Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Skills

Big news here---Shelly has finally mastered the riding of her bike solo! Yes, she's a bit older than others with this skill, but guess what??? I don't care. I'm just so glad she has the hang out of it now. So proud!!! Here she is showing off her bike riding ability:











And in Lily's sporting world, here she is playing their most recent volleyball game. She has really perfected that serve and is doing so well. Proud of this one, too!!!


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Birthday Love


I'm going to admit it---I LOVE my birthday!!! I always have. I was lucky enough to have a mom who made a big deal over my very own special day. She threw fun parties, gave thoughtful gifts, and planned special outings. And, on my birthday, I miss her more than ever. Many times on my birthday, I would send her a bouquet of flowers to thank her for being my mom.

All of this to say I'm celebrating my birthday today!!! Hooray! So, here are some photos from some of my fabulous childhood birthdays.





A preppy alligator cake for my 15th surprise birthday party

Turning seven

Blowing out the candles on my favorite M&M cake

Super excited about my banana seat bike (I was a 70s girl)

Me and my friends celebrating my birthday in junior high

A sleepover with my friends in 6th grade

A birthday outing to Busch Gardens with my sister
Me and my sisters on my 4th birthday in Kodiak, Alaska

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Lt. Commander James Ruesch

Just have to share this neat video that Lily made for her Social Studies class about my dad. The assignment was to interview someone they knew who was involved in the military.

Lily added actual video clips that were taken by my dad during the time he served on the USS Valley Forge.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Easter

On Saturday, we dyed Easter eggs as a family. 
Daisy supervising the egg decorating






We had a nice Easter Sunday of basket hunting, at church, at brunch, and at a neighbor's home for an Easter egg hunt and games.

Easter Morning




Lily's basket




Shelly's basket



Ready for church and brunch


Staring into the sun!


Game time






Red Rover





Sorting eggs



Friday, April 18, 2014

Hello, Blog!

It has been awhile since my last post. It was busy here last week. We had two sets of company stay with us. 

My dad was here and he had a chance to watch Lily and her volleyball team play. 

Then six of John's family members came for a long weekend. It was beautiful weather so we had a chance to sit in the sun, go on walks/runs, go to the Science Center, eat great food, and play games. 

The girls went to school on Monday and Tuesday for snow make up days. So, our spring break began on Wednesday. 

They started the break with sleepovers and friend time. A few movies are in the plans and a little spring clothing shopping. We are looking forward to a few more days off and a sunny Easter Sunday. 


Monday, April 07, 2014

Random Monday

Here are some random items for you on what is a very rainy Monday in North Carolina.

I've just recently discovered the store Five and Below. It's a version of the Dollar Tree but everything is under $5. I bought some hand weights for Lily ($2.50 a piece), duct tape for Shelly ($3.99), an iPhone 5S case for me ($5), and some other random items. Oh, this was one of those things. This dancing Panda (known as Bamboo) just makes me smile as we cruise on down the road!


The Panda was in motion when I took this picture hence the blurry shot

I bought the Bona hardwood floor cleaner and I am really pleased with how well it cleaned and shined my floors.

Daisy popping into the photo on the back of the couch

We opened the pool this weekend and true to form it was very green (kind of electric green). John got busy cleaning it and although the dirt was being picked up the color was still pretty green. So the girls and I ran out for some Shock for the pool to help bring it back to blue. And after only 12 hours with the Shock it is already looking better. Won't be long now and the pool will be sparkling blue and ready for the swimmers.


After opening the pool




With all of the outdoor activity going on here, we decided that we needed to replace the outdoor carpet on the deck. The one we bought last year was fading and just not looking so great. So we switched it out with a new one from Lowe's. The rain was falling heavily when I took this photo, but I'm very happy with the new rug.




And, the old rug found a new home in the garage. May sound a bit odd, but our garage floor can be very slippery when wet. In the summer, the kids are going in and out of the garage for freezer treats and this will hopefully help.




With Spring arriving (FINALLY) we hit our favorite frozen yogurt shop on Saturday!!!




Inside the house, I printed out this cute Audrey Hepburn quote from this site. I posted it on our chevron board and it sits outside of the guest bathroom. 



And, my last random bit for the day...awhile back I bought these curtains from Kirkland's and I really love the zip of pattern they add to the front rooms. A bit tough to see in these rainy day photos.


dining room

office

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Skunk!

Look what was roaming the streets of our 'hood!!!






He (or she) was actually in our neighbors' front yard and it was just so shocking to see him. So we stopped and took some photos!!!