Caroline and Ava's Piano Recitals

This was so much fun!  Both of the girls got to play with a professional band.  The drummer, guitarist and bass player that played along with them had never rehearsed together before the performance.  This was truly a "jam session"... and it was a blast!  Ms. Kristin Yost at Centre for Musical Minds is their piano instructor.


*Scroll down and pause my "Playlist" music on the right side of the screen before playing the You Tube videos

Ava plays "Wind Beneath My Wings" with Caroline playing accompaniment. So sweet to have both of them performing together.  :)




Caroline plays "South Side Stomp" by Eric Baumgartner.  The band had so much fun "jamming" with her!

Belated Birthdays

I have been remiss about posting our family's birthday pictures.  From most recent on backwards, here is a snapshot of them all:

Erich's 40th Birthday!

Caroline and Ava are matchy-matchy as they look over Erich reading his card they made him

The shirt that Ava bought for Daddy... he loved it so much!

The Raiders shirt that Caroline bought for Daddy... he was so excited about it!

(Not pictured is the shirt and shoes that I bought him... I'll have to get a picture of him wearing his new duds)

Caroline's 12th Birthday!

The girls had fun making and baking their own pizzas!

The girls enjoy their homemade creation.

Here's the whole gang returning from the super competitive scavenger hunt.

It wouldn't be a good group shot without the silly faces.  ;)-

Popi met us at IHOP for Caroline's b-day breakfast.  She LOVED her Lego set and of course built it that day with Ava and Daddy.

Caroline and I made a Chocolate Bundt cake for her birthday... it was delicious!  :)-

Daddy and I bought her American Girl doll a Colonial dress.

Her favorite gift of all was from Ava... Caroline walks around with that baking book like it's her bible.  She's made some fantastic desserts with it!

Ava's 7th Birthday!

Do they look like Ma and Pa, or what?!  Ava asked for a bible and legos for her birthday... and a prairie birthday party!

Ava and Rachel pose for the camera.  They won the 3-legged race and had fun playing duck-duck-goose and egg toss... lots of old-fashioned games.  It was a blast and the weather was gorgeous!

Ivey, Caroline and Allie really look the part.

Lauren and Ava are ready to bob for apples.

Sam is really into this competition!

What would a party be without a Diet Coke and Mentos explosion?!

The whole prairie gang!

My dad looked too cute in my cowboy hat!

Caroline and I baked Ava's cake using the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.  It was Laura Ingalls' wedding cake recipe.  The cake was a lot of work... but it was delicious!

Our last few months have been fun with our birthday celebrations!  We have been blessed!

Fall Piano Recitals

Caroline and Ava performed their Fall Piano Recitals yesterday. Their instructor is Ms. Kristin Yost, Director of Centre for Musical Minds. 

*Scroll down and pause the "Playlist" music on the right tool bar so that you can enjoy Caroline and Ava's music!  :)

Adieu Hiver! (aka Goodbye Winter!)

Spring is in the air; so much that Caroline and Ava jumped in our swimming pool yesterday to "cool off" (85 degrees in February)! So, before it totally blooms into season, I wanted to journal and post some of our favorite Winter memories. (I tried oh so hard to narrow down the pictures to just a few, but there are just too many sweet ones that I failed at my task of "just a few"!) Enjoy:




Could Fly be any more submissive or what?!




Caroline's basketball team, the *Stars*, at Double Dip
for their end-of-the-year party. Erich just loved coaching their team and Caroline hated that the season came to an end.



Speaking of *Stars*, Erich took me to the Stars game for Valentine's Day... isn't he so sweet?! (ask me the real story behind it, and you'll get a good laugh!)

Caroline has learned the art of pie baking and so excited about her new found skill! This is her homemade pear pie that she baked for dessert at Popi & Kiki's! (I remember being her age and standing in this same exact spot at my home... if only I could find that picture...)

