Basketball!

Olivia, a friend from school and church, gave Ella and Emma a basketball goal for their birthday.  Originally setting it up in the living room, led to a very fun evening.

Last Day of Preschool

Today was a bittersweet day for me.  It was Emma and Ella's last day of preschool.  I have greatly enjoyed being their preschool teacher these two years, and while I know they are more than ready for kindergarten, I'm a little sad to be losing this time with them each day.  They have been terrific students and learned so much more than I imagined they would in two short years.  I'm going to miss them at preschool next year, but they will soar in kindergarten. We had a fun party day to celebrate the last day of school.

A gift from Olivia:

 Emma:

Ella:

 Olivia, Conner, Emma and Ella:

 After our school friends left, Ella and Emma decided to play in the mud a bit before lunch.

 All tuckered out:

Happy 5th Birthday!

Today we celebrated Ella and Emma's 5th birthday (one day early).  Where have the last 5 years gone?!?  I am surely blessed to be chosen by God to be their Mommy.

Our day started out with opening a present:

Emma:

 Ella:

They were so excited to receive My Little Pony dresses and hats!  We soon got ready and headed out for donuts.

After we got home, there was some waiting time before the party began.  We had reserved a bounce house with attached slide that was a favorite activity before, during, and after the party.

This year's cake is my favorite one so far.  It was one of the easiest I have made and decorated, but it was also one of the nicest.  The girls even helped by painting the rainbow to connect the cakes.   And since they could not decide on a favorite pony, we decided to find a way to incorporate all of them.  They loved it!  

 First look at the completed cake:

 Daddy lighting the candles:

 "Happy Birthday to You!"

 Make a wish:

 Ella didn't get a very good angle for blowing out the candles, so it took her a few tries:

After eating, they opened presents.  They were blessed with lots of toys, clothes, and books.  Thanks so much to everyone who helped us bless our girls today.

After everyone left, we went back outside to play on the slide/ bounce house some more.  (I think that was Daddy's and my favorite part of the day.)

We are so thankful for our precious girls!  Happy Birthday, Ella and Emma!

New Beds

I've been thinking for a while that it might be time to get twin beds for the girls.  They have slept in a queen size bed together since they were 2.5 years old.

Although, I may miss catching more of these cute sleeping arrangements on camera, I started talking to the girls about having their own beds.  Ella has agreed for a couple of weeks (mostly because Emma tends to turn sideways and kick her), but Emma was the hold out.  Then one day, Emma was saying she was cold because Ella kept stealing her covers.  Once I explained to her that if she had her own bed, Ella couldn't steal her covers any more, she was all for getting her own bed.  So, then the search began for beds.  We found a great deal on these twin beds that can be stacked into bunks at some point, if we decide to do that.  They were missing some hardware and needed to be cleaned up a bit, but both of those things made the price much more affordable.  We decided to make this their birthday present this year.  So, while they were at Grammie's house, we got them all set up in their room.

They were so Excited!!!

Grammie and Grandy took them shopping to pick out their new bedding as a birthday present.

And, I'm happy to report, they spent the first night, each in their own bed, and loved it.

School Birthday Celebration

At school, our girls made their traditional construction paper crowns with glitter, Emma chose a pink crown and Ella chose yellow.  We also had water room day and a special snack of pink lemonade cookies to celebrate.