Hannah's dancing debut

Last week Hannah started her very first,
all of her very own,
dance class!

This was very big...
as usually she is riding the heels
(and keeping up quite well)
with her big brother Noah.

Despite being very excited the weeks leading up to it,

she fell very timid and shy actually entering the class...

Thankfully, they allowed moms to stay in the room
for this very first time...
(avoiding much drama as well as allowing me to show off my
mad-mama-camera-obsession-skills
to capture this milestone event!)

Conveniently, one of her little friends from preschool
was in attendance as well,
which I think helped her warm up a bit quicker (just a bit...)

In the end, she was definitely smiling
and giving the thumbs-up-approval

Unfortunately, this camera-obsessed mama is still learning
how her camera on "manual setting works",
so these next few pics turned out very "uniquely",
as I forgot to adjust settings from inside to outside mode.

Ooops!

(They were still just too cute to pass up and not post~!)

Hopefully this week will go just as well,
even if mommy can't stay in to watch!

Fingers crossed....

Bookworm gardens!

Last week we went on a little field trip to
Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan, WI.

What a little treasure of a place!

It helped that the day was gorgeous!

Lots of little things for little hands to explore...

As we headed up there I wasn't sure
if the kids would engage, or be cooperative...

but if you look at these smiles -
you will know I was easily relieved once we arrived!

This place is 100% FREE
(although donations are requested, and well deserved!)

They have done a spectular job recreating a little bit
of each of many books
(i.e. little house on the prairie)






(Winnie the Pooh)

(Goldilocks and the Three Bears)


(and many books we hadn't read before)




The neat thing about this place, was that they were
books, books, books galore!

books while we ate lunch...

and books where we rested our feet (and seat)

A great family day for sure!
Thanks Noni for being our field trip director :)

We HIGHLY recommend this place
for everybody and anybody heading that way!

Minnesota friends

Last weekend we had a lovely time
hosting our good friends, the Schultz'

Although we did lots of fun outdoor things,
including the farmer's market,
some pool time at the local pool...
most of our pictures captured our indoor play.

Auntie Erika brought her creativity
to assist in the making of these party hats :)

The little people didn't participate in the arts/crafts
and treasure hunts;

their quite presence and sweetness
was refreshing, mixed in with all the energy of their older siblings...

the big kids did stand still long enough
for me to get some practice shots in
with my new camera lens I got for my birthday!

Despite this picture, where they looked painfully forced
to smile for me so I could capture
the sweet little friendship that blossomed this weekend,
these two had fun "girl-time"

Thank you girls for the special visit!
We missed your daddy, but hope next time
we can all join up :)