times are changing

Wow, time has been flying by since my last post. We've been very busy with gathering information on schools for Olivia and Violet, as they will be starting kindergarten this fall. My little girls are growing up! We have several school options in our district, but many of them are decided by a lottery drawing. We had kindergarten registration night at our area elementary school last week, where we registered the girls in the public school system. They came with us and had fun riding on a school bus, visiting the library, and meeting the kindergarten teachers. We are waiting for the results of the lottery before deciding for sure where they will go, but it makes me a little sad to think about them starting school.

We also will need to decide where they will spend the summer. They graduate from their current daycare on May 31st. They could still stay there for the summer, but I think they will be ready for a change. There are several summer programs in the area that would allow them to go on a lot of field trips and participate in a lot of fun activities. This would be a good time to change them to a more active summer schedule, to help them prepare for starting school in the fall.

So we have some pretty big changes coming for Olivia & Violet!!

We've also had some fun times recently. The girls had a blast celebrating Valentine's Day. They had a party with their friends at daycare, and the their favorite stuffed animals surprised them with a scavenger hunt when we got home. They had fun following the clues to find the surprise at the end!! After they were done, they decided to make a scavenger hunt for Daddy also. Their clues were a little generic ("You look behind it") but Daddy managed to get through it with a few hints. :)

Valentine's Day fun!

A surprise scavenger hunt organized by the girls' Uglydolls

Since my last post, we have also gone bowling, attended the play "Pinocchio" at the Children's Theatre, celebrated Chelsey's birthday party, helped my sister Rhonda and her family move, and attended a bridal shower for my cousin. The girls are also still in weekly swimming lessons, which they love!!

Olivia and Violet have been very much into building Lego's lately. They got a few Lego Friends sets for Christmas and have had a blast putting them together and playing with them. They are also starting to read a little bit, and love to ask us how to spell things. Signs they will be ready for school I guess! Times are changing!!

our family christmas

We had our own family celebration on Christmas Eve. We ate supper by candlelight, which was pretty neat. We used some special snowman plates and fancy glasses, which the girls thought was pretty awesome. They enjoyed drinking out of the "fancy glasses." After supper, we opened gifts. Violet insisted on wearing a princess dress and crown for the event. It's nice that Olivia and Violet are still at an age where they get excited by simple things. For example, Olivia got SO EXCITED when she opened some new underwear! She posed with them so I could take a picture, and she had to change into them right after we were done opening gifts. They also were pretty happy with a "How to Draw Uglydoll" book from their stuffed Uglydoll animals Wippy and Dave. They had so much fun! After presents, we watched the Christmas movie "Polar Express"as a family. The girls loved it, and by the end were saying how much they believe in Santa. We put out milk and cookies for Santa and everything had to be just right. The girls rearranged the cookies on the plate about five times before they felt it was ready. Violet said she was going to stay up all night so she could see Santa; however, I checked on them about ten minutes after putting them to bed, and they were both fast asleep. They were pretty tired from an exciting and fun weekend!

Violet opening a Disney Princess doll

Olivia posing with her new underwear

Olivia with their "How to Draw Uglydoll" book

Violet & Olivia, leaving milk and cookies for Santa

This morning, Christmas Day, Olivia peeked downstairs and came running in our room to tell us that there were presents under our tree. Santa came!! Olivia got the Strawberry Shortcake dolls she wanted, and Violet got her Strawberry Shortcake "castle" (a strawberry-shaped house). Their stocking were also filled with little treats. They were so excited!!!

We had a great Christmas this year. The girls are at such a fun age where everything is truly magical. We are very blessed with such wonderful family and friends!!

Santa came!!

Violet's Strawberry Shortcake castle

Olivia's Strawberry Shortcake dolls

Violet displaying her stocking treats

Olivia's candy cane pen from her stocking

tis the season....

On December 19th, Olivia & Violet participated in a Christmas program with their preschool daycare class and with the kindergarten class from the school attached to their daycare. The theme was a "Jesus Tree," which they decorated with ornaments throughout the service that symbolized different things about Jesus. They sang several songs including "Away in a Manger," a Christmas version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and "Go Tell It On the Mountain," which was a favorite. Everyone in the audience loved how LOUD the kids sang on that one! They also had some lines to recite with their class. They sat up front through the whole service, and they both did a great job. Afterward, we had some snacks with the other families, which gave the girls a chance to run around with their friends. They had been practicing for weeks, so they were very excited to perform!

Olivia & Violet, ready for their Christmas program

Olivia & Violet with their best friend Sylvia from daycare

Goofing around with some of their classmates after the program

This past Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with the Suchy family. The girls went sledding and snowmobiling, which they thought was a blast. Grandpa Suchy built a snow hill in the yard, which they used to slide off of, and Violet said her favorite part of the day was snowmobiling with Daddy! We opened presents, and the girls were lucky to receive many nice gifts. One of their favorites was a horse trailer and horses from Grandpa & Grandma, which they played with right away. The girls had a blast spending time with their cousins!

Violet sledding

Olivia & Uncle Joey, ready to go down the hill

Daddy & Violet on Grandpa's snowmobile

Violet & Olivia

Suchy cousins with Grandpa & Grandma Suchy

On Sunday, we celebrated with the Thronson family. The kids put on a talent show this year, which was hosted by the oldest cousins Maya & Emma. They had a sign-up sheet where you could register to perform your talent. It was awesome! There was some piano playing, some singing, some jumping, and even a skit. Olivia & Violet did somersaults as their talent. It was great!! Then the kids were able to partake in their tradition of mattress jumping. Luckily, no one got hurt again this year! Then, Maya read the Christmas story, and then we had a delicious meal, followed by presents. All of the kids received Uglydolls, popular stuffed animals, as gifts. They had a great time together! We all stayed overnight and played together the next morning. The girls played with their new Legos from Grandpa & Grandma Thronson.

Thronson Cousins

Violet's talent: A somersault

Talent show: singing "Jingle Bells"

Mattress jumping

Cousins with their new Uglydolls