Easter 2016

It's crazy how fast (and early) Easter came up this year.  On the Saturday before Easter we had 2 Easter egg hunts.  It was chilly but that didn't stop the fun.

Abigail refused to sit next to the Easter bunny. 

 But she didn't mind petting the bunny.

It took Abigail a few minutes to get going but, after that, she was all about it.

Our first egg hunt was at Wheeler Farm so, of course, we had to visit the animals afterwards.

 Then we were off to Papa and Grandma's for our 2nd egg hunt at their condo complex.

coloring Easter eggs

What a generous Easter bunny--new raincoats, games for camping, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.

Winter is Coming to a Close

This post is a little late, but I wanted to share some photos of one of our last times skiing.  Emma had her last ski lesson on the same day as pond skimming at Park City--Canyons Resort.  It was a glorious day to be on the slopes.

Of course we had to write Emma's ski teacher a personalized "thank you" note.

Both girls started skiing in tutus...only one left it on the whole time.

They had a little race course for the kiddos to do.

pond skimming

 While we waited for Emma to finish up her lesson, we took Abigail skiing.  

This was her first time skiing by herself!  She LOVED it!

This little ski munchkin put in over 70 hours on the slopes this year!  

 ice cream and awards with her ski group

Abigail had to be a part of it, too.

It was a great ski season and can't wait to ski as a family next year.  We've got the camping bug now...

Emma's Birthday Bash Weekend

I can't believe our Emma turned 6 years old last week!  It seems like just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital, with both Andy and I thinking, "Now what?  They just let us take her?"
This girl deserves the world, but a slumber party with 2 of her best friends will have to do for this latest birthday.   We pretty much celebrated the entire weekend.

It all started on Thursday when her kindergarten class celebrated her birthday (since her teacher was going to be gone on her actual birthday).

She got to pick a gift out of the birthday box.  

Then Emma sat on a chair on top of a table, with a dollop of frosting on her nose, as her class sang her "Happy Birthday."  It was pretty special that Andy and I both got to be there for the celebration.  

 Friday night was the big sleepover.  We are newbies at this (and learned some things along the way).  The biggest thing we learned is to also invite a friend over for Abigail.  Abigail wanted in with the big girls and that did not go over too well with the birthday girl.   The girls played great together, even when they were up chatting and laughing at 6:00 a.m. 

They made door hangers.

Even Abigail participated in the craft.

We started cutting the cake before we remembered we hadn't sang "Happy Birthday."  Whoops.  

 Can you tell these girls were exhausted?  

We were out the door bright and early the next day for Emma's ski lessons.  We went back after lunch to get Abigail out on the slopes.  We're hoping she will be able to ski on her own by the end of the season (without her having to wear the backpack).   

After a couple of runs, we went down to the base of the resort to listen to live music.  

Here are a few other things that have been happening in the Tullis family:

goofy girls...

Our school had a daddy/daughter dance.  

Finally...a big change that will be happening in our family next fall (aside from neither of us being in graduate school).  After 15 years as a classroom teacher, Andy will no longer be working directly with kids.  Instead, he has been hired to be our school's intervention specialist.  In a nutshell, he will now be working with teachers and helping them to reach the needs of all of their students.  He has a wealth of ideas and is excited to be able to help other teachers.  Since I first met Andy, he has always talked about wanting to work with teachers.  In the elementary level, opportunities like this do not come up very often so he decided to jump at the chance.  While he will miss having his own classroom, he is excited for this challenge.  He will be working closely with our principal and instructional coach and, may one day, want to fill an instructional coach position.  You just never know... So proud of him!  

Trees and More Trees

I know...that's an odd title for a blog post.  It's the best I could come up with at 5:45 p.m. on a Friday evening after a long and tiring week.  I've got to learn to say "no" more often but I just can't.  There has to be someone out there who is with me and understands my problem.  My teaching partner, Joanna, and I are leading 4 professional development meetings on Friday afternoons.  On top of that, I offered to be the 2nd grade rep. for our Literacy Night this past Monday night so I put together a presentation for that.  I didn't think this through well enough...  It is what it is and I would be lying if I said I didn't like to be busy.  I seem to be more productive the busier I am, though.

Last Saturday, I had the great pleasure of skiing with Emma for "Ski with Parents" day for her ski lessons.  This girl amazes me!  I really didn't even ski with her.  The kids followed their instructor and the parents followed behind the kids.  These kids know the routine and skiing with their parents did not change what they have been doing for 6 weeks.  Even though I didn't get any pictures, I think I can say that I skied more trees last Saturday than I have since I started skiing 14 years ago.  This mama was exhausted after following those little 5-year olds through the trees!  

Emma is in the turquoise helmet, getting ready to go down the mini halfpipe.  

There she goes....

 It was a beautiful day of skiing with my beautiful Emma.

After ski lessons, we watched the concert at Canyons Resort.  

 Emma and Abby found some friends to play with while Andy and I relaxed and listened to the music.

This past Wednesday we dressed as a book character at school (or the kids could wear their pajamas).  I dressed as The Giving Tree.  

 The beautiful weather has been taking us outside quite a bit lately.  We got the girls back on their bikes!

We have been taking walks around the neighborhood.

This is their silly pose.

It's amazing how entertaining a giant pine cone can be.

Emma is a big help in the kitchen.