Easter, Mother's Day & Summer, OH MY!

It's been over a month!!  So... what has happened?

I ran another 5K!

My actual time was under 36 minutes, so I did better than the Disney one back in March.  This one was over a bridge and back for part of it, too, so that has to count for something!!

Here are the girls on Easter Sunday --

Grace was able to wear the same beautiful dress as last year,

made for her by Chris' Aunt Carol!

Gracie loves our hibiscus trees and wanted her picture in front of one that morning!

Here's Rachael, "goin' shoppin'" with her baby!

The highlight of April was a visit from

Aunt Kiki, Uncle Jerry, Blake, Savannah & Veronica!

Grace & Savannah on our playdate with them!

Rachael & Veronica were sharing a banana.

Grace's kindergarten class had a Mother's Day Tea last week.  The moms waited outside the classroom, and one by one the children came out and presented his or her mommy with a flower and escorted her inside.  It was so sweet!  It was a good thing there were tissue boxes at each table, because they were definitely pulling out all the emotional stops!  After they serenaded us, the teacher read a couple of heartwarming stories, and then we were served snacks by our little hosts and hostesses!

Rachael had her last week of preschool, and we were wondering how she was going to do at the program they had, considering she'd cried through most of the Christmas one!  She had a rough start coming to her classroom and I thought we were in trouble, but once she got up on stage, she was fine!  Yay!  She sang, she smiled, she did hand motions, she tapped sticks -- she was great!  We were very proud of her!  I don't know if she understands that preschool is over for a little bit, but hopefully I'll be able to keep her entertained!

Gracie has one more week of school left!  We're already looking forward to Vacation Bible School and some playdates with friends throughout the time off!  I learned last year that summer "vacation" is kind of misleading -- it's going to be work to keep these girls busy while they're out of school!  I'm really blessed because both girls are really amazing at finding things to keep busy, and they (usually) play very well together too!

Hope our family and friends reading this are doing well!  We're hoping that we might get to see some of Chris' family in Connecticut this summer -- keep your fingers crossed!

First Day #2

Little Miss Rachael has been so excited about school! Last night we went to Target, and for some reason she thought we were going to take her to school then. When we told her we were just going to a store, she started wailing! This morning, she was all excited! She was practicing saying her teacher's name, she was talking about seeing her friends -- she was thrilled!

When we got to the classroom, she immediately headed for a table with crayons and paper. There were a couple of kids who started crying (and one who bolted out the door after her mommy left!), but Rachael wasn't one of them!

Rachael was checking out one of her new friends, who was crying.

Enough of that -- back to coloring!

I gave her a high five as I left, and then she rushed around to give me a hug. Well, I thought she was coming to give me a hug. I thought she said, "Mommy! Wait!" So I stopped and knelt down to hug her, and then she looked at me and said, "Mommy! PAINT!" I had told her a long time ago that they might paint sometimes in her class -- apparently she remembered that! I told her maybe she could go ask her teacher, and as she headed towards her, I made my exit. I waited in the hall for a little bit, trying to stay out of sight. I didn't hear my girl crying, so I left.

Then I cried. Just a little! After I ran a couple of errands, coming back to the house with no one here except Snickers was a little strange! I look forward to picking her up (in just a little bit actually) and hearing all about her first day!

UPDATE: Rachael came out the door from preschool with a note from her teacher saying she went potty TWO TIMES, and she was "a great helper"! :-) As if that wasn't enough, when we brought Gracie home, she showed us how she can tie her shoes all by herself!