Flower Girls

Karis and Makena were asked to be flower girls for a couple in our small group who are on staff at church. The girls said yes, not knowing what they were agreeing to. Karis has been to one or two weddings as an infant, but both had never really seen a wedding. 

As the day approached, we talked more and more about what happens at a wedding and what they would do. They both started getting a little nervous because they didn't want people looking at them (their words, not mine). They got new dresses and shoes which helped build some excitement but the rehearsal confirmed for both of them that they didn't really want to do it. I told them that they had already told our friends that they would do it and it was their special day. They had to do it, but then they didn't have to do it again if they didn't want to. 

On the day of the wedding, they received their flower petals for their baskets. We practiced tossing them and they loved doing it. Thankfully, that helped make their task fun. During the wedding, Makena did great tossing the petals, even dumping the basket out at the front before turning off to the side. Karis did great too. She was definitely feeling the eyes on her as her head was down, but she looked up a couple times and tossed those flowers like a pro! I'm so proud of them for doing it even when they didn't really want to.

Makena said she would be a flower girl again, but Karis has decided she would decline any future offers. 

Ready for their big debut!

The flower girls and ring bearer

The princesses with their daddy

  

The girls had so many questions about the wedding and their own wedding. I can now only remember a few things they said. Karis wanted to know if this was where she was going to get married and how old she would be when she gets married. I told her probably around 25 or older. She then decided she no longer wants to marry Daddy because he'll be old when she get married. Makena wanted to know why all the groomsmen were dressed the same. At the end when each groomsmen escorted a bridesmaid, she thought they were all getting married too. Both girls intently watched the entire ceremony. 

Kyle did great sitting through the ceremony with Daddy. Perhaps the cookies he was munching on helped keep him quiet and well-behaved!

The girls gathered up all their flower petals at the end of the ceremony. 

The flower girls and the bride at the reception

Someone is Turning 5 Next Week!

Since Nana was in town visiting, we had an extra celebration for Makena's birthday. For dinner, we had Makena's favorite dinner -- burritos! She wanted Rice Krispy treats for dessert, so I made her some that looked like a cake. 

She finally received the Dora and Friends charm bracelet she's been wanting!

Nana is ending her week with us and heads back home in the morning. I'm sure she's looking forward to the warmer weather! It was nice having her around during the snow days and for the start of Spring break.

More Snow Days

We've had an unusual amount of snow this winter. We haven't gotten a lot, but often times there has been a sheet of ice underneath the snow. Our city does not have snow plows so we have to wait for the sun to clear the roads for us. 

The kids love staying home from school and in their pajamas all day. They love playing in the snow, but even more than that, they love the hot chocolate when they come inside. 

Makena showed Kyle how to catch snowflakes on his tongue. 

They didn't last long outside. It was cold!

We woke up one morning and snow covered the ground. I think we got about 3"- 4" overnight. It was beautiful. By early afternoon it started melting and by nightfall it was all gone. Karis managed to make a little snowman before it all melted. The girls enjoyed snowball fighting with Daddy. I enjoyed watching it all from the comfort and warmth of our house!

Kindergarten Zoo Program

The Kindergarten class learned a lot about different zoo animals from their zoo performance. They sang lots of fun songs filled with facts about zoo animals. It was super cute!

Karis enjoyed practicing the songs but she didn't want to be in the final performance. She doesn't like being on stage with people looking her. Even though she was nervous, she went along with it. She found us in the audience and then kept her eyes on the teacher. She sang all the songs and did all the motions. She didn't look nervous at all. She did great and we were super proud of her!

Snow Days!

We had rain and freezing temperatures Sunday night. The school district closed school on Monday and Tuesday. The kids were excited to stay home, especially since Daddy was home too. They announced the closing Sunday night so Derek and I were able to sleep in a little. 

The kids loved spending the day together. The girls got to watch a movie with hot cocoa, Kyle took an afternoon nap (which hasn't been happening every day lately), and I made some cookies. 

Derek had a great idea to let the kids go sledding down our icy driveway. We found some plastic trays, bundled up the kids and sent them down the driveway. Needless to say, the girls LOVED it!

 

Kyle, on the other hand, didn't like it. He was scared going down and didn't even like it when he went down with Daddy. He went down twice and then was done. Later he said that next time we go "sliding" he would like it. 

Another highlight of the day was that the girls got to spend some one-on-one time with Daddy. Makena had a lunch date with Daddy. They took their lunches upstairs (a no-food zone) and ate by the fireplace and then watched a TV show. Karis wanted a date too, so she had dinner with Daddy upstairs. So cute! They were so excited to be able to hang out with Daddy upstairs.

On Tuesday, we invited our next door neighbors to play at our house. They have a 2-year old and a 4-year old girl. We are getting to know them as they moved into the neighborhood a few months ago.

 I thought for sure after two days at home, the kids would be ready to go back to school Wednesday morning. All three of them, uncharacteristically, did not want to go to school. We had a great two days together!

Celebrating the 101st Day of School

For the 101st day of school, the kindergarteners dressed up as dalmatians. They paraded around the school for other students and parents to see. They day before, on the 100th day, they had special snacks and activities. Kindergarten is super fun!

A Special Date With Daddy

Karis and Makena went on a special date with Daddy. They went to a father-daughter Valentine dance at a local church. They were so excited all week and could hardly wait. Karis wrote about it in her school journal. 

Friday night finally came! They finished dinner quickly and got dressed up. 

The dance was geared more towards older girls (dancing with loud music in a dimly lit room), but they came home with fun treats and loved their time with Daddy.

Apex Fun Run

There have been many fundraisers at the school this year, but The Apex Fun Run was quite different. It was a two week interactive program where the kids learned about leadership and fitness.  The themes were:

• Find Your Strengths! Identify strengths in you and also those around you.
• Be Brave! Doing what’s right with all your might.
• Stick Together! Working as a team makes you stronger. Never leave anyone out.
• Go Big! Go above and beyond what is expected of you in everything you do.
• Say Thanks! Be grateful and thank those around you.

Karis loved the program and although she didn't remember a whole lot about what they talked about, she was pretty excited about it each day. 

She made a video to ask her relatives to sponsor her and pledge a dollar amount for every lap (1/16th of a mile) that she runs. I wrote her a script and after reading it a few times, she almost had it memorized. We did about three takes and then she was satisfied with the video. Family members were very generous with their pledges, and she raised almost $500 (about 30% of her class pledges). 

It's been pretty cold here, but it warmed up a bit the day before the race. Thankfully they changed the run time from 9 am to noon. The weather was perfect that day (mid 50's)!

There were lots of parents, loud music and excitement!

The whole family came out to support Karis. 

Getting ready for the race.

Can you tell she was excited?

And she's off!

Karis sprinted most of the time. 

After each lap, each student got a tick on the back of their shirt to keep track of how many laps they ran. Each student would run 26 to 36 laps with 36 being the maximum number of laps. 

Karis ran all 36 laps!

Happy finishers with Ms. Carlton!

Makena and Kyle loved watching Karis run. Kyle wanted to do it again the next day. 

Class picture