The End of an Era - Nursery School

Beth's last day of Nursery School was today (or better known to some people as Preschool). She said to me this morning that "tomorrow she was going to be a Kindergartner." Yep - I guess she's right! In keeping with tradition, I like to take a picture on her last day of school, so I can compare the first day of school vs. the last day of school and see how much she has grown and changed! It always makes me smile!! So - here it is - first day vs. last day.

1st day - September 1, 2007

Last day - May 15, 2008

First day:

Last day:

Pictures will be forthcoming of Beth's End-of-School Play/Musical tonight...."Nursery School Musical, The One and Only." (its a play off of Highschool Musical, if you didn't pick up on that)

Progress

Before:

Currently:


I still have plans for some taller bushes and some flowering knock-out rose bushes. I also need to get some pansies in the ground, but otherwise, it looks a TON better already!

Wedding pictures

My camera picked last night to completely die on me. Not only did the batteries die, but so did the autofocus and the speed setting. So, the result was FAR LESS pictures than I had intended. I think I may have only gotten 1, maybe 2, worth keeping of Bryan & Erin. I only got a few worth keeping of the girls, too. Neither one of the girls would STOP long enough to be still for a picture. They both danced their heart out at the reception - and I missed some major photo ops, but oh well. I'm hoping the photographer got a few good ones!

*Note- Sarah Katherine did NOT make it down the aisle with her hair wreath on. She did make it down with a small bow in her hair, though, and she looked cuter, in my opinion, than she did with the hair wreath. Beth complained about her's "attacking" her all night! I finally took it off as soon as she sat down after doing her flower girl thing!

*Sarah wouldn't cooperate or be still for a family picture, so that is why she is not pictured here.

*This is Bryan & Erin, my new sister-in-law!!

*The girls dancing!

Do you need a good laugh?

Watch this - and make sure you have your sound up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Rw_3ky-uo

OH MY GOSH! I had tears streaming down my face. My fave is #2. I've seen #3 numerous times before and I THINK that video won $100,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Feeling Noustalgic...

First of all- Happy Birthday Mom!

My brother is getting married Saturday, and getting caught up in the frenzy of it all makes me remember my own special day - October 2, 1999. I remember all the parties leading up to it, the piles and piles of wedding gifts (some of which, I confess, still haven't been used to this day!), the dresses, the tuxes, the flowers, the food.....

I had a relatively big wedding - I think around 200-250 people, if memory serves me. (I stand corrected -my mom says it was 298, give or take 10-15 people) We were married at my childhood Church and we had the reception at the Country Club I'd gone to my whole life. We had a GREAT band and everyone looked to be having a great time. I remember not getting to eat or drink anything for more than 1-2 bites/sips before I was swept away for another photo op, to meet a distant relative or talk with friends/co-workers. I remember in great detail getting my hair and make-up done that day, getting dressed at the Church, getting photos done and waiting in the hallway to enter the Church. I DO NOT remember much about actually walking down the aisle, being up front and saying my vows and such. I can't explain it. Its just foggy. Maybe it was the nerves or the seriousness of it? Its a blur.

Looking back, there are many things I would have done differently and I only hope, that when its my girls' turns to get married, they will listen to me and take a little of my advice (but they probably won't. Maybe I should start brainwashing them NOW!). I think weddings can take on a mind of their own and you lose a part of yourself in them. My cousin and his fiancee recently "eloped" and hearing about their wedding experience made me a tad jealous. It was just them! No one else. It was just them acting silly and totally in love during the ceremony and just completely being themselves. That sounds nice.

Regardless, its fun to think back and remember our special day and the flurry of activity leading up to it (and the hundreds of thank-you notes that have to written afterwards!). There is just something about starting a new life together - fresh. Everything is new for a while. For my brother and his bride, everything is getting ready to be new. A new town. A new house. A new job. If they are anything like Bob and I when we started out together in a new town, a new house and with new jobs, this experience will bring them so close. I think its a great way to start a marriage. Completely fresh.

Bikes, Trikes and an Upcoming Project

Yesterday was GORGEOUS outside and of course the girls wanted to be outside. So, they burned off some steam by playing in the driveway. Beth is a speed demon on her bike, but refuses to let us take off her training wheels. That is my goal for this summer - to get them off her bike by the time school starts.

Sarah THINKS she is big enough for Beth's old tricycle, but bless her heart, her little legs are just still too short. She totally has the process down and would be off and away if she could reach the pedals, but nope. Bob helps her by giving the trike a push and she can reach the pedal closet to her when they spin around and kicks it forward...like she is TRYING to really pedal it. She needs about another 2 inches of heighth before she can REALLY do it.

Our upcoming project is the dreaded "L" word - LANDSCAPING. Ugh. We ripped out every shread of landscaping on the front of our house last spring with the intention of replanting early fall. We had such a horrible summer drought last year, that fall was anything but optimal for planting, So, here we are, needing to get it done ASAP. Its a HUGE project and I have no idea where to start. I have a few ideas in mind regarding the placement of tall vs. short shrubbery, but I also want color year round. So, we will be doing lots of evergreen shrubs, like yews, boxwoods and spruce, but I also want to do some things that are pretty in the spring/summer/fall like azaleas, hibiscus, burning bushes and maybe some golden euonymus. If you have any experience with landscape design, take a shot at this and let me know what you recommend!

Little bare, isn't it!?!

And I'll close with this picture of Sarah from yesterday. She was filthy and completey 100% happy and I like the picture!

Still Little...

Sarah's two year check-up today. She is 24 lbs (10th percentile) and 34 inches tall (50th percentile). While she IS growing, she is still my tiny firecracker!! She also had lots of fluid in her ears, which means Steroids for 5 days, which means she will be a WILD WOMAN!! Other than that - everything was fine and no shots today!