Catch up

Here is some catch up...

Samantha lost her 2nd tooth at school. She wanted to keep this tooth as well, so we wrote another note to the tooth fairy. Sam was paid again while the tooth fairy left empty-handed.

The girls and I had dinner on the deck while Daddy worked late... yet another adventure and a great way to celebrate the spring weather! It was a fun idea!

Below is a photo I took of a lake we walk by often... Goodbye winter!



We have been taking nature walks in the yard and the girls have been playing on the rocks in our side yard.

Happy Anniversary to us!

To My Husband:

I am proud to be your wife and more grateful than I ever dreamed possible. You have given me the life that I never dared to imagine. Our life and the family we have created is a force of good in this world. You are a wonderful father who explains things and plays games with our daughters. I am in awe of the person you are, of how you never stop trying to do what you feel is right and how you love us. You are my hero.

Today marks the 7th anniversary of our wedding. We have known each other 13 years (158 months) and our paths have zigged and zagged. You have seen my best and worst qualities in the context of friendship before marriage and I have seen yours. We have confided our greatest fears and celebrated our successes. You made me a mother. Two beautiful daughters were born to us and we are raising them together.

Still our life together is just beginning. I love you and every day I am blessed to be married to you. I am eternally grateful we chose wisely in choosing each other. My hope is to continue on this road holding hands and laughing while we grow as people and as a couple.

With love,

Your Wife

(Happy Anniversary to Nana and Papa too since they were kind enough to share the date with us!)

Visits from Antie, Uncie and Aunt Rose ("She's my friend!")

Last weekend we finally got to see Antie and Uncie! Oh, how we have missed them. It has been way too long even though we use video and phone calls to stay in touch. We spent part of each day with them, Nana, Papa, Uncle Todd, Aunt Shelly, Jordan and Dylan. Todd enjoyed his specially made birthday dinner made by Daddy along with everyone else. Samantha impressed everyone with her chess skills and picked up some pointers from Uncle Todd. Sofia's affections were much appreciated by Antie and Uncie.



Aunt Rose came into town this weekend. When we were discussing it with the girls, Sofia said, "She's my friend!". I don't know where it came from, but Sofia repeated it multiple times. While we didn't get enough time with Aunt Rose, it was a relatively calm and pleasant visit. She is such a sweet lady and very kind. The girls were a bit confused because her name since Rose is a common in our family.



After we said goodbye to Aunt Rose, Sam spent the afternoon with Grammy. It was impromptu, but they both enjoyed themselves. They took a walk, played on the computer and simply hung out. I'm glad that they have that time!

Chess

The current favorite game in our house is chess. Samantha's preschool hosted a chess club for a session and Sam loved it. Papa and I have all played her and she's pretty good! It's hard to believe she plays at all since she's 5 years old, but it's become a fun game for us to play together. Sam is willing to teach anyone how to play chess if they want to learn, she asks Grammy and Daddy often!

Samantha has a ski lesson

For all the family who wanted to be here but couldn't. Here is a recap of Samantha's first ski lesson. I wrote this during the lesson so the effect is real-time.

I wander and find brochures for ski and snowboard teams. Of course, Lindsey Vonn is mentioned repeatedly which is fair. It's not often an Olympic medalist is from your hometown!

Sam has her skis now and is waiting patiently, absorbing the busy atmosphere. Her mouth occasionally hangs open, but I choose not to address it.

Her lesson is starting now. They are all walking outside to the training area. My girl is so cute!

They haven't gotten to the actual slope yet and I'm not sure that the class will get there or now. Samantha has now taken her coat off for snack. (Why do people offer oreos and juice for snack and then complain about child obesity rates?) Apparently she is too cool for jackets just like her instructors. (Yes, I understand that they're moving around and probably have no problems maintaining their body temperature.)

She's heading to the slope! I get my camera ready. Sam is halfway up the bunny hill! (Look for the girl in pink getting her skis straight on the video.) My baby is staying up and crashing into the instructor at the bottom just the way she is supposed to. She gets it! I'm so proud!

Fonzie's walk and Sofia's puddles

One of the great things about the recent warming trend is taking Fonzie for walks. He doesn't get out much during the winter without Momma's office to run around as we've done in previous years. Yesterday Sofia, Grammy and I banded together to take Fonz for a stroll. The pace wasn't fast, but it was fun to watch Sofie play in the various puddles on our path. She was soaked by the time we got back to the car, but she had a great time!

Since I have lifting restrictions for my disc problems, Grammy got to be the one who gave Sofia a piggy back ride. While I was jealous that I couldn't do it without risking more injury, I'm grateful for this picture. The other picture is Grammy helping Samantha with her homework. My girls love their Grammy and they are blessed to have her! Grammy is a fabulous Grammy!

Purim

Last weekend was Purim and we celebrated it by heading to our synagogue for a carnival. Daddy, Sofia, Nana and Papa all came too! It's the only time of year that there is an inflatable obstacle course in the sanctuary at the synagogue! Both girls did spin art, Sam got her face painted and her fingernails painted and snacked on popcorn.


I went early with Samantha for her Mishpacha (Sunday school) class. She made a crown for me which I proudly wore all day. Sam wore the one she made as well and we giggled about how we were the only ones wearing crowns. Afterwards we went to a diner with Nana and Papa for burgers, fries and milkshakes. It was a good meal with great company!


All throughout the day, the girls had fun with the grogger (noisemaker) that Samantha had made at her class and it was another wonderful day for our family!

Girls nights and ice skating

Daddy had to work a couple of nights this week so those evenings were just for the girls. We kept it simple for the most part. Samantha had math homework to complete and I had fun helping her with it. It was another moment where I couldn't believe what my life has become. I never expected to become a wife and mother and I'm grateful for every moment I get to be a wife to my husband and mother to my fabulous girls!

On Tuesday Grammy accompanied us on an adventure - ice skating. I haven't been on skates for a long time, but I managed not to fall. Sofie enjoyed skating with her boots and loved it. Samantha was very excited to use her new skates and did very well! She did fall a couple of times, but got back up and kept going. Her "adventure" (the arm pain she got from one of her falls) was still hurting a bit the next day, but I am proud of my tough kid who was brave enough to keep skating. Grammy tried my skates and didn't fall once! We all laughed about how silly we must look. It was a great time and definitely an example of having fun no matter what! Similar to "dancing like no one is watching", except with ice skates and a sled.

I hope our family never loses our sense of adventure... life is the series of the memories we make and I think this qualifies as one I would like to keep!

Happy birthday!

A special message for Antie!

Antie also shares a birthday with Rita who we called. We wish both of the birthday ladies a happy day and hope they have many more!