All bundled up for a day in the snow

This is what we woke up to:

Two other cute photos from Hilton Head

Carlie and Lilly

Sophia and Haley

Family Photo

This picture was taken in May 2013 when we were in Hilton Head for the week. Oh how I would give anything to be there right now.  The news reporters are saying we got between 6 and 10 inches over night.  I plan on measuring our snowfall when the girls get up.  

Thank you, Grancy!

Grancy worked her magic and removed the stray piece of yarn from Sophia's hair. 

Woo hoo.

Pictures of Lilly at school

Lilly's teacher publishes a share site on Shutterfly.com. She does a journal entry every week in addition to posting pictures of the class.  

The middle kid is Lilly.  They studied The Three Little Pigs at the beginning of the school year.

Learning how to spread peanut butter and jelly.

Wrenn, Lilly and Caroline

Wrenn and Lilly

This photo was taken the day that the class was visited by the Aquarium.

Zoey and Lilly.  This is table that she sits at now. We give Zoey a ride home every day except Friday. Her house is on our way home. Lilly was supposed to go over for a play date tomorrow but can't because of the snow storm. We'll try again another time. 

Claire and Lilly.  Claire is her new best friend. She came over for a play date a few weeks ago and they had a blast and got along really well. Part of the reason that Lilly signed up for acting class is because she found out that Claire is also in the class.

Allie and Lilly

Will was the Mystery Reader

Will was Lilly's "mystery reader" at school. Each mysterday reader submits three clues to give away his/her identity. Lilly said she guessed it was Will even though she only knew two of the three clues.  The clue she didn't know was: I lived in Germany when I was a kid.

He read two books to the class. I selected them and intentionally choose gender neutral books. Lilly was mad at Will for not bringing her two favorite girly books.

It's snowing...AGAIN!

It seriously was 65 degrees yesterday.  Sophia had a planned 1/2 day of school and changed into shorts and a t-shirt when she got home to play outside with Riley. This morning the temperature was only 25 degrees. 

The weather reporters were calling for the snow to start at noon.  As a result Lilly's school closed at 12:30 instead of 2:20. The weather people pushed the ETA of the snow to 2:00, then 3:00, then 4:00.  Big flakes finally started coming down around 4:45.  Sophia was lucky enough to be dismissed from school an hour early.  

The last I heard the weather people are calling for 8-10 inches of snow in our area.  It's supposed to snow overnight and then through the morning. We're ready for the storm. We plan on staying cozy and warm over the next couple of days, with the occasional trip outside to play in the snow. 

We're hoping for the rest of the week off from school too.    

It snowed!

Ok. This is weird.  Around lunch time yesterday the temperature was 60 degrees.  By 6 p.m. it was raining and the temperature dropped thirty degrees. 

The weather forecasters were predicting snow and there were tons of closings and delays scrolling across the bottom of our tv screen all afternoon.  Sophia's school didn't announce their Wednesday closing until 8 p.m. when it actually started to snow.

As soon as the first flakes fell the girls were dressed and out on the deck.  

Look how excited Lilly is.

Sophia gave up pretty quickly and came back inside, but Lilly took a few extra minutes by herself outside trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

Just before bed we let them go out and play in the now a little bit because it was coming down so quickly.  They thought it was great for two reasons.  

1)  They got to play in the falling snow

2)  They got to stay up late

The picture below is what it looked like outside when we woke this morning.  Lilly actually woke up first and ran into Sophia's room and woke her up to look at all the snow. They both came running to my side of the bed to tell me to look out the window.  I offered to make pancakes, but they were already shoveling cereal into their mouths by the time I came downstairs. They quickly dressed and went out in the backyard to play.

After they got sick of being outside they came in to dry off and get warm. They drank hot chocolate, watched a program and snuggled under blankets. I threw all of their wet clothes into the dryer. When the dryer was finished I suggested we take our sleds up to the "big hill" at the entrance to the neighborhood.  They thought I had a great idea. 

I didn't take my camera with me, but you should have seen how much fun they were having. They each had at least one really long run. Right before we headed home I took a ride down the hill too.  Fun fun!!

We came home, had lunch and then Riley came over to play. Eventually they went outside again, but didn't last very long because poor Riley didn't have any snow pants or boots.  They were completely exhausted by the time I put them to bed at 9:30 p.m. They were allowed to stay up so late because they have another snow day tomorrow!   What???

