Everyone survived and enjoyed the weekend

Katie's play was a success and the prom was a hit!

I could not take photos at Katie's play. Flash photography was not allowed, and according to the mysterious voice making announcements at the beginning of the play "flash photography is very dangerous to the actors on stage". Yikes, I couldn't endanger my girl. So no photos from the production.

I was allowed just a few prom photos. Thank goodness they will be going to Hannah's prom in May. More opportunities for photos - yeah!

Everyone had a great weekend...

Zack and Hannah - the pose for Mom


Aren't they adorable?


Zack and Katie - sometimes brother and sister do pose willingly for the mama


Wow - they even posed with Mom & Dad!

Friday Night Follies

What better way to end a beautiful 80 degree sunny day? POPSICLES!

I found yummy popsicles which contain no artificial dye. This is a very happy discovery in our house because Gus cannot have anything with red dye. If you ever wonder about the zillions of things with red dye just ask me. It is ridiculous!

Ana had a whopping 30 minute nap today. She went to her room at 2:20 and proceeded to play until 4:00. I then woke her up at 4:30 to go to Zack's game. She was downright surly. Grrrrrr. She did manage to straighten up a bit before bedtime. The popsicle helped. She was trying to sing a little ditty we have around here. The words are supposed to be "Scooby dooby dooby doo, I love you!"



Marco and Gus decided to share popsicles. It is an open field of germs around our house.



Spring is here. Our pool is coming to life soon. We are very happy.

Big week at the 'ol homestead...

Yes, it is a big week at the never-a-dull-moment-life-is-an-adventure family homestead this week!

Zack's prom is Saturday and Katie's first high school musical production is this week.

Prom...as in our oldest is going to the prom. Yikes! I survived the ordering of the tuxedo with my teen son who a) knows nothing about fashion, b) cares nothing about fashion, and c) does want to look handsome for his girlfriend. As we walked into the tux shop I told him I would give him $50 if he walked in with me and said "Uh, yeah, we're gettin' married on Friday night...you got something I could wear?" His reply? "That isn't even funny Mom..."

Zack talked through the flower order with me. "Mom, I have no idea what all of this means. Could you order something?"

The weather will be sunny and beautiful this weekend - a perfect setting for a prom. And yes, there will be pictures posted next week. :)

Where oh where has time gone? It seems like yesterday we purchased our first double stroller and loved walking around the neighborhood with Zack and Katie.

High school musical...not the real "High School Musical" mind you. Katie is in her first high school production. She has been in a play before in elementary school. The difference being that when she was in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat it was with the Broadway production downtown at the Aronoff. Professional actors, professional choreographer, 8 shows per week for 3 straight weeks. Cool beans. The current production is at her freshman school. Two adult directors and the rest of the cast and crew are freshman students. Kids which include some who have never acted, danced, or attempted singing in front of others before. Students creating their own choreography and building their own set. Dealing with a very old sound system.

Opening night was Wednesday. As a parent allow me to say that it was awesome! Yeah, not all of the kids are natural actors, and the sound was not perfect, but the show was funny and it was a treat to sit back and watch our Katie perform. She sang, danced, and acted in her true "if I'm going to do something I'm going to do it well" style. I believe her Daddy had a tear in his eye. I know my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. We are two parents who aren't ashamed to be proud of our kids.

I took Marco last night to see the play. After the opening number he looked up at me with a huge smile and exclaimed "this is awesome!"

Parenting teens can be challenging, but it can also be filled with a lot of really fun first moments. This weekend we'll watch our teens wrapping up the first high school production and doing the prom thing. Now this is fun.

She's gettin' it

Ana Lucia has been dancing wildly around the family room tonight while we are watching "Dancing With the Stars". She is definitely getting a cardio workout!

She just ran up to me with her hand on her chest and exclaimed "I feel my heart! Jesus is in my heart!"

Girlfriend is getting it! This is the first time I have ever heard her talk about Jesus being in her heart. Memorable moment.

Spring Break and Easter...over too quickly

Spring Break 2009 is a memory. Easter '09 is history. We are all grateful for a fabulous spring break, and even more grateful for the hope granted by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and his rising from the grave.

45 days of school left. Summer break will be awesome!

A look back at our week...

Katie and her friend Hannah vacationing in Charleston, South Carolina

Ana Lucia's first nap in her "big girl bed"

Miss Fashion strikes again...christmas pajamas with new summer sandals

The Fab Five color eggs immediately after Zack's baseball game

Gus with his favorite egg

Marco and his favorite egg

Who knew it took such strength to color eggs?

Hunting for easter eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny inside the house

Hunting for easter eggs hidden by Daddy, Uncle Tom, and neighbor Bruce outside

The kids counting their loot from the eggs


Back to life...back to reality...

So far so good...

It is Ana Lucia's first night in her "big girl bed". She arrived home from Nana & Papa's this evening and ran straight upstairs to see her bedroom.

We tucked her in and she was all smiles.

She didn't come out of her room. She didn't come downstairs. She went to sleep. Of course she is recovering from five days at the grandparents so she was really tired. We'll see what the next few days brings. So far so good big girl. :)

P.S. And yes, she is wearing her brother's pjs. Doesn't every pretty little 3 year old girl wear black and gray striped pajamas?

It's just a bed...

It's just a baby bed you say. Nope. It is our final baby bed. The last of five children to say goodbye to their crib. Ana Lucia has been asking for a "big girl bed" for several weeks now. It is time. For crying out loud, the girl climbs out of the crib and comes downstairs on her own every morning!

So today I dismantled the crib. It was a bit of an emotional experience. My husband just rolls his eyes at my drama. He's such a man. I'm such a woman.

This particular baby bed was bought in haste on a joyous morning. Gustavo's adoption was a bumpy adventure. We weren't sure if he would be able to come home to us. Because of this I did not buy needed supplies such as a baby bed or car seat while waiting for the adoption to finalize. We unexpectedly received the call that his adoption had been approved on a December morning in 2003. At that moment I realized he was truly coming home. Upon learning we would be bringing him home in two weeks I then remembered that we had nothing for him! The first thing I did after calling Mark with our news is SHOP! Conveniently I was in Target when answering the phone call from our adoption agency. I bought a cart full of baby supplies and then went to another store and promptly bought a new baby bed. Marco slept in our current baby bed so we needed another one!

So this simple little baby bed held our little miracle boy which we feared would never become our son. The bed then became Ana Lucia's. She has slept in it since her first night home at four months old.

Marco, Gus, and Ana Lucia hanging out - the boys used to climb in the bed and play with their baby sister.


The baby bed is now going to our niece and her husband who will be welcoming our first great-niece or great-nephew this summer. Can't wait!

Our children are all potty-trained...no more baby beds...we are definitely moving on to a new phase.

Did I mention that our oldest is going to the prom in a few weeks? Yeah, definitely a new phase...