Did you enjoy your gymnastics class?

Leah and Elizabeth started gymnastics tonight and they were able to wear their new leotards. It was so nice to only spend one hour at the gym as they each attended different classes but at the same time. Elizabeth's class is full with 6 other girls and 1 boy while Leah's class has 8 girls total. When Tim came home from work this evening he asked both of the girls about their experience. Elizabeth told him that it was "good" and Leah said, "It was AWESOME! Better than last year."

Is your washer smelly?

Awhile back I won a blog giveaway for a product that could clean your washing machine. I had never thought of cleaning my washer before, but it makes sense. How can you clean your clothes if your machine is dirty? I was eager to try Smelly Washer when it came in the mail. Now I'm hoping it will make a difference. Today Tim did load after load trying to catch up on the piles that have been forming due to all of this past week's activities. I am so thankful to have a husband who helps out with the laundry!

How was Elizabeth's birthday party?

We had a big birthday party for Elizabeth yesterday evening. My side of the family traveled hours before arriving for dinner. Then Tim's side of the family joined everyone for presents along with cake and ice cream. Our house was packed full of people, but Elizabeth enjoyed all of the excitement.

Do you know how old Elizabeth is?

Make a Smilebox greeting

How do you persevere?

Our key to happiness this month is perseverance. Tonight I had planned for us to complete an obstacle course on the playground of my school, but the rain brought us inside. Instead we set up a course around the interior of the building that consisted of a big loop with 4 different stations. We timed each person for the first trip around. The goal was to persevere and beat our first time during the second attempt. All of us ended up shaving seconds off of our time and even more importantly we hung in there when the course got tough!

Have you ever been to the American Girl store?

Today was a special day for Elizabeth. The two of us drove to Michigan City, Indiana to hop on a train into the city of Chicago. There we met my mom and the three of us walked to the American Girl store located in Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. While inside the store Elizabeth picked out a Bitty Baby and some accessories which I purchased for her birthday. My mom also bought Elizabeth an adorable, soft, white bunny robe that she is sleeping in tonight. Although the trip didn't go quite as I had planned: it rained, Elizabeth wanted to take a nap on the purple couch at the store, and she was unusually worried about missing our train out of the city. Still, we had a fun mother-daughter experience that I hope she remembers in the years to come!

How many miles are on your car?

We bought our Acadia at the end of March and today we rolled past 10,000 miles. That means we've averaged about 2,000 miles a month since our purchase. How do we put so many miles on? Well, living in the middle of 2 cities means we either drive north 15 minutes or south 15 minutes to reach places like grocery stores, school, and church. Just this morning we piled up the miles to:

*The doctor for Elizabeth's 4 year old check up (She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight.)

*Gymnastics to make our first payment for both girls (They tried on leotards for almost an hour!)

*Meijer to order Elizabeth's birthday cake (Elizabeth told her gymnastics coach we were going to buy vegetables instead.)

*Target to return a basket (That was our shortest stop.)

*Culver's for lunch (YUM!)

*School to drop some things off at my classroom and bring some things home (The girls helped me hang some curtains too!)

*The gas station because our fuel level was low (I wonder why?)

So to save on gas money and reduce the miles on our vehicle we spent the afteroon outside enjoying the sun before the rain comes tomorrow.