Lilly's first spelling test

Lilly had her very first spelling test.  Her words were all party of the "at" family.  

She passed with flying colors. 

Lilly's artwork

Lilly created these three pieces of art in school last year when she was in Ms. Debbie's class.  I was planning to hang them up in Lilly's room, but the girls were goofing around the other day and fell over onto them. Lilly ended up poking holes through two of them while trying to catch herself.

I guess I'm not going to save them anymore.

Lilly - Student of the Week

Lilly and I created this poster to be displayed in her classroom because she was the "Star Student of the Week". Doesn't she look so proud and happy? She absolutely loves school and is starting to spell and read. She shrugs her coat off every morning and races to the classroom. Sometimes I don't even get to give her a kiss good-bye.      

Sophia did it!

She got her ears pierced.  To the left you can see the that she's been crying, but see how happy she was a moment after she got pierced.  

She was terrified and cried for about ten minutes while sitting in the chair with the purple dots on her ears.  Finally she said OK.  I squeezed her hands and had her feet trapped in between my knees so she would sit still.  

She chose her birthstone, the emerald, as her piercing earrings.  She's been faithful about cleaning them two times a day and can twist them all the way around. Good for her!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Sophia is totally into the book series called Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  She's probably read all of them by now. Nana got her this puzzle for Christmas.  It took the whole family to put it together and as our luck would have it we are missing one piece.  It's either in a really good hiding place or it got thrown out with the torn-up Christmas wrapping paper.

The piece is missing just like the first reader book that Lilly brought home from school entitled I See.  I've searched the entire house including looking through and shaking every single book we own just in case it slipped inside. The very last time I saw it was in a stack of books on Lilly's bed that she was going to read one night after I tucked her in.  Then *poof* it was gone.  Mrs. LaSalle, her teacher, said it will turn up somewhere, but at this point I highly doubt it.

Although I've got to give it to her, Lilly is extremely good at hiding /misplacing/playing with very important things.  For instance, on Monday night she hid Will's keys inside her Monster High toy locker.  It was a night when the girls had to be in two different places at the same time and I also had a meeting at church.  We didn't find the keys in time so I cancelled my meeting end ended up driving both girls around to their activities.  Sophia was late to her basketball practice, but luckily I was able to get back to her and Riley with 3 minutes to spare before the end of practice.  We were giving Riley a ride home that night.  Anyway....as soon as we got home Lilly immediately remembered where she had placed the keys and handed them over to Will.

The nickname we've given to Lilly is Bean.  So, as Will would put it, he got Beaned!

Look Mom, I made a raccoon

Sophia ran across some unused modeling clay the other day and called me over to look at her creation.  I really think she did a great job on the raccoon.  The eyes are perfect if you ask me.  I'm impressed we had all of those colors to work with...

And the final score of today's game: 27 - 3

Sophia's team won and Sophia scored 11 of the 27 points. WOW!  Her team now has a record of 4-0. The girls are showing great improvement at each game too.  It's getting exciting to watch them play.

It is so cold!

Ok, I know I'm being a baby complaining about temperatures below 20 degrees when the rest of our family has been freezing their butts off for weeks, but man that is COLD!  Today started out as a frigid 16 degrees when I drove  Sophia to the bus stop. Thank goodness for automatic car-starting key fobs! When I took Lilly to school an hour later it was only 18 degrees and there was a nippy wind to go with it. I put on a wool hat this morning and basically made it part of my outfit since I knew I was going to be in and out all day, plus I didn't plan to take it off for fear that the static-electricity monster might strike again.

It turned out to be a very pretty day - if you got to stay indoors.  The sun was sunny, inviting and bright in the sky, but the minute an outside door opened we were reminded that it was indeed a freezing cold day!

Temps are supposed to be around 37 tomorrow followed by a steady increase over the next few days until this weekend when we're back up in the high 60s.  Now, that's more like it!

Lilly and her pals on New Year's Eve

They're a little bit blurry, but still cute:

RILEY, LILLY, SUMMER

SUMMER, RILEY, LILLY

Duct tape central

The girls have made everything from wallets and purses to sunglasses and hair accessories with duct tape. The Kansas clan got each of the girls a duct tape kit for Christmas and they had a ball tearing into it the day after Christmas....they eventually ended up duct taping themselves...or at least Lilly.

