Happy Independence Day 2014!

We had a super busy, fun Fourth of July this year.

First, the girls were patriotic for the parade at their school:

Then, on the REAL 4th, we started off heading to our neighborhood bike parade. The girls got to climb in a firetruck and take part in some carnival games. They also got the all important popsicles!

Liora with her block buddy, Christina. Photo bomb by Kaya!

Checking out the fire truck.

The Sonoma Road "Mafia" minus Kaya, who started to have a meltdown.

She needed a rest in the stroller, a hug from ducky, and some applesauce.

Later that day, we headed over to a friend's house for a BBQ. We were tasked with bringing a fruit salad. Adam said, "challenge accepted" and made this awesome watermelon shark.

At the picnic, loads of Liora's friends were there. They spent hours having lots of fun, and getting some wagon rides from best friend Lexie's older brother, Anderson, and later the dads.

Throwback Thursday - Holidays 2013

Part of the problem with not doing the blog for a year is that I missed out on the documentation of some fun stuff! So, I'll try to cover some of it in some "Throwback Thursday" editions.

And so we go to Christmas in July. This past Christmas season, we had brunch with Santa! Liora actually spoke to him (a first) and since there was no enforced lap sitting and she had a lot of time to get used to the guy, she was very, very excited.

Kaya wasn't so sure.

The brunch was YUMMY.

Since Santa was wandering around, Liora got many opportunities to chit chat.

Which eventually resulted in this!

Christmas morning!

One of our favorite presents!

Or maybe this is the best present of all…sister love.

This holiday season, Liora and I also took part in our first mommy-daughter tea at the Ritz. This was a princess tea, with a ballet performance and special treats! It was very appreciated, since we drove there in a snow storm. Mommy got a chance to sip tea and relax my shoulders after gripping the wheel for 35 minutes and Liora got a front-row seat of the princesses in action.

Liora with the princesses.

Drinking her hot chocolate.

Mommy and Liora special day.

We made our annual gingerbread house.

And Lexy proceeded to destroy it, as she does every year. Doesn't she look so innocent?

The girls decided that their end-of-year charitable gift would be to help endangered animals. And so Kaya chose to help the snowy owl, and Liora chose the arctic hare.

And to round it all out, the girls enjoyed some fun times with friends, singing carols.

Next post will be more seasonal, I promise!

Happy Five Years!

Mommy and Daddy just celebrated our fifth anniversary this past weekend! To honor that special day, we took Liora and Kaya back to where it all happened, the Inn at Brookevile Farms in Olney, Maryland. We actually went a week early on Father's Day and had a yummy brunch. But before that, we asked the girls to reenact some of our wedding day poses!

Yep, we actually got married right on this spot. Liora has been asking a lot of questions about getting married lately, including "What did you say to Daddy?" and "What does it mean to say vows?" So we have been answering those questions, but we also thought it would be helpful to show her where we got married. Here, the girls said their vows to each other to always take care of each other and work together. :)

Then, we had a nice breakfast, sitting outside.

Pretty good photography on behalf of Liora. Just a little head cutting off.

It was very nice to sit and enjoy then setting. It was much more calming than the last time I was here! By the end of the brunch, the girls were holding hands and walking all around the patio.

Then it was back outside to pose by the flowers.

Kaya took this picture.

And this one!

It was so nice to celebrate our anniversary as a whole family. We hadn't been there since the wedding, and so it was really special to see the place again. It's been a crazy, wonderful five years!

Grasheims Gymnastics

Last fall, Liora started gymnastics at Dynamite. She quickly moved up from her play group to a pre-team track. Kaya also started parent-assisted gymnastics last winter. Then, Daddy started his own gymnastics! So, here's a rundown of how the kids are doing.

Kaya's favorite apparatus is trampoline. Isn't this the cutest jumping you've ever seen?

A couple of weeks ago, Liora had her first showcase! Here she is with her favorite coach, Kayla.

And Kaya with her coach, Ashley.

Here is Liora's routine from the showcase:

 Liora and her bestie got participating trophies, and then had to do some posing with them.

Here is Liora demonstrating her prowess on her favorite apparatus, the beam, a couple of weeks later, with her new coach, Patrick.

Updating - Some spring highlights

While I'm working on the blog, it's a good time to update on some highlights before we started posting again. (More of this to come!)

We had a nice bagel brunch with Saba:

Our girls became even closer friends:

Bath time is a very loving time.

Sliding partners.

A different night, this time hugs.

We visited the zoo, and got some cool panda hats:

(there are some tigers in the background)

This happened: Kaya ate a cupcake without hands or fork. (Gotta love google+ for the gifs it creates from your photos).

Graduation

Liora has one more year of preschool. But last Friday (May 30), the older kids in her class were graduating to kindergarden. The school includes everyone in that celebration. I can't say I exactly agree with that approach, but at least Liora had a rehearsal for next year and had an extra special part to play!

Liora welcomes everyone to graduation.

During the show.

So cute!

Running up to get her "certificate." Other kids got a diploma.

The kids performed many songs for us. This was my personal favorite, mostly due to the dance moves.

Taking a bow after the performances.

A bit blurry in her graduation hat.

Posing under one of her baby photos.