Celebrate the Arts 2014

Last Friday through today was the Wylie School District's Arts Festival, called "Celebrate the Arts".  They hold it every year, and it is a collection of artwork by students of all grades (chosen by their teachers), and performances by choirs and bands of each level.  Friday was the kickoff, and we went to see the artwork that Chloe had there.  She had made a ceramic bowl for a charity called "No empty bowls" (I think), that was being sold... all proceeds from the bowls going to this charity to feed the hungry.  We bought Chloe's bowl!  Additionally, Chloe had two pieces of artwork in the festival.  One was a graphic art assignment, made partly on the computer.  The other was her hand over a bright abstract drawing.  Both pieces were assignments from her art class at school... she is doing so awesome!

Ciera was also in "Celebrate the Arts" with band.  The Junior High band festival was last night, and we went to listen to her perform.  Her band played three songs and did really well.  I really liked the last one that they played... they did awesome!  After they performed, they went into another room for the "sight reading" part of the competition.  They were given 7 minutes to go over the music with their director (without playing at all), and then had to perform it.  I was really impressed!  It sounded really good, especially for their first time ever seeing it!
I am so proud of my girls.  They are all so smart, and talented in so many different ways!  I look forward to seeing how they grow and develop their talents over the coming years!

A mouse, bunnies, and green things?

During Grandma's stay, we took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese one day.  (They very rarely get to go there, so it is a treat for them.)  They had a blast doing the games and winning tickets to get prizes.  They all got a few little things out of it all, and had a lot of fun... so the craziness was worth it!  They all agreed, though, that Chuck E. Cheese is a bit creepy.  (I made them take a picture in front of him anyway...)

One day, we had a craft day.  We made Easter bunny crafts and painted egg ornaments.  My girls LOVE to do arts and crafts!  They all did such a good job, and all did theirs on their own.  Now, what to do with all those bunnies...

The day before Grandma left was Saint Patrick's Day.  We love to celebrate holidays, and this is one that we never miss.  The evening before, I did all the girls' nails so they would always have green (even if they were naked!) and Chloe made a few green bracelets.

 That morning we woke up and our oatmeal and milk had been turned green by some trouble-making little Leprechauns.  Then, that evening we had traditional corned beef and cabbage.  It was a hit (at least the meat part... the veggies are a harder sell to my kiddos!), and we had a good time.

We are so glad Grandma was able to come and spend time with us!  We had a lot of fun!

Perot Museum in Dallas

One of the things we did while Grandma was here over break was go to the Perot Museum.  We had crazy weather (normal for here in Dallas), it was cold them warm, then cold then warm.  On the nice days, we tried to get outside and go to parks or play in our yard.  However, some days were too cold for that.  One of those days, we packed up and headed down to Dallas to the Perot.  It was my first time driving there (Dave always is the driver), and I was a bit nervous.  I didn't take the right exit to get off the freeway, so I had to exit after the Museum, and try to navigate my way back to the right place (with some one-way streets, and in a place I didn't want to be stranded!).  Thank goodness for GPS on my phone!  We were able to make it there no problems!
The museum was really fun.  The girls did stuff they always like to do when we go, and there were some new things that they have never done before.  We spent a few hours there, with a few "snack breaks" in there, which was perfect!

Spring Break Week Fun!

Grandma Elvester came for a visit for Spring Break.  We had a lot of fun with her.  We shopped, ate out, did some activities, and just enjoyed our time.
The library was having some activities for the kids since there was no school, one of which was The Mad Hatter's Tea Party for the younger kids.  Brooke and Autumn wanted to dress up so we made them some costumes out of our dress-up clothes.  Autumn was Alice and Brooke was the Queen of Hearts.  They had a lot of fun... and looked really cute!

Ciera and Chloe went to a "Divergent" party at the library as well, but I failed to get pictures of them.  They dressed up as "dauntless", in black clothes with drawn-on tattoos.  They had a good time.  Chloe had only read the first part of the book up to that point, but she has finished it since then and really wants to finish the whole series.  (Ciera and I both have...)  It is nice when you can find books that interest your kids!

I really love our library... they always have things going on that are fun for the kids.  My girls love going to the library, and love to read.  For that I am very grateful!

Mardi Gras 2014

Every year for Mardi Gras, we eat cajun food of some sort and watch "The Princess and the Frog".  For the last 3 years I have been trying new recipes for our dinner... we have had some interesting things... but mostly yummy!  I usually make beignets for dessert too!  This year I decided to make new recipes for dinner and dessert!
We had to have our Mardi Gras celebration on Monday, since we had some other things on the calendar for Tuesday night.  I made "Crawfish and Corn Bisque" and Cornbread for supper and "King Cake" for dessert.  King Cake is usually baked with a small figurine of a baby inside and whoever gets that piece is "king for the day".  I didn't bake a baby in it...  I stuck a plastic coin inside after it was baked, before I frosted it.  I didn't know where it was when it was all done.  Chloe ended up "queen for the day" when she got the coin piece!
It all turned out great!  Especially the King Cake (in my opinion)!  It is kind of a sweet roll dough with a cream cheese and cherry pie filling middle, and green, yellow, and purple sugar on top.  Yum!

Brooke is my picky eater.  For lunch on Monday, I made the girls turkey and cheddar sandwiches with mayo.  (It was an ice day so they were all home!)  She didn't want mayo in hers and threw a fit for about a half an hour when she had to eat it...  All over mayonaise.  I was a little worried about her eating the Crawfish and Corn Bisque for dinner.  She didn't take any bites for a long time, so I fed her a bite for her to try it.  After I fed her the bite, she ate her bowl of soup without complaint.  When I asked her why she threw a fit about mayo, and ate the soup so well, she said, "I really like the crawfish!"  Mardi Gras Miracle!  :)

Dodd Dino's Dance Party

The girls' elementary school had a sock-hop on Friday night.  Dave was out of town in Atlanta for work, so I took Brooke and Autumn (Ciera was at a birthday party and Chloe was with a friend, but met us there).  We had some pizza and cupcakes and then the girls danced, limbo'd, and hula-hooped for about an hour.  They had a lot of fun!  And, I had fun watching them!

Brookie's Birthday Date

For Brooke's "Mommy-Daddy-Daughter Birthday Date", we went to Studio Movie Grill and had dinner while watching "The Lego Movie".  It was really fun to be with our Brooke.  She really loved the movie!  After the movie, we came home and had cake and ice cream with everyone... Brooke blew out her candles in one (almost!) breath!  I know all her wishes will come true!  We love our Brooke!