Passover

Friday morning, Arnie and Maggie went to the aquarium and on a train ride, while Grace napped. The train broke down for a little while, so it ended up being a little longer ride then expected (at least for Arnie, I'm not sure Maggie noticed).

Little Girls in a BIG bed.

Give me a hug Gabe!!!
(I can't get Arnie's phone pictures to rotate)

Daddy and Maggie at the aquarium.

Aunt Diane brought a book to read Maggie about a little girl who ends up coloring herself with permanent markers, they read it several times. Diane found some washable "tattoo" pens, so she and Maggie did some drawing.

It said the pens were washable, but it took some scrubbing to get her clean for the Seder.

Maybe it will be easier to take a cousin picture in a few years.

Cheers, Daddy!

Maggie adored baby Mina.

Maggie found the hidden Matzoh. First, she took it to Pop's and convinced him
to pay her $20 for it, then Jennifer gave her a prize for finding it.

Aunt Gwenn had a few toys to keep the kids occupied during dinner.

Maggie convinced Arthur to climb in the ball tent too. He was a really good sport.

Gracie really liked dessert.

I was really proud of the girls. The Seder was several hours long and they both did great. Maggie sat in her chair and listened, she was very respectful and patient. It was a long dinner for a 3 year old but she did awesome. Gracie sat through some of it, and she spent the rest of the time crawling around the room checking on peoples purses.

Maggie and Ella in their matching sparkly Toms. Aunt Diane brought
them for all the girls.

Our flights home were a little bit hectic. Our first flight was delayed an hour, we had a two hour layover in Denver, and after getting on our second flight and taking our seats in the back row (right outside the bathroom), the pilot informed us that we would be waiting on the ground while they tried to fix the smelly toilet problem.....the girls were troopers and after a long day of flying we were back home!

Off we go....

Before I post a few pictures of our first day in Albuquerque I need to go back to a picture from Tuesday night. It was Maggie's last night of this session of gymnastics....

She has been asking about walking on the high beam since her first class a couple of years ago, and now she can! She was SO proud of herself. She says that next she's ready for the high bars.

Wednesday morning we headed for Albuquerque. We'll have passover here with Arnie's family tomorrow night then on Saturday morning we'll head home for Easter.

Our flights we're uneventful, we stopped in Denver and while a layover isn't ideal, it made for 2 short flights, so that was great. Both girls refused to sleep at all on the way here. I don't know why I even entertain the idea that one of them might sleep....it never happens and I'm always surprised....duh, they aren't going to do it!

The minute we landed and got in the car.....seriously??

We're staying at a really cool Inn, it's a working farm, so there are animals, fields, etc. Maggie LOVES
it. For the next several years every time we head for a hotel I'm almost positive she'll ask it it's going to have
animals.

 Last night we took a sky tram ride to the top of the mountain for dinner. I don't love hanging from a steel cable over giant canyons, but the view was beautiful, the sunset was amazing and the girls seemed to enjoy it. So I just clenched my jaws and pretended not to be scared :)

Waiting for the ride....did I mention it took 15 minutes and is the longest cable trolley in the US....

Maggie loved the view.

At the top it was 32 degrees (probably shouldn't have let Maggie wear sandals), we checked out the sunset then
had dinner at a restaurant that says it's 2 miles high. Maggie got a little altitude sick, but she still loved the adventure.

waiting for the ride back down.

this morning Maggie fed baby carrots to the cow and goats at our Inn.

These baby goats are 2 days old. I'm not a really goat fan, but they
were soft and really snuggely.

While Grace napped this morning Maggie and I went and had a little big girl time. She got a glittery pedicure and asked about a million questions.

 We let daddy pick lunch. Surprise, surprise, he hunted down a Chick-Fil-A.

 Aunt Diane got here just before nap time and she brought a few books to share with Maggie, so they snuggled in and did some reading.

So much fun, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.....

Can you paint my nails??

Yesterday, Maggie took an unusually long rest in the afternoon. When she was halfway down the steps, she said, "Mom, will you paint my fingernails?" I told her that I had to be at a meeting in a few minutes, so there wouldn't be time, but that we could probably do it after supper. Then I looked up to see her fanning her left hand around.............AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Upon further inspection her left nails, fingers, hand, arm, etc. all had bright purple polish on them. I asked where she painted them and she told me on her night stand. I sprinted up the steps to find her beautiful yellow nightstand dotted with polish and then I saw the spot on the carpet!!  It's a good thing for Maggie that the babysitter was walking in the door and I had to be at a meeting shortly, because I was mad.

By the time I got home, I'd calmed down. Thankfully the Mr. Clean Eraser got all the polish off her nightstand and the spot on the carpet isn't so big. I wish I had taken a picture of her scrubbing her nightstand. She'd been playing dress up with the sitter and was wearing a fairy princess costume, scrubbing with a sponge. She looked a little bit like Cinderella, after the ball.

Needless to say, I've hidden all the nail polish!

This picture has nothing to do with my post. I meant to post it the other day and forgot. Someday when she's big I'll want to remember that she always sits with her ankles crossed....in her high chair, in her car seat, pretty much everywhere. I think it's so cute!

Busy weekend....

Mom, Dad, Deem, Laura and Mark stayed at our house Friday night. So, Saturday we got to do lots of playing and of course Dad got to fix a few things for me.

Uncle Deem decided to stay and spend the first few days of his spring break in Norfolk with us. Sunday we headed for Sioux City to watch Miss Lauren play softball. It was a PERFECT day to be outside. We found a great shady spot and had a picnic and watched the game.

Gracie thought Uncle Deem made the perfect jungle gym. He was a good sport.

Grace must have been thirsty....first she found Maggie's juice....

.....then Daddy's diet coke. Poor thing, doesn't anyone take care of her? :)

Maggie worked on her fielding skills a bit...

....then she got what she really wanted!!

 This morning when I woke Maggie up for school she said, "the night was too short!"  Monday's are rough for a busy girl like her!!!

Gracie's BIG day....

Gracie's Birthday was wonderful. I'm not sure she had any idea what was going on but she loved the cake and having all the people around to watch. We had a little party for her Friday night, Arnie made ribs and brisket, the cake turned out SO cute and the weather was PERFECT. (I bet there are years we have to shovel on her birthday).

Unfortunately during the party, Uncle Deem was playing in the bounce house with the kids and had an accident. He knocked his front tooth loose, really loose! So mom, dad and deem spent most of the evening in Dr. Sears office. He's got a "cast" on his tooth now, he's supposed to wear it for 3 or 4 weeks, and hopefully his tooth will tighten up and he'll get to keep it. We'll see. I bet we'll never forget Gracie's first bday party!

Good morning Birthday Girl!

Grace has decided the sit and spin should be renamed the stand and spin, she thinks
it's really funny to stand, spin and fly off.

I love how her cake turned out. I ordered an extra "smash cake" so we could take a few studio pictures with it. Grace kept teasing Maggie with bites, and then taking them back.

The real cake....Grace doesn't like when people seem Happy Birthday (to anyone), so she
cried all through the song, then recovered in time to eat frosting.

Grace LOVED all of her presents, once they were opened. She really didn't care
about the opening part, so all the other kids helped her.

Silly Girls!!!  Looks like they need more sugar.....

Uncle Deem after he got back from the doctor.

Night, night birthday girl! Sleep good!