Maddie's 13th Birthday Party

Maddie invited friends over for her 13th birthday celebration last Saturday. She decided to play Princess for a day. They had fun with a pinata and then we made "Princess Diaries" - letting them each personalize a notebook with decorative paper before they ate pizza and watched the "Princess Diaries" movie. Then it was cake and ice cream before the girls went home.

Aunt Deb was a special invitee - she gave Maddie a gift certificate to the Coffee Garden ... one of their special aunt/niece get-aways. Maddie likes their vanilla steamers.

First blooms of summer

I grew up with two grandmothers who gardened. They had very different styles. Grandma Evans had a very manicured, structured garden. I loved her rose bushes and bench under the tree. Grandma Dykes had a very organic, almost bohemian style garden with gorgeous irises, columbines, coral bells, etc. I approached my yard with the memory and love of both gardens, melding the two styles together. I love pulling up to our house after a long day of work and seeing blooms that remind me of each. The roses are now blooming, my day lilies are sunny and the columbine has gone absolutely crazy. I always think that the spring bulbs are my favorite until I see the summer garden in full display. It makes every back breaking hour spent weeding and tending worth the effort.

Family Dinner Photos

Melinda sent a menu suggestion all the way from Washington D.C. ... grilled pineapple. Derek is having fun with his new smoker/grill and prepared some fabulous pineapple and brisket. Divine.

I had to share this photo because I didn't notice at the time that I took it but HOLY SMOKE! Cody is getting old!

Maddie is excited to FINALLY get her birthday presents! She received some perfume and cash from Grandma and Grandpa. She is saving money for her trip this summer to see Aunt Melinda in D.C.

Perfect gift from Aunt Megan!

We are redecorating Maddie's bedroom to make it age appropriate for a 13 year-old. She has wanted a Parisienne themed room for a couple of years. Grandpa and Grandma gave her these prints for Christmas so we bought frames for them. Special thanks to Aunt Debbie for ruining her manicure to get the prints in the frames for me!

I Can't Get Enough

I adore this little guy. Asher had so much fun outside while at our house this evening. He was gentle with the flowers on the deck and had fun down on the lawn with his mom and dad. Mister rockin' the faux hawk
My favorite pic of the bunch. I love that face!Asher practices one of his new words on the group, awaiting the reaction!

Snort snorting with his cousin Maddie

Olivia's States Parade

The 5th grade curriculum covers U.S. History. Students have to memorize the Presidents in order, states by location and state capitols, the Preamble, etc. Each student selects a state to research and they have to complete several assignments about the state history, agriculture, economy, etc. Olivia chose the state of Vermont. At the end of the school year, the 5th grade puts on a program to show the parents all that they have learned. They started off Friday morning with a parade. Each child had to create a "float" for their chosen state and they circled around the building while all of the other students sat and cheered for them. The program following the parade included several songs and spoken parts. Olivia did a great job and didn't even hesitate when it was her turn at the microphone!

I should have gotten a close-up of her diorama at the front of the float. She made different animals using pipe cleaners and they are adorable. Her float also included some Maple Syrup, Ben and Jerry's, Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, green mountains, the Vermont state flag and vintage wooden skis. Lucky mom got to stay up until 2 in the morning assembling everything!

Olivia with her two best girl friends ... Riley and Brighton. My little spunky girl is back to being one of the most petite girls in her grade. She complains about being the shortest but I remind her that great things come in small packages.

Happy 13th Birthday Maddie!

The day has finally arrived ... Maddie is officially a teenager. Granted, she has been acting like a teenager for several years, so her actual age now matches her attitude! Her friends left her a special birthday message in the driveway Wednesday evening along with a gift at the door - a necklace that she has been wanting.

Thursday morning, Maddie opened her gift from us before she left for school.

Her new cell phone! She's the happiest girl in the world.

Happy 13th Birthday to our beautiful, intelligent, outspoken, loving daughter. You are much loved by friends and family. While the teen years are not always the easiest to navigate, you are confident and caring, challenging and strong. Never lose sight of who you are and never forget who is here for you when you need help along the way.

Keira's New House

We stopped to see Trent and Natalie's new house last Sunday afternoon. Keira was thrilled to have cousins there and gave us a tour of the new place. The kids loved the basketball game in the movie room. It was the first time that I have seen Harrison shoot hoops since he was a toddler with his little plastic standard. The sun was very bright but the kids were good sports and tried to pose for us.