Lemonade Cookies

Gram made Lemonade Cookies with the kids today!  I used to make these with her a lot when I was a kid.  I even made them for 4-H one year. 

The kids like them too!

Pea Planting Time

It's become a tradition that the kids help Krampa begin his garden planting 

while we are visiting during Spring Break. 

They love to help dig and hoe and plant the first pea seeds.

Meeting Tessa

When we arrived at Gram's & Krampa's last night, the kids were so excited to meet their cousin Tessa!  They'd been playing outside all afternoon though, so they had to have showers first before I would let them hold her.  By that time, she was hungry and tired, and mostly wanting her mommy.  Still they were so happy to hold her, even squirming and fussing, just for a second each.

Today, they wanted to hold her again when she was happier, so we could take more pictures.  There was careful arranging, and pacifier placing, and 3 cameras flashing.

It's a strange feeling for me, to see Annah with her baby cousins, acting more as a caregiver than a kid.  She understands how fragile babies are though.  It's so sweet.

Sylvia and Tessa both wore yellow today.

We were all surprised how Caeden seemed to be the most excited to hold Tessa.  Then I realized, she is the first baby he's actually held!  He is getting bigger too--not a baby anymore. 

So glad we finally got to meet our baby cousin Tessa!

Lopshire Cousins

As of Thursday afternoon, the kids are officially on Spring Break! Today I drove the 4 of us to Indiana to visit family and friends for a few days. We stopped first to spend the afternoon with Marti and the boys.

It was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the kids were able to play outside!

Annah was having lots of fun playing with Andrew!

They even got into the sandbox...

Marti mixed up some homemade pretzels, and the kids loved getting to roll them out!  Andrew was so excited about making "a snake! a snake!"--and so adorable!

Sweet Baby Anthony

They invited us to stay for supper, and we SO enjoyed our time there!  Thank you Eric & Marti, Wilson, Charlie, Joey, Simon, Andrew, and Anthony!  We love you!  :)

Havana Bible Quiz

We drove to Havana, IL today for a Bible quiz.  

Annah and Sylvia have learned SO much in quizzing this year!  They are quizzing at 'Red Level' -- the easiest level.  At the quizes, they have 3 rounds of 15 multiple choice questions.  This quiz covered the entire quizzing book--all of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. 

Both girls had a 'perfect round' today, and only missed a couple/few questions in the whole quiz.  They've been studying hard. 

Caeden even answered the questions on his own, quietly on paper in the back of the room.  He got 27/45 right--pretty good, since he wasn't actually studying with the girls--AND his best buddy Sammy was sitting by him trying to get him to play.  Caeden is looking forward to quizzing in the Fall!

All the elementary quizzers had 20 verses to memorize.  These are the kids from our district that memorized all 20.  (Those old enough to go to church camp will get $10 off their cost of camp!)  Scripture verse memory was probably the most fun and rewarding part of quizzing for all of our family.  We now have 20 great verses hidden in our hearts!

Both Annah and Sylvia were in the top 10 quizzers for Red Level today too!  Annah even earned an alternate spot on the All-Star team for the regional quiz in June!  Sylvia will be able to go and quiz too.

Sylvia's 7th Birthday Party!

Having been unusually busy lately, we weren't able to have Sylvia's birthday party until today.  But, it was worth the wait!  We threw her a RAINBOW themed party, and she said it was, "the best birthday party ever!!"

She opened presents first...some Littlest Pet Shop toys.  Annah had picked them out weeks ago for her.

Caeden knows his sis so well, and picked out a pretty notebook and a stamp set for her.

Cutie-pie and her new LPS monkey from Annah.

More crafty supplies for our crafty art-loving girl!

Uncle Travis & Aunt Erin sent Sylvia a baseball glove for her to use this summer! 
She was surprised and excited!

Oooh, sparkly jeans from Gram & Krampa!

Sylvie likes the Wii, but doesn't enjoy playing too many of the games we have.  We know she likes this one!

Party time!!

a little love for their sister

a little love for our daughter

a little love for their granddaughter

Daddy and Caeden synchronize their party blowers

We made a rainbow using the kids hands and signatures.

