Girls...

My twin sis and me :)

Mama Totten and her girls on Mother's Day 2011

Claire with one of her favorite things to make- shrinky dinks!

Let's go fly a kite....

Claire flies the kite all by herself!

Claire was excited to fly her Barbie kite on this first nice and windy spring day in May. She was pretty tickled to be able to do it all by herself- with only a few crash landings!!

Signs of spring!

Some of my favorite sights and smells of spring: lilacs....

sandal clad toes in the grass...

sunglasses....

robin eggs in a nest built in the kids playhouse....

a gnome that mysteriously showed up in our landscaping....

Brett running the wheels off his four-wheeler in the green grass...

a "yellow flower that Daddy calls a weed" says Claire....

a "wish flower" again according to Claire....

Dan and I with our newly planted garden....can't wait for the yummy veggies...

brand new baby robins!

There are so many things to be thankful for this spring!
Thank God for the beauties and blessings this spring :)

7 years old!

Brett gets his birthday spanks from Papa Thompson!

A sweet new micro RC car from Gpa and Gma :)

Dancing to his new CD from Nan and Papa (Maroon 5) on his new stereo from Mom and Dad (i'm pretty sure there will never be another quiet moment in our home again!)

Birthday boy Brett opened his stereo before school on his bday!

Thanks Nan and Papa...itunes gift card!

Brett with his birthday cake (that Claire won on the radio for her bday!)

Blowing out his candle on his Saints bday cupcakes that he took to school!

Easter fun!

Easter from end to beginning....We went to sunrise service at church and then headed to Mark and Pat's for a family fun day! Here are the kids at the end of the day getting their Easter baskets from Gma and Gpa...they are looking tired and dirty after a fun day of playing inside and outside and eating lots of yummy food and candy!!

A new way to carry her basket!

The Thompson/Maehl crew!

Two hungry 6 year olds!! (Not for long- B is turning 7 this week!)

Prayers are always fun...Aaaaaaamen!!

Dan and Claire- two of my 3 sweeties :)

One handsome guy early Easter am before church!

A sweet little 4 year old (we always manage to get up early enough to check out the Easter baskets for at least a couple of minutes and take a couple pictures before leaving the house at 6:30 for church at 7!! (by myself b/c Dan's already there for choir!)
It's quite a feat- if I do say so myself!)

Cheers...and thanks Easter Bunny!!

Cool Aviator's...thanks again to the Bunny!

Beauty and the Beast

We took Brett and Claire to the musical Beauty and the Beast at a local high school. We took some pictures before we left and each one of them wanted to take a photo as well...Claire took this one of Brett and I! I think this may have been his "beast" face!!

Mommy and Belle (by Brett- they aren't bad little photographers, are they?!)

Beauty and Brett :)

Claire got all decked out in her Belle dress and tiara and stick on earrings
and sparkly shoes! She was adorable :)

Our little Beauty, Claire!

Claire is 4!!

Claire's fourth birthday started-like any great day should start in Claire's opinion- with chocolate! Here she is with her chocolate doughnut with
four candles and her birthday present from Dan and I to start the day!

Tangled came out on DVD, so Claire and I went to get it (and just happened to pick up some birthday balloons that she had to have, on her person, for the rest of the day! Dan was working in his office a bit in the afternoon and stopped up to have a quick snuggle
with the bday girl and her balloons and bears!

We got Claire a Leapster- which she was pretty pleased about!

Ta-da...I'm four!! Claire wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate chips with chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream and a number four on the top! This is what we came up with! And it weighed about 10 lbs (no calories- of course!). She also won a cake on the radio that morning and the DJ talked to her and put it on the radio- she was tickled to hear herself!!

Gpa and Gma Thompson and Nan and Papa came over for birthday supper- Claire's choice of meal: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, veggies and Gma's dip, and cake and ice cream! It was a fun, low-key birthday for a very special little four-year-old! Claire was pretty excited about her new leggos from Gma and Gpa...let the building begin!

New bedding from Nan and Papa :)

And four birthday spanks from Gpa!!! Claire is laughing- not crying!! :)