Our Weekend

-staying up late & sleeping in
-eggflower soup at Canton Grill

-playing Hangman with Daddy while waiting for shrimp and rice

-driving through the rain

-dark & gloomy weather

-scanning pictures of my dad

-feeling ready to create an album for him

-Barbies, Pollys & forts

-discovering Daddy's Star Wars toys

-going to see Rio (super cute)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom was in Hawaii for her birthday (poor thing) so we had a belated celebration for her at Rheinlander. The girls loved the accordion music, and couldn't believe the man playing knew all of The Sound of Music songs!! They danced and sang, and danced... while the adults laughed and ate. (You can't beat the cheese fondue! Yum!!)

The favorite dance of the night was the Chicken Dance. (Even Charlotte got into the action!) The accordion player loved that he had such a dedicated audience. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I got to sleep in ( a little... the girls were pretty excited about their breakfast plans!) and then Ali brought me a menu of the breakfast items I could choose from. After a quick nap, I was served a fabulous breakfast in bed... complete with gourmet coffee!

I spent most of the day reading (or napping!) and working on the scrapbooks. A perfect day for me!

We met Grandma Sandy at Benihana's for an early dinner. It was, once again, delicious.

Photo above taken by Merilyn Grace.

I am so blessed! Life is good.

The Jefferson Dancers

Guest Post by Alison Slyter

We started our evening at dinner at Macaroni Grill. Alexis and her mom came, and Liz was there too. (My daddy and sister just came for dinner.) We all jumped in the car and headed downtown to the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Liz told me we were going to meet one of the dancers. I was excited to watch for her in all of the dances. (And to meet her!)

Alexis and I on the statue inside the theater.

This is the ceiling of the theater!

This is Alexis and I by a window in theater. We took this picture on the intermission.

I loved all of the dances. My favorite was a girl that was sleeping and had a dream about people with televisions on their heads! I guess it's because they watch TV a lot!

The girl I met is Mia O'Connor and she signed my poster and postcard! I was super excited to meet her! I even got a picture with her. She was a great dancer.

I was so tired that when we got home I went straight to bed. It was a very late night!

Mommy's Note: The dancers were amazingly talented! (I wish I had just a small amount of their energy!) And yes, it was a very late night. It made getting up the next day a little rough.

Ali's Dinner Night

We've been trying a new idea in our house... (thanks to my good friend Cassandra for the idea!) We've been taking turns planning and making dinner on different nights. It has made me way less grumpy during the week... knowing that we have a plan, and that I'm not the only one responsible for making sure dinner gets on the table. With this plan we've also been better about sitting down together at the kitchen table talking about our day and sharing our favorite thing that happened that day. The girls laugh hysterically every night when Daddy says his favorite part of his day is "having dinner with my girls".

Tonight was Ali's night to make dinner. She didn't want any help... she wanted it to be a surprise. She set the table, made the dinner, and served it up. (Place setting tags included.)

Tonight's dinner was Eggo waffles with Nutella in the middle (as the main course). Side dishes included applesauce and string cheese. She was so proud of herself! And, I'm proud of her, too!

Way to go Alison! I love the little lady you're becoming.

Easter 2011

We had a small, low-key Easter at home this year. The girls were up bright and early (6:15 am) and ready to tear into their Easter baskets and hunt for eggs.

Mom, Casey, and everyone came over for an early dinner and the "grown-up" egg hunt that Mom puts together for us. (Travis won for the first time this year!)

The girls had new Easter dresses... (thanks to Gramma) they loved dressing up.

I'm not sure why we didn't color the eggs the night before... it seems like we had a late night doing something? (I meant to get to them much earlier in the week, and as you can see that obviously didn't happen.) So, the girls colored the eggs after everyone left. We'll still make egg sandwiches!

Rain, Rain Go Away

A few bright & sunny days makes us wish for more....