march ~ a few highlights

even though we didn't really have any big adventures or anything like that in march, it still turned out to be a pretty fantastic month!! march is usually pretty laid back....i'm busy at work, the kids are in school, and its not the best weather.....normally! this year was an exception....it got really nice in the middle of the month! gave the kids a chance to play outside, which was awesome! it was also kind of a tease, since it of course got cool again, but it was still worth it! lol! plus....this was the month that we found out there would be an addition to our family before the end of the year! we actully found out a day before my birthday! what a fantastic birthday present!! to nick too, since his bday is only 9 days after mine! however, since we found out so early (at like 5 weeks) we decided it would be best to wait to tell anyone! let me tell you.....this was almost impossible for me!!! i was beyond excited and i wanted to share the news with all my family and friends!!! but, i knew it was best to keep it in! i did spill the beans to my brother before anyone else, and man did it feel good to get it out!! but i still had to wait a couple more weeks before we told everyone else! it ended up "only" being a month, 32 days to be exact that i had to keep this exciting news a secret from the majority of our family and friends! if it were up to nick, we would have waited another month! lol! anywho, more on that in april's issue. for now, back to march....

here is haylie on "wacky wednesday" for school! when she was in preschool, they all dressed wacky for the wednesday during dr. suess week. this year there was no such request, but haylie, being the wacky girl she is, decided she would dress wacky anyway! can ya blame her?! lol! 

here is charlie showing her school spirit!! what a ham!

the quality on this one isn't quite as good, because i took it on my phone, but i had to include it, because it shows her little attitude!

march was also the month that i turned the big 3-0!! it really didn't bother me much to be turning 30...it's like, what are ya gonna do about it!? sure beats the heck out of the alternative! so i took it upon myself to organize a dinner and a night out to celebrate!! here's a shot of us and some of our closest friends at Uptown, one of my favorite restaurants! i had so much fun that night (good thing, since it turned out to be my last night out for who knows how long!) i'm thankful to everyone who came out with me to help me celebrate!! especially after what happened the following weekend......i went to my parents house for what i excpected to be a quiet dinner w/them,nick, matt and the girls, only to find a house full of people....SURPRISE!!! huge thanks to nick, maria and my parents for all of their hard work organizing it!! it was so much fun!! and thanks to everyone who was able to come!! you are all awesome!! i never expected such a wonderful birthday surprise....friends, family, tons of good food, and lots of laughs!! i don't have any pics from my surprise party, but here are a few more pics from our night out!

~the girls and the guys~

at waterstreet before dinner

my love :)

my cousins!

 our best friends, the dergances, have 3 kids (2 of whom are my godchildren!) who were all born in march, so we always get to celebrate at a big bash for all 3!! this year, the party was held at the Y pool which was a blast for the kids!! i didn't get any good pics of the birthday trio, but here's haylie and charlie having fun in the water!! what a great party!! 

haylie had decided in the fall that she wanted to be a daisy! i was of course excited for her because i knew she would love it! they do all the things she likes....crafts, projects, trips, games, etc! plus....i was a girl scout for several years when i was young, so it made me happy to know she wanted to experience that! her troop leaders, miss lucy and miss mindy are wonderful! they are so kind and caring and patient with the girls! and the other troop members are super sweet as well and all the girls have fun together! there are only 8 of them, so they got to know each other pretty well during the year!

these pics are from the troop's cookie booth at hy-vee! after selling cookies, we got to have lunch with the troop and then went bowling after for a fun family event!

and the girls are always welcoming of their future daisy, miss charlie! 

while awaiting our turn on the lanes at the dickenson house, the girls got to enjoy the gorgeous march weather and play tag outside! haylie took a break on "base" to pose for a quick photo!

charlie was excited to finally try out the rollerskates she got for her birthday!!

both the girls helped me dig out the old landscaping to make room for our garden! haylie sure isn't afraid to get right in there and get dirty! that's my girl!  

sometimes i wonder why we bother buying "regular" clothes for charlie! she'd much rather wear a dance costume, superhero costume or some other dress up outfit!

haylie sure does love the guitar that uncle matt got her for christmas! she can't wait to take lessons from him and for him to teach her how to play "psycho"! LOL!

wonderwoman really can fly! 

such pretty faces!! i love my babies!!

to end the month of march, the girls had their last day of school before spring break, which meant.....spring parties and easter egg hunts!! i'm lucky enough to have a wonderful job, that, even during the busy tax season, allows me to take time off to spend it with my girls at school functions! i don't know what i would do if my boss wasn't kind enough to let me leave or take off whenever i needed to! i so enjoy being able to take part in and help out with school activities!

here is charlie, hunting away!

and here's haylie, excitedly trying to find all her eggs!

here's haylie with natalie, who quickly became one of her best friends in her kindergarten class!

i don't know many 5 year olds that actually use one of these for the intended purpose....but i've peeked in at haylie countless times during the nights to find this sight! i couldn't help but laugh.....and take a picture of course! lol!