How did this happen again?

Just when I think I've got a system going - bam - life gets in the way! In the last 30 days we have celebrated birthdays, Easter, Spring Break, Panda time with our FCC buds and handfuls of other stuff. The time I get to devote to the blog happens about the time I can't keep my eyes open anymore in the evenings, or the pile of books next to my bedside win out instead.

We are in our final leg of first grade and that reality is sinking in rather hard. I can't get over how quickly it all went. And boy are we ever thankful she will have Mr. Heartz again next year for a teacher. She is so smitten with him as are we.

Palm Sunday at Ahmen

Piper's #5 birthday celebration was big fun!

Ella looked amazing on Easter Sunday wearing a fantastic creation by my mom!

An afternoon with the cousins.

This little one saved up her allowance for weeks to get this chick. She snagged the last one on the shelves!

We did lots of fun little things over Break. One included Ella requesting to baby-sit our little friend, Ellie. Ellie is the daughter of Ella's piano teacher. She is unbelievably taken by this little toddler and she has good taste because she is the sweetest! We hung out with Ellie one morning so Gail and her husband could have a date over a long breakfast. Good job, Ella!

Since our babysitting gig, Ellie likes to help out during piano so she can be close to Ella :)

We took a road trip to Ann Arbor to check out the UM Natural History Museum too.

We can't wait to go back and it gives us one more reason to love Ann Arbor. I did a good job of exhausting her too.

Ella and her shadow. Mavis sleeps with no one else but her.

Our recent gathering with the FCC kids included a little geography lesson. Each child was given a flag pin to stick into the map showing where they were born.

And in a rare stroke of luck, Larry and I got to dress up as adults and enjoy a late night out at the Arts Commission bash that he works on so hard each year.

In between all the busy I've got going on at work, I am putting the final touches on the schedule for the summer. Because of great friends and my parents, Ella will not have to go to an extended camp/child care situation. Although she doesn't know it yet, we have signed her up (Roz in tow) for two week-long camps in June to help keep her artistic stuff flowing. She will spend an enormous amount of time crying that she doesn't want to do them so I'm holding off until the last minute before that announcement.

Happy Wednesday! ~H