Holden's dance performance!

"We should consider everyday lost in which we do not dance."  ~ Nietzsche

St. Merry Fest!

So, you know that nearby church yard we often play in? Well, once a year they have this huge festival with rides and the whole bit, called St. Merry Fest. Guess who was old enough to take part in the festivities this year? That's right, Holden! She was oh so excited to see the trucks roll in, and when the ferris wheel went up she declared that was the ride she was going to go on first! She ended up waiting rather patiently (if you don't count the million times she asked "are we going today?") to go on the last day of the festival. Surprising both of us, she wanted to ride not only the ferris wheel, but the roller coaster too! She wasn't afraid in the least. There I was clutching the seat bar with one hand and hanging on to her with my other, lest she tumble from the cart as we rounded each corner, and she just shrieked with joy. Well, next time Daddy can ride with her. My heart can't take it.  :)
Needless to say, I did not get any photos of us on the roller coaster. I did, however, get a good one of her happily riding this yellow car named William. She steered it around every corner (it was going in a circle) like a pro. I'll have to start hiding our car keys.

Look at that smile! 

"Hey, I can see our house from here!"

The view from the ferris wheel was lovely, but did I mention I have a slight fear of heights? Not Holden though. Good thing I was able to talk her out of rocking our seat. 

And yes, like many of our other adventures, we ended our festival outing with a treat! 

Is there any other way?

Our company...

I made the mistake of telling Holden four days in advance that we'd have company coming. The concept of time is not something she has mastered, so I spent the next four days explaining to her that they were not going to pull into our driveway while she was standing at the door looking out. She was so excited to have Kate, Evan and Makenna visit she just could not contain herself! I have to admit, I was pretty excited too! Kate is a dear friend I met through work several years ago and although she now only lives a few hours away, when we both have little ones this can be quite the trek. So, a multi-day visit from her and her amazing family had me looking out the door in anticipation as well.  

Sweet Makenna sharing.

 Makenna and big girl Holden reading.

No visit is complete without a trip to the beach.

Holden fashioned herself some balancing sticks.

Our precious daughters...

Now...

...and then. (five months ago)

They're growing and changing so quickly!

Thank you Kate, Evan and Makenna! We are so glad you came!

Beautiful inside and out...

Holden's first haircut! 

Of course she went in to see Margaret, who started cutting my hair when I was in middle school and also cuts my mom's hair. She's basically family. 

I'm sure Holden tested Margaret's skills--it's hard to trim the hair of a moving target!

She even got lovely french braids!

This girl is beautiful inside and out!

Spring!

Well, it's finally happened. The girls have driven me to drink! 

I'm a coffee drinker. I don't like coffee. Never have. But with the schedule I'm keeping these days, it turns out it's necessary if I want to actually function in a humanly fashion. So, Michael has been making me these lovely mochas in the morning. It's really mostly chocolate soy milk, with a shot of espresso mixed in, and then some chocolate syrup, because did I mention I don't like coffee? 

I do like chocolate though!

 An occasional coffee & chocolate ice cream delight is nice too! 

I think I can get used to being a coffee drinker.

Even though we're not getting much sleep and we're perfecting the art of time-outs,  we can't complain about these girls. They're lively and joy-filled and they keep us on our toes. 

Now that it seems as though Spring has sprung, we're spending more time outside, which involves more trips to the beach. Yesterday we got out our beach shelter, mostly to practice setting it up, as we'll be using it on our travels this summer. It's certainly nice to have a shady spot for our fair-skinned beach explorers. 

What Saturday is complete without a trip to the Farmer's Market? And what trip to the Farmer's Market is complete without a treat? 

Holden was tearing into her chocolate chip cookie before I even finished paying for it. 

And we sat right down so she could begin the meticulous task of eating all the chocolate chips out of the cookie. Not an easy accomplishment, trust me.

Miss Smiley Iona sportin' a new look! She's not quite ready for pig tails, yet.

P.S. Check out our new Spring Family Photo! :) 

We almost got everyone looking at the camera. Almost.