A Super Technicolor Week

We've had a busy week in the Haynes' household. It was VBS at church. This year's theme was Super Heros and the theme verse was 1 Timothy 4:12 " Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young". The girls had so much fun with their friends at VBS learning, crafting, singing, dancing, playing games, etc.... My friend, Carrie, and I volunteered to work the recreation time for preschoolers this year. We worked with 3's, 4's and 5's on stretching, relay races, and learning how to stand in a straight line and wait their turn =0). Each morning we were up and out of the door early.

My little superheroes

The Bear and her sweet friend, Kate. Their class was called the "Super Speeders"

Curly running in a relay

The Bear and Lucy

The Bear got a haircut this week too. I convinced her and Daddy that it was a good idea.

Monday night Curly still had her weekly swim meet. They raced a very large team with a ton of swimmers. Curly got 4th place in both her individual free and her free relay. She was happy about it though because she got a new color ribbon to add to her collection.

Tuesday night, Curly and I had a special night at the Fox Theater. A few weeks ago, a local radio station was giving away tickets to the musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat". To enter you just had to send in a picture of you dressed in your most colorful outfit. I sent in this one of the girls dressed very colorfully including The Bear's pink cast and Curly with all the bows that Aunt Shelley had made for them in her hair.

The station picked one winner a day for a week and we were one of the winners. We ultimately decided to make it a girls night out and invited one of Curly's friends, Kathryn Anne, and her mommy, Jennifer (who I have known since college) to go with us. Jennifer even got us free parking next to the theater! Love free stuff. Daddy stayed home with The Bear. We all got dressed up and went to dinner beforehand at the OK Cafe. The show didn't start til 8. Curly was very impressed with the Fox Theater. She kept saying how much it looked like a castle. She probably would have been happy to just walk around and look at the theater all night. After intermission she was definitely getting tired and not really into the show anymore. I'm very thankful that I didn't pay for the tickets just to have her get sleepy. The show was good but unless you really know the story of Joseph, it was hard to follow. It definitely lived up to it name and was extremely technicolor and flashy.

Kathryn Anne and Curly

Ready for the Fabulous Fox

Sitting on her throne

Jennifer and Kathryn Anne

Ready for the show

Getting Along Swimmingly

This summer we are swimming, swimming and swimming. Swim team is an every weekday commitment. It's a lot but it's been good and I actually think I'm going to miss it when it's over at the end of June. Curly loves every moment of it. She loves swimming, her teammates and her coaches. This past week at her swim meet she won her first 1st place ribbon. It was in the 6 & under 25 free. She completely destroyed her previous 25 free time by about 30 seconds. She had extra motivation this week as her Aunt Jenna, Uncle Prem, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Luke all came to the swim meet to cheer her on. She told me afterwards that she wanted to swim her best for everyone there. The girl loves an audience. Especially an audience specifically there to cheer for her.

The Bear is also having a blast swimming this summer. She gets to splash around in the baby pool every morning while Curly is at swim team practice. The Bear is also in swim lessons twice a week. She loves the lessons but I'm not sure is actually improving on her swim skills. The Bear is not quite as daring as her big sister in the pool. I am hoping that by the end of summer she will at least jump into the pool without having to hold someone's hand.

Curly ready for her swim meet

Diving in for her 1st place race

Aunt Jenna, The Bear, and Aunt Lauren cheering Curly after her race

Curly's cheer squad: Uncle Luke, Aunt Jenna, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Prem

GO WAVES!

Curly's swim team , The Waves, had their first swim meet this past Wednesday. We weren't sure if she would swim or not until we arrived at practice on Wednesday morning. We'd missed a week of practice and time trials last week while we were at the beach. I guess she showed the coaches at practice on Tuesday that she was ready to compete. They put her in two events: 6 & under 25 Free and 6 & under 100 Free relay. The meet was crazy chaotic and extremely HOT! So many kids, parents, grandparents and siblings all over the place cheering and sweating. Thankfully Curly had two really sweet "bull pin" moms who were in charge of the 6 and under girls. They kept them huddled together and made sure they got to the starting blocks when it was their turn. I had to work the concession stand for a few hours but luckily I was able to run down for Curly's events and watch and cheer her on. Curly did AWESOME! She didn't hesitate at all to jump in and swim her heart out.

"Diving" off the block.

Finishing her leg of the relay

Daddy was so proud of his little racer

At practice the day after the meet, Curly was awarded a 2nd place ribbon for each of her events. She carried them around with her all day. So proud!

Beach Fun!

We enjoyed a wonderful family trip to Hilton Head last week. The weather was beyond perfect. It was a little cloudy our last day there but that was about it. We beached in the morning. We went to the pool in the afternoon. Bike rides in the evening. It was so much fun. The girls loved the beach. When we went to Hilton Head two years ago, The Bear was not a fan of the beach. She didn't like the sand or the waves. This year she was all over it. She loved it all. Our biggest dilemma each day was who was going to push the button for the elevator and who was going to open the gate to the beach or pool. Who knew buttons and gates would cause so many issues. But with our girls you just never know.

