Thursday, April 30, 2015

Our little gymnast

We started Annaliese in gymnastics about 4 months ago. The first session of classes was called a Bridge Class and was designed for kids 2 1/2- 3 1/2 years old with parent participation. Each class was 45 minutes long and included some warm-up activities followed by several different obstacle courses that incorporated some gymnastics activities. The instructor indicated that at this age, one of the main goals was teaching kids to follow instructions and try new things as opposed to learning 'real gymnastics.'
 Rings are a favorite!

Once this session was over, we talked with the teacher and decided to move Annaliese up to the preschool class. They do similar obstacle courses and activities but the parents aren't involved at all. Annaliese seems to be doing really well! 



 (Annaliese is in the white t-shirt/gray pants...the second kid to the left of the teacher)

 Haleigh and I sit upstairs and watch:)

 These are all pictures from my phone from the upstairs viewing area, hence the poor quality! Annaliese is on the bars.


 Walking across the green balance beam

She just recently started jumping off the vault into the pit on her own! 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Happy Easter!

We started Easter morning off by going to a wonderful service at church. Annaliese was very excited after her class and when we asked her what she learned today, she told us they talked about Jesus. When I asked her what Jesus did, she said, "He di-ed." (long silent pause) "And then he came back!" (excitedly jumping up and down!) I am so impressed with the children's ministry at our church and how they teach all the kids...Annaliese never ceases to amaze me with the Bible lessons that she remembers from church. 

From there, we headed over the Grandpa and Grandma's house. We attempted some family pictures, did a little Easter egg hunt and had some delicious food. From there, I had to head off to work but the rest of the family stayed together for the rest of the afternoon. So fun to be able to gather together with the whole family! Watching the cousins interact and actually play together reminds me of why it is that we decided to make the move to Washington!




 Uncle Ben and Haleigh

 Annaliese and Mallory

 Grandma and her granddaughters


 In typical Annalise fashion, she is leading Elias somewhere!


 Grandma and Malachi

 With all their grandkids!

Another attempt (there were many attempts!)

Although the sun was shining, it was still a little chilly outside, so we finished pictures and headed inside for an Easter egg hunt. All of the eggs were labeled with an initial ('A' 'E' 'M' or 'H') and each of the kiddos had to find the ones with their initial on it. 


 Haleigh thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate bunny she found...especially after I took off the foil wrapper!



The Easter egg hunt was followed by lunch. My mom followed the Easter brunch menu in Cooking Light magazine and it was delicious! I made dessert to celebrate Kyle's birthday (a bit early but my mom wasn't sure when Kels and Ben would be able to come up from Seattle again.) Kyle requested his great-grandma's carrot cake so I got that recipe and successfully made a carrot cake for the first time! Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the meal.