Weekend Getaway!

In June Brad and I took the girls to a little weekend getaway to Indianapolis. We love these little mini-trips! Our first stop was the Children's Museum. Indy has a great Children's Museum!! 

Here is Kaylee in front of some of the dinosaurs.

Ainsley doing one of the interactive activities in the dinosaur exhibit.

Kaylee being the captain of the train.

Digging for artifacts.

Daddy and Ainsley trying to put together a statue.

Daddy and his girls.

Being statues.

They had a Hot Wheels exhibit going on. Ainsley pretending to ride a motorcycle.

On the merry-go-round.

We even saw Peyton Manning hanging out at the museum:). We love Peyton!!

After the museum we checked into our hotel, went to dinner and walked around downtown. We saw the horses and carriages and walked around the large fountain monument as well.

The next morning we headed to the zoo. They have an ocean exhibit and one of the attractions are sharks you can pet. Here is Ainsley in front of the pool.

This shark kept coming out of the water like a dolphin. We thought it was a little strange but the zoo workers that were in the exhibit didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Ainsley looking scrappy here, like she is ready to throw down!

All aboard the zoo train!! Whoo-whoo!!

Let's roll!

Play Ball!!!

Last summer Brad coached Kaylee's baseball team and this summer he got to coach Ainsley's T-Ball team. Last summer he was 1 of 4 coaches on the team and this year he was the only coach. There were 7 kids on Ainsley's team and they all did a great job, including the coach:) (What a great Daddy!!).

Here's the coach and one of his best players:). 

Going for to field the grounder.

Batting advice from the coach.

Waiting for the hit so she can run home!

Ready position!

On the last game they announce all the players when they come up to bat and at the end of the game they announce the kids again as they go up to get their trophies. Here is Ainsley after getting her trophy from her coach:).

They came to dance!!

For the past year the girls have been taking dance. Ainsley started last summer and Kaylee started in the late fall after cheerleading had ended. Ainsley took tap/ballet and Kaylee opted to take Hip Hop. Early in June they had their Spring recital at Bone Student Center. It was quite the packed house:) They both did a fabulous job and we look forward to more dance this fall!

Ainsley in her recital outfit. She danced to "Blue Skies".

Kaylee in her recital outfit. They danced to a mix of Katy Perry's "Firework" and Celo's "Forget You".

Both of my dancers!

A Birthday Party Masterpiece

Have you heard of Merlot and a Masterpiece? It's a studio downtown Bloomington where you can go a paint. Similar to Artful design in that you can bring food and drinks. They have classes you can go to or you can do private parties. My Mom takes pilates with a lady who co-owns the place and she has gone a couple of times and painted. She had asked me to look online at their website to see if I would be interested in going sometime and I saw some photos of kids so I inquired about kids parties. They had never done one before but were up to the challenge:). So as part of her birthday gift to Kaylee my Mom set it up so she could have her party there. This was something different and definitely something Kaylee loves to do. 

Kaylee decided she wanted to do a painting of a cupcake. So all the easels were set up with cupcakes lightly sketched on them, supplies were ready and all the aprons were hung for each of the girls to put on upon their arrival.

                                    Kaylee working on her cupcake.

Little artists at work. The instructor helped them go step by step.

Kaylee and her masterpiece.

Ainsley and her masterpiece.

Singing to the birthday girl.

Everyone's final artwork. They all did such a great job!!

Happy 7th birthday Kaylee! Thank you Mom for such a wonderful gift for Kaylee!!

Ainsley's Friend Party

As a kid I loved Chuck E Cheese. I remember when it first opened and my Dad was going to take me there and the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. So we skipped that night but we definitely spent some meals there. I had some birthday parties there and was always excited to go. As a parent my love is gone. I don't know why. Maybe it's because most of the times I have been there it's super crowded, the pizza doesn't seem anywhere near as good as it was when I was a kid, it's smaller, it's expensive....just not my most favorite place.

My girls love Chuck E Cheese. They have gotten to go many a time either because their grandparents have taken them or there's been a birthday they have been invited to but not because Brad and I decided to go. When Ainsley's 5th birthday was coming up I was thinking of what we could do. I started to think I was a horrible parent because while I loved Chuck E Cheese as a kid I avoid it like the plague as an adult. For Kaylee's 5th birthday we took the train to Chicago and went to American Girl, which we are doing again this summer but not until August. So I looked into what a Chuck E Cheese party would entail. I opted for a small party during the week. I have to say it was a success. Ainsley knew by having her friend party there the guests would be limited. She was OK with this and we invited some friends from Montessori that we have known their whole lives, as their mom's all teach at Montessori :). The party person there was super nice and it was organized for me. The only thing I brought were some goody-bags and cupcakes. Since it was during the week it wasn't crowded. 

Ainsley and her friend Olivia.

                                                 Ainsley and her friend Cameron.

Ainsley and Olivia playing a game.

                 

 Ainsley and her friend Gabi.

                                                                    Hey Chuck E!

Ainsley getting ready to go into the Ticket Blaster.

                                              Ainsley trying to get as many tickets as she could.

                           It turned out great and Ainsley had a blast! Happy 5th Birthday to Ainsley!!!