Girl Scout Awards Ceremony

Anne Mari just had her Girl Scout Troop Ceremony. Anne was awarded a special pin signifying her 5th years as a girl scout. She also received a certificate and flower. Here are a few pics of the ceremony and with her fellow girl scouts. She has been in scouts with them since Kindergarten. Kudos to Miss Kim the troop leader for all her hard work this year. Until next year!

Joshua's Last Day of Preschool

Here are pictures of Joshua with his teachers on the last day of Preschool. The picture of him on the left he is with Mrs. Barker and on the right is Mrs. Silich. I can't believe that preschool is over. He is my final baby. It was a bittersweet moment for me. We have had these fine ladies in our life for five consecutive years. I honestly don't know what school life is without them. I wish I had another kid so I could have them again. My kids loved them and I thank them for providing them with the foundation they need to be successful in the upcoming years. A round of applause for the preschool teachers. My Joshua is officially a kindergartener!!!!!!!

Happy 8th Birthday from the Rain Forest Cafe

We celebrated Jamee's 8th Birthday at the Rainforest Cafe this year. She has wanted to go there for a while so we thought this would be a good time. She ordered Mini Burgers and was treated to a free ice cream sundae. The staff from Rainforest Cafe came out and sang her a special birthday song. The kids had a great time. There was so much stuff to look at they had a hard time just sitting down and eating.

Our New Addition to the Family

Welcome to our family -"Norbit"! Norbit is a 2yr old Puggle. He is a hybrid dog between a pug and a beagle. A friend from work was not longer able to keep him so we decided to give him a loving home. Isn't he cute? He is really good dog and is very docile. He hardly barks except when my dad comes over (he goes nuts). The kids love him and he has fitting right into the family. His favorite person is James. He sits at his feet with his chest pumped out and his head back. It is so cute.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

We took the kids to an Easter Egg hunt at Festival Park in Hobart, IN. It was sponsered by the Hobart Jaycees. Anne Mari wasn't to keen on the idea. Apparently 10 year olds are "too old" for Easter egg hunts. Well we didn't care and told her to was doing it. She pitched a fit until she saw one of her friends there. Then of course it was ok. They had over 8,000 eggs out. The kids got their fair share of the goodies. I was a little disturbed by the instructions some parents were giving to their children. I thought an egg hunt was supposed to be fun not a competition. Well regarless they had a good time and the hunt was over in less than a minute.

Dyeing Easter Eggs @ the West home

Well it was time once again to dye easter eggs for our easter basket. They did a great job. I bought a kit that had stickers this year. They enjoyed decorating the eggs more with stickers than dyeing them. We played our annual game of "Choke" a tradition on my mom's side of the family. Usually the girls rule in the house but it was the year of the boys apparently because daddy and josh won both rounds! My dad even won this year which in unheard of. We will let the boys win this year but we will take back the title next year. Girls rule. I hope that my kids carry on this tradition. We have so much fun playing this game and look forward to it every year.

Happy Birthday Momma Dinner

James and the kids treated me to a birthday dinner at the House of Kobe-A Japanese restaurant. No cooking or cleaning. Now that is a birthday present! I ordered Land and Sea (which is Kobe beef and shrimp). It was delicious. We started off with soup, salad, and spring rolls. Then it was onto the main course of shrimp fried rice, grilled veggies, and beef/shrimp. Yummy. We ended the meal with ice cream. I stuffed myself like a pig. The kids enjoyed the seeing the meal cooked before their very eyes. Josh thought the fire was in his words "Awesome !". Here are the few pics to remember the night.

Anne Mari's Spring Concert

Anne Mari had another band concert on St. Patty's Day. She managed to learn 3 new songs in 8 weeks. She was great. She had to practice a lot. These songs were quite difficult. We are very proud of her. James was unable to make it since he was working. Don't worry I taped it for him. She will have another concert performance in a couple months. Be sure to check the blog for the next concert pictures. She is turning into a great little musician.

Joshua's 5th Birthday-Family Party

We finally had Joshua's family birthday party yesterday. It was a nice day and the house was full of family. The menu consisted of a Taco bar,white chicken chili, taco pizza, spanish rice, chips, salsa, and all the fixins. It was delicious. I don't think anyone went away hungry. Joshua was so cute opening his presents. He waited for me to read the cards and blew kisses after he opened the presents. After he opened the presents he told everyone"Party is over! Time to leave!" To0 cute. He was surprised the most when he saw his Great Aunt Linda come in. He stopped opening his presents, got down, and gave her a big hug and said "I didn't know you were coming. I missed you!" I almost started to cry. It was so sweet. He can be a sweet boy when he is not getting into trouble. The present he enjoyed the most was the Moon Sand grammy and grampy got him. Thanks mom and dad ! I will be sure to pack that when he spends the night over there! PAYBACK. Bet the Moon Sand won't come back home with him. All in all it was nice to get both sides of the family together.

Daddy Daughter Dance 2009

It was time again for the annual Daddy Daughter Dance at school again. Unfortunately, this year James was not able to attend since he was working. So their Papa agreed to be their date. He came all dressed up in his "monkey suit" as he calls it. He brought each of the girls a bouquet of flowers. We took a few pics before they headed out the door and I met them there. The moms host the dance and we cook as well as serve the food. We do it because we want to crash the dance. Shhh! Don't tell anyone. My dad had a wonderful time dancing with the girls. Later in the night his dates ditched him for their friends so he asked me out onto the dance floor for a spin. I haven't danced with him a long time. It was a special moment for me as well seeing him dance with the girls. It reminded me when I was a little girl dancing on top of my father's feet. Priceless!

Happy 5th Birthday Joshua

Our baby is five. How time flies by. Here are some pictures of him at his first kid birthday party at Jump and Fun. It was a big warehouse filled with different moon walks. What a great concept. Wish I would of thought of that! The kids had a blast. They jumped around for two hours and we sent them home on their merry way. Joshua fell asleep as soon as he got into the car. Here are some pics of him blowing out the candles on his cake, sliding down the slide, and his friends.

Girls Day Out Bowling

Joshua had a birthday party at the Bowling alley so the girls and I decided to have a girls day bowling. Anne Mari won the first game and Momma won the second but not by much. I have a few good bowlers on my hands. Who would have known! We had a great time. Can't wait until we go again.

Happy Valentines Day

James surprised us this morning with flowers. A dozen roses for me and a carnation for each of the kids. How thoughtful. He had to work tonight so we spent the night eating together as a family before he went to work. He is still my sweetheart after 19 years.