I've put together a little video of some of our pictures. Most of the pictures are of just the girls since it was just the four of us there. This was my first time using this particular video maker. I know the music just cuts off and some of the pictures look a little blurry but I didn't have the energy to redo it and I figured y'all wouldn't mind. So I hope you enjoy it.

Hilton Head '11 from Stacie Haynes on Vimeo.

The Graduate

Last Thursday Curly graduated from preschool. Bittersweet indeed. She was SOOOO excited about her graduation. She kept saying " I'm a Kindergartener" all day. I don't really like the thought of her being a kindergartener but I guess I need to embrace it soon as August is fast approaching. Her preschool held a little graduation ceremony for the kids. It was a sweet ceremony. Curly told me she had tingles in her tummy and up her back before she did her graduation walk. She was so excited to get her diploma. Her teacher's cried hugging her good-bye ( and I maybe got a little teary eyed watching them hug her good-bye). Curly loved her pre-K teacher's so much. I wish they would move with her and be her teachers again next year for kindergarten.

This week are enjoying a little r & r at the beach. It was the only time when both Curly and daddy were out of school. We wanted to seize the opportunity to get some much needed family time away. It's our 3rd day at the beach and I'm pretty sure we haven't seen a single cloud in the sky the whole time here. It's been beyond perfect weather. I'll do a full post about our trip after we get back.

Hope you enjoy these pictures of our little graduate.

Walking up to get her dipolma

Graduation hug from Ms Carol

We aren't the best at family pictures but we still try

She is just a little excited

one, two , THREE!

Our Sweet Bear is three. We cannot believe she is that old. It feels like we just had her second birthday. It's so fun to watch her personality develop. It amazes me how different she is from her big sister. They are so different. Curly is a pleaser. The Bear is a straight shooter. If she doesn't like something, she lets you know. Unlike her big sister, The Bear is shy. If she doesn't know you or if you haven't seen her in a while, you can expect her to lower her head and not look you in the eye or talk. However, once she comfortable around you, she is so much fun. She loves animals, Dora, puzzles, books, and her milk. Also unlike her big sister, The Bear is not a good eater. She would live off of milk alone if we let her. It is very common for her to say in the morning " I just want only my milk for breakfast. No food.". She asks for a peanut butter sandwich everyday for lunch. Every. Single. Day. Don't you dare put jelly or honey on that sandwich. Only peanut butter. For dinner refuse to give her something other than what the rest of us are eating. She may take one bite of the main dish. I'm really not sure how she grows. But she just had her 3 year check up today and she actually grew 2 1/2 inches since her 2 year check up, so she is growing.

The Bear has been so excited about her birthday even since Curly's birthday back in March. She asked almost every morning "Is today my birthday?". This year her birthday fell on Friday the 13th. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a birthday party at the park with her best friends. Both of my girls are so blessed to have such sweet friends. We brought sandwiches for all the kids. The Bear requested a Dora cake, of course. The party was a hit and the birthday girl had a blast. For dinner we let The Bear pick what she wanted. Thankfully she chose Mellow Mushroom. Normally if we let her pick it's either Chick Fil A or Moe's. Mellow Mushroom was a yummy change. You want to know what she eats at Mellow? Just pizza crust with parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. That's it. If you give her a piece of crust that still has a little bit of cheese or sauce on it, she says "No! No! Only crust, not that other stuff".

3 brand new dollars from GG Lucy to start her day

A hug for mama

He is only a week older and a whole head taller

The Bear and two of her besties, Kate and Abby

Dora cake time

Blowing out the candles with Sissy's help

She enjoyed it

Giving a sweet kiss after she opened Sissy's present

Birthday dinner at Mellow

3

Today our sweet little Bear turns 3. It's very hard to believe she is already that old. She is such a joy to be around (most of the time). It's been birthday week around here. This past weekend we went to Montgomery and celebrated her birthday there with Grandma. Unfortunately Pap Pap was out of town; however, he did buy the girls a super fun toy to play with while he was gone. It was an inflatable large ball that the girls could get in and roll around the backyard. Curly had a BLAST in it. The Bear sat in it once and decided it just wasn't for her. Today we had a little party at the park with some of her best little friends. Tonight we are going out to dinner with Aunt Jenna and Uncle Prem. We always hold our breathe when we let one of the girls pick where they want to eat. Their answers are usually Chick Fil A, Moes, or McDonald's. Thankfully, today The Bear picked Mellow Mushroom. Yum Yum.

I'll do a separate post about her birthday party when I have a chance to go through the pictures. But for now enjoy some pictures from Montgomery.

Ready to roll!

The Bear isn't so sure about this ball

The ball made Curly's hair stand up

Thanks for the new wheels Grandma and Pap Pap!