Isabella and Giselle are GOING TO......

Isabella and Giselle are heading out to Disney World and they don't even know it! SHHHHHH....it's a SURPRISE!!  I am beyond excited for them!  I CAN'T WAIT to see their eyes sparkle!  Isabella has been to Disney World when she was 6 years old with Grandpa Dale and Grandma Chug, however Giselle has NEVER been.  AND I have been hearing about it weekly from BLONDIE for almost 2 years now!
So I packed up the car and we are heading out on our adventure!  They keep asking me WHERE we are going and I keep telling them:  VACATION!  We are going on an ADVENTURE.  ENJOY and EMBRACE every moment!

They both secretly think we are heading back to ARUBA because I packed swim suits and sunscreen.  LITTLE do they know what AWAITS their little eyes and ears.......
First stop - NASHVILLE.  Awwwwwww yeah......my cowboy boots are packed : ) Next UP....Disney World for two days!  After that.....DRUM ROLL please......Grandpa Dale and Grandma Chugs house in Venice, also a surprise to the girls.  They are going to be ECSTATIC!  And I am secretly excited to see my parents too after 6 months of not seeing them! 

Big shout out to daddy....who made this magical experience even possible!  Who planned out everything from where we are eating, what we are going to do, to where we are staying (hey, I DID book Nashville!)   LOOK at these MAGICAL bands we get to wear - I am told they do everything from opening your hotel door to getting to the front of that line at DW! So thankful we are afforded the opportunity to go and make magical memories with our girls!  STAY TUNED........  IT'S GOING TO BE AN INCREDIBLE VACATION!

Easter Weekend

Did you all have a nice Easter weekend?  We did!  Isabella got to go on a glow in the dark Easter egg hunt at night, complete with a flashlight and lots of eggs!  On Saturday, we took the girls to Naperville where they participated in a Spring EGG-stravaganza with their cousin Tristan.  They completed crafts, games, saw the Easter bunny and went on an egg hunt!  Giselle fell in love with the Easter bunny this year.  When it was time for the Easter egg hunt, she ran past about 50 kids to be at the front of the line just to hold his hand.  I have never seen her run so fast in my life! And she gave him endless hugs.  It was cute to see.

On Sunday, the girls ventured out into the front yard and to their surprise, the Easter bunny left them eggs!  They ran around and filled their baskets.  Later that day, we colored Easter eggs together and then made deviled eggs for the very first time!  After that, Lynn, Tom, Ella and Mitch came over for barbeque pulled pork sandwiches, deviled eggs, baked beans, coleslaw and taco dip.  We stuffed ourselves and had a family friendly game of baseball in the yard.  Until next Easter.

Two Little Girls

Two little girls.  Two different schools.  Two completely different musicals.  This week we had the pleasure of attending two spring musicals for Giselle and Isabella!  At Mary Sears, Giselle performed in her spring musical singing several different Easter songs.  I cherished every moment and felt as if the musical flew by super fast.  This is Giselle's last year attending Mary Sears and this was her very last musical.  She has a dance recital in a few months and then she is done!  Giselle has attended Mary Sears since she was 3 months old, now she is 5 and she will be off to kindergarten this year!  Here is a video of her singing the Easter bunny song and also a photo of Giselle and Isabella after the musical.

Isabella performed at Schilling school in the musical "Circus, Circus."  It was cute to see 75 plus little first graders dressed as lions, acrobats, tight rope walkers, mice, elephants and vendors!  Miss Isabella was a CLOWN for the performance.  There were about five scenes to the performance and I was able to capture a video of Isabella singing "Sad Clown."  Isabella and Giselle did a great job!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 “May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.”

An IRISH blessing to start off the blog today!  Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours!  Giselle and I stepped out into the sunshine today and headed to Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens, where we witnessed them dying the water green for St. Patty's Day!  It was ALMOST as neat as watching the Chicago River being dyed, however it was on a smaller scale.  Giselle was amazed at the bright green water and she loved trying the Green River soda for the first time.  The SUN was shining, the IRISH music was playing, the water was GREEN...what more could you ask for??!!! 

Corned beef and cabbage?  Ah yes.....the house smells amazing right now!  We are cooking corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes with Irish soda bread for dinner. 

CHEERS!!

Dancing in the Rain.....On My Birthday

I always love it when I wake up to SUNSHINE.  I was secretly hoping when I woke up yesterday that it would be, however RAIN was in the forecast and all day, at that.  I took this opportunity to put on my rain coat, boots and headed out with my umbrella!  REFRESHING!  The birds were a chirp in', the rain was coming down and I couldn't stop thinking about how excited I am that SPRING is near! While dancing in the rain, I took in all of the daffodils and tulips that are shooting out of the ground.  I always look forward to their beautiful blooms and making a fresh cut arrangement for the house. 

Birthdays are always a day of reflection for me.  I reflect on memories and experiences and so much more!  I am forever thankful for another blessed year and for those I love are healthy and happy and that fills my heart with JOY.  I am one lucky lady!

I spent the day relaxing with my loved ones.  AND we even planted several seeds for our garden - how fun!   Once they get bigger, we can head outside and play in the dirt some more! Thank you for all of your beautiful birthday wishes!  Love you ALL!  Here are a few pictures of the day.