Our yard is in bloom now with lots of spring flowers. It seems appropriate to appreciate them with our own flowers that are blooming!

We officially celebrated our own spring break this year instead of tagging along with someone else’s break. It was nice to celebrate several spring breaks with different people when we didn’t have school constraints on us, but alas those days are over. We did a local activity everyday of the break and Mama enjoyed just spending time with her girls.

Playdate with friends! – We enjoyed playing with someone else’s toys for a morning and having lunch. The kids are getting old enough that they really play on their own. The littlest is having to learn to voice her opinion and keep up with the bigger kids. They are working it out for sure.

They have formed a band. Watch out! For a concert just contact their booking agent.

This might need to become a career option. It appears she has the personality to go with the instrument.

Swim Time – No photos from this event because Mama forgot the camera in the car. We swam in the heated indoor pool and loved it. We didn’t have to share the pool with anyone else and had a lifeguard to keep an eye on us. Emily enjoyed showing off some tricks for the lifeguard including sit diving. Emily figured out how to swim under Mama’s legs in the pool. Julia enjoyed freedom in the pool and being able to walk fairly deep into the pool. She would would play right at the point that it became too deep to keep her head above water and would bounce between the sides. It sure kept the lifeguard busy until he figured out that she was doing it on purpose and could get herself out of trouble.

Playdate at Grammy’s – Grammy watched the girls for a morning and Mama brought lunch back for everyone to enjoy. The girls were supposed to take care of Grammy while they were there, but they forgot their purpose once they got playing. They are only six and four though. We finished out the day with dress-up playtime. Always a good day when the princess dresses can come out.

Photo Day and Consignment Shopping – Emily had not gotten her six year old photo taken yet so we knocked that one off the list one morning and then hung out at a consignment sale and the mall until they were collapsing and ready for a nap.

Playdate at the Children’s Museum – We met friends at the Children’s Museum for some enjoyable playtime. The only thing that would have made the day better was if Daddy had been able to join us. The kids did all their favorite things!

A stack of good friends and giggles

Really it was a beach vacation. Getting four kids to look in one direction is still tough even though they are now older.

The puppet performance of the Ladybug and fish.

First Friend Sleepover – Our friends invited the girls over for a sleepover and then we met them at church the next morning. All four girls had a blast and they did get some sleep. They went to sleep around 10 and were up by 6 the next morning. That wake-up time might just be Julia’s fault. They just enjoyed playing with each other and toys. They are ready for the next sleepover, I guess it will be at our house.

One of the best photos ever! These are the moments that really define childhood.

Sunday Afternoon Church Picnic – This activity just happened to fall during our spring break and worked out for a fun time to spend with friends. Some out-of-town friends came in to visit and everyone converged on a park to enjoy fellowship and a little catching up. All the girls church friends were able to make it and they all enjoyed a sunny time at the park. Of course our girls were the best dressed girls at the park, but despite being told what we were doing they wanted to dress in their finest for church. It didn’t seem to slow them down.

Really not sure if they ware playing get the ball or get the Jeremy. Way to go Dads for keeping all the kids running on the field!

We spent the morning at the park with our friends Grace and Daniel. The big girls had a great time playing on the different equipment. They kept trying to cross the monkey bars, but would get stuck part way across and need saving. They discovered the water fountain had been turned on and turned it into a source of entertainment. I loved that they would use teamwork to get drinks where Grace would push for Emily to drink and Emily for Grace. Julia spent time playing with the bigger girls, with Mama, and by herself playing. Daniel loves swinging and did that by himself for the longest time. He joined in a little, but for the most part he played on his own too.

Emily insisted on swinging on the little kids swing so she could go higher and faster. 😉

All three girls were “cooking” at the diner. Julia kept serving Mama macaroni and cheese soup. The main ingredient was mulch.

The happy swinging boy!

Julia would alternate between wanting to swing “higher-faster” and “slower-lower”. She loves her swinging.

The three girls attempting to slide at the same time.

Grace pushing the fountain button so Emily could get her drink. What great teamwork.

Today was a beautiful day. It was a warm and sunny morning to play at the Botanical Garden with our friends. We shared our last picnic and playtime for a while as Elena and Maeve will be doing some traveling. Emily is praying for her friends every night that God would take care of them on their trip and bring them home safely. Very genuine and sweet! One funny activity of the day was with the Pringles we shared. The girls all enjoyed making their duck faces with the chips.

The big girls being very sweet together.

They were being a bit silly, but having fun playing in their special castle.

How very typical of Julia these days to have her fingers in her mouth. She is cutting some molars right now and they must be bothering her a lot, because she puts everything in her mouth to chew on it. Sweet smile – she enjoyed her time playing with her friends.

Mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s the silliest of them all? Today it was the little girls for sure.

Maeve is always ready for a moment with the camera, at least with Ms. Rachelle.

We are having one beautiful day here in Tennessee. The temperatures are getting up toward 70 degrees, the sun came out around noon, and there is a pleasant breeze. To celebrate this wonderful weather (which is only lasting one day), we met our friends after school at a nearby park. We also needed to break the trend of not taking the camera out much. These cold months are hard ones to remember to take photos of our resident smiles.

The park play highlights include: lots of running around, giggles, trying new equipment out, one wet slide that slowed down Emily’s fun, post-lunch snacks, and lots of busyness. Despite being wet, Emily had no interest in coming home. The warm weather makes us all long a little more for spring to officially come.

Wow, they both looked at the camera and smiled together! We are so fortunate that Emily has such a great friend.

Emily will be getting a haircut tomorrow so this is the before photo, but what a great smile from her too. Not always what she is willing to give the camera.

The only way they would both look at the camera (or in the direction of) was to ask about the bug on my head. They were skeptical – does it show? Emily needs more gray shirts, her eyes sure look gray in this photo.

Our sweet girl. Having a great day of not acting too independent. She is wanting to show so much individually these days. She wanted to butter her bagel just like Emily did. She too will be getting a haircut tomorrow, but not expecting any huge style changes.

Our resident pixie friend. Without the awesome pigtails she would still be a pixie, but they sure do make the look complete.

We enjoyed a beautiful spring morning at the UT gardens with friends this morning. We were joined by the usual suspects of Ashley, Elena, Maeve, Heather, and Kenzie. Also joining us was Deborah, Sarah, and Andrew who were in town for a visit and brought Grandma Darrie. The big girls love Ms. Darrie from church. We could not have asked for a more delightful morning. The kids enjoyed being with each other and at times were willing to pose for photos too. I think my favorite game the girls played was pretending to be ants and crawling around a set of benches.

My best photo at our attempt to get one of all of the girls. They are busy and loved being with each other, just not all looking at the camera at the same moment.

Sweet Elena

Emily was so excited to give McKenzie a hug. It was really sweet. She kept hugging and kissing her.

Emily was pretty reluctant to give the camera a smile. She loved checking out the flowers, sticks, garden art, benches, paths, and just everything else in the garden.

Awesome Julia smile!

Kenzie in the Heart

One of my favorite photos from the day. Maeve was really playing in the dirt surrounded by all of the beautiful flowers. Happy as any bug found in the garden.

Sarah and Andrew taking their turn posing in the heart.