Happy Birthday Alys!

Our little girl turns 5! It was a festive birthday week for Alys, full of birthday activities and family and friends to enjoy it with. It was crazy for Mom but I think she enjoyed it. Since her dance recital was on Monday we had family over to help celebrate. That made her recital extra special since she got flowers for her recital, rice krispie treats and gifts for her birthday. On Wednesday, the 13th which is actually her birthday she had school. So, we made a krispie treat flower bouquet to enjoy with her classmates. That was a lot of fun.

We also celebrated with her that evening and she got a new bike and helmet. She was so excited and couldn't wait to get on and try it out. The funny thing about her birthday was that I asked her if there were any special meals that she wanted on her birthday and she said pancakes.... Pancakes for breakfast, pancakes for lunch and yes, pancakes for dinner! I think we had pink, blue and green pancakes. Needless to say I don't think we had pancakes for a while after that.On Friday, she wanted to do something fun with a few friends. We went to "Artist for a Day" and they painted some cute little ceramics. They had fun and she got to share her Tinkerbell cake with them. I'm so glad you had a great birthday Alys.

Dancing Around the World

This is Alys' second dance recital and it was much easier to get her to actually go out on stage. Her group danced to the Mexican Hat Dance song and a chinese song. They're costumes were cute and she did a great job. I think she really enjoys it and it gives her something fun to do. Her teacher Ms. Macie is great too. Thanks for showing us a few moves Alys!

Eggs, eggs, everywhere, but no Alys!

This year for some Easter fun, we decided to visit the Middleton Easter Egg Scramble. This is where Ethan had been playing soccer and he was to have a game after the hunt so it was quite convenient. Anyway, the kids were to gather at their appropriate age group for the "hunt". Well, as you can see, it was quite the hunt. :) We were all set to go, waiting for the horn to blow, signaling to go get eggs. Everyone was excited or so we thought. Ethan and Benjamin went scrambling for eggs. I was all set to take some photos and I hear Alys crying at the top of her lungs just standing there. Evidently the crowd of kids rushing for eggs scared her and she wasn't about to go get them. So, we have no pictures of the egg hunt! Ethan and Benjamin

thought it was great and even got a few prizes in their eggs. Fortunately, the egg hunt at Aunt Tammy's was a bit more fun for Alys even if it was getting dark. Better luck next year Easter Bunny. I guess they've got to warm up to you.

The Lightning Bolts

The soccer season finally came to an end after 5 or 6 weeks of practices and games. Fortunately, Ethan was able to play on the same team and have the same coach as he did in the fall. His team did really good and won more games than last time so they were excited. Ethan learned to be more aggressive but really enjoys playing defense. It was always fun to watch him play and see how he's improved as well. Benjamin and Alys also enjoyed the soccer season because that meant playing at the park during practices. The weather was a little crazy and cold at times but we survived. Thanks to those family members who helped support him. Here's a few shots of the games and Ethan receiving a medal from Coach Baird at the end of the season.

MY OH MY! WHERE DID SHE GO?

Hello, it's me. Yes, I guess I took a little hiatus (is that how you spell that?) from blogging. It's been way too long and way too much has been going on. I've thought about updates several times, but just haven't taken the time to do it. So, before a year has gone by I'm going to try to give an update on the Woodwards. It might be more pictures than anything, but nonetheless here goes....

Woody's Birthday

Woody's birthday is right after Valentine's Day and the kids were so excited to help celebrate Dad's birthday.  Each of them wanted to light the candles so Woody had three tries to blow out all his candles, except for the times that they helped do that too.  It was a fun evening and I'm even got a break on decorating a cake.  Woody's request was a pie so that made it easy!  I hope it was a good day for Woody.  We love him so much and he is a great and loving husband and father.

Valentine's Day

This year our Valentine's day was a little different.  We often think about going out to a nice dinner or making a nice dinner and at least going out on a date sometime around there.  Well this year since it was on a  Saturday we decided to go north and hang out as a family for a few days.  Ethan and Woody both had an extra day or two off so we went to Cascade to relax and play in the snow.  We didn't do anything fancy that day except decorate sugar cookies!  It was nice.  We all just relaxed for a few days, played games, played in the snow and enjoyed one another's company.  Here are a few pictures from the fun that we had.