Easter

Hannah and Gabe came to celebrate Easter with us. The kids had fun playing together and we enjoyed spending time with them. 

We colored Easter eggs

Went to the 4-H club's Easter egg hunt at church

Went to church on Sunday

Hunted for Easter baskets

Celebrated Gabe's birthday

 And hunted Easter eggs outside

Kite Flying

The kids got kites for Easter this year. They were pretty excited about them and couldn't wait to try them out. Of course, Easter was crazy windy so they weren't able to try them that day. We finally had a day with decent weather and they loved flying them! Best $6 ever spent! It kept them entertained for at least an hour - even Coye - and they've used them over and over again since.

Spelling Bee

Aubrey participated in the third annual Lutheran Spelling Bee this past Monday. We spent a lot of time practicing the past week reviewing both the third and fourth grade list of words that were sent home with her. By the time the bee came, she felt prepared. She was nervous, but excited. All of the kids there did great and went several rounds before missing any words. They got down to four children and Aubrey got the word shining, but she thought the judge said shiny. She spelled shiny correctly so the judges repeated the word shining and asked her to spell it. She got flustered and spelled it with a "y" and got out, just missing third place which would have given her a trophy. We were so proud of her, but I know she was disappointed. She got fourth place last year too. The crazy thing is shining was one of the words we practiced and she never had a problem with it. 

Talent Festival

St. Paul's had their annual Talent Festival last week. The kids entered a variety of things. Coye painted a small wooden car. Chloe entered a pillow kit, Lego set, drawing, and piano piece. Aubrey entered a purse kit, story, drawing, piano piece, vocal piece, and a group piece with her music class. They did very well on their entries - getting all first and second place ribbons. The girls also performed their piano and vocal pieces during the Talent Festival. They did a great job! Chloe seemed like a pro playing her piano song. Aubrey's piano song was very long and challenging, but she practiced a lot and received a first on it. She and her friend Kelsey also sang a duet. We were so proud of both of them!

Aubrey's group piece with her class

She had a recorder duet in the middle of her class piece.

Getting ready to sing their duet

Singing

Singing

Aubrey and her friend Kelsey

Chloe and Aubrey

Chloe at the piano

Aubrey at the piano

Coye's car that he painted - he did not want his picture taken.

Christmas Musical Solo

I finally moved videos from the video camera and found this one of Aubrey's solo in the Christmas Musical. She did such a great job that I thought I would share.

Aubrey's 9th Birthday

Aubrey turned 9 the beginning of March. I can't believe she's only one year away from being in double digits! The girl grew quite a bit last year - a little over 2 inches, which isn't surprising by how much she complains that her legs are growing. It's a weekly complaint with her that her legs hurt because they're growing. I keep teasing her that they're going to be as long as Daddy's soon. Last year we started the tradition with her that Calvin and I would take her out to dinner by herself and she would get to pick where we ate. The only stipulation is that it can't be fast food. This year she chose to eat at Applebee's, so we headed down to Champaign with just her. Her birthday gift this year was a new pair of cowgirl boots. Her old ones were hand-me-downs from Abbie and Gracie and have definitely seen better days. The heel is missing off of one and they are just falling apart. She needs boots to show her calves at the fair this year, so we decided to take her to Pard's (a western store) and let her pick a pair out. There were so many choices it took her a while to decide. She narrowed it down to a pair with crosses (like her cousin Abbie's) and a pair with glittery zebra print. In the end, she went with the pair that had crosses on it. We paid for them and she immediately put them on and wore them the rest of the night. Dinner was yummy and it was fun to spend some one on one time with her. We don't get to do that very often. She loved having us all to ourselves and getting extra time with her dad. I love this tradition and am so glad we started it. 

So many choices!

The final choice

Dinner at Applebee's

Aubrey is such a special little girl. She is sweet and cuddly. She is eager to help and seems to sense when I'm having a bad day or am grouchy (which occasionally happens) and tries her best to make things better. She is responsible and loves to take on the role of caregiver with her siblings. She is so smart and does awesome in school. Her memory is ridiculous, which makes learning her Bible verses for school very easy. She loves to read and write stories. She loves being a part of 4-H and has enjoyed working on her projects so far (cooking, nine patch pillow, drawstring bag) and is eager for the weather to turn so she can start working with her steer Patches and her heifer Daisy. She tends to be more on the quiet side but once you get her alone she can talk almost as much as Chloe. She still takes piano and has played in the Talent Festival and at church several times. She also had a solo for her school Christmas Musical this year and did great! She didn't even seem nervous at all (she must get that from her Grandma Timm). Chloe is still her best playmate - those two could play for hours together before you see them. Lego Friends, American Girl dolls, and school are her games of choice. I love this girl so much and am so proud of all she's accomplished so far.