Another homemade pie... this one was an apple pie! Delicious! :)-

Caroline and Ava set up "store" in Ava's room. They donned name tags, had a check-out procedure and everything... very official!

Of course, Mommy and Daddy had to have our turn at cashier!

Here's their pretend money (obviously, some more pretend than others).

Here's a sampling of how they set everything up and priced it.

Obviously we haven't had any economics lessons, or the wallet with $88.41 inside wouldn't be selling for $15.00... lol!

Here's a view from Ava's window of our dreadful ice storm that warranted the schools to be closed (are we sissies, or what?!... lol!)

Ava and Caroline bundled up to play in the little bit of ice that they could find.



The girls have to have fun some way... add a basket and a little ice, and there's your fun!

We made a trip to the American Girl store, and Caroline surprised Ava with a gift of matching P.J.'s! They were so excited to dress alike that night!

We went as a family to the King Tut Museum. It was great since we just finished studying Exodus and were in the middle of learning about Egypt in geography! It wasn't so great that both of the girls got diagnosed with strep throat that day! :(

Ava lost her 7th tooth...

Emma, Ava & Liliana in book club making marshmallow snowmen!

Ava just loves her class... she has made some precious friends that we are so blessed to know!

Erich and the girls monkeying around. No joke, I originally was on the pile, too... but I had to hop down b/c somebody had to take the picture!

Caroline and Ava on Christmas Eve about to complete the Advent calendar with Door #24... baby Jesus!

All the cousins posing after they sung Happy Birthday to Jesus!

So, these pictures are out of order, but this was the first attempt at our homemade pie... we did this one together as a family. The other ones were special b/c Caroline did them by herself. Just had to make sure all the details are clear... :)

Fun times at our sweet friend's house baking cookies!

Ava and Olivia hamming it up (and rolling it out)!

Emma, Ava & Abby at the bowling alley! Sweet friends! :)

Caroline, Abbey & Jade posing between strikes.

We had lots of fun baking pumpkin bread... (it's not fun unless you have flour on your nose)

Ava just loves using the mixer (and I'm sure Erich is glad to see I have paper sitting on top of one of the burners)

I think this is a picture of another lost tooth... it's really such a cute picture, I'm posting it even though I don't remember the "memory" of it!

Caroline & Ava in front of a tepee at the Dallas Heritage Village candle lighting! This is one of our favorite family traditions! (not standing in front of the tepee, of course)

Aren't you glad we don't have to wash clothes like this anymore?!

The girls had fun sitting in the old school desks!

Ava finished her wonderful sewing class, and for her final project she made her best friend, Rachel, this apron! She was so excited! :)

Caroline and Ava in front of the manger at our church's Christmas production. Both of the girls had precious solos... and it was such a blessing to see them lift their voices up to praise God!

Abbey and Caroline dressed up like Charles Dickens' characters after reading A Christmas Carol in book club. Abbey was a "merry old gentlemen" and Caroline was a "wash maid". Fun times!

Nothing like making paper dolls with your friends...

Rachel and I had to get in on the action too (it was harder than we thought).

Erich is holding Ava and our friend, Kennedy, as we toured the local Heritage Museum. We learned a lot of really cool facts about our city and even watched a super old Mickey Mouse cartoon (I can't remember what that had to do with the tour... but it was fun).

Had to just throw this one in here b/c Erich looks so cute... I'm such a proud wife!

Of course, you have to make "mud pies" in your prairie clothes at least once in your life. I think this one was a "berry" flavored one!

Caroline and her friends make a race track at the Hands on Science field trip. They had a blast working together to put together pulleys and inclined planes!

And in the other classroom, Ava and her friends are working on some science experiments! These field trips are so exciting for the girls!

Well...that's all the fun memories from Winter. Whew, time really flies when you're having fun! I just relish in the blessing of being with my girls throughout the days so that we can enjoy each other and learn about God's creation together and have time for making sweet memories with friends and family!

Have a blessed day! :)