Daddy Daughter Date Night

 Brandon was able and willing to take Analise to another Daddy Date Night that the Park and Rec puts on each year. She was super excited, and I love the fact that he is willing to go out of his comfort zone a bit to date his daughter. Who else is better qualified to teach her how a man should treat her?

Unfortunately, Analise again had some tummy issues during dinner. They finished eating, she danced a little bit, but then she was ready to go. So what did they do? They went to Target so she could spend her gift card on something she had been wanting. She came home so excited. 

Analise loved dressing up for this event. She let me spend time on her hair, but she was adamant that I not put mascara on her eyelashes.

 This is about as "fancy" as I can get when it comes to doing hair.

 They both look stunning. :)

 Not only stunning, but they look a wee bit alike, wouldn't you say?

Ballet Emmanuel

 Our church had the privilege to have the ministry Ballet Emmanuel come to our church this winter. The girls were definitely excited to go again. They not only learned how to "dance" but another avenue to worship their Lord.

School Music Programs

 The girls had their school music programs in February. Maisie's program was postponed due to weather. But when she finally got to sing, she loved it and did a great job!

 Analise was excited about her program, too. Unfortunately Brandon had to miss it due to business travel. :( We were thankful for pictures and video!

 Here she is with her moment at the front of the stage.

 It was extra special performing with cousins. Analise and Aaron were on stage at the same time, and then she stayed to watch Kaleb sing.

I love kid's music programs! I just wish they could perform more than once; that's a LOT of work for a teacher to have the kids finished in 25 minutes. Right, dad?

Analise's Birthday

 My oldest turned nine on Feb. 16. Amazing. She was wanting a friend party this year; I was wanting something simple. After much thought (because it's hard to come up with something in the middle of winter) I decided to take her and three friends to the YMCA for a couple of hours. We went on a Friday when there was no school. And God blessed us - a friend gave me two passes, I had one pass, and one girl was a member. So this party cost me $7. :)

The girls spent the first hour or more swimming, and they basically had the pool to themselves. And I sat by the pool watching them and reading magazines. What a life.

Analise invited Ally, Allyson and Meredith - sweet friends.

 After swimming we had cookies and then they played in the arcade area. From there we spent some time in the super gym playing with volleyballs.

 Saturday was fun all day long. Grandmom always includes gifts for the two girls who aren't having a birthday. This year they all got new Squinkies.

 Thanks Grandmom and Pops for great gifts!

 Later in the day we celebrated good behavior by taking the girls ice skating. They were thrilled!

I couldn't remember the last time I went ice skating, so I was glad I stayed upright the entire time.

 Analise chose a volleyball cake this year. Simple enough. She also chose to have a taco dinner with the Luke family for her celebration. Again - simple enough.

 I included a fruit rainbow complete with yummy fruit dip.

 Grandma gave Analise her own sewing box with some supplies. Along with that came sewing lessons from Grandma. Analise has loved this time with Grandma while learning to sew.

 The boys gave her some books that she loved reading.

 Cake surprise - colored polka dots in the cake!

 Basket of goodies

 Our traditional birthday picture with the hat and birthday bear.

 Analise got to wear this special hat at school all day; it has her classmate's signatures on it. What a fun idea!

Girls and Artwork

 I love the artwork that the girls draw - to the point that some are picture worthy so I don't forget them.

The above picture is me playing fetch with Caramel. I honestly don't remember if Sadie or Maisie drew it.

We had Sadie's P/T conference in Feb., and it went really well. One thing that made me laugh was when the teachers told me that when they asked Sadie to count, the teacher had to stop her at 109. I think we can thank Maisie for that; she counted a lot at home when they worked on that at school.

Here is Sadie's first family portrait from the beginning on her school year.

 And Sadie's family portrait from February - quite a transformation!

 Analise had some artwork chosen to hang out at the mall - City Scape.

Valentine's Day

 Let's begin by saying that I am glad I take pictures. Right now it's the only way to remember what we've done the last several months. So today is May 7, and I am in Waterloo, Iowa while Brandon is at an engineer's conference. He is there, and I am stuck in a hotel room. And when I say "stuck," I really mean, "I am by myself for 8 hours today and tomorrow!" Goal 1 - update my blog until I am current. :) 

This takes me back to Valentine's Day.

The above picture is the girls wearing their matching shirts. This never occurs anymore, but when I pulled these shirts out, they were excited to match. Thankful for the clearance shirts from Crazy 8s that I got last May. :)

 Brandon shocked me with the best Valentine's Day gift ever. The UPS man rang the doorbell, and I discovered a box from The Cheesecake Factory. Inside was an Oreo cheesecake. Oh. My. Goodness.

He nailed my love languages - taking the time to plan ahead and food! :)

We put most of the slices in the freezer, and we enjoy a few bites whenever we want; one must spread those calories out carefully. :)

 The tradition continued with the girls getting balloons from Brandon. (Though I must confess that he was so busy that I actually picked them out this year.)

Maisie with her Princess balloon.

 Sadie loved her Hello Kitty balloon.

 And a little more grown up balloon for this girl.

Grandma offered to take the girls that night for supper so Brandon and I could have a meal to ourselves. I chose to stay home and cook for the two of us instead of going out with rest of the town.

I made salmon, sweet potatoes, salads and rolls. (I think...been awhile)

It was a sweet day celebrating with those I love!