Be Mine 2015

Kara earned her AR medallion a while ago, but she's usually gone to her math class when the AR parents come in. She was finally there this week, and was able to receive her medallion. She was glad to get it.

For Valentine's day I decided to send Kara and Kiersten a fun heart lunch.

This is a yoohoo box covered in construction paper. Kiersten was way more happy about it than Kara.

I also put in a Valentine from Ben and me with some treats.

Kara was embarrassed that we signed "Mommy and Daddy". All the more reason to do the same thing next year.

Before school, Evie randomly tied her shoe. I  called Ben to ask if he had taught her, but he hadn't.

It wasn't perfect, but I was impressed that she had figured it out. I did have to tighten and double knot it for her, but she was very proud of herself. I guess it's a sign that I should be working with her on this.

I felt a little badly that I hadn't made a special lunch for Evie, so at the last minute I made her a heart sandwich and heart strawberries. About half way through eating, I had her yoohoo ready. I made a donut and wrote, "Donut forget I love you". I wanted to show Ben, but she threw it away. Good thing I got this picture.

I saw this printable on pinterest, and used it on actual Valentine's Day Saturday. Ben was confused why I was so anxious to get lunch on the table. I was just dorkily excited for them to have the sodas.

I made these brownies, and cut them into heart shapes. Then I made some whipped cream with grenadine to make it pink. I mixed in some fresh raspberries, which got mixed reviews from the girls. I thought they were good, but I accidentally used way too much powdered sugar, so they were on the sweet side.

After lunch we gave them their valentines. They were pretty happy. Kara got some lego friends, Evie got a palace pet stuffed animal, and Kiersten got a Barbie movie.

I also made them these amigurumi hearts. They turned out pretty cute. Kara named hers LeBron James.

Evie named hers Lovie.

I forget what Kiersten named hers. But she was excited for her crocheted kitty I made a few weeks ago to have a new buddy.

I almost regret the faces, but the girls seem to like them.

Our heart pizza was from Pizzarelli's this year. It was so good. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture and remembering the cheesy goodness.

The next morning Kara made chocolate chip pancakes for everyone. They actually turned out really yummy.

Making stuff with Evie Pie

Evie was disappointed when she asked for a banana, and then noticed they had turned pretty brown. I attempted to peel one for her, but it was such a mushy mess, that I asked if she'd rather make banana bread. She was all for it, and who knew it was such a kid friendly thing to bake? I'll have to keep it in mind for the future, because she could do almost all of the steps. All I had to do was measure out some of the ingredients for her. I also floured the baking pan, and then she was able to do all of the mixing herself. It turned out pretty tasty, and she convinced me to let her add chocolate chips to it. I'll sure miss our one on one time when she goes to kindergarten this fall.

I had the girls work on their valentine cards Tuesday night, since I knew the rest of the week was going to be busy. Kara didn't even get home last night until almost 7:30, so I'm glad we got the cards done, and it's one less thing to worry about. They had fun putting them together, but they hate not writing their friends' names on them. I have to agree. When I was in school it was very important to me which person got which card, but I do understand how much easier it is for the teachers. They even made some cards for Ben and me, which I deliberately tried not to notice.

Yesterday Evie begged to do a valentine craft. So I got out these cute mirrored frames I bought 2 years ago. I have always meant to print out pictures of the girls in cute red and pink outfits to put in them for a Valentine decoration, but haven't yet, so we decided to make pictures to put instead. She had a great time helping, and I even let her attempt to use the glue gun. She freaked out and dropped it, so I had to take back over, haha.

I just got out everything pink, purple, red, and heart related that I could see in my disaster of a craft room. We had to edit down several times because she had so many things she wanted to add, but I didn't want them to look ridiculous.

They turned out cute. I still want to print out pictures of the girls, but it will be hard to take out these pictures that Evie put so much thought into, and we created together. So Maybe I'll have to get new frames, or maybe I can put these in her baby scrapbook. I guess we'll wait and see if I ever get around to printing out the pictures before I worry about it.

All the Sweet Stuff

Yesterday Kiersten and Evie were very excited for their date for the sweetheart dance to arrive. They both got fancied up in their dress of choice, hair was curled, and jewels were carefully chosen.

The doorbell rang, and the magical night began.

Ben and the girls ready for a night out on the town. Kara opted not to go this year, but regretted it a week after we signed up. Unfortunately it was too late to add her to the fun, so she got to hang out at home with me and Nic, who is visiting from Utah.

They were happily surprised when Queen Elsa arrived at the dance. Ben was very sweet to bring home a goodie bag and cupcake for Kara so she wasn't entirely left out.  

Nic and I were happy to be entertained by some of Kara's magic tricks. Then we spent the remainder of the evening playing Wii U.

Today Kara had a field trip with her Brownie scouts to tour a chocolate factory. The girls were pretty excited for it.

We got to wear these stylish paper hats instead of hairnets. I think only one person chose a hairnet.

It was very interesting to learn about their process for candy making.

At the end of the tour there were samples for all of us.

Kara did not like that her sample had sea salt on top.

It was a pretty fun outing! After Ben, Nic, and the little girls picked us up, we headed over to our favorite BBQ spot, and then to Kara's basketball game, where she was thrilled to get a basket. I think the game ended at 12-8, and Kara's team won! They have been on a losing streak, so I was very glad for them to get another win.

Some Sunshine

Ben always calls Evie "Sunshine". So when I came across these pictures of her from a few weeks ago, I decided to pass some of her happiness along.

On her day to be snack helper at school, they also celebrated her half birthday since she's a summer kid. So Ben got a huge bag of dumdums and I made little bundles of 12 for her to share with her friends. Her teacher said she kept reminding the kids that they were for them to take home, not to be enjoyed at school. She also brought some bugles to have during snack time.

She came home with a birthday crown. This picture belies the happiness she actually felt about it.

And wearing the unicorn hat she requested me to make. I hate where I placed the eyes, but not enough to remove and redo them, so it is what it is. I'm also not too happy about the way the horn turned out, but as long as she's happy.

Because even sunshine needs to rest sometimes.

And those other two only slightly less sun-shiney girls who are usually happy and make me feel happy. I'm glad to have these girls to brighten my days.