Madelyn learning to ride her bike

 I decided to give Madelyn a try at riding her bike with no training wheels.  She can balance so good on her scooter that I thought she might be able to do it.  So just out of curiosity I took the training wheels off  her bike, to give it a whirl.  The video below is seriously how quickly she learned.  I didn't catch the very first time on video, because I didn't in a million years think she would actually do it.  But the very first time, I ran with her a couple feet and then let go without her realizing that I had let go.  She biked on her own for about 15 feet, before realizing that I wasn't holding on.  Then she stopped pedaling.  She didn't want to try again for a little bit, but once I knew she could do it, I wasn't above bribing her.  A popsicle can go a long way for a little kid in Spring.  After I saw how good she did her very first try, I went in to get the video camera and the rest is literally how it went.  I remember with Collin, running around the entire block holding on to the back of the bike for weeks.  As you can see in the video, we barely had to run behind Madelyn at all.  She literally had it figured out within minutes.  Amazing....I guess being the 3rd child has some advantages.  

Ella's Pre-School Graduation

I can't believe that Ella is already done with pre-school and ready for kindergarten.  She has made lots of new friends, learned how to read, how to count to 100, beginning math, and on and on.  So she is more than ready for that next big step on to kindergarten, but I am not.  She can't wait for summer to be over so she can go to kindergarten, but I can wait.  I have learned to treasure moments with her, the good and the bad.  The hours and hours we spend playing games, reading books and doing puzzles.  The rollerblades on and off a hundred times in one day.  Finding or even making up worksheets so she can have "homework" to do.  Endless hours of practicing dance and listening to Bella Dancerella.  Snuggling on the couch or just simply listening to her laugh.  I get a pit in my stomach just thinking about a day without her.  I know the time has to come when I have to let them go, even if it is just a little.  But I thank God every day for giving me the wisdom to appreciate the time that I do have with them, and to cherish every moment.

Ella had so much fun singing and dancing.

Madelyn spends a lot of her life trying to be just like Ella.  Ella loves being the big sister and having Madelyn look up to her.  During the slideshow, Madelyn snuck down to sit by Ella.   It was so adorable.   But if that wasn't enough, Madelyn then climbed right up into Ella's lap. 

Ella and Teacher Kari.  Ella has had Kari for 2 years of Pre-School and is really going to miss her next year.  Luckily they will be in the same building and Kari has promised to stop in and visit.

Grandma, Madelyn and Ella

And of course the day would not be complete without her very best friend Cole by her side!  I know I'm biased but aren't they adorable?

Camping at Sibley State Park

This is the earliest in the season we have ever attempted camping.  Because we were not sure what the weather at night would be like, we decided to give the "camper cabins" a try.  This is simply a very small cabin with 2 sets of bunk beds and a small table, but more importantly a roof and an electric heater.  We arrived at the park at about noon, had some lunch, unpacked and were on the trail by 1pm.  What a treat to have no tent to set up.  We did the loop up to Mt. Tom.  It is about a 3 mile loop.  We brought the backpack carrier for Madelyn, because we were not sure how she would do hiking.  She started out asking to be carried quite a bit, but after we insisted she walk at least the first half, she did eventually give up.  She not only made it half way (to the top of Mt. Tom), but she made the remaining half of the loop also.  All 3 miles on her own 2 feet - what a big girl!  This was a nice hike with a cool observation deck at Mt. Tom.  We got back to the cabin and the kids wanted to tackle geocaching, so we headed down by the lake to do that.  They are getting really good at this, and hardly need any help from mom and dad at all!  We had a bonfire, roasted hot dogs for dinner, and of course had smores.  Got in a little playing catch, before settling in by the fire just in time to see a couple deer run right through our campsite.  It was so cool.  We went to bed in nice warm beds, and all slept pretty good.  We woke up to rain and more rain.  We spent the entire morning and afternoon playing games, listening to music and reading books.  It was a very lazy day and lots of fun.  The kids said their favorite part was sleeping in the camper cabin on the bunk beds.

One of Madelyn's favorite things to do at camping is drinking as much as she wants from the water cooler.  

The kids thought it was pretty cool to hike up to a mountain named after their grandpa.

Taking a small break to get in a quick map reading lesson.  Collin is starting to get pretty good at orienting himself with a map.

Geocahing

Found the treasure.

Lazy Sunday morning.

Madelyn at gymnastics

I had no intentions of signing Madelyn up for gymnastics at this age, but when we showed up and there were two little 3 year olds in the pre-school class going on during Ella's gymnastics, I just couldn't resist.  For once in her life, she could have the chance to be doing something fun, instead of just watching her brother and sister.  She COULD NOT wait for her turn to do gymnastics.  On her first day she had a hard time figuring out the concept of "stations".  She had only known open gym, and this coupled with a natural 3-year old attention span didn't go so well.  She did something one time and then was ready to move on to the next more exciting thing.  She was basically running wild in the gym, but her coach is awesome with her and just kept reeling her back in.  After that first hour, I was sure he was going to boot her right out.  I later learned that the other 2 girls in the class had already done a year of gymnastics in a parent/child class.  Coach David said he already had them trained like little puppies.  Clearly Madelyn needed a little work in that area.  But he insisted that she would catch on, after all she has been watching Ella for a year now.  He was right, already the next week she stayed on task much better!  She has a huge smile on her face the ENTIRE time.  She absolutely loves it.  She loves being a big kid!

