Holden Village trip 2012

 Instead of blogging about our Village adventures, I created a journal of photos from our trip. To check it out click here: Holden Village 2012

Gamma visited!

And there was much rejoicing!!!

We kept her quite busy with dance classes,

trips to the library,

felt board creations,

"Go Fish",

and endless costume changes.

(The above pictures pretty much sum up what happens when I ask Holden to pose. 

I never know what I'm gonna get. I think the second one is suppose to be a starving mermaid.)

And after all that, Gamma still had the energy to read bedtime books with Iona,

followed by bedtime books with Holden.

We hope we didn't wear her out! We love you Gamma!

Hmmm...my password?

Hello friends and family, near and far! I suppose the fact that I had to reset my blog password, because I'd forgotten it, is a clear indication that it's been too long since my last post.  I have two good reasons for not posting more often and here they are:

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The cutest reasons anyone ever had!  :)

The girls are growing and changing. Yes, it's true, this happens quickly so we're trying to enjoy them at every stage. Iona used to take a bath by herself in a little tub, but recently began bathing with big sister Holden. Not only is this more fun for everyone involved, but it simplifies our bedtime routine quite a bit. Now our biggest obstacle is just trying to be fair about who gets in first and who gets out first. This is VERY important to little girls. 

With Spring here, we are spending more time at the local parks and beaches. Thank goodness! Iona loves going to the playground. So much so that we can't even say the word aloud unless we are getting in the car immediately to go there. We've had some fun playdates, above she is waving at her little friend Noah, who is her age. Even on sunny days, though, the temperature has not been warm enough to take off our thick coats. Perhaps next month. 

We now have two dancers in our family! Iona is attending dance class once a week at the same studio Holden attends. Her favorite parts are the giant parachute and dancing with scarves.

Holden and her friend Madi "line up" at the door to enter the dance room. We've had some difficulty with who is going to be first in line. They now wait patiently side by side. 

A mama-daughter hike in the forest lands includes much dancing and exploring!

And the girl can pose! 

Here she's helping me ready our raised garden bed and this is her tough worker pose. I have no idea how she comes up with these ideas.

Saint Patrick's Day started with green clover waffles and ended with a craft party!

And we're not even Irish.

We have three wild bunnies and a covey of quail that visit our yard. 

Shhh, don't tell the bald eagle that lives two blocks away. 

Iona has discovered her shadow and she is pleased. I often see her waving to it.

Our big girl is getting to be such a big girl! I think we'll have to start looking into colleges soon.  :)

They are keeping us busy but we wouldn't have it any other way! Well...actually, I wouldn't mind a nap every now and then, but imagine what I'd miss!

Spring is in the air!

My helper...

We have an abundance of laundry and we go through a lot of toilet paper around here!  :)

Things are as they should be.

Mardi Gras!

The people of Concrete know how to celebrate and they celebrate everything, regardless of the weather! We braved the wind and rain and freezing cold to join in the festivities. Holden loves parades and was super excited to be in one this time. That said, she didn't actually get out of her new wagon and pass out beads like planned. Smart girl. I was out of the wagon, pulling it and her up a hill, while running beads to parade goers along the street, and I was still freezing! Given the choice I would have sat in the wagon bundled in blankets too.

Hiding out with Nani in the Concrete Post Office, 

staying warm and dry, while waiting for the parade to start.

Iona and Daddy were also in the Parade!   :)

My mom (Nani) led her Zumba class down Main Street dancing in the rain!

When I'm her age I hope I can dance like her! I certainly can't now.  :)

The simple joys of our week...

Happy Valentine's Day! We hope it was filled with love and laughter!

Holden made Valentines for her classmates, signing each one. She can now write her name perfectly!

We have a GREAT library! And I'm not just saying that. We've visited many libraries throughout our county, and neighboring counties as well, and really, our library is quite wonderful. We can spend whole afternoons in the children's section--doing puzzles, creating with legos, lounging in bean bag chairs, admiring art work, and yes, reading books!

We love books! We love the library!

Another good rainy day activity in our house is coloring. Iona hasn't had much practice at this, mostly because she insists on eating the crayons, but I keep trying.

What are these? They seem familiar. Hmmm....

Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Big sister loves to help. 

And then coloring turned into a game of Twister.  :)

These two know how to smile. 

Wednesday brought us some sunshine, so we strolled along the harbor and explored the nearby beach.

A favorite activity during low tide is to find sea creatures under the rocks. 

We were able to catch this little one.

The girls were quite taken with our new friend.

Daddy and Holden couldn't quite turn this rock over but we're sure there was treasure underneath!

We're thankful for our small town, surrounded by water and trees. 

We're thankful for our girls, who find joy and adventure in simple things.