Easter 03-31-13

Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny brought Cecily a new bear since her old one was so loved, his material was getting holes. When her cousins came over, they opened more baskets and ate bunny cinnamon rolls that Caren made. The kids (and Christina) dyed some eggs before heading to the pool for a swim. When we got back to the house, Caren made chick deviled eggs while Christina made a red velvet bunny cake. As the grown-ups prepared dinner, the kids took turns hiding and finding eggs outside. After our delicious Easter dinner, we celebrated Emily's 10th birthday with the bunny cake and presents. Cecily loved hanging out with her cousins and staying at Grandpa Otto and Grandma Lynn's house. She can't wait for them all to come out to help her celebrate her 9th birthday in April. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUig

Lynx Lake 03-30-13

We pulled Cecily out of school a little early on Friday to drive out to Phoenix to spend the weekend with Richard's family. On Saturday, we headed up to Lynx Lake in Prescott to enjoy some German food for lunch and a lovely hike around the lake. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was nice. Cecily was so happy to be with her cousins. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUZA

Spring Party 03-28-13

Cecily's third grade class had their Spring Party today. The kids made dirt cup snacks (chocolate pudding, Oreo crumbs, and gummy worms) and planted flowers in the pots they had painted earlier in the week. It was a beautiful day with great weather to be outside planting. The flowers looked so nice in the painted pots. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUVw

Easter Bunny 03-24-13

We went to Bella Terra to visit the Easter Bunny with Kayla and Sean. Then the kids enjoyed shopping at Justice. It was a beautiful day to be outside. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUMQ

Soccer & Casino Night 03-23-13

Last week, we missed the soccer game because Cecily was sick. We ended up having to take her to urgent care, where they diagnosed her with a sinus infection and put her on antibiotics. Today was another early morning game at 9:00 am for the Blue Lightning Bolts. Christina from the Killer Bees and Jasper from the Purple Musketeers were on the opposing team. We started out a little slow, but once the girls woke up they did an amazing job winning the game 4 to 1. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUIA In the evening, Caren attended Harbour View's annual Casino Night Silent Auction. Cecily's third grade class made a lovely platter with their classroom theme of flamingos to auction off. Caren got outbid on her items, but she did win a lunch for Cecily with her favorite teacher, Mrs. Ashley from first grade.

Pioneer Day & Brownies 03-20-13

The third grade had their Pioneer Day today in Pelican Hall. Boys wore lots of plaid and girls wore long skirts and bonnets. They got to brush wool, make biscuits, grind corn, play with old-fashioned toys, make a beaded necklace, check out a leather drum, pan for gold, shave their face, and wash clothes. The kids had so much fun learning about pioneer life. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUAg After school, we had our Brownie meeting. The girls picked out some fun ideas to do with their cookie money, and they voted to go to Soak City. Cecily was a little disappointed that horseback riding didn't win, but Soak City was her second choice. So now, she is excited to go to her first real water park with her Girl Scout friends. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VUEw

Cotillion 03-19-13

At Cotillion tonight, we were surprised to see two girls from Cecily's soccer team, Alaina and Natalie. It's so nice to see new friends in different settings. For dinner, we headed to Duke's with Shari and Scarlett. A couple people commented to Cecily that her dress was beautiful. Cecily had admitted earlier in the evening that she liked Cotillion because she had fun dressing up. For dessert, we went to Baskin Robbins for Cecily's 5 scoops of ice cream for her 5th Cotillion. Only one more to go for this season. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VT6w

Laira's Birthday Party 03-17-13

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We enjoyed some corned beef at Laira's 9th birthday party. Cecily loved giving Laira a matching sweater for her birthday present. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VTyQ

Jaden's Birthday Party 03-10-13

Happy 9th Birthday, Jaden! We helped him celebrate at his rollerskating party at the Rinks. Jaden had a great turnout from their class, and he actually had more girls than boys show up from school. Cecily had a lot of fun skating with her friends. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VTvg

First Soccer Game 03-09-13

Cecily came home sick on Friday from school, so she was not feeling too well for her very first soccer game of the spring season. She rested for the first half and played the second half of the game. Our team, the Blue Lightning Bolts, won 4-3. It was a great game! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VTnA

Brownie Meeting 03-06-13

Our Brownie troop had a meeting today with a fifth grade Junior troop from Harbour View to earn their Friendship Badge. The girls introduced each other and shared something about themselves. Then they played a getting-to-know-you Bingo game. After the game, they broke up into groups to work together to build something with popsicle sticks. We ended the meeting with the older girls teaching the younger ones some Girl Scout songs. Cecily worked on the popsicle building with Jaden, who is our neighbor one block over. They happened to be partners about three and a half years ago when our troops had a joint meeting when Jaden was a Brownie and Cecily was a Daisy. Can't believe how big they both have grown. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VTYw

Soccer, Brunch, & Cookies 03-03-13

Richard had Friday off, so we had a nice lunch date at Duke's. We got a table with an amazing view right on the beach. It was so relaxing to eat without Cecily and fun to people-watch as well. Later in the evening, Cecily finally went to her first spring soccer practice. It's nice for her to know almost half the team already (Ava, Katie, Kate, and Felicia). On Sunday, we headed down to Irvine for a quick brunch with Brendan, Aunt Cindy, and Uncle Allen. Caren and Cindy needed to trade Girl Scout cookies, and they also happened to sell two boxes to their waitress at the restaurant. Cecily had fun at the park with her friends in the afternoon before setting up her little cookie stand at our house and selling one box of cookies to our new neighbor who just moved in. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3VTUA