CDS Art Show

Each year the girls' school hosts an "art show" to exhibit the wonderful talent of their students. Along with displaying their best works of art, the school hosts activities for the kids like balloon art, face painting, games, and dancing on the playground. I was at a weekend retreat for the art show, so I was very glad that the girls' creations were being sent home- although I never expected the displays to be six-foot "lollipops"! Even so, they are now proudly on display in our computer room. So art critics, enjoy these pictures of the work of my mini Michelangelos. As with all they do, we are very proud :-)



Caroline's "lollipop" of art. Notice the picture and bio of the artist in the middle.



Emma's "lollipop"



Caroline's bio

Emma's bio



The girls with their teacher, Geneva Banks.



Emma having her face painted.



Christmas in May

The girls and I arrived home recently to find a very large box on the front steps, and for once I had no idea what the package might be. I say "for once" because I have developed a rather "healthy" online shopping habit lately, seeking out bargains on clothes for the girls. On this occasion, however, I was certain I wasn't expecting any purchases- and certainly none that would require such a large box. After hauling it inside amidst lots of excitement, the girls and I opened it to find no less than a Christmas' worth of toys sent to us from Lucas' cousin who works in the toy industry. I had completely forgotten that he had asked for our address a few weeks before!  There were Barbies and My Little Ponies, bubble makers, a singing Little Mermaid, walkie-talkies, the latest Crayola color wonder tablet (complete with sounds!) and several other toys that sent my girls into the toy equivalent of a sugar high. We did our best to space the opening of the toys over the next several days and had lots of fun doing so. I'm not sure what made Cousin Jim think of us at that particular time or think of us at all, but we are very happy he did!

Emma's first Barbie!

Papa happened to stop by soon after the box arrived and was able to help me open some of the toys.

Two very happy girls :-)

Hugs

Hot off the press! Lucas took this picture just this morning. It is notable not only because it is incredibly cute but also because 1) the girls are not trying to pick a fight with one another (part of testing their limits these days) and 2) because they were dressed with time to spare for a quick photo op! You may also notice that they are not quite identically dressed. That's all part of the growing up my girlies are doing these days (officially 2 1/2 this past Monday). While they've told us for a long time now what TV show they want to watch (even though we always insist that Barney has gone to bed) and the food they want to eat, they now show preferences for the clothes they wear and the hairstyles they sport each day. Yeah... we're so not ready for this!!!

Easter

Easter was in Lafayette this year, which meant lots of cousins, new Easter dresses made by Ma Mere, and a warm sunny day to enjoy food and family. Uncle Jamie made use of his fancy camera to capture these shots of the girls with mom and dad and a few cousins thrown in the mix. They were taken right after mass and before the girls had time to realize that what they really wanted was to change into their bathing suits and head for the pool!

There's no one like Papa.

Well, but Thomas is pretty cool, too :-)

The smocking and handwork on these dresses is best seen in this picture, as are my Sweet Caroline's rosy cheeks :-)

What I love about this picture is that you can see how hard it was to get the kids to pose together. We have many, many pictures like this, but this one has such great expressions!

 In Louisiana, a late Easter means it's warm enough to go swimming (and when Easter is earlier, plenty have been known to dive in anyway...) so in the afternoon, most of the crowd did exactly that. Zio Lucas was one of the few adults who braved the waters so he was a popular attraction, all the more so for his willingness to throw his nephews high into the air for lots of splashy fun!

The girls really enjoy the water and will start swimming lessons in mid-June.

Emma's wind-blown "beach Look".

Thanks, Easter Bunny!

Yes, I know this post proves how long it often takes me to get things onto the blog these days, but I'll hide behind the old adage, "better late than never". These pictures are certainly not prize-winning snapshots of our Easter morning, but they do show some essentials, like the baskets all done up in bows and cellophane, the girls' excitement over CANDY, and the fact that they shared the event with their Dallas cousins Liam and Barrett. Pictures from the rest of the day are sure to come- hopefully without so long a wait!

A "before" shot of the baskets and toys. Emma's PINK pajamas are now her favorites.

Emma and Barrett get a first glimpse at their baskets.

CANDY!!!!!

Caroline finding the sidewalk chalk.

Caroline surveying the loot.