Riding Lessons

Jason found a lady in Florence who gives riding lessons, so we took Anne Parks last weekend. She got to ride a pony named Moo.
First, she learned how to brush her and put her saddle on. Then, she practiced leading.

And, finally, she got to ride.

She did a great job and loved it, and we can't wait to go back!

While Mommy's Away...

Jason was home alone with Anne Parks last weekend, and they had an eventful. He took her to McDonald's for breakfast then took her shopping for a treat. She picked out play "make-up" (which turned out to be mostly a gelatinous goo that made her face shiny and her lips purple.) She put on her make-up then put on a dance show.

Later, Jason thought Anne Parks was playing in her room, but she called him up to see, and she had cleaned it up all by herself. She was so excited to show me when I got home!

She'd put away her toys and folded her quilt.

She even made her bed. See how she lined up the pillows?

Later, AP and I were watching TV, and someone was crying because they were happy. She asked me about it. I told her that we don't only cry when we're sad. We sometimes cry when when really happy or proud of someone. She said, "When you saw my room, did you cry a little bit?"

TOT

Anne Parks had her TOT performance last weekend. We were so proud of her! We were also amazed at all she learned this year. Not only did she show off her ball-handling skills, she also counted to 5 in English, Spanish, and French, shouted out the vowels while doing them in sign language, and did motions with a scarf and a ribbon wand. The highlight of the day was when Anne Parks got her trophy. She was totally surprised and super proud of herself. We're definitely signing up for TOT again next year!

Mother's Day

We had a very special Mother's Day. Not only did we celebrate our moms, we also dedicated our girls to the church. They did a great job. Nora loved being in front of the crowd and waved and clapped the whole time.
After church, we ate lunch with our family.

I made corsages for all of the moms, (tutorial at holidash.com.) and I think they all looked great wearing them.

What a great day!

Sleepy

Nora was so sleepy that she fell asleep eating supper!

My Girls

I had the girls outside the other day and tried to get a rare pic of the two of them together. I did get this gem after many, many tries. I just love it. It captures their personalities perfectly - Anne Parks' sweetness and Nora's cheeriness.

Raider Park

JA had a fun-day at Raider Park a few weeks ago. Smith was in town, so he joined us. For a good time, you can't beat a jumpy-house!

Tubes

Nora had tubes put in her ears a couple of weeks ago. All went well - Nora was a great patient, and she looked pretty darn cute in the little hospital gown.

Family Resemblence

Since Nora was born, I kept thinking, "Gosh, she looks like Daddy." It's hard, though, to compare a baby girl and a grown man. Then, my mom found this picture of my dad at Nora's age. What do you think?

Dance B-cital

On Sunday, Anne Parks had her first dance recital (or, as she says, "b-cital"). I think I was just as excited (if not more) as she was. The girls looked just adorable and were so proud of themselves in their costumes.