A star is born

I may have mentioned this before, but Sophia has been interested in taking an acting class for a while. I finally found a place for her to try where you don't need to audition and it's non-competitive. Star Brite Performance Centre is just starting their winter performance rehearsals this week and Sophia went tonight to sample two classes. Here are the class descriptions:

Rising Stars (ACTING): A creative musical introduction to performing. This class helps to build confidence and enrich basic social skills. Introduces students to scripts, improvisation, and theatre terminology. Students will perform the last day of class in a ‘Spotlight Performance’. One hour class, weekly.

and

Group Vocal for Rising Stars (SINGING): Enhance your child's development and love of music through song and movement games With an array of song selections our music classes help children explore the power of rhythm, melody, tonality and beat. Students will perform in a ‘Spotlight Show” on the last day of class. One hour class, weekly.

Well, if we can say anything about Sophia it's that she was in heaven tonight and these two classes are RIGHT UP HER ALLEY. I watched from the "parent lounge" as she enjoyed every last minute of it. I watched the whole first class from behind the glass window. They first had to stretch their bodies, then they made some really strange and loud noises to warm up their voices, then they got to move silly to get the body to come alive, then they did some dancing and singing, then they played some movement games, etc... they even practiced taking a proper bow at the end of the class. In between classes the students got a five minute break during which Sophia came barreling into the parent area to tell me that she got a "practice" solo and that she was going to have to use a French accent. She couldn't remember her lines, but she told me her French accent would probably sound like her British accent. It's quite good, if I may say so.

Then she bounded back to the stage to find out that she had a few more minutes to relax so she returned to me. I asked her if it was alright if I left to run an errand or if she wanted me to stay. It fell on deaf ears, but I assured her that I would be back in a half hour and, in what I predict to be her "13-yr old voice/tone/attitude" she flicked her hair and couldn't wait for the sentence to escape my mouth before she was telling me to go. Then she shooed me! Sometimes I think that she's growing up...up, up and away and I realize she's only seven and she's still young, but she keeps growing up right before my very eyes and part of me felt a little sad that she didn't need me tonight.

Anyway, I left to pick up some thank you notes at Burlington Coat Factory because it was the closest store other than Food Lion. I was pleasantly surprised. I actually found some cute cards, but I also discovered that not only do they carry a giant selection of coats, but they also have a Home Goods and Decor section. It was fun to browse for a bit before I stumbled on the thank you note cards. Did I mention that each class is an hour long...and that Sophia doesn't seem to care if I'm there or not for her classes? Could be trouble.

When I got back the choral group was singing a song from the Lion King. The "Rising Stars" are going to practice and perform The Lion King in March. The final show will be on March 18th and she'll be getting a cast photo taken "in costume and make-up" on March 11th. I will have to come up with her costume on my own. The theater has a costume closet that we can raid, but I have no idea if we'll be able to find anything in it for Sophia specific to her part in the show. Too bad Nana doesn't live closer because she's so good at coming up with or even sewing costumes for shows.

When the second class was over and Sophia emerged with her coat she made me guess which part she wants in the show. These are her words, not mine: "Of course, the lead, Simba! Yeah, but since I'm the tallest, I'm not sure if they'll be able to twirl me around so maybe I won't get that part." It was so cute to see the little wheels in her head spinning while plotting it all out. I didn't even have to ask her if she wanted to sign up. I knew. She asked me if she was coming back next week and when I said yes she pumped her fist in the air and let out a loud "YES!".

Sophia said that they all have to try out the third week of classes so I guess they will determine parts and hand out scripts after that.

We were excited to tell Lilly that her new "bestie" from Kindergarten is in both classes with Sophia. Claire and Lilly have become quite fond of each other. I emailed Claire's mom tonight asking if she can come over for a play date some day after school and we're emailing back and forth trying to figure out the best day. Lilly will be so thrilled when I tell her the news.