Sylvia taught Krampa, Annah, and Caeden how to draw and paint a lighthouse with watercolors.

Sylvia's 6-layer Rainbow cake!  Even though I'm seriously challenged at cake decorating, I couldn't resist trying this cake for Sylvia.  (A friend had shared this link with me a couple months ago.)  It was fun to make, and fun to see Sylvia's reaction too!

This little girl was supposed to stay 3-years-old, but somehow got all the way to 7 already.  (I think I will always think of her as a 3-year-old.)  Oh, she is so precious to us and brings such joy to our lives!!!

Happy Birthday Sylvia!!!  We love you sooooooooo!!!!!!

So this is a little mangled after cutting, but it was great fun to make this cake!
2 cake mixes, lots of fun mixing the colors for each layer (Caeden helped!),
and so awesome to see Sylvia's surprised face when we cut into it!!
It also had Rainbow Chip Icing, and all the Skittles on top for the rainbow were 'S' side up--for Sylvia!

Caeden didn't mind an "attack" of the Gram Kissy Monster!

Gram got out my sewing machine and helped Annah try sewing for the first time!  They made a little tote bag.

Sylvia got to try too!  She made a little blanket for her stuffed dog, Dorothy.

Basketball Girls

Both our girls have decided to play basketball through the school, and started practices last week.  This is a big new thing for our family--the kids trying sports.  It is a difficult thing for me, having never been brave enough to try sports as a kid.  I actually have a very negative opinion of sports in general, and have been praying for a couple years already that God would help me if and when the kids ever wanted to try sports.  But, when the girls brought home the sign-up sheets for basketball and showed some interest, we encouraged them to try it now, while they are little, and not wait until they are in junior high and all the other kids have already been playing for years.  So, they signed up and started, even though they've never even been to a real basketball game.

Tonight were their first games. At the same time.  In different gyms.  That was challenging for us, but we split the time with Jeremy watching one girl's game and me watching the other, and we switched at half-time. 

I watched the first half of Sylvia's game.  They did drills for 15 minutes before the game.  Sylvia says she is having fun, but she really hasn't caught on to the concepts of the game at all yet.  Thankfully, many of the other 1st graders on the team haven't either, and the coaches are very patient to stop and explain things over and over.
Sylvia has yet to successfully make a basket, but she likes to keep trying.

She has learned to dribble with one hand and pass.

The girls play 8-minute quarters and switch out after every 4 minutes of play time.  When watching, it appears to me that Sylvia's favorite parts of playing basketball may be getting to wear shorts and a jersey, playing with her friends, and getting to have her hair in braids.  She maintains that she is having fun, and I think she is starting to learn a little bit, even though she looks like she is playing defense when she's supposed to be on offense.

I am proud of her for wanting to play and learn and for continuing to try!

Annah's 3rd and 4th grade team plays 10-minute quarters, and rotates girls in and out with each quarter.  So, watching the second half of her game, I got to see her play in the final quarter.  Most of these girls have played already for 2 or 3 years before this, so I am very proud of Annah wanting to jump in with them!

Annah did a lot of running, always with a smile.

Toward the end of the game, she was open and got the ball passed to her.  She put up a shot and made it!!  The other team got the rebound, and then made a basket.  Then Annah got the ball back and brought it down the court again, passed it to someone else who made a basket to tie the game at the end.  (They didn't play overtime.)

I was really shocked sitting in the bleachers with the other parents.  So many were yelling at their daughters (and other people's daughters!) like they were high schoolers!  I know I am weird, but I was literally close to tears thinking of these girls' tender hearts being squelched by their parents discouraging yelling and unrealistic expectations.  (Seriously, what 3rd or 4th grader should really try to lob the ball from past half court with 2 seconds left?  They can't make that shot; why scream at them to?!)  Some of the girls look at their parents with a terrified expression when they shoot and miss or travel and get the whistle blown at them.

Obviously, I am naive and not used to the environment.  I am very thankful though, that the coaches are very patient and gentle in correcting and instructing the girls, even during game time.  And, my girls seem undaunted by all the yelling.  They are happy to be having fun and learning and getting exercise.  I am so thankful!

Good game, girls!

I'm so proud of my little ballers!