Day at the dairy...

We spent the morning on a field trip at a local dairy. Animals were everywhere, and the girls were in heaven! Lilly started the day by meeting a baby turkey up close and personal. She talked to it, even said hello, and carried on a conversation just as if the turkey could understand. 

Next we met Mr. Rooster, and Lilly volunteered to hold him, of course

Look out Belle and Sue... looks like Lilly wants some pet poultry.

Claire was quite taken with the roaming chickens- so much so that she didn't notice this silly goat trying to eat her hair...

Feeding the horse was a big hit too. We've been visiting horses in Mesa on the weekends, so Lilly knew just what to do.

Claire listened intently as the cowgirl explained the proper way to hold a comb and how to brush the horse. Then, Claire jumped out of her stroller and performed just as instructed. It was too cute.

Claire fed the bunnies too. Maybe she gets her animal care skills from taking such great care of Belle and Sue. 

Oh the fun of a petting zoo!

We even took a hay ride to visit the cows on the dairy and to learn how the dairy operates. Fascinating! One cow produces 8 gallons of milk a day, is milked twice a day and receives 4 showers a day. It's a 24 hour a day operation- lots of work! These ladies work hard !

What's a trip to a dairy without sitting on an antique tractor? Here's Lilly and Claire with our friend Isaac.

And Miss Lilly... she wore K-State leggings and a K-State shirt today (hiding under her field-trip shirt). When she got dressed this morning she said, "I want to wear K-State today. Daddy will be so happy." Later when she saw this photo she said, "I'm hugging the tire."

Of course the dairy had homemade ice cream. Just after enjoying chocolate milk at the dairy bar, Lilly chose cotton candy ice cream for both Claire and herself. They both said YUM!

Here's to a great day on the farm!

Helper Lilly

My dear friend Maureen gave Claire and Lilly the most beautiful capes, masks and arm bands for Claire's birthday.  As you can imagine, they were an immediate hit. Instead of calling herself a "super hero," Lilly referred to herself as a "helper." Both girls swooshed all over the house, but Lilly was more cooperative with the camera. Here's Lilly proudly wearing her "helper" outfit...

 The next morning, I walked in to the kitchen to find this...

The mask and cape were the first things she put on in the morning. Breakfast tastes better when wearing a costume, right Lilly?  You should try it yourself!
Thanks, Maureen!

Baby Mel

Many of you know our friends Shawn and Amy. Shawn and Rob were in the same fraternity at KSU, same major, both moved to Phx, same employers ever since. Needless to say, they are great friends of ours. We spent a bit of time with them over the past week, so I thought I'd post a picture of Lilly and Claire with little Mariah- we call her Mel. In this photo Lilly was reading a book to Mel and Claire.  So cute!

 

Happy Birthday Claire

Little Claire turned two! Can you believe it? 

She was all smiles on her birthday, soaking up all of the attention, presents, sugar and more!

Nana visited for the weekend which made the event even more fun! We celebrated with a small gathering of friends in our backward. The beautiful sunshine and 80 degree day made it just perfect. Claire looked like a little doll in her birthday dress- simply adorable.

Hannah cheered for Claire as she blew out her birthday candle. 

Make a wish!

 Claire is a fan of the simple carbohydrate otherwise known as sugar.

She didn't hesitate when it comes to her birthday cupcakes. Yes, she asked for seconds.

 The cupcake pinata was a big hit, as were all of the lollipops inside. Claire was overwhelmed but still managed to gather her share of goodies.

 

Belle collapsed from exhaustion  from all of the mayhem. She collapsed on the wrapping paper under the table. Maybe she was looking for food amidst all the wrapping.

Thank you for all of the birthday cards, gifts, happy wishes and warm thoughts that came our way.

Here's to many more happy birthdays, Claire!!

Morning funny

This morning we were in a rush to get out of the house. In an attempt to speed up the morning routine, I asked Lilly to pick her clothes and get dressed for preschool... and get dressed she did!

She was very proud of her Fancy Nancy dress, Easter shoes, multiple barrettes and Princess sunglasses. She wore this entire get-up to school. Her teacher told me she received multiple complements. That's our Lilly!

Earthquake in Arizona?

As I was writing the last post, I had the sensation that I was moving. Claire was sitting on my lap, and the thought crossed my mind that I was dizzy or something. I looked up and noticed the chandelier above me swaying back and forth. I looked into the kitchen and noticed the light fixture above the kitchen table swinging back and forth. I knew it wasn't me that was dizzy... it was an earthquake. I ran to the stairs and yelled to Rob in the basement. He felt it too. We called the neighbors- they felt it too and even noticed the water sloshing out of their pool. So what was it? Arizona isn't immune to seismic activity, but we've never felt it at our home. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Baja California, Mexico experienced a 7.2 magnitude quake at approximately 3:40pm and then a 4.5 magnitude 20 minutes later. Southern California felt it and we did too. Wild!

Happy Easter!!

Ah- Easter. We love the warm weather Easter brings, the Easter bunny, egg hunting, beautiful dresses and trips to "urgent care." That's right, while Claire and Rob went to church this morning, Lilly and I went to the pediatric urgent care. It was inevitable that Lilly would get sick- she finally came down with the same crud Claire had last week, and we knew it would require antibiotics. Now she's medicated and on the mend! But, before our trip to the doctor, both girls showed off their beautiful dresses (Thanks, Nana) in the backyard.

Yes, Lilly wore her dress to urgent care and delighted in telling everyone, "This is my Easter dress." Have a great holiday, everyone!