Johnny's

One our favorite places to eat out is Johnny's Pizza. Or "the pizza restaurant" as Jolie affectionally calls it. Here are some cell phone pics from our family lunch last Friday:

Texas-sized fun!

We are having a great time at my parents' house. It has really felt like vacation. Enjoy a few hightlights.

We've (especially Jolie!) been enjoying the heated swimming pool & our fun new water squirters.

Making rice krispie treat eggs. Yummy! Jolie has been sleeping comfortably in a guest bedroom, but this is where we found her Easter morning. At some point during the night she made a bed in the bathroom. Silly girl!Easter Sunday.The girls relaxing with their beloved "bear" & "sheep."

Catfish Fesitval

We headed over to the Catfish Festival yesterday with the Spence girls (their daddy was out of town). The girls ate corndogs, jumped in the jumpers, looked at old cars & the big girls even had their face painted. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day...

Painting with water

One of our new activities is painting with water on the back porch. The girls have really enjoyed it!

In action -

Jolie's bunny -

Bunny cake

MawMaw (my grandma) used to make a bunny cake with me & my siblings at Easter. She gave me the recipe & I started the tradition with my girls this year. We made it on Wednesday & Jolie was able to share it with her friends at Mother's Day Out on Thursday. Thanks for passing down such a fun tradition, Grandma!

Sarah only participated a little bit.

My favorite assistant.

The cake.Does she look confident or what?

Dessert

We've been having popsicles in the bathtub for dessert. Yummy!

Making the most...

of the little hair Sarah has. Unlike her big sister who had already had two hair cuts by 18 months (click here to see what she looked like), little Sarah is lacking in the hair department. Jolie was playing with some little bows earlier this week & suggested we put one in Sarah's hair. My response was, "I don't think it'll work." To which she replied, "Well, we can at least try, Mom." So we did. The red bow pictures are our first successful attempt at hair accessories in Sarah's hair. Today I put in some little pig tails :) When I removed the rubberbands at bathtime Sarah reached for them & said, "bows, bows!" Disclaimer: it was very difficult taking these hair shots :)

Mmmm....

At least one of my children will eat at least one meal I cook :) Sarah is a fan of spaghetti! Here she is in action:

Pretend Play

There is no doubt that I take for granted what a fabulous job Jolie does playing by herself. It is so much fun to peek into a room where she has created some scenario & listen to her role play. Don't get me wrong - she begs for TV & computer like any other kid, but when given no other choice she does a fantastic job occupying herself. Here she is surrounded with dolls "napping." She saw me with the camera & stopped to pose :)

Sisters

Jolie & Sarah are doing more & more things together. It is so much fun watching them become little buddies. Jolie has been a super big sister & is so patient with Sarah (most of time). Here are a couple of recent shots of them hanging together.

Watching a video together.

Sarah pretending to be a baby :)

Making a rainbow

I found instructions on a blog for making a rainbow suncatcher with dyed pasta so Jolie & I tried it out last week. She helped me dye the pasta & then constructed the rainbow. Once it dryed we cut it out & it is now hanging in the playroom window. Her rainbow was tall & skinny so we couldn't fit many purple pieces of pasta :)

Interview with Jolie - age 4

I've seen several people do these interviews on facebook/their blogs & thought it would be fun. Jolie didn't want the questions to end :) Enjoy!

1. What is something mommy always says to you? silly

2. What makes mommy happy? Giving a hug & a kiss

3. What makes mommy sad? when daddy talks silly (not sure about this one)

4. What does mommy do to make you laugh? Silly faces

5. What was your mommy like as a child? You played when you was little

6. How old is your mommy? I don’t know

7. How tall is your mommy? this tall (putting her hand way up in the air)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Do some things

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around? Not play

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? Me (this is probably true!)

11. What is your mommy really good at? Working on the computer

12. What is your mommy not very good at? Going to sleep (she obviously doesn’t know me)

13. What does your mommy do for her job? Go to a store

14. What is your mommy's favorite food? Salad (not so much)

15. What makes you proud of your mommy? a hug & a kiss - that makes me smile

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? Megan Strain

17. What do you and your mommy do together? Play

18. How are you and your mommy the same? We’re twins

19. How are you and your mommy different? We’re not different

20. How do you know your mommy loves you? You play with me & you love me

21. What does your mommy like most about your dad? His smile

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? To Gran’s house

Drum roll please...

Yesterday was a big day. We went to Shreveport to see Mrs. Emily (a former McNeese BCMer whom I love!) & her new baby girl Everly. She was generous to treat me & Jolie to free hair cuts. When I mentioned that Mrs. Emily was a "haircutter" Jolie told me she wanted short hair like mine. I could tell that she was really ready to cut it. I love it, but it does make me a little sad to see those beautiful pig tails in a bag!

Before -

Cutting off 8 whole inches -

Not quite finished -

Her sweet pig tails -

After -

Jolie with our favorite "haircutter" -

Sleeping peacefully

Jolie likes to go to sleep with her light on so she can "read" in bed. She usually throws her book down before going to sleep, but tonight she must have fallen asleep looking at her book. She doesn't always need her sheep (the one in her arm) these days, but most nights it is in bed with her. I never get tired of seeing her sleep. I love this kid!

Enjoying the sandbox

The girls got a fun sandbox for Christmas & we got it set up today. They had a wonderful time playing in the sand! I think they are going to be a little dirtier from this point forward. Todd is going to have to overcome the fact that a patch of grass will die & sandy feet will grace our floors. The hours of entertainment this box will provide definitely outweigh the cons!

Jolie showing off her fabulous new sandbox!

Sarah sporting a funny face & one of Jolie's nightgowns over her clothes.