The end of April...

Max has been singing this song to us all month.  It is so cute!  I just had to post it since this is the last day of April.  Where did the month go?  

Little Projects

4/22/08

Todd helped Max make a Three Little Pigs house for his preschool project.  

Max chose to do a brick house, because "the wolf can't blow that one down".  

Maddie has been working on a Calico Critters contest.  Here she is with her collection.  

How could anyone resist such sweet little furry animals to play with?  And their teensy, eensy, peensy little accessories are so fun.    

I like to get Maddie the ones from England and Japan too.  They are the same toy, but under the name Sylvanian Families. 

Museum of Ancient Life, Thanksgiving Point Utah

On 4/19/08 Todd took us all to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.  The kids call it the Dinosaur Museum.  It is a fun place.  

Here is Maddie sitting on a dinosaur toe.

Here is Max getting chased by something vicious.

Max, Todd and Madeline with their 3-D glasses on.  We saw Dinosaurs Alive! on the mammoth screen.  It was pretty interesting, and the kids enjoyed it.  

The kids always enjoy the gift shop.  They must get that from me!  We found real dinosaur egg shell pieces, amethyst crystals, and copal (semi-fossilized tree resin that is not yet Amber.) There is a little bug trapped inside the copal which Maddie thought was neat.  

Zoo Junction

3/23/08  After church today, Max was quietly working on what he is calling  "Zoo Junction." He told me that it is a place where "there are no cages.  If you don't know that, you'll be eaten."  He said the blue part on the end is the bathtub.  The holes in the big red part are where the elephants get drinks of water with their trunk.  He was so proud and excited about his creation.  I love his happy imagination.

3/24/08  Todd rarely allows toys to stay out like this, but I think he was impressed with Max's little story.  So, here is Max the next day.  After school he came home and immediately set to work on the bigger, badder Zoo Junction.  He's looking proud, don't you think?  

Coloring Easter Eggs

3/22/08

Maddie and Max chose the Dudley Tie-Dye Glitter Egg Dying Kit.

First you drip different colors of dye onto the egg,

Then you put it in a plastic bag and rub the colors around until they cover the egg and blend.

Then you prop them onto an egg holder and dump glitter onto them before they dry.

I always like seeing the kids with their dye stained fingers after coloring Easter eggs. Maddie's were pretty colorful. Max's were surprisingly clean!

All done!

Maddie in her Easter jammies and bunny slippers. She matches her Bitty Baby.

Sprinkling out carrots for the Easter Bunny.

They wanted to make sure the Easter Bunny knew where to find them!

Easter Morning

3/23/08

Very early this morning, the eagerly anticipated basket and egg hunt was afoot.  

Maddie was the first to find her basket.

Max found his basket and quickly dug through it looking for animals.  The easter bunny didn't disappoint.  

The kids found the first Easter egg at the same time.

The kids kept telling me to have a Happy Easter Day!

Maddie helped me bake a Carrot Cake before church.  

Mmmm!  Our favorite Easter dessert!

Into their Easter outfits.

Getting ready to leave for church.

You'd better have a Happy Easter!

St. Patrick's Day Performances

Maddie had two performances on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. This is just before we left the house.

Here she is resting before the first show at Robert Morris College in the Loop.

Here she is clapping the time for the other dancers.

Here is Maddie's first performance!

In the beginning she is in second row, to the left of the center lead girl.  Then the front row goes to the back and you can see her better.

Dress rehearsal on the stage, right before the second show at Mount Carmel Academy here in Lakeview.

Maddie in the middle, Rylie to the left, Lucy to the right.

Here is Maddie's second performance!

She is in the front row, to the left of the center lead girl.

                                                     Going home!

Maddie was so glad that she was able to perform.  After the last show, she ran over to me and was jumping up and down, "I want to do that again!  That was so fun!"  She was not tired after the long day.  She watched the rest of the girls from the back of the room and tried to dance along with them.  I think this week with the performance troupe has really motivated her to keep at it and look forward to more shows.  

The fancy solo dresses that some of the older girls had on were very intriguing to her.  Now she has a goal to work towards in dance.  Only the best of the best are allowed to have a solo dress.