When we told Lilly about Claire she immediately said she wants to take the classes too. While I would love for her to do that....I'm not sure if it's even possible. In the last email from Start Brite I read that the Tuesday evening classes are completely full already. I'm going to check tomorrow with the director, Ms. Brenda, to see if Lilly can come and give it a trial run next week, but I'm not sure she would really enjoy the classes anyway. I don't know how she would feel about being singled out to speak or sing in front of a group. She's terribly shy and quiet when I'm her teacher in Sunday School. A few months ago Lilly decided stop participating in the kids choir at church because "the director is mean and always telling me where to stand" according to her. Sophia, on the other hand, loves Ms. Belinda and says only nice things about her. Belinda is also my co-teacher for Sunday School so I know her quite well and I know she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. We tag team teach. I do the Bible lesson, she does the Bible memory verse and then the music, then when she leaves half way through the class to to to the adult choir practice I continue on with the kids playing games.

And here she is: The next Michael Jordan

Sophia had her first basketball game(s) on Saturday. She actually had two games back to back. They won both. Sophia scored in both games!  I was so impressed with her abilities.  She's good and with some dribbling practice and after she has an understanding of the game and knows exactly what she's supposed to do on the court, she's going to be really good!

There are three teams in the league and they just play each other over and over for a 5 or 6 weeks. After seeing all the teams play, I was thinking the deck is stacked in our favor, but Will told me that all of our "bad" players weren't there.  It seems like they play every girl for 4 minutes at a time, then ring a super loud buzzer and switch players for another 4 minutes. There are an agonizing EIGHT 4-minute periods in each game.

At half-time each team lines up on their end of the court and each girl takes a turn trying to make a foul shot. Coach Johanna told the girls to only use one hand when throwing a foul shot.... so Sophia (my little rule follower) only uses one hand. She was 1 for 2 on Saturday.  Most of the other girls on her team not only have to use both hands, but they have to throw their entire body weight into just getting the ball close to the net.

When the scoreboard hits 25 points scored for either team, the board is automatically reset back to 0-0 score. Proudly, I have to say that Sophia's team scored more than 25 points in each of their games. Neither of the other teams can come close to saying that.  Sophia even scored for the other team in the second game...(just to help them out, I'm sure!).

Just a note: all the pictures I took ended up being blurry. Hmmm....I wonder if I can convince Will that we need a camera that will take great motion shots?

Here's she is.....our future high school superstar:

Sophia Amber Alexander #23

Here's a "line-up" of her team, Liberty.  

The second girl in line (on the right) is a really good, aggressive player. From looking at this photo it appears that Sophia is the tallest girl on the team although I didn't notice on Saturday. The other two super tall girls are pretty good...neither are afraid to steal the ball away from the other team and the girl behind Sophia can really run fast while dribbling the ball, but neither of them is as accurate as Sophia at shooting baskets.  This league is for 6-8 yr old girls so we're on the older end of the spectrum.  Riley, Sophia and Lilly's best friend, is also on the team. She's the girl Sophia is talking to. She'll turn 7 in February, but she's tiny for her age.  

Christmas puzzles

The girls got a few puzzles for Christmas. It didn't take them very long to tackle these easy ones.  (I think I only helped with a few clues and maybe a couple of cues.)

The Care Bear puzzle is the one Lilly got.

This dog puzzle which has a fake gemstone on a few pieces is Sophia's.  

Well one of us got her ears pierced

Sophia was so thrilled to get her ears pierced we were the first two to show up at Claire's on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.  When we found out that there was only one employee working we decided to come back later when Sophia could have both of her ears pierced at the same time by two different people.

When we arrived back at 1:00 Sophia selected her earrings and we went through the "maintenance how-to" and then it was time!  YEA!!!  Ok, they marked her ears with purple dots to determine the location.  They loaded the earrings into the "gun" and BAM! That was it.  There was no way Sophia was going to let anyone near her ears with that thing.

We left. I decided to take her to Target and we walked around and discussed that it wasn't going to hurt very much, that she was a brave girl and could handle it, etc.  We even saw a girl in her 20s that must have had 6 piercings in each ear.

In the process I somehow threw out there that I would get my ears pierced again just to show her that it doesn't hurt.  She decided this idea would work and we headed back to Claire's. I have to admit I was a little nervous as I sat in the chair and got marked with purple dots. It actually didn't hurt very much.  Just as I suspected.  A sharp pinch, but once I put on the cooling, calming cleaning solution everything felt much better.  I only noticed it for an hour or so.  I slept fine that night and was twisting them around the next day.  No sweat!

But now I have three holes on each side!