82

daddy and me in puerto rico - circa 1978

Happy 82nd birthday daddy.

I love you.

Crazy Hair Day

Today, the children's school deemed it "Crazy Hair Day". Actually, it was the student council....

Here was my attempt at "crazy hair".
Both my photography and hair dressing skills are lacking.
I spiked Spencer's hair with gel and then spray-painted his faux-hawk orange.
Gemma wanted a bun - which was easy. Then she wanted extra clips - no problem.
The tricky part was adding the pencils. And then I added orange strips.....pretty crazy!

Dentist - Take Three

You can click here for take one and here for take two.

They say that "three times is a charm" and I think that may be true for Gianna and the dentist.
This morning Gianna went to the dentist and had all of her teeth counted and cleaned!!!!!!
She may have had some incentive though....I had promised Gianna an ice cream cone if she had all of her teeth cleaned. (She only managed four teeth at her last appointment). David and I don't normally bribe our kids, but desperate times call for desperate measures. (I mention it here and here.)
Here is the happy patient after her cleaning, looking at the loot she picked from the treasure box.

A promise is a promise!

My happy little girl looking a little crazy with her "ginormous" ice cream cone! I'm hoping our next visit we're able to do without promising any extra treats! : )

Easter Sunday

Here we are on Easter morning after church. The kids were complaining the sun was too bright, so we used the tree for the shade. Then they started complaining that it was too chilly! Oh well! You can't have everything! By the way, notice Gianna's arm in the above photo? She was "posing".
I promised the kids a "silly" photo after our family one, but Spencer was too chilly. Gemma just wanted to wear her hat. She is growing up too fast.

Gianna allowed me to be in her silly photo. She is too goofy!

After our photo shoot, David and I had to finish cooking a few dishes to bring to Judy's for Easter dinner. With such a large extended family, pot-luck is the way to go!

When we arrived, we saw some strange things outside.....

If you click on the photos, you'll see that there were Easter eggs everywhere! The last few years, we've celebrated Easter at Gino and Linda's house and the Easter Bunny usually leaves a few treats for the kids. Well, this year, the bunny knew we'd be at Judy's! Here is last year's post and here is the 2009 post. You can really see how they've grown!

After we ate, the kids headed out side to hunt for eggs!
Spencer couldn't get out of the door fast enough!
David did a time delay start - smallest to biggest!


The required group shot. I couldn't get them to look at me at the same time, but they all look happy! Gianna was too interested in counting her eggs!
When we got home, our neighbor was enjoying the beautiful weather and decided to go for a drive in his Mustang. Gianna couldn't get out of the van fast enough to ask Jonas for a ride. She loves this car - and really enjoys playing with Jonas.
Jonas noticed I had a camera and stopped for me to take this photo. I asked him to put his arm around Gianna - I thought this would be perfect for the slideshow at their wedding! : )

We really had a great Easter.

Gemma's Party

Gemma celebrated her 10th birthday with some friends at a local roller rink on Saturday. They had a great time and kept busy with skating and playing in the fun zone, (an indoor play structure).

I started having the kids parties out of the house when they turned 6 years old. It makes life so much easier!!!

Gemma before her guests arrived.

All of the kids having parties that day.

This was Gemma's awesome birthday cake! It was made by a co-worker of David's who bakes as a hobby. Gemma actually helped design the cake. She gave the woman her ideas and then this is what it turned into! We had many people stop by and comment on the cake.

Gemma and cousin Joshua.

Gemma and Spencer

Party guests.

Daddy and his baby girl.

Australian Visitors

Earlier this month, David's Uncle Remo and cousin Gianna came to visit all the way from Australia. They stayed with David's parents, so we were able to visit with them frequently. However, we didn't manage to get a photo with them until just a few days before they were scheduled to leave.Our little Gianna of course wanted nothing to do with the photo. However, this is when David and I have to get creative with our parenting.

We are not the kind of parents that believe in bribing. However, there are certain times when we do. David promised Gianna a tootsie roll in exchange for a photo. : )

April Snow

These photos were taken on April 16, 2011.
If these were taken in January or Feburay, I would say they're beautiful photos.

However, since it was April, I have to say.........it was sickening!!!!Go away winter!

If you click here, you'll see a post from this time last year. Notice the green grass and Gianna wearing a short sleeve shirt and skirt!!!!!

Sleeping

Gemma went to a birthday party a few weeks ago and was given a sleeping mask as one of the party favors. She's worn it to sleep almost every night since she received it. However, Gianna has manage to "borrow" it a few times. Here is Gianna modeling it for me before bed time. I was sure that once she was put to bed, she would take it off.

However, when I went to check on her about 30 minutes later, this is what I found. A sleeping Gianna with her mask on! Adorable!

(I should note, Gemma went shopping last weekend with Bamma and Titi Evelyn and stopped at Claire's to purchase Gianna her own mask!)

Gemma's Birthday

On April 10th, but baby girl turned 10 years old! Where has the time gone???

Before we left for church that morning, I took some photos of the kids. However, I did this while David was showering - so he isn't in any photos....what was I thinking?



In the afternoon we went to The Outback Steakhouse with the grandparents, Titi Evelyn and visiting relatives from Australia. After a yummy dinner, we came home for cake and ice cream. Gemma will be celebrating her birthday with friends this weekend - I'll be sure to post those photos in much more timely manner! ; )

Assembly

At the end of each month Gemma and Spencer's school holds a monthly assembly. Awards are given and usually one of the classes performs - either a song or poem. For the March assembly, Gemma's class sang a song. Unfortunately the video won't upload to blogger, so I can't share.

While at the same assembly, Gemma along with 6 other children were recognized for their participation in Destination Imagination. Children in 4th and 5th grade had to try out in the fall to be chosen for a team of seven. (Gemma was one of 50 children that tried out!) The team met weekly starting in November to prepare for a competition in March. Gemma's team didn't win over-all, but they did a great job and had a lot of fun working together.


Here is a photo of the D.I. kids.

Another Spring Break Outing

Another outing during spring break week was to the Children's Museum. It's hard to believe we've been visiting this museum since Gemma was around two years old! The kids always like to play in the grocery store. Spencer had fun playing cashier and took his job seriously! ; )
Gemma came over and helped when he needed back-up! What a good sister.
Gianna had fun in the grocery store, but decided to run over to the restaurant. She was busy cooking, but took time to take my order!
The museum had a new exhibit - LEGOS!!! We spent over an HOUR in this exhibit - I'm pretty sure I could have left Spencer in here for a few hours and he wouldn't have noticed.
Gemma had fun dressing up and jousting with some kids.
Spencer and his best friend NEVER left this spot at the table. It was so cute to watch them work together.

Gianna spent a lot of time running around, but finally settled in this area for quite some time. She was trying to build her own castle, so I had to convince her to work on building some walls. As you can see from her expression, she was having fun!

Spring Break

This is a post that should have been done weeks ago...

The kids were on spring break last month and we managed to do a few fun things. We decided to spend one day at the Minnesota Zoo with some friends. We lucked out with the weather - it was over-cast but not cold. And the crowds were at the minimum!

We saw lots of animals and had lots of fun running around the zoo.
I brought the stroller, but Gianna spent most of the time walking - and loved it.