Our Little TOT

Watts loves to learn from the big girls, and he had a great time following in Cille's footsteps (and even using her hand-me-down ball) in the TOT program this year...

Our little TOT superstar really enjoyed his Shine-Time Super Show at the Dunham School.  His favorite part was definitely his trophy...

Watts is participating in TOT again this year, so expect some more fancy ball handling this coming May.  Great job, buddy!

To relive our other little TOT, click here.

Muffins with Mom and Donuts with Dad

When we arrived back home it was just in time for us to attend Cille's Muffins with Mom and Donuts with Dad program! 

Cille's portrait of me... Click here to compare it to Stella's...

I like that she thinks I am so light, but I am a little offended that she thinks I weigh more than Damon...

Cille and one of her friends...

Cille and a few more friends...

Cille and Mawmaw...

Cille and her teacher...their relationship grew a lot since the first day of school...

Such cute and sweet kindergarten girls...

Cille and Pawpaw...

Congrats, Cille!  We are so proud of you for being our second big girl to graduate kindergarten at PBS.  You learned so much this year, and grew into a very mature and helpful young lady.  We know you are going to accomplish great things in your next 12 years as an Eagle!

To relive Stella's Muffins with Mom and Donuts with Dad experience, click here.

Puerto Rico

Damon and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on April 14, 2016, right in the middle of the kids' spring break.  Since we weren't able to sneak off together to celebrate the milestone, we waited until a few weeks later and celebrated with something super romantic: continuing legal education.  Damon really knows how to woo a gal, huh?  But hey, when the CLE is taught in beautiful Puerto Rico, I don't really have much to complain about.  Between sessions, we were even able to squeeze in a little fun.  For example, we caught this sunrise on the beach because we were up and out early in order to make it back for class...

We stayed in San Juan on the Atlantic side of the island.

See those buildings in the distance?  Abandoned and covered in graffiti.  The economy in Puerto Rico is not so great...

Damon is the star of most of these pics because they are from my phone...

Hiking the rainforest was one of the highlights of the trip...

I love a good waterfall, and climbing up one is tons of fun, if a little on the slippery side...

We had fun exploring Old San Juan.  I felt totally safe until someone told us the next night that Old San Juan is where most of the drug trade goes down.  Lovely...

I am not one for taking silly pictures, but the ladies that took this were egging us on to do something silly, so why not?

I think this was the gate where they would welcome official visitors, or something like that...

We had a great time exploring together in Puerto Rico.  The relatively small island has many different ecosystems, friendly people, and breathtaking natural beauty.  The photos seriously do not do it justice.  I did not care much for the food, but I am a pretty picky eater.  I would love to visit again one day with the entire family.

Although this blog is mostly about the kids and their activities, I think it is important to record a few of mom and dad's outings.  Getting away together and exploring new places is one of the things that Damon and I feel brings us closer together.  Focusing on our marriage and each other is an important part of being the best parents that we can be.  It's nice to get away and recharge our batteries every so often, even if the main topic of conversation while we're gone is the kids.  Happy Anniversary, Damon!  I hope we have at least 50 more!

Dance Picture Day

Dance picture day is always a little stressful for mom, and this year for the first time we had two little dancers to get to the studio camera-ready on time, so the pressure was really on.  Luckily we had good friends there to help us remember to have fun...

The song for this costume is "Dancing Dolls."  Doesn't Stella look like one? (Note the other stressed out mom making last minute adjustments in the reflection.)

It's almost too much sass to be contained in one photograph...

Siblings take a photo together for the recital program, so I had both girls wear their ballet costumes for continuity.  And because I secretly liked those costumes best...

Cille begged to sit on this arch for her picture...

And Stella came up with her own pose on the fly.  When the photographer asked Ms. Tari if it was okay, she said, "As long as we use that one in the program."  Haha!

Such beautiful girls!  I can't wait to see them perform at recital!  

Watts's First Sleepover

Part of having older siblings is wanting to do everything that they do, so Watts has spent pretty much his entire life knowing about sleepovers and wanting to have one of his own.  Stella and Molly started spending the night with each other before Cille was even born, so it was about time Watts got his turn. He invited his best friend and I found out what it was like to have two 3 year old boys in the house!  

Our first stop was Baskin-Robbins, because Stella was gone spending the night with her friend and we didn't have to worry about avoiding peanuts as much as we usually do...  

 How happy is this kid?

 Watts's friend got to ride in Cille's seat.  I am not sure he was on board with the pink color...

 Our next stop was the splash pad for some fun in the sun...

 And we finished our night out with a little dress-up...

The boys were very good and had a blast playing together.  I think it's about time for Watts to have another sleepover!

Strawberry Patch, Part 3

The girls have always been a little nervous about the zip line at the patch, but this year they finally conquered their fears...

In prior years an adult had to walk beside them...I kid you not...

We found some horses...real and bouncy nearby...

We only rode the bouncy horses...

And the cycle-go-round...

It was lots of fun...

Corinne explored a tunnel...

Stella and her friend found John's Guillory's long lost turkey friend.  Two thumbs up for not losing a digit to a ticked off turkey...

And Wren showed us that she can swing like a big girl...

Corinne crack corn, and I don't care...

Is it just me, or are all these photos a little corny?  (Sorry...I couldn't help myself.)

Can't wait to pick more berries next year!