Baseball Season is in Full Swing

Collin's first baseball game of the season.  He is playing for WB baseball association this year.  His first game was on a rainy, cold day.  He was so worried that the game would be cancelled.  He is really excited about playing baseball this year.  I'm pretty sure Collin had his hands in the air, cheering for one thing or another for most of the game.  Every run was "the game winner" and every out was, "the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs - world series style".   He really had a great time.  After the game Connor got in our car to head home and he said, "Collin did you see that home run I got"?  Collin responded, "Yeah, dude -  did you see my slide at 3rd"?  It was pretty cute.  I love these years, when life is good and easy and the kids are truly their own biggest fan!!  I know it won't last forever, but I hope that Collin is making memories that WILL last forever - I know that I am!

Mousey's Birthday!

Very randomly one day, Ella decided that April 28th is Mousey's birthday.  She started wrapping presents in the morning.  One thing led to another and before you know it we had a party, complete with balloons, presents (which were toys wrapped up in computer paper), cards, cake and even some neighbors.  It was quite the celebration.  Ella has such a love for life and creative imagination sometimes I just can't stomp on it, and that is how things get out of control and we end up with a birthday party for a stuffed animal.  The things we do as parents to see joy on our kids' faces!!

Connor, Cole, Carly and the rest of the Gerrell's helped to make Mousey's party feel like a party!

Summer Baseball???

Ella, Madelyn, Cole and Carly trying to keep warm at our May baseball practice.  It was in the 30s with snow flurries - ridiculous.

Ella's Dance 2011

Ella is dancing at 4th Street Dance Center this year.  It is hard to tell at the beginning of the year if Ella really likes dance or not, but the more she learns her dances and as the recital starts to approach she loves it.  It is not uncommon to find her singing away and practicing her dances at home.  The other parents are always amazed at how well Ella knows the dances, but it is because she LOVES to "practice" at home.  Her songs this year are: "Purple People Eater" and "Rolling".   She may not be girly all the time, but put a pair of tap shoes on her and she is girl through and through!

Look at those curls.....

Easter 2011

Easter 2011.  Before going to bed we had the kids place their Easter baskets by the patio door.  Madelyn was very skeptical about leaving her Easter basket un-attended all night.  It took a lot of convincing to get her to leave it.  She wanted to sleep with it in her bed.  Later that night, I was up in the top bunk with Collin snuggling at bedtime.  From below I heard Ella whisper to Matt, "If you and mommy get up really early will you take a picture of the Easter bunny".  Then she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, I'm sure dreaming of candy filling her Easter basket.  They were of course up before us to discover that, in fact the Easter bunny had come.  After the usual excitement a few too many pieces of candy we headed off to a fabulous church service.  We were joined by Mary and Terry and were lucky enough to spend the rest of Easter with them.  We enjoyed a nice bike ride to Frog Hollow Park, decorating cupcakes,  and hours of fun playing outside with friends.  Of course, most importantly we wanted to remember what we were really celebrating.  We spent some time reflecting on what the resurrection of Jesus means for each of us.  What it means about how we live our lives here on Earth and ultimately our gift of heaven that awaits us.  As the kids get older, it is amazing to watch their unconditional faith.  We talked about how not everyone believes that Jesus died and then came back to life.  That there is really no way to prove it, and that it is something that we have to choose to believe.  That you don't have to believe it because church is telling you to or because it is what mommy and daddy believe - but because it is something that you truly believe yourself.  This is a difficult thing to understand - even as adults.  But we are so proud and pleased that our kids have placed their faith and trust in Jesus and want to live a life here on Earth that would make Him proud.  It is one of the most important decisions they will ever make and it is so exciting as they get older to watch them start to form their own opinions, beliefs, and faith!  We love them so much, and it is my prayer for them every day!

Collin being silly while mommy adjusts her camera settings.  The kids are starting to get used to this and don't even mind being my "fill ins" anymore.

Madelyn crashed hard after all the excitement from the day.  She slept for about an hour.  Matt went up to get her to eat dinner.  He carried her down and she didn't wake up so he lay her on the couch.  We finished making dinner, ate dinner and cleaned up dishes before she woke up.  

Grandma brought cupcakes to decorate.  Both Ella and Madelyn helped to decorate them.  Ella lasted through all 2 dozen and was still sad when there was no more left to decorate.  We ended up bringing them outside and letting all the neighborhood kids dig in!  It was a great way to end a great day.

Treasure Hunt

The kids have been looking forward to the annual treasure hunt since Christmas got over.  We watched and giggled as the kids searched for clues inside and out.  Even Madelyn was able to figure some of the easy ones out.  And although I made Collin's clues more difficult this year, thinking that I would stump him at least once or twice - he prevailed!

There was of course "treasure" at the end of the treasure hunt, but for the kids it truly is the thrill of the hunt that they love!