Sarah's 6th Birthday Posted a little late, but here it is....

Sarah wanted a cowgirl party. It was a lot of fun! She wanted to have line dancing at her party and we really got lucky because I don't know anything about line dancing, but two older, and much cooler girls from the neighborhood do.  Haven and Janie came over and helped out the party and also taught the girls a dance.

We ended by making stick horses and racing them. It was so funny to watch. The girls found that holding their horses WAY above their heads made them run much faster.

Oh, so many talents!
Does this look like the face of someone who's sure of themselves? The primary talent show came up and Hannah was the first of the kid to volunteer to showcase a talent. Sarah was invited to do a song and dance with her friends and I had to suggest to Caden that he play the piano. Hannah called her little friend and planned to do a dance, one of her favorite things to do. we picked out a song together and she practiced and practiced. I even let her pick the dance moves she wanted to do. I kept on preparing  her that this would take place on a stage in front of many people! She didn't seem to mind. She kept on saying how much she wanted to do it.
This is how the night played out.

Caden was so nervous, but he played his piece beautifully!!
I was so proud of him.  He practiced the song all week and even memorized it. He got to where he could play it so fast. The challenge was playing it at normal speed for the performance. He got it just right.

Sarah, as usual, didn't show a whole lot of emotion either way. She's always been a "whatever, it's all good, everything's cool, "  type of gal. She did great!!!  If you look to the left, you will see the girls waiting for their turn next. At this point, Hannah looks like she might finally be realizing what she has chosen to get herself into.

Then my Hannah gets on the stage. She just starts to giggle and giggle.....

Her friend finally starts to dance. What I do not have pictured because I was probably bowing my head in embarrassment, is Hannah grabbing her friends skirt and trying to pull her off the stage.  She kept saying, "come on Anna,"
And Anna kept saying , "No Hannah, I want to dance."
Hannah stood their and watched her friend then they both ran off the stage.
The funny thing is that days after Hannah was still talking about the time she "preformed" in the talent show. She said something like,
"Mommy, what should I do in the talent show next year? I don't want to do the same dance because everyone would think that was so weird if I do the same thing."
I laughed for days about that one.
Oh to view the world through the eyes of an optimistic child!

Caden did a little skit with the scouts.

End of a season!
With spring coming to an end, so do some of the activities. Sarah just finished up her year of clogging with a big performance (unfortunately, I was out of town, thanks Karin for the pics).

sarah was lucky enough to have her really good friend in her class.  

Caden finished up another season of soccer. 

He was so glad to play with his really GREAT friend.

Hannah turned 4

About a month and a half ago  now, our little monkey turned 4!! All part of our crazy spring.  I made Hannah a little monkey skirt and shirt, banana monkey cake,  and monkey banner, which she now has hung in her room.
During the day Scott and I took her out to lunch. She insisted on going to Red Robyn to See the bird. Scot met us there and had arranged for the bird to come out to our table and see Hannah. As soon as the bird got there, she got really shy and would not even touch him!! The whole way home she kept talking about it and said,
"Mommy, when I used to be 3 I gave the bird a high five and wasn't scared, now that I am 4, I am really scared of that bird....weird....."
She has definitely gotten a little more shy.
About Hannah Banana:
-she loves to hula. In fact, she found a picture of a little girl Hula-hooping and cut it out and asked for a hula hoop for her birthday so she could be like the girl.  She said she wanted to practice every day.  Her little "secret hand shake" she has with me involves Hula-ing.

-Hannah loves  to sing and dance!  She is often found standing at the fireplace mantle, book in hand, singing or dancing. 


-She loves, loves her little dog and any dog really. She loves doggy kisses.


-Like her daddy, she is the only one in the family that likes black licorice and chunky peanut butter. 


-She makes up really funny words for things like, "Can I watch just one slice of ......"
  Or, " I just want to watch two little pebbles of Dora."


-She is a funny little girl. She loves to make us laugh.
We love our Hannah!

We are so lucky.....

To have such a great Big Brother!!!!!

Spring Madness!!!

 Spring is always crazy, crazy around here! 

We've got Sarah and Hannah's birthday's, our anniversary, spring break, a couple fun little holidays, all the new activities, yard work and sports that the spring brings, add  in the demands of a new little baby, and we are CRAZY busy!!!

I guess even Hannah finds it exhausting. She has been falling a sleep in the afternoons, often in funny places like on Daddy's back while playing games.

I am going to attempt to catch up on the fun birthday parties, and a post dedicated to my WONDERFUL  husband of TEN years!!!

But for now, here's spring break and our new family hobby.

Spring Skiing

The kids have recently discovered their new love for skiing.  We took them up several times to Bogus for night skiing. 

Hannah and Anna patiently wait their turn. (Scott was only taking 2 at a time while he waited for Caden and Sarah to get the hang of things.)

Even Grandpa Smith and aunt Tanya met us up there a few times.

Hannah's turn

Caden was so proud of himself for learning how to get on and off the lift on his own He always wanted to go on it by himself. 

Scott could not ever get Sarah off the hill. We were always the last to leave at night (yes, that is 10 pm on a school night, we don't win the parenting award in anyone's eyes but our kids, who think it is so cool to stay out so late!). Even in very snowy conditions like here, Sarah wanted to go over and over. The child has no fear and even went down several runs other than the bunny hill. 

 Spring Break

While most escape to sunny places for spring break, we chose to spend our time at a very snowy cabin with friends at the Tamarack ski resort. It did not disappoint! 

 

Caden jumps off the deck.....

and falls on his face in the deep snow.

The dads take the kids skiing while the moms stay home and work on more project than I usually get done in a month. I totally recommend this type of vacation. 

The future crafters. It was so funny to listen to these two as they pretended to be moms who were sewing together. 

Here's a glimpse of the mess created when you have 6 kids, 1 baby, lots of snacks, fabric, and 2 sewing machines.

Tired after a day of sledding and skiing.

 Just some of the projects I got done.

a banner for a friend's baby room. 

Spring banners

Easter pillow cases

 Little Soph was so happy to be back home with her own bed!