUT at least I tried!

Naturally the kids just picked up where they left off last Summer! They were practicing their jumps off the diving board, swimming under water, squirting people with the water soakers, and what? Taking a break in the baby pool? They think they are SO funny!! Maybe if I wasn't always laughing at them they would think differently! SO HOORAY SUMMER!!
We've been waiting a long time for you to get here!

DANCE DANCE DANCE

The e-dance show is just around the corner...next weekend! We can't wait. Last week we had a photo shoot at the studio where parents could take pictures. So, of course, my children loved it. It really was fun. As you can see, my camera is touch and go, as far as quality is concerned:( Fortunately, my mom took some pix too, so hers look much better than mine.
You will not be surprised to notice that Claire went for the angelic, beautiful ballerina poses, while Ayden worked the tough-guy gangsta' look!

The show is going to be great! The kids have worked so hard and have had so much fun learning the routines. We will hopefully be able to record some of their show at rehearsal for those of you who would like to see my "little stars" in action!

THE SUN IS SHINING!

With the weather being so incredibly beautiful, we decided that Spike deserved a venture outside. She is suffering from Spring fever inside her aquarium and has been trying to escape for the past three days, so we thought we would give her a go! Is it possible that she is truly a city-turtle and hasn't been outside before? Brian, Erica, comment.....
This little turtle was left loose (under strict supervision), and she sat on the front porch with only her head poking out of her shell for quite a few minutes. THEN, this is so funny, she literally walked on the sidewalk!! She would NOT leave the perimeters of the sidewalk! CITY TURTLE!
Eventually, she managed to muster enough courage to try the road less traveled. She was unsure, but once she was comfortable, she was FAST! It was time to call it a day, and she willingly accepted her indoor home .....until today, when she tried to escape yet AGAIN!




Well, baseball season has begun! This is Ayden up to bat. He nailed it , unfortunately the second baseman was quick, and was able to get him out at first:( What a great a sport, though...he kept up a great attitude throughout the whole game! Too bad, his Mommy is an over protective mess.... As Ayden hits the ball, is it bad to whisper to myself (directing my thoughts to the other team....of seven year olds?!!) ,"Drop it, miss it, overthrow!" What is wrong with me? All of these thoughts just so my baby can make it to first base? Yeah, motherhood definitely brings out the best in us!


Speaking of my babies....My little girl is now officially a jack-o-lantern!! She lost her other front tooth on Friday! Again, she pulled the thing right out of her mouth, all by herself!! Where Ayden was self-consious without front teeth, Claire is genuinely proud!! She smiles at everyone, hoping they will notice her fashionably toothless smile:)

NOTICE ANYTHING NEW?

Is this the prettiest toothless smile you ever saw OR WHAT?

LET'S CATCH UP!!

LET'S CATCH UP!! Our lives have been a whirlwind of activities lately! Here are some pictures to keep you up to date with what we have been doing over the last month...or so! Claire had a Spring Hat Parade in her class. She designed and decorated her paper plate into a grassy, flowery bird's nest with rattling eggs for that extra effect!





Occupation Day was a hit at East High Elementary. As you can see we have a future police officer...which should not surprise anyone. Ayden is ALWAYS concerned with following the law...i.e. "Claire, are you HAVE to be in a booster seat or Mommy will go to jail", OR "Mom, what would happen if you were pulled over for driving too fast?" Of course I don't say, "Mommy would beg the police officer to let me "go"...after all running two kids from here to there can be a little stressful!
Claire on the other hand is looking to orthodontics as her profession.....don't ask? I wouldn't even be surprised if she follows through with that dream!







A quieter moment at our house was celebrating Earth Hour. Earth Hour was started two years ago as an effort to conserve energy, and make a statement to stop global warming. Simply, you make the conscious effort to turn off everything electric for 1 -2 hours on this night. It was a lot of fun last year as the four of us sat in the dark trying to solve the world's environmental problems....we have such inventive kids!
This year Ayden and Claire decided to play the piano by candle light, sing songs, talk about earth hour, and even tried to read without electricity. They like to think about what it was like before electricity was even invented! We decided that it would be fun to do this more often, and maybe even make a party of it sometime! Maybe this Summer we can!

On a NOT SO QUIET night at our house, the kids had a boxing match....
against their viscous father!

Needless to say the kids won!!

St Patrick's Day food!! YUM YUM! It really was tastier than it looks!! Can't you tell by Ayden's face?

