t-ball

we signed eli up for t-ball this spring.

he's a cute little lefty...

we tried to explain gently that catching the ball you just hit is the job for the other team.  he's happy either way!  whatever!

i love watching he and preston hang out together in the outfield.  it makes me wish i was a mind-reader!

jack & annie

ava LOVES the magic tree house series.  she was bouncy, happy to meet jack and annie in person!!  since their meeting, she has decided to read all the books in order from the beginning.  it has been 5 weeks and she's on #29!  way to read, avy!!

tapping ballerina

this year, ava's dance class included both tap and ballet.  

at the performance, ava stunned us with her ballerina twirls!!

and toe-terrific tapping!!

here's the "funny" picture of the group in their tap costume!

most of the girls have been dancing together for three years now, so it is so much fun to compare pictures from year to year.  they are getting so grown up!!  (besides the picture above, of course!)

school pictures

both kids took school pictures this spring that did not look like themselves.

therefore, we went in the backyard for some "real" smiles.

no complaining!

wednesday is laundry day.

by the time ava gets home from school, her clean clothes are in a flat (no wrinkles) pile on her bed.  she is in charge of hanging them up and putting them away.

she started complaining about this so i asked whether she would rather be in charge of the whole process because i don't deserve any lip!  (don't mess with me on wednesday afternoon!)

unknowingly, she agreed happily.

the following wednesday...

she hasn't complained since...

miscalculation?

roofus is a snuggler, but usually he curls up beside us.

at first we thought it was a miscalculation on his part, but then he didn't move to try to fix it!

aunt emily gets married!!

congrats to emily and dave!!!

ava and i had the very great honor of being in their wedding!!

a couple weeks before the wedding, ava told me she didn't want to be a flower girl anymore since she didn't know what to do and didn't want to get it wrong.  sweet child.  i assured her there would be a special practice beforehand!

a few days before the wedding i told eli that aunt emily was going to knock his socks off because she was going to be so, so pretty at her wedding.  eli took this literally and was uncertain about the whole event going into it!

ava got ready with the girls...

and was pretty much the cutest flower girl ever...

i was already at the front of the church as she made her way to me, smiling a sweet smile as she looked in my eyes the whole way down the aisle.  i was saying to myself..."pay attention!!  don't ever forget this!!"

 the reception was at the durham museum of life and science.  very cool!

cupcake, anyone?!  eli didn't make it back to his seat before he had to take a sample...

 it was as if he knew he needed fuel for what was to come...

dancing...

the kids dance just like their personalities!  ava dances joyfully thoughtful while eli happily lets the music take over his entire body!

preston and i had to drag the kids off the dance floor at 10pm.  

they woke up the next morning begging for aunt emily to have another reception!!

ava now considers herself a wedding expert!!  

emily and dave, thank you for including us in your amazingly special day.  we will cherish our memories together always!