Tigger - Our new family member

Meet Tigger.  Lillie has been asking for a kitty of of her own for a while.  Yesterdatm, we went to an adoption event at Petco and found Tigger.  Lillie named him Tigger (like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh), because he has stripes like a tiger.

 He is very playful and sleeps in Lillie's room.

 He is also a very lovable kitty. 

Trophy, Tutu and Piano Keys

Lillie's soccer season came to an end and she got a trophy.  She was so excited.  She has been wanting a trophy for the the past year.

Thursday, Lillie started piano lessons.  She learned a lot in her first lesson and she can't wait to go back.  Lillie is sitting with her piano teacher Mrs. Lawerence.

Yesterday, Lillie had her Dance/gymnastics recital.  She did a great job and she can't wait until her classes start back up.  Afterwards, we went to Olive Garden to celebrate.  She loves Olive Garden, because she can order her favorite food and drink...Cheese Ravoli and a Shirley Temple.

Lillie's First and Last Day of Preschool

I put this photo together of Lillie's First and Last day of preschool.  It was raining on both days, so she was wearing the same rainjacket.  Two years ago, she looked like a toddler, now she looks like a little girl ready for preschool.

Preschool coming to an end for Lillie

The last two weeks have really started the end of Lillie's Preschool years.  Last week, we attended the year family picnic.  This picture is with Lillie (back row in blue) with her teacher, Mrs. Hoard, and her classmates.  These aren't all of the Pre-K kids and some of these kids are in the morning class.

Next Wednesday is the class picnic.  It is suppose to be fun, but it is going to be hard for me.  Jack and Jill has been a great preschool for us and I am going to miss it.  At least until Sophie goes in the fall of 2013.
Last Wednesday, was my last working day of the year at Jack and Jill.  Every working day, the parent's child gets to ring the bell to tell everyone that it is time to stop playing and clean up.  This was the last time that Lillie got to ring the bell.

To get the kids ready for Kindergarten, the school had a school bus and driver come to the school to talk about bus safety, what to expect on the bus and we even went on a ride around the parking lot.
Lillie met the bus driver.

Lillie practicing walking in front of the bus.  She has to get permission from the bus driver to walk in front of the bus and cross the street.

On the bus, about to go for a ride.

Hatching Chicks

We have made a lot of great friends since we moved to Michigan.  One of our friends happens to be from Nebraska (a husker fan) and he has a farm here.  I asked him if we could hatch chicken eggs at our house for an educational experience for the girls.  He supplied the eggs and chick supplies, and we split the cost of the incubator.  We placed the eggs in the incubator and read a few books about eggs turning into chickens.  After 22 days the chicks started to come out of their shells.

We ended up with 8 chicks, 5 dark ones and 3 yellow ones. The girls love to go down and check on the chicks, hold and pet them. They are starting to grow their adult feathers and growing everyday.  On Monday, we will probably take them to Lillie's Preschool class and then out the farm.

Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan

Sunday, we made the 1.5 hour drive to Holland, Michigan to see the Tulips. We took a lot of pictures and these are a few that we took on Windmill Island.

Lillie in the tulip field.

 Sophie in the tulip field.  Sophie was racing after Lillie, but she didn't know what to do when she got to the end of the tulip row.  I told her to "pick a row. Pick one."  Sophie stopped to pick a tulip.  Oops.  I put the tulip on the ground.  It was interesting that there wasn't a sign saying "not to pick the tulips."

Here is a picture is a picture of Lillie and Sophie running down the rows of the tulips.

 After, walking through the tulips, we took a tour of the 250 year old Windmill in this photo.  The deck of the windmill is actually the 4th floor of the windmill.  It was tall and little scary to be out on the deck.

Happy Easter!

Last week, we went to Omaha to visit family and friends. 

Lillie and Sophie dyed eggs.  This was the first time that Sophie dyed eggs and she loved it.

A trip to Omaha would not be complete without a visit to the Omaha Zoo.

Taking a break in the Jungle.

Lillie was so excited to see these Gorilla skeletons and have her picture taken by them.

The baby goats in the petting zoo were just he right size for Sophie.

We took a ride on Zoo Railroad.

On Easter Sunday, We had an Easter egg hunt with our cousin, Brenden.

Before we left Omaha, Sophie got her first haircut.  Just a little trim in the back.