This is how 5 year olds party!

It's official she has turned the big 5! 

Here is a recap of the weeks events...

Opening presents from Grandma Mills.  Notice Cal's delight and Leifs frustration of not being able to open the package.  Leif is also wearing two sets of pajamas!

Her new clip on earrings that she loves!

Her Cowgirl birthday party! 

She specifically asked to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  Wish granted.

Lunch at the park after a few games.  The kids started taking off their hats because of the heat.

Horse Pinata time!

The gathering of the candy.  It was like chickens scurrying around for food.

The whole birthday group!  We had a great turn out this year!

Cal's My Little Pony cake and about to blow out the candles.

Opening presents with all her friends!

I can't believe she is already 5 and will be starting kindergarten this year.  Time sure does fly!

Dance Recital

We moved from Connecticut to Rhode Island the week before Cal's dance recital.  So we made the trip back so she could attend.  We got her flowers for after and she loved it!

Family Pic outside after the show.

She felt so pretty in her outfit!

This was her tap number.  They danced to "Twist and Shout".

This was her ballet dance.  They danced to the mother song off of the movie "Dumbo".

First position.

Cal and her bud Kinsey after rehearsal.

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter!  We ate candy, went to church and finished the day with a jelly bean hunt in the house.

The kids waking up to see their baskets!

All ready for church.

We've Had a Birthday!

My little Leify has turned 2!!!  We had a great day of trains, animals, presents and brownies!  

Some fun things about Leif are he loves to watch "Elmo Adventures in Grouchland".  He loves to chew gum.  He likes to pretend to ride horses and gallops around the house.  He loves cars.  His favorite play spot is in the kitchen underneath the sink.  If I can't find him...I open the cupboard and there he is playing in the dark.  He adores his sister and loves to give her kisses and hugs.  He is a huge fan of nursery at church!  He loves to eat a bowl of cheerios for breakfast.  He loves to look at books and is always asking me to read to him.  We love Leif so much!

They have this cool train at our mall. 

Leif was so excited to ride it!

We went to the pet store and they have a bunny area.  Leif loved it and had no fear.  He'd grab those bunnies by the ears and make'em move!

Ready for brownies!!

He tried and tried but Callie ended up helping him blow out his candles!

He's trying to hold up 2 fingers!

Diving right in!

The loot! 

Opening presents!

He got a cool barn/farm from my mom.  He loves it!

Washington D.C.!

We had spring break this last week and went down with our friends the Rees family to Washington D.C.

Here is us in front of the White House.  We drove into town, parked, walked one block and took this picture.  I guess I never realized the White House was in the thick of the city.

For all those DC Cupcake fans!!  They were delicious!  People said we'd be in line for an hour just to get in.  We must have timed it right.  We were there a total of 5 minutes!

The Rees family and us in front of the white house.  The forecast was for  rain the whole time we were there.  But the weather was sunny.  I even got a sunburn!  I realized in this picture how white I am....I'm ready for summer!

The Capital building.  This is the side of the building where the president's inauguration was held. 

The Washington Monument.  I thought this was a cool picture with the water and the cherry blossoms.

This is the Lincoln Memorial.  Callie liked this one!

This is looking from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument.  The reflection pool is in the middle.  Sadly it was empty with a construction crew.  I little disappointing.   These are also the steps where Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech.

The kids on the Lincoln Memorial steps.

Family pic on the same steps.

This is the Arlington National Cemetery.  Its crazy how big it is.  This land used to belong to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  It is also located directly across the Potomac river from the Lincoln Memorial.

This is where the unnamed soldiers are buried.  They have a guard here 24/7.  He marches and clicks his heels at every turn.  Callie kept trying to make her heels do that.  Callie also said this was her favorite thing of that day.  If you look in the background of this picture you can see the Capital Building.

Flags at the Washington Monument.  This Monument was started and then about half way through they ran out of money.  They waited 20 years to finish it.  The government today would just finish it money or not.

We rode the Trolley to get around.  The kids loved it and so did our aching feet!

The kiddos all tuckered out.  Leif is a pretty sleeper!

The Capital building.  Ashley Rees had a cousin that was working construction in the capital building.  He gave us an after hours tour.  It was super cool.  Lots of art work and we walked through the Senate side and the House of Representatives side.   They were not in session the week we were there.

This in an underground system for the senators to get from the Capital building to other buildings that they need to go to.

We went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  I had been talking to Cal about seeing the dinosaur bones.  This was a leg bone and it was bigger than her.

Callie holding an African Centipede!  Gross me out!  But the girl had no fear!

You walk into the main museum to see this. 

We also went to the Museum of Air and Space.  Loved it!

On the way back home we stopped at the Washington D.C. Temple.  Its a big Temple!

We stopped in Philadelphia.  Andrew and I got an authentic Philly Cheese steak for lunch.  It was delicious!

In the visitor center they had the Phillie's baseball mascot statue.  The kids wanted their picture taken with it.

The Liberty Bell!

This is the room where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc. wrote the Declaration of Independence.  This is where they discussed and debated.

This is the court room.  It was also where they held supreme court when Philadelphia was the US Capital.  This is across the hall from the Declaration of Independence room.

We had a great trip and learned a lot.  We definitely want to go back and see more.  We barely scratched the surface of all to see and do.