Five on Friday!

Happy Friday!
Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

One

Jackson had his first baseball game of the season last weekend and we're gearing up for another busy morning of games tomorrow. Avery plays at 9:45, Jackson plays at 11:15 and then Jackson has a soccer game at 1:00! It's busy, but so much fun!

Two

Tomorrow is also Avery's 4th birthday!! How can that be? She's so excited and has been talking about her birthday all month. We're having her party tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 at the park near our house! The weather is supposed to be great so I'm so thankful for that!! She wanted a Disney Princess Party so that's what we're doing! It should be a really fun day!

Three
Speaking of princesses, Avery's dance school had spirit week this week and the night she has dance class was "Dress like a Disney Character"! She was so excited to wear her Belle dress to dance class! Her dance school is so cute and so much fun!

Four
Avery was so excited this morning to go to school and share some birthday treats with her class. She also was excited to wear her new birthday shirt (found here) and birthday crown (from Dollar Tree). My Dad asked her if she thought anyone at school would know it was her birthday. Ha!!

Five
Have a GREAT weekend!!



Avery's First T-Ball Game

Avery had her first T-Ball game this past Saturday. She did such a great job listening to her coaches and following directions. She had a great time and it was really fun watching her play. Her Daddy got her a pink glove and bat and she's doing really great at all her practices. She plays for the Royals (which Jake is happy about since he's a Royals fan) at the Affton Athletic Association. Her coaches are super nice! It's going to be a great T-Ball season!



The Ice Cream Truck

If your kids are anything like mine, then you know that the sound of the ice-cream truck far off in the distance can make them scream with excitement like nothing else.

Saturday afternoon we were all outside with several of the neighborhood families. It was a nice day and we had been at baseball and soccer games all morning. The girls were in one back yard swinging and the boys were all playing in another back yard and with the first chime of the bell they all came running out to the street to see where the sound was coming from!

I can remember as a kid, hearing that wonderful sound and getting so excited. It really is such a fun childhood memory and one I love that my kids get to experience as well. Although, I will say the prices have gone WAY up since I was a kid, ha!!

Nonetheless, they were so excited and waited impatiently for the truck to come down our street! They all picked their popsicles out and enjoyed them while playing together. To say I love our street and all the friends we've made would be an understatement. These close friendships and memories are something I hope the kids will remember forever. They really are a blessing and something we hoped and prayed for when we were looking for a house.

It was a great Saturday afternoon treat, one I'm sure we'll be having more of as the weather gets nicer.



Avery Got Her Ears Pierced!

A couple months ago, Avery and I were at the Mall and I asked her about getting her ears pierced. She said right then and there that she wanted to do it, but I wasn't ready and she didn't seem to mind waiting. So a few weeks later my sister said she wanted to go get Addison's ears pierced when she was around 6 months old. That seemed like a good time because Avery would be turning 4 and I thought maybe we could do it for her birthday.

Fast-Forward to about a week ago, we started looking into it and searching the best places to go. Of course, everyone says a tattoo shop is best, but Addie was too young for them to do hers there and I assume Avery probably is too. So we started researching the different places at the mall. They all had their benefits and disadvantages, but we eventually agreed that we thought Piercing Pagoda was the best option for us.

So after church yesterday, we met at the mall and got the girls' ears pierced. For the last few days I've been asking Avery if she was sure she wanted to do it. I even warned her about the fact that it would hurt and that she might cry. I just wanted her to be sure and to be prepared for what to expect. I was a nervous wreck, but she never budged. She just kept saying she knew she would cry and she was going to be scared but she wanted to do it anyways.

So when we got there, she picked some cute, pink flower earrings and got right up in the chair to go first. She was very brave and wasn't scared at all. Again, I was super nervous for her, but she was just fine. As soon as they pierced them, she had a look like, wow, that hurt, but didn't cry right away. But then we all said yay, Avery and the tears started flowing. It was pitiful and I felt so bad for her that I started to get a little teary-eyed myself. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I gave her a dose of Advil and she was fine after that. We went downstairs to the play-place and she played for a little while there and was perfectly fine and running around.

The initial look on her face right after they were pierced. :-(

Then Addie went next and she did really good too. She cried of course, but only for less than a minute and she was totally fine after that.

I'm so proud of Avery for being so brave and she's so proud of her new earrings. She just loves looking at them in the mirror and showing them off to everyone.

And here's a little close-up I took with my phone of her earrings. They're super cute and of course, pink!!

They each also got this certificate, a lollipop and some stickers afterwards, which is really cute!!

Five On Friday!

Happy Friday!
Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

One

We are so excited that, as of yesterday, we are one month away from our family vacation to West Palm Beach, FL!! We are headed down there for my cousin's wedding on May 19th and then spending the rest of the week on vacation. We rented this house on Singer Island that is within walking distance to the beach. It has an in-ground pool as well that I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time in. Aside from all of that, we plan to visit Kennedy Space Center, Lion Country Safari and take Jackson Parasailing. My parents are coming along, as well as our nieces Kyleigh and Alexis. (Our nieces are babysitting for us while we're at the wedding.) I can't wait to relax by the pool and at the beach!



Two

I recently started listening to audio books through our local library and I just finished a great book called "What She Knew." You can read the synopsis here. It was a page-turner for sure and I highly recommend it.

Three

We have a crazy busy Saturday morning this weekend. Jackson has his first baseball game of the season tomorrow morning at 9:45 and then he has a soccer game at 11:00. Avery also has her first T-Ball game at 11:15 so we'll have to divide and conquer to get both kids to their games. Thankfully their schedules work out to where there is only one other day that they both have a game at the same time which is pretty good considering Jackson has 11 games this baseball season.

Four
Toms will be releasing these super cute Disney Princess themed shoes this Summer and I might just have to order me a pair for our upcoming Disneyland trip in September. They are so cute!!

Five
Have a great weekend!!

My Dad's 60th Surprise Party

This past Sunday, we threw my Dad a Surprise 60th Birthday Party at Hessler's Pub and Grill near our house. It's my Dad's favorite pizza and they just so happened to have a party room that we could rent for the evening. My mom and I decorated the room earlier in the day while my dad was busy at church.

It was pretty easy to get him there. We just said we were meeting my sister and her family there for a little birthday dinner. He was totally surprised when he walked in and many of his family and friends were there!

It was so cute that the grand-kids ran up and gave him a big group hug after we all yelled, "Surprise!"

Here's a little video of the "Surprise!"



My Dad hugging his Dad. ♥



We had pizza and toaster ravioli for dinner! It was all very good. My sister made my dad's favorite cupcakes... German Chocolate. She also made a few vanilla cupcakes for those who don't like German Chocolate.

It was a great party and everyone had a great time, including the birthday boy!!

These games kept the kids occupied for the whole night. We knew ahead of time to bring quarters along and they raided the candy machine until they had a ton of candy. They had so much fun!

My Great-Grandma holding my niece Addison for the first time! So sweet.

The boys were so excited to see what Papa got for his birthday!

I'm so glad we were able to surprise him!