Spring Break-driving to Galveston

The girls were surprised to see the Easter Bunny came early for us since we would be cruising on Easter.  The morning we left for Galveston, they got a surprise.

Caitlin's -

Alaina's -

All packed up and ready to go!  We said a prayer, forced Alaina to take a selfie, and we were off.  Well for 15 minutes we were off and then I realized I forgot my curling iron.  Had to turn around.

The rest of the drive went great!  Alaina even tried a sandwich and Subway and liked it!

We stopped for the night at Nanny Glo's house.  We got a little visit in with Gloria and Ronnie.  Caitlin picked up where she left off with Lilo.  She just LOVES Caitlin!

Then early the next morning, we were off to Galveston.  The GPS took us on some crazy country roads.  There were several where I literally thought I was in someone's driveway.

But we made it!  We parked and got our shuttle over to the terminal.

Then started the waiting process.  The girls were actually really patient even though there were a ton of people and it was HOT!

Once aboard the ship, we headed to the pools!

We got our favorite things - ice cream cones and Guy's Burger!! Yum!

We only had one meltdown - during the Muster Drill, Alaina was told she had to wear a bracelet the whole trip so if we were ever separated, someone could help her to the muster area we were assigned.  She did NOT want to wear that thing.  She whined and pouted for several minutes.  Then when we got back to the room, though, she said she had forgotten it was on.  Crisis over.

The girls LOVED the bunks that came down from the ceiling.  Everyone had their own private space.  It helped contain the mess.

That night, we ate the buffet (instead of the sit down meal) and came back to out first towel animal.  We had a lively debate about what it was.  I think it's a lobster.

Mani/Pedi

To get ready for our cruise, I took Alaina for her first mani/pedi.  She LOVED the pampering!

Digital Project Life - best app purchase ever!!

I've been using Blurb for years to turn my blog posts into scrapbook for the girls.  After each birthday, I download the posts pertaining to them and rearrange where needed and then print the book.  I LOVE how they turn out.  Well I had gotten a little behind and just finished Caitlin's 10 turning 11 book and went to order and saw a message that they no longer support Blog to Book options.  So I would have to start doing it manually.  Ugg, I didn't really want to do that so I started looking for other options.  I tried 4 or 5 to see how they created the book and none were that great.  Plus, I still really wanted the book to match the others I have.

One I saw was a Digital Project Life app.  It got good reviews and seemed easy but who wants to create pages on their iphone or ipad?  So I delayed.  I finally spent the $2.99 yesterday and tried it.  OMG, it is so easy and quick and makes the cutest pages!!

Yesterday I did 15 pages, all while at lunch or watching TV at night.  It was SO easy!!

They have all these templates and you just click a square to add a picture or a filler and some text and you're done.  It comes pre loaded with lots of templates, fonts, kits, etc.  Or you can buy extra kits, templates and fonts too.  It's the bomb!  Best part is I can still use these pages and print it as a book with Blurb!

Here's some pages I made yesterday.

Best Mail

I received some cute mail over the weekend.  What a sweetie!!



New Glasses

Caitlin's school did some free vision checks and one of her eyes "failed", even with glasses on.  Of course, that's probably because she is bad about wearing her glasses.

She claims that if she got to pick frames she actually liked this wouldn't happen.  So we agreed to get her eyes checked and let her upgrade her frames.

These are what she picked (they look very similar to what she had, just a little bigger shape).  But she loves them and I haven't had to tell her once to put her glasses on.

Medal

Last night at gymnastics, towards the end of class, I noticed that Alaina wasn't doing what she was supposed to.  She was just sitting pouting.  I went to go talk to her and asked her what was wrong.  She started crying.  One of the girls in her class had gotten a medal during class for completing a hard task.  Alaina was upset because she wanted a medal too.  I asked her what she needed to do to earn one and she didn't know.  Her coach asked if she was okay and I told her what was going on.  She said that the next station she was supposed to do was a medal station.  If she could do a pullover, unassisted, she would get to ring the bell and would get a medal.  (When anyone performs a hard task by themselves, they get to ring the bell)  Alaina was DETERMINED to get that pullover.  She had never done it by herself before and it looked tough.  But she listened to her coach and she FINALLY did it by herself.  She got to ring the bell and she got her medal!

And if you're wondering what a pullover is, click here.

Birthday Party

Alaina was so excited to go to a birthday party for one of her friends at school.  And it was at her gymnastics place, so it was even better!

These are all kids from her Kindergarten class.

Waxing

Caitlin has been complaining about her "unibrow" for a while.  She's asked me to pluck them and I usually just end up pinching her a million times with the tweezers.  So we agreed to let her get them waxed and shaped by someone who knew what they were doing.  She couldn't wait!!

Before:

After:

Eyebrows on fleek - per Caitlin!

And here's the video - she was so nervous it was going to hurt.

First Costume Fitting

Yesterday at rehearsal, Caitlin got to try on her costume for the first time, with her crinoline and boots.  She looked SO cute!  And she is so glad she didn't live in the 1800s!

Report cards

Alaina got all good marks on her report card!  She loves being able to read things now.

Caitlin's report card was good considering what her grades were 4 weeks ago.  We have to hound her to keep up with everything.  I feel like I'm back in middle school!

Tom Sawyer performances

Here are the dates for the performances of Tom Sawyer that Caitlin will be in:

Friday, April 8  9:30am

Saturday, April 9  7:30pm

Friday, April 15  7:30pm

Saturday, April 23  7:30pm

 

Click here for more information!

The little actress

This girl has made us all SO busy lately!  Rehearsals 4 nights a week will do that.  She is loving this play so much.  She's already made some new friends and is learning even more how a staged show is performed.  I love the theater where this one is done.  It's part of a church and the people are all so nice.  They say a prayer before every rehearsal and it's just 5 minutes down the road.  It is the PERFECT situation!

And yesterday Caitlin found out that she made a lead in the Spring Middle School play as well.  She starts those rehearsals today.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Gymnastics

Alaina is LOVING gymnastics.  Every Tuesday when I get home from work, she runs out to the garage all dressed in her running gear (she hates the leotards because of the wedgies HA).  We even practice at home.  She has a little mat that she practices her cartwheel and hand stands on.  And we make a game out of how long she can hold a handstand against a wall.  So far, she's up to 45 seconds.

Last night she did a back handspring for the first time and for the first time didn't look like a beginner!

And here she is on the high bar - one of her favorites.