Pomp and Circumstance

Did you watch this morning?

We sure did. And it was absolutely beautiful.

Mallory was up first this morning and was very excited about seeing a real princess {they are big into princesses right now}. Most of what Mallory saw right after she woke up was the boys' choir singing and only a few glimpses of the prince and princess. She got bored pretty quickly.

Once Anna Claire was awake, though, both girls were glued to the TV watching the carriage ride to the palace. They both kept asking me if that was the princess and Prince Charming, where the castle was, and if the Beast lived there. {Beauty and the Beast is their current favorite.}

Later this morning, they even got to see the kisses on the balcony.

By the way, Mallory thought Princess Catherine looked like Cinderella {I think it was the dress ~ gorgeous}and Anna Claire thought she looked like Belle {I think it was the brown hair and eyes}.

I will always remember being seven years old watching Princess Diana and Prince Charles's wedding on TV, so I think it's pretty neat that, even though they are only three and probably won't remember today, Anna Claire and Mallory got to watch a royal wedding live!

{yep, I DVR'd it and Mallory has already asked if she can watch it again in the morning}

Here Comes Easter Cottontail

This year, Anna Claire and Mallory referred to the Easter bunny as Easter Cottontail instead of Peter Cottontail. Regardless, he made a visit to our house and left the girls lots of goodies in their Easter baskets.

 The girls hiding their eyes as they wait for me to bring out their baskets...

 Their first glimpse...

 They are very excited about their new duck and frog bath poufs...

 They found the candy ~ only two candy~filled eggs each {we'll leave the candy to Granny and Grandmom}

 Blowing bubbles on the back porch Easter morning...

Abby Rabbit and Bella Bunny ~ I stitched these up for the girls to help out the Easter Bunny and had to show them off. The girls are cuddled up with them in their beds right now. {inspired by Ashley}

 At Granny and Papa's we watched a baby bird hatch in a nest built in the wreath on the front door...

Later, at Aunt Susan and Uncle Ed's for Easter dinner and an egg hunt...and lots more candy!

ALL of those eggs you see there were filled with candy! And, we found out last week that Mallory is a superstar when it comes to hunting Easter eggs.

 The girls had a very eggsciting Easter and we hope you did, too!

We Had an Eggcellent Easter...

...but now we are all eggshausted!

Don't worry. We've got lots of pictures to share of all our spring break and Easter weekend shenanigans... coming soon! For now, it's early to bed and back to work tomorrow. :-(

Taking a Swing at It

Head down, eyes on the ball, shoulders and hips aligned, feet firmly planted...

...and check out her follow~through.

We are hoping for a scholarship. ;-)

Al Fresco Dining

Earlier this week we had our first backyard picnic when Connor and Dylan came over to play. So what if it was McDonald's and chicken noodle soup.

Pigtails!

Anna Claire finally let me put pigtails in her hair...then she pulled them out ten minutes after I took this picture.

Spring Break Has Started!

...and we could not be happier about that!

Just one week's growth {and I trimmed the tops off}...

Some are growing faster than others because I haven't been doing such a good job of rotating them. You can see all the "slow~starters" are on top now.

This little fella joined Anna Claire and Mallory while they played in the water table this afternoon. In true fashion, Mallory and I totally freaked out and Anna Claire calmly continued playing. She chatted with the froggie and splashed water on him until he hopped out.

Mallory insisted on wearing my flip flops because we left her crocs at Granny and Papa's.

And the big news is that Mallory is on day 2 of wearing big~girl panties. At this point I will say she is doing okay. She's only making it to the potty about half the time, but I think we're both going to hang in there and get this done! {Did you know three~year~olds have to wear big~girl panties to Disney World?}

Hot Wheels

With the weather getting warmer, the girls wanted to bring their "scooters" back home from Granny and Papa's. I took these pictures a couple weeks ago, and they have been having so much fun riding them. They both insisted on wearing their sunglasses...I think they know how cute they look!

We've been letting them ride in the cul~de~sac, and they think they are hot stuff riding on the street.

Hair Bow Help

Things were getting out of control with the girls' hair bows, so I made them each their own hair bow organizer to help keep them organized. I am so crafty!

...and thrifty, too. The ribbon came from Dollar Tree (5 yards for $1); the letters were $2.50 each, and the butterflies were $.69 each.

4~Wheelin'

When you're 2000 miles away on the other side of the counrty, this is not the picture you want texted to you!

I Can't Believe It's Not...

Last night at the dinner table, Mallory asked me if this was Jesus. I told her it was Pocahontas, to which Anna Claire replied, "Of course it's Pocahontas." {"Of course" is Anna Claire's newest catch phrase of which she tacks on to the beginning of just about everything she says}.

Mallory had the most incredulous look on her face, and I got so tickled at the whole little conversation I almost choked on my drip beef sandwich {try it...you'll like it}.

The ask they most inquisitive, cute, and silly questions these days it's hard to stifle a giggle sometimes and answer them with a straight face.

Get Crackin'

Last year, I planted grass and watched it grow. This year, I decided to let the girls help out. After I had carefully cracked all ten eggs myself {and set them aside to make quiche for dinner}, I let Anna Claire and Mallory get their hands dirty...literally.

Filling the egg cups with potting soil...

 A scoopful of grass seed for each... {notice we lost Anna Claire for a while}

 Topping them off with a squirt of water...

And the waiting begins...

We should see sprouts in just a few days. Am I the only one who will find this exciting?

Flowertown Festival Fun

Last weekend was the Flowertown Festival, so we took the girls Sunday morning before the church crowds to ride the rides. They had so much fun riding these kiddie rides that I just cannot wait to get to Disney World! They have no idea what's in store for them there!

$20 for thirty tickets when each ride is between 3 and 4 tickets each is ridiculous, and then there are some they have to ride with an adult which means double the tickets. What a rip off...but what are you going to do???? THEY LOVE IT!!!

And when the rides are across the street from Grandmom's house...there is NO escaping festival fun!

Mallory and Grandmom riding Harold!...

The train. Mallory had enough of this after once around. I thought she might jump out!

She looks way too comfortable on the back of that motorcycle.

Once more on the train. They wouldn't let all three sit together, so Anna Claire (of all of them!) had to move and sit with someone she didn't know, but she did great and was able to enjoy herself.

My Sweeties

...sleeping soundly as I get ready to hop a 7 am flight back to Arizona for work.

Miss you already and I'm not even out the door yet.