Spring Carnival and Recital

Dan had to go to California this last week and that coincided with the school's spring carnival. Well this is a really important event(right?), and I was not looking forward to attending this chaos alone. Lucky for me, my mom offered to come along and help me with the kids :) The kids had lots of fun....

Savannah impressed with her bean bag toss.

They all loved the bounce house.

I just had to catch these 2 holding hands (I guess they don't fight ALL the time).

Not so much fun for this little guy. Next year he'll get in on more of the action.

And then Saturday Dan made it home just in time for Savannah's Spring Music Festival. At this event students from 6 different teachers were able to perform one piece. And what a great recital it was. I was truly amazed at how talented these small children were. It definitely got Paige excited to start her lessons this summer. At the end of the performance the audience voted and they gave 3 audience choice winners. And first place went to- drum roll please.........................

SAVANNAH JANE MALAN! She was given a certificate and $20!

I think having Grandma and Grandpa Dana there pushed her vote over the edge ;)
And here you have the winning performance......

What progress she has made since last summer.

Lydia's 3rd Birthday

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, but it has indeed and Lydia is now 3. We ended up having our big family party on Sunday, and were lucky to have lots of family in attendance. Lydia once again chose a "Dora" theme- she is the "queen" of all things Dora (according to Paige's best friend). She's lucky to have a glut of Dora hand me downs from 2 sisters who also loved the little girl. My goal by the end of this year is to get her out of Dora pajamas (her choice attire) and more used to dressing in non-Dora clothes. And the guests at the party did not disappoint, she received Dora dolls, dress up crown kit, movie, soccer ball, hopscotch, bubble blower, dress, etc. Lets just say we are fully stocked on Dora gear!
To go with the gear I made her another Dora cake. I've definitely had my problems with the cake decorating in the past, so I was pretty happy with my first piped cake (if that's what you call it).

It definitely has room for improvement, but when Lydia saw it she said "Oh mom, I just love it!" So that was all that mattered and it made the 2 hr 15 min. decorating time worth it.

Here she is giving her sister a kiss. She was so sweet after opening gifts, she gave everyone hugs. I have to say with Lydia there was not a terrible two. She is such a good mild tempered little girl.

There were a few non Dora gifts. This coloring cardboard house was a hit for sure. The kids have had a lot of fun with it for sure. They managed to get a good deal of markers not just on the house, but also on our walls, floors, and all over their bodies. All I can say is thank goodness for washable markers. They are so easy to clean up.

It took a few puffs to get the candles out again, but I imagine by next year she'll have it figured out. It was a great birthday for my sweet little Lydi!

Savannah's personal piano recital

Savannah's piano teacher encouraged all of her students to have their own personal recitals this month. After a lot of practice and preparation, we had the recital at our home Saturday evening. It was really special for her to be able to play for her friends and family.

Getting ready for the big event with lots of practice. And all dressed up (she even did her own hair).

Here with her teacher, and amazing pianist and teacher.

One of her pieces was a duet with her dad. I love it when they can play together. Great job Savannah!

From a Seed

Have you ever grown a bell pepper from a seed? Last year we tried. We were not successful because we did not realize how LONG it takes a pepper to go from a seed to producing a vegetable. Last year our pepper was pretty, but that was it. This year I was not going to make the same mistake. We planted our pepper seed the last week of February. It was growing beautifully in our window sill, and the other day I transplanted it to a bigger pot so it could continue to grow. Oh we've been admiring our beautiful pepper plant, and in a couple of weeks I would plant it in its final resting spot in the garden. And then......

It happened so fast. There was no saving it. I was actually pretty impressed with the amount of destruction, yet the dirt was untouched?

So much for growing a pepper from a small seed this year. However, I probably will hang on to it for awhile to see if there is any chance of a revival.

Easter fun

This Easter season we did all the typical Easter things....

Wore new Easter dresses (and suit for Abe) to church a week early...

We colored Easter eggs, and were lucky to have some cousins there to share in the fun.


We saw the Easter bunny.

Went on a few egg hunts....




Had some good eats...

And got some fun presents from the Easter bunny.




All in all a great Easter!

A day in the life.....

So yesterday Savannah came bouncing through the door from School and announced, "I just LOVE Mondays." My response, "Well, I like them too (I guess)". Her reply "You probably like everyday because ALL YOU have to do is take care of 3 kids." Really?.... Is that all? I really wish that WAS all, but this statement inspired me to grab my camera and take just a few pictures of a typical day in my life.

Well I guess this could've been worse, but I sure hope they found that 1 special book they were looking for.

Darn it! I thought I just put those train pieces away.....

Ummm, well there's the answer to my question as to why there is 2 crayons in EVERY single room of the house!"

I can see that snack time is officially over.

Caught in the act! Hey you little rascal, put those envelopes back into the drawer!

Yes this little destroyer doesn't want me.... he's after the camera of course!

After a bit I decided I didn't want to take anymore pictures.... I was just getting too annoyed. However I must note that the last 3 days have been particularly great since Lydia is officially potty trained :) That means 3 days without wet panties and cleaning urine off the wood floors, couch, and carpet. And 3 days of not trying to salvage those poopy Dora panties (tell me why are they are always out of stock in size 2T?). And why do we do it all? Because there is some fun to be had.....




Okay- party's over! Stop jumping on the bed and time to go to bed!
Now the kids are in bed, it's time to relax (but not without being interrupted at least 3 times- go to bed, stop fighting, whose crying up there), rest (but definitely NOT sleep through the night- nightmares, crying babies, vomit, etc. etc.) wake up an repeat 24/7.

Welcome little guy!

My little sister Hailey had her baby boy this morning. Skyler Burke Arvish was born at 6:31 am and was a whopping 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 3/4 in. long. What a sweet and cute baby he is!

He looked a whole lot like his Dad!

I brought Savannah and Paige with me to the hospital to see their new cousin. They loved holding baby Skyler.