Saturday, April 30, 2011

Riley's Art Show

On Thursday, Riley's school had their annual art show where the students showed off their creations. Parents were invited to come to the school and view the artwork. Each child had 2 of their drawings on the wall, and we found Riley's right away. She drew one picture of a cake with hearts flying around and the other was of her family underneath a rainbow. 

At first glace, we all thought she did a great job on her pictures. There was Jeremy, Riley, Mom and...wait, who was the last one? Let's see...Riley, Jeremy and Mom all had black/brown hair. The other person, who was a boy, had gray hair. Riley explained that was Dad.

That was the funniest thing I've heard in a very long time. I only wish I took my camera with!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Happy Birthday, Uncle D!

Today is Uncle D's birthday, so the kids recorded him a message. We weren't able to talk with him today, as he and Casey are enjoying a vacation in Sri Lanka. But I was able to talk to him on my birthday earlier this month. They'll be home for a bit in July, and I don't know who is more excited: me or the kids! (Except I think Jeremy is more excited to have someone play hockey with him!)

So happy birthday to my favorite little brother. I hope this year finds continued happiness, adventure, success and love. We love you very much!

 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Jeremy's Birthday Party

Almost a month later, I'm finally writing about Jeremy's party! We had a beautiful day for the party, but the weather still wasn't warm enough to open up the house. Ah, life in the Midwest! This was the last year for a full-on family party, since we stopped doing it when Riley entered kindergarten. You know, what's good for one is good for the other. It's only fair. :)

We all had such a great time with all our friends and family. It's always nice to catch up and let the kids play. Perhaps the best part for me was when Phil's brother complimented my guacamole. So a special shout-out to Casey for the recipe (and honestly, several people have commented on other occasions about how good it is. Thanks!) And thanks to all who made the celebration memorable. Jeremy had a wonderful fifth birthday!

Mike with Isabella and Fiona. Isabella couldn't get enough of Mike!

The birthday boy!

Jeremy and Caden.

Caden



Checking out some of his toys.

Looking at the camera.


Dad trying to set up the Toy Story characters.

Riley.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Riley on Skates!

I'm so terribly behind on here. One of these days I'll have time to be current on here. I recently took up another freelancing gig, which is great in the grand-scheme of things, but it doesn't allow for a lot of free time. Not that I had a lot of free time to begin with! Anyway...

Last month, Riley and her best friend Lauren went ice skating with their dads. They met in preschool and were lucky enough to be in the same kindergarten class last year. And I say lucky because the school the girls go to has 19 kindergarten classes! Crazy. Although they weren't in the same class this year, Lauren's mom and I have made sure the girls get together occasionally.

Lauren's mom and I are very close friends, and Lauren happens to have a younger brother who's just a few months younger than Jeremy. We all love getting together and catching up, so the moms and boys played and chatted while the dads and daughters went ice skating. The girls did this last year, and they had a great time again this year. We capped off the evening with some pizza at Lauren's house.

Riley and Lauren.
The girls.

Dad and daughter.

The girls being cautious.

Holding hands.