TAGGED

So my friend Annie has "tagged" me. I had to follow her directions and post the 5th picture from my 5th folder of my picture file. I am glad she did. I forgot to post Ayden's last basketball game!! So here he is a PRE-game picture. Can't you see the concentration and determination on his face? This game was a big one because it was the first time playing full court with a full 5-man team! And I will brag a little bit....he made the only basket for his team! YAY, AYDEN!!
I am supposed to tag five more people, BUT all of my friends and family are face-bookers. I am the soul blogger of the group! Thanks for including me Annie!

SOCK HOP!!

Every year the PTO sponsors a "Sock Hop" at East High Elementary School. It is a BIG deal. The whole school looks forward to it and it is always A LOT of fun. The kids are encouraged to dress in the traditional sock hop clothes which of course, my kids just "hated"! The two of them just live for this stuff...it is SO funny. They both were super excited...and particular...about what they wanted to wear. They looked FABULOUS!

My little angels!

As if dressing up, dancing and friends weren't enough....the cotton candy was a free bonus!! WOO-HOO!!

These are the post-cotton candy effects! Give 'em a little sugar and all inhibitions are lost! WATCH OUT DANCE, FLOOR HERE WE COME!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRENT AND ELI!!

Some of you may not realize that I had surgery on Monday:( Nothing too serious. I had a herniated rectum...it's called a rectocele. I am doing very well...in a little bit of pain, but nothing I can't handle! Anyway, the recovery is along process of following many restrictions, eating right...and basically being BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!!! No...I am trying to catch up on current events, read, and unfortuantely watching way to much talk-show TV!!

SO-O-O-O, having filled you in on that , you are probably wondering why I have Summer picutres of the kiddos on this post. These are just some cute pix of my favorite kids EVER!! Today is the celebration of my best nephews' birthdays. Trent will be NINE YEARS OLD tomorrow....I can't believe it. And Eli will be FIVE YEARS OLD on Tuesday!!

Here is the sad part......It is the first time I have NOT been able to be at their birthday party:( I am SO BUMMED. I wanted them to know that I am their in spirit, and cannot believe how much they are growing!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOYS!!!! ILOVE YOU!!

CATCH THE LOVE BABY!!!!
sorry I can't be with you:( love, Atah

p.s. you can share this with your friends if you want to!

Happy Valentine's Day....

Jason had a very important date over the weekend....the Daddy-Daughter Dance! It was SO adorable to drop Jason and Claire off at the door to the "White Ballroom" at Masonic Village, and see all of the other little girls and their daddy's dressed to nines like Claire and Jason! Yes.....almost all of the dad's were in suits and ties, and the girls were in fancy-pants dresses!! Claire took it VERY seriously and had her hair curled, she wore her flower girl dress, and her special-occasion coat! They had a GREAT time, but Jason is not prepared for her to be so independent. She loved that he was there with her, but really could have cared less when she was dancing with her girlfriends! Poor Jason...he has no clue what he is in for!



The kids and I went to Grammy's house for our annual Valentine's- Day- Cake -making! YUM! Of course, Ayden's favorite part is eating while he "works"! He has enjoyed making these cakes since he was really little...he LOVES cherry pie filling! What a funny kid.

So, Jason spent Valentine's weekend doing the backsplash....well he put it up, and then we grouted together. How romantic! It looks great, though and we are super glad to have it done. Next up.....finish the island. No sweat!

WOO-HOO!!! LET"S GO TUBING!

We had a sleep over this past weekend. It was A LOT of fun. These are some sleepy kids, who of course, were not at all ready to go to bed. It was a good thing that we had some bribing material to work with! Our plan for the next morning was to go snow tubing at Ski Round Top, so they all agreed that they would need extra energy for a day filled with activity.


Claire was without a doubt the bravest of tubers! The boys have conceded to this fact and have been able to admit that a five year old girl can/is adventurous and brave. She was the first to go down the hill by herself and also the first to go on her belly, rather than sitting in the hole! GIRLS ROCK CLAIRE!!!













Trent and Ayden were the most concerned with looking the part. They were very independent when riding the lift up the hill and there hesitation to go down the hill quickly diminished when they realized that it was actually fun to take the risk!!




Eli had a great time. He is the littlest of them all, but he hung in there smiling and laughing the whole time. He thought maybe Pop-pop would scream the loudest. I'll let you wonder whether he did or not!!











So, at the end of the day I am not sure who was more tired. Gabby and Pop-pop, or the kiddos! OR ME....we're the ones that had the sleep over, remember?








Some nice cold beverages (and many many of snacks) made a perfect ending to this adventuresome day! Thanks for a coming along everyone....we had a GREAT time!