Sunday, May 7, 2017

April 2017


           April is forever going to be a busy month for us, since both girl’s birthdays are in April and it usually is the start of warmer weather and Easter.  This year also marked our first spring break trip as a family.  My definition of “spring break” has definitely changed over the years and this trip was a 180 degree different than my college spring break experiences! 

            The month started off with us flying on April 1st to Florida.  After arriving at Tampa, we drove an hour to Siesta Key and got settled in.  I took the girls to the pool while mom unpacked for us.  Our condo was next door to the Anderson’s, so we had 4 girls to help entertain each other while the adults attempted to relax.  We were right across the street from the public beach.  Most of our days consisted of meeting at the beach for the morning, swimming at the pool in the afternoon and then either heading out to eat or staying in and cooking.  One day during the break, we got up early and went to Disney World.  The girls were excited and we were able to get on several of the longer line rides early in the day before it got extremely busy.  We enjoyed lunch with Winnie the Pooh and Friends and got to partake in a few random parades that occur throughout the day on Main Street.  I’d say that Allison’s favorite ride was the Barnstormer Goofy roller coaster and Sarah enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride.  Both girls loved meeting Ariel, Cinderella and Elena and getting their autographs.   Yeah, you read that right.  Disney is so smart that they don’t even need to try anymore.  They just have people stand in line to get autographs from fake princesses.  The girls did well throughout the day and seemed to really enjoy it and everyone was wiped out and slept on the drive back to Siesta Key.  We did get out to the village at one point for some drinks at the Daiquiri Deck and dinner at Gilligan’s.  We also made our way down the Sniki Tiki for another meal.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we have already booked a condo for next year! 

            We decided this year to give the girls a joint birthday party the last weekend in April.  We had a great turnout as our out-of-town guests were Aunt Barbs, Randy & Anna, the Shafer family along with part of the Vandervaart family (Laura, Grace and Jake).  Although the weather didn’t cooperate that weekend at all and cancelled the Race for the Cure, we had a lot of fun inside and the girls enjoyed playing with their cousins.  They received all kinds of fun gifts which have kept them busy over the last few weeks and we have starting talking with them about “giving older toys to kids who need them.”  Because of our full house, the girls got to sleep in the same room and enjoyed having those “sleepovers.” 

Sarah’s Things of the Month
           Sarah’s 4 year check-up went well.  She is in the 80% percentile for height and weight, which I assume both of those traits can be allocated to my gene pool.  She did get 2 shots and didn’t cry much at all.   Sarah is doing great in swim lessons and just recently "graduated" again. 

Allison’s Thing of the Month
           Allison asked to have her training wheels taken off her bike this month.  About 15 minutes after taking them off, she was good to go.  Most of her issues now have to do with falling when she stops or starts, along with simply not paying attention while she is riding and nearly running into her sister.   Allison also started playing tee ball this year.  She is on the Cubs and is now really excited to watch them on TV!

A few more items from this month:
  • Easter was quiet this year.  The girls enjoyed finding their baskets from the Easter bunny in our basement and we had a nice brunch at my mom’s condo. 
  • Deb went on a 3 day trip to Knoxville for a work conference.  The girls did well for me and I utilized my mom a few times to help pick up the girls and get the house ready for the guests we had coming at the end of the month. 
  • I took the girls to an Indy Indians game on one Sunday afternoon.  They did fine, but I underestimated how much work that was going to be and with how much judging I received when standing in line to get a beer! 
  • Deb’s “Mom’s” group meetings ended this month.  I thought it was really cool of her to sign up for that and I think she enjoyed meeting other moms at the church. 
  • Deb finally got into a thyroid specialist to start getting an expert’s opinion.  No exact plan yet, but her medication was adjusted and she is heading back in a few months. 
  • Allison had a class field trip to the zoo on her birthday.  Deb chaperoned and Anna and Randy took Sarah and joined up with everyone. 






























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