Houston, we have a teenager

And just like that, I had a vision of my future:

Leaping (or Lying?) Lizards!

Admit it: sometimes it's too tempting to mess with babies who are sleeping. At least, it is for my wife:



Rebekah, on the other hand, was wide awake and enjoying herself very much, thank you:

We all scream for Ice Cream (& Aunt Mary)!

We all went and got some ice cream with Aunt Mary last week. Somehow, Aunt Mary didn't end up in this picture, but she was there, and boy were the girls glad to see her!

She'll make a good mommy someday...

Bethany knows how to take care of her "babies". She combs their hair,



and yes, she even, um, "feeds" them.



You can just see the pride in her eyes!

The Birthday that Never Ends

I'm a tad late on this one, but we had Bethany's final birthday celebration on the 17th. There was a small turnout, but 4 year olds don't care about that kind of thing, and they had a great time gathering & comparing loot,



playing "Twister",





eating cake,



and just being together!



I'd call that a success!

Quote of the Day

Bethany received a couple birthday cards in the mail today. This was our conversation while opening them.

Bethany: I got money in this one!
Mommy: Wow! What do you want to buy with that?
Bethany: Princess soup.
Mommy: You already have princess soup.
Bethany: Then Cars soup!
(Next card)
Bethany: I hope there's money in this one, too.

Seriously - this girl is only 4? Happy birthday, Bethany, the past 4 years have been amazing! I love you!!!

Awesome April, Days 6, 7 & 8

(Day 5, of course, was made awesome mainly by Bethany's party, in case you're confused by the missing day)

Day 6: After Lisa got home from work (a development that, while necessary, is still something of an adjustment for mommy), we all took a trip to Home Depot to pick up some gardening supplies. Once back home, we set to work getting one of the little garden areas behind our house ready for planting. I think we might have a gardener on our hands in Bethers!

Day 7: Tuesdays often mean dinner at the Sirgey house, and Awesome April's Day 7 was no exception. Even Uncle Mike & Aunt Mary showed up! The kids got a bubble bath, and after dinner, we all indulged in some ice cream from Dairy Queen!

Day 8: After Lisa got home from work (notice Awesome April events cannot truly begin until the whole family is together!), we took another shopping trip, this time to gather supplies for Bethany's Sleeping Beauty birthday party Saturday. Between the Dollar Tree and Tops, the girls thought we'd been on quite the shopping spree!

Running, Crashing, Driving

The weather is really starting to turn around here, so we spent some time hanging out in the backyard/driveway today. Bethany and Jonas got out plenty of energy just running up and down the driveway





before deciding they'd rather meet halfway, in a somewhat violent fashion:



Rebekah, on the other hand, spent most of the time moving from one vehicle to the next:





As usual, a good time was had by all, including Abby, who spent the duration of our time outside asleep in my arms!

Pop-Beads Necklaces

Sunday afternoon/early evening, while Bekah & Abby napped, Lisa & Bethany broke out the pop-beads and had themselves a good old time



Quite a pretty pair, those two girls of mine!

Bethany's Birthday, Part 1

Sunday marked the first celebration of Bethany's 4th birthday (officially, the 19th, if you're keeping score at home). As you can imagine, there was plenty of ripping through presents:





And there was even some "showing off" of presents:







One of Bethany's favorite presents this year (so far, anyway) has been her new Disney Princess scooter:



The scooter came from Uncle Mike & Aunt Mary, and as usual, required some assembly by Uncle Mike:



Both the older girls also very much enjoyed the Disney Princess CD player (starting to sense the theme yet?)



And of course, what birthday party would be complete without cake...



...followed by a sleeping Uncle Mike!



(my apologies to Aunt Mary, who Lisa is guessing will not appreciate that picture)

Needless to say, a good time was had by all, and we're looking forward to Bethany's Sleeping Beauty themed party this Saturday--pictures to follow, naturally!

Awesome April Day 4

Our camera spent today on our kitchen counter, but that doesn't mean we weren't busy! Today's fun included:

1. A trip to Target to buy a brand new vacuum cleaner. Yay!
2. Bethany and Daddy going to a birthday party with a very cool nature walk.
3. Rebekah, Abby, and Mommy going to Bounce Magic!!
4. Abby meeting A.Shirley & U.Rick.
5. Baking chocolate drop cookies.

Perhaps tomorrow we'll have some pictures for you.

Awesome April Day 3

Another awesome day in the Lafferty household. Today we:

1. Took advantage of our zoo membership and had a very COLD outing. Thankfully, the rainforest exhibit is nice and warm.



2. Had a very weird picnic lunch in the van, mainly because we didn't want to eat outside.



3. Went to Forest Lawn Cemetery and saw Frank Lloyd Wright's "Blue Sky Mausoleum". While there, we also found our first letterboxes of the season.



4. Celebrated Easter with my family, including having the kids find eggs and their Easter baskets!





5. Watched "The Princess and the Frog."

And we and the kids are spent! More tomorrow!

Awesome April Day 2

We had another fun-filled day today! We:

1. Went to preschool. The kids learned about Noah's Ark.
2. Took advantage of the unexpected sunshine with a windy picnic lunch, a walk through the trails, and a little bit of playground time.





3. Found some bubble wrap and popped it all the way home.





4. Rocked out to Michael Jackson.





5. Went roller skating for dollar day Thursday! Bethany only made it once around the rink, due to an unfortunate face-plant by me very early into our outing. She still seemed to have lots of fun. (And Mom, I don't think they've done anything to the place since you took us there. Nothing.) Rebekah stayed home coloring, reading books, and looking at pictures with Daddy.

Awesome April Day 1

After a mini emotional breakdown last night at the thought of having to return to work on Monday, I declared this "Awesome April." (Never mind the first 6 days.) Every day, we're going to make a serious effort to have fun with whatever time we have together. Meaning no ignoring the kids while we play on the computer or do chores - that can wait for nap time. And no just sitting around because we can't think of anything better to do. Because quality time can make up for lack of quantity time, right?

Today was pretty gross out, but that didn't stop us. We:
1. Had craft time! Started as a simple gluing project, ended with me trying to draw seals, elephants, and lions in glue, and glitter everywhere. I'm seriously not as artsy as I wish I was.







2. Had puzzle time! We put together the puzzles the girls got for Easter. They were very proud of themselves for finishing the 63 piece Tinkerbell puzzle.



3. Played "Duck, Duck, Goose." Not a lot of room, but the kids are really good at that game! And the circle in our house makes for more interesting chasing.

4. Had a "mini" lunch. We ate mini hotdogs on Bethany's Ariel teaset. The kids thought they were so funny having to poor tons of refills of their milk.



5. Went to the library. Bethany and Daddy picked out some fun books there (because Jesus Junction was cancelled), while Rebekah and I read books at home (because we were down a carseat).

6. Had a bath.

I think that's it. What a list! Now I need to go to bed so I'm conscious for Awesome April Day 2.

~ Lisa

Happy Easter

I have no Easter pictures! I was knocked down party hard this weekend with a cold, and slept most of Sunday. And since I'm the picture taker in my house, no pictures. I'll see if my mother-in-law got some though, and post them when I get them!

~ Lisa

Swim Graduation

Bethany's last swim class. She did a "wall walk" for her graduation--very appropriate, since that is definitely her favorite skill, though jumping in is a close second!

Meet Abby Party

We hardly took any pictures of this party; it was too much fun visiting with everyone! I loved showing off both Abby and our house!

~ Lisa

Cute Butts