Roller Skating

Today we went to Makalya's birthday party.  She had it at a roller skating rink this year...that was our first experience on roller skates.

Quick picture of the kids with the birthday girl...this is actually 1/2 way through the party...they were resting.

The rink had these cool "trainers" which were a must for our kids.  It really gave them the confidence to be out there; Olivia didn't want to leave! 

Emma did really well.  By the end she was even going around without using the trainers.

We skated for a couple of hours and then went to the birthday room for some cupcakes and presents.  It was the perfect little break.

Then back to skating...Daddy even got into it.

Olivia skated round and round and round...she loved this!

More skating for Emma.

It's lots of fun when Daddy pushes...they go fast!

They got going pretty fast on their own too.  Weeee

Even little Bella got into the action.  She was out there going her own little pace the entire time.

More fun with Daddy.

Marcus did really well.  He was racing all the other boys and really got the hang of it quickly.

Look at that little blur go!!!  He loved this!

I even joined in on the fun.  We had a great time.  We skated for about 3 1/2 hours.  The kids are all exhausted now...they could barely eat dinner!  I think they will sleep well tonight :-) 

Thanks Grami and Poppi

Grami and Poppi left this morning after hanging out for a few days.  Thanks Grami and Poppi for coming over to watch the kids while we went to the concert. 

I just had to share this cute photo...Marcus got all dressed up this morning...he looks so serious, doesn't he?

Also update on the missing teeth...Olivia finally lost her other top front tooth.  We did go to the dentist on Monday and good news...no cavities on any of the kids (although there really aren't a lot of teeth left for cavities :-)).

Blown Away

The Carrie Underwood "Blown Away" Tour came to town and we were there!  Chad, Julie, me and Marc headed to dinner and the concert after work on Thursday night while Grami and Poppi watched our kids.

Me and Julie...so excited!

Marc and me...a rare night out for us.

The opening act was Hunter Hays.  Our seats were amazing.  We were in the first row of the bleachers.  Better than front row because the stage was really tall. 

Hunter did a fantastic job. 

Then it was time for Carrie Underwood!  WOW is all I have to say...she is AMAZING.  There were several costume changes...she came out in a white sparkling dress for a few songs.

This was outfit number two...you can't see here but her shoes were so cute with this outfit.  However, she did stumble slightly in these shoes during a song, but she didn't miss a beat...we could even see her look at her band and laugh at herself and say "That was a close one", but again, never missed a beat.

She had a floating stage with outfit number 3...that was the coolest thing I've ever seen.  The bottom was glass and she waved to all the people below.  It floated way out over the crowd...so cool!

Outfit number 4...a few more songs.

And the last outfit; her encore outfit! 

The last song was "Blown Away" of course...complete with a tornado!

Amazing!

We had a great time; probably the best concert I've ever been to.  She was an amazing performer...what a great show!  We were definitely BLOWN AWAY!!!  We LOVE Carrie Underwood!!!

More Missing Teeth

I picked the girls up from the Y on Weds. evening and Emma was missing her top front tooth!  She said it was just so wiggly so she pulled it out herself that morning.  She was so excited.  The school gave her a cute little tooth necklace that held her little tooth to keep it safe.  The tooth fairy visited that night and she was rewarded for her nice tooth.

Not to be outdone by her sister...Olivia pulled her loose tooth (the bottom one for her this time) out yesterday...the tooth fairy responded once again.  We visit the dentist on Monday for checkups..there aren't many teeth to check on this time though :-)  Even Marcus has a few missing teeth.  Guess that's what happens when they are so close in age...missing teeth from everyone all at once!

Healthy Living

In addition to exercising more at the YMCA, we've also taken some steps towards healthier eating this year.  We brought out the Juicer and found a great recipe that gives us our daily servings of fruits and veggies.  We even have the kids taking part.  First you break the veggies...

Then place them in the juicer...

Then push down and the juice flows out.

Success!  Marcus loves juicing :-)

The girls have lots of homework each night...

They are practicing their spelling words...we make them write each word 5 times every day and then give them a practice spelling test.

We do it every night and Friday is their test at school.  So far seems to be working; they are both doing very well on their spelling tests.

We also make yummy energy peanut butter bars.  The kids take them to school for snacks and we take them to work for snacks too...they are packed with protein and good stuff...It's been a great addition to our lifestyle.  We've always been pretty healthy for the most part; this just adds that little extra.