Empanadas!

We are excited to have our beloved babysitter, Maribel and her husband Michael living with us in our guest room right now. Maribel has been watching our girls regularly for the past three years and she is amazing. They are in the process of trying to buy a house and needed a place to crash once their apartment lease was up. One of the many perks of having Maribel around all the time is her cooking. Ali helped her make Empanadas the other night and they were sooooo good!

The silly chef

Carefully sealing the edges..

Getting tips from the expert!

This baby's ready for some hot oil!



Crazy Late Night Kids

This is what happens when you take your kids to Steak and Shake at 10 pm

Brooke's Last Day of First Grade

I had the pleasure of being the parent helper in Brooke's class on the last day of school. Boy, was it a fun day! All the kids were dressed as book characters and we spent much of the day reading through all of their books that they brought.

Here's a shot of our hula girl with her chosen book, Aloha Delores.

I had to take a picture of this. Brooke is the official hair model of her class. Any down time was spent braiding, twisting, and styling her hair (especially while the boy-ish books were being read).

Brooke's class in their book character costumes

Ali's Preschool Graduation

We have had two great years at Northland's co-op preschool. They have served us well by loving on our daughter and preparing her for Kindergarten. We celebrated Ali's preschool graduation with a special performance.

Here's a picture of Ali once she found her cheering section in the big crowd!

My girl singing her heart out..

Ali gets a medal from her preschool teacher, Mrs. Johnson.

After the graduation, we went to celebrate at Steak n Shake. I love this picture of Ali and Leann because it shows just how much Ali LOVES her cousin!

How to Dress Your Dragon

Oh, poor Spike. We know you're a boy, but I don't think that will ever keep Brooke from dressing you up.

Mother's Day Weekend

Steve and I got the opportunity to get away for a little couples time on Mother's Day weekend. We drove to Charleston, SC on Friday night and got there just in time to visit a restaurant I've heard Steve rave about for a few years now. Bowen's Island is not the kind of place you go to for a classy meal and impeccable service. What you see if what you get, and what you see ain't real pretty. They are famous for their AYCE oysters, served by a snow shovel onto a table with a hole in the middle for a trash can. Classy, eh?

But I must say, once I was able to "adjust" to my surroundings, the oysters were quite yummy!

The next day, we hit the streets of downtown Charleston for more notable grub! We started with breakfast at the Hominy Grill, famous for the cheesy, gravy, chicken biscuit called "The Big Nasty". The picture below does not do the size justice. Steve ate two.

If you haven't figured out the theme for this trip yet, maybe our next stop will give you a hint. After breakfast, we hit a little cupcake shop for a mid day snack. There were so many to choose from and I ultimately went with the mint chocolate chip cupcake. Best cupcake ever!!

We finished off the afternoon with a visit through the Charleston Aquarium. Afterwards we started towards Columbia, SC for Black Tie and Tails, which is a fundraiser put on by Carolina Wildlife Care, a wildlife rehaber that Steve works with. The only problem was that we had to figure out just how were were going to get ourselves "prettied up" when we had nowhere to get ready. We weren't planning on staying the night in Columbia, so a hotel room was not an option. But we did end up using a random hotel's lobby bathroom to get dressed. I was even able to plug in my curling iron! I think the guy working the lobby desk might have thought we were a bit nuts though.

The fundraiser was a lot of fun. More great food, dancing, and all for a great cause. Part of the party was held on the rooftop of a downtown Columbia skyscraper. The view was amazing, especially at sunset.

We made it home by Sunday morning and I was eager to pick up my babies for Mother's Day. We jumped on the boat and headed to our favorite swimming hole for a fun afternoon in the river.

It was a wonderfully delicious weekend full of fun and love. I am a blessed mommy, indeed!