First Piano Recital

Alex and Taylor had their first piano recital this weekend.

Alex did really well. She was barely nervous and the music sounded beautiful.She played one of her pieces as a duet with her teacher.

Great job, Alex!!!

Keaton sat well and listened to the music while cuddling with his snuggle rag. :)

Taylor did a beautiful job, too. It was wonderful!
She also played one of her pieces as a duet with her teacher.

Awesome job, Taylor!!!

Here are the girls with their wonderful teacher Mrs. Boecher.


We are so proud of you girls and all the hard work and practice you put into these recital pieces. You did a great job! We love you! We are glad that God has gifted you with music talent! We pray that you will always use it for Him!!

Alex's new tutu.

I found a really cute and easy way to make a tutu online last week. I just had to try it!! And I was also excited about an inexpensive way to have a new outfit for the recital!!

Here's the back.
Our other two ballerinas will have theirs done, too, for the recital in two weeks. They can't wait! I will post pics of that when it happens. :)

A Trip to the Zoo

We attempted a trip out to the Zoo the other day with 4 moms and 13 kids, all under the age of 8. It went well, far above what I imagined :) . We had a great time together and the kids loved it! Here's what we did and saw...

Here's Kara, the chicken. :) A few of the kids had fun posing for pics inside the chicken coop.

We even saw a goose that just had laid eggs. She was protecting them and hissed at us when we got too close. Cool to see!
Sweet Alani

We saw a baby cow that had just been born a day or two earlier!

Alex trying out the tractor.

Laura and Katelyn

Brianna, Taylor, Emmi, Brayden, and Alex around the piggies.

The baby piggies!!!

Some of the kiddos even got to milk a goat! Brianna was sad she didn't get a turn. I think she was too little for the farmer to see her.... :(

Alani and Malachi playing together. How sweet! :)

Keaton checking out the ducks and flamingos.

All the kiddos, except Graycen, who was in his stroller. L to R: Emmi, Katelyn, Kara, Gracie, Taylor holding Malachi, Brayden, Alex holding Alani, Charissa, Brianna, and Keaton.

The kiddos.

Keaton and Brianna enjoyed playing in the water where the fish were. :) ...until Brianna got a bit wetter than she was hoping for. This happened last time she went to the zoo!!

Keaton was in awe of most things at the zoo. He liked this coral reef.

All in all, a really fun day! We must do it again!

Birthday Card

They are learning something!!! I just had to post this birthday card to Brianna from Taylor and corrected by Alex. I was encouraged to see that Alex has brought away something from English/Grammar this year! And Taylor learned how to write and get the letters right!!

However, she did make one error. She made an "E" in the word "Fun" instead of an "F". This is how Alex corrected it.

Just as she was taught!! Delete mark through the misspelling and add mark to replace it with and "F"! Wow. This makes it all worth it. Just when I thought they weren't hearing a word I say. :) Good job, girls!!

Brianna and Nick's birthday party

Nick, one of the cousins, came up from Iowa to celebrate his April birthday with Brianna's April birthday! It was so fun to be all together!

We started out here and drove out to the bowling alley for a little fun. The kids had a blast!!! It was fun for Aaron, Gina, and I to show off our skills, too. :)

Nan and I

I can't believe she is FOUR already!!

Gina is a most excellent bowler. :)

Daddy helping Nan bowl

Nick had so much fun helping Keaton bowl. It was sooo cute!

Taylor tried the granny position. :) She did quite well!

Grandpa and Grandma joined us, too! Here is Grandpa and Keats.
Brianna loved bowling so much. She was so excited when she found out she gets 2 turns in a frame! :)

Alex - what excellent form! ;)
And Nan wishing it was still her turn...
Then we came home for presents, Strawberry Shortcake cake and ice cream!
Brianna got so many wonderful gifts. Dress up dresses, shoes and crowns, stickers, BUBBLES!, a picnic basket with a tea set inside, some clothes...


She saw the tea set! She also did this when she got her $4 from Grandma and Grandpa. :)

Raincoat from Auntie Gina. She couldn't resist. How could you??

Nick was happy with money and a gift card!

Time for cake. Strawberry Shortcake!

This is what Brianna did pretty much the rest of the day. Dressed up and played with her tea set. :)

Tinkerbell

Happy Birthday, sweet heart!! We love you so much! You bring much joy to our family and we love all the little things you do to make us laugh. :) We are thankful to God for how he is teaching you to obey and that He loves you and wants to give you Jesus as your Savior! We pray that will happen someday soon!!