A couple of my friends have started this company: B Charmed! It has really, really cute jewelry and they are looking for people to sell it. If you are interested in looking at it or selling it, check out their facebook page. Don't forget to "like" it!! 
Ava got an ear infection while I was at the crafting retreat a few weeks ago. Greg took her in and she was given Ammoxicillin for the infection and it quickly went to work and took care of the problem...or so we thought. 
Duluth is under a blizzard warning for the first time in 3 years yesterday and today. The winds have been ripping! Last night when I was watching the news, they said the constant wind was blowing at 38 miles per hour and the gusts had gotten up to 57 miles per hour...pretty blustery!
Ava loves Duchess!! And I can't believe how much Duchess lets Ava love her!!! When I came into the room, Duchess was being used as a live pillow - and didn't really seem to mind. Cute.
On Wednesday night the boys had the performances of their plays. It was so much fun to go and see them and watch all of the work that had been put in over the past 8 weeks. They really loved being in the plays! This was the first time that Congdon Elementary ever put on a play - and that is pretty big when you consider the school has been around since the 20's!! 
It was hard to get a very good shot, but here he is during one of his speaking parts. At the last minute, the directors decided that they couldn't hear the kids well enough in the back of the gym (no matter how loud they were trying to be) and so they ended up passing a microphone during the performance for the parents. The kids did a really good job of incorporating a new element into the play at the very, very last minute. 
This is the cast of Andrew's play. Again, he is 4th from the left. He did such a great job...we were really proud of him. 
Zach was in the traditional Little Red Riding Hood. He was one of the narrators (and kept calling it the navigator - which I thought was really cute). He is 2nd from the left, but it's a little hard to see him!
This is a clearer shot of Zach, unfortunately I couldn't get his attention from the audience so that I could get the shot with him facing forwards...ahhh the life of an extremely amateur photographer!
And here is Zach's cast singing a song. This was a very cute play (all kindergarten and 1st graders). We were amazed at how easily Zach memorized his lines - which made for a totally fun experience - no stress!! I know both of the boys were excited to have a break from the play practice, but both want to try out if there are plays next year...that's always the perfect balance!
Two Saturdays ago Andrew asked me if we could make homemade lasagna, bread and cupcakes for dinner on Sunday. I didn't have any meetings (which isn't super common) and so I told him we could. Andrew loves to watch the show 'Cupcake Wars' with me and wanted to try to make a chocolate cupcake with vanilla raspberry frosting. Okay! Off to the store we went...
And he really did great. It took us just over 4 hours to make everything. He had a great time. The lasagna and bread were great and we had so much fun making up a yummy new frosting! Everything was delicious - I think we won our own little cupcake war! 
Andrew had a piece of artwork selected to be shown in an exhibit at the Miller Hill Mall. There are pieces from all of the schools in the Duluth School District. It was really fun to go up there tonight and find his piece and look at everything else. Andrew's piece is a drawing of a time when we hiked to Timpanogas Cave. He wrote the story around the picture and then "quilted" the border. It's a really great piece and it was even better to get to go see it together (Andrew didn't even know what piece had been chosen).
Last night Andrew got his Bear award for Cub Scouts. He also got 4 arrow points...he was very excited...but, probably not as excited about it as he was about the Pinewood Derby!
We had a great turn out this year and so the boys were very excited (as were quite a few of the parents). Here's a look at the car line up!
I think it was taking everything in the boys to stay in their seats until the Derby started...
Here they are after the race. Andrew won 3rd place! It was an exciting night and we all had fun!
Here is a closer look at Andrew's car. He designed and painted it himself!
Andrew named this car "The Bullet"...I love that!
Here is Zach's car...again, he designed and painted it and did a great job. He got to race in the open division (for family members and friends). He won quite a few races and was very, very happy when he actually beat the overall Derby winner during an unofficial race at the end of the night! It was cute to see him get so into it...only a few more years and he'll be official!
The bird's eye view...
And here is mine...
There were a few of us who decided that we should have a "bling" division. We raced in the open division and I actually got 2nd place!! Which is totally crazy because my car was TOTALLY made for looks - in fact, the wheels were even hitting some of the bling sometimes!
The boys had solder in the bottom of their cars to add weight, but I just had to add money for the "bling"...there's a whopping 30 cents in this baby! 
Last night Ava put on Andrew's sweatshirt and was very happy to be Little Red Riding Hood. 
Both of the boys tried out for the school play and got parts. They are doing 3 versions of Little Red Riding Hood. One is the traditional play (Zach is the narrator for that), the next is a Chinese version and the last is called Petit Rouge (Andrew is Frog 2 - a narrator - in that one). The boys have done an awesome job and I am constantly amazed at how well they both memorize. The lines were no problem for either of them - which certainly has made it a much more fun experience. The plays are next Thursday...post and pictures coming soon! For now, this Little Red Riding Hood is the only one performing!
As you know, I was getting bored working on the digital photo albums and decided to switch to sewing at the retreat. Well, here are my two projects! This is another salvage sewing project - only the middle fabric is new. The t-shirt top was a shirt from Melissa's daughter, the polka dots are leggings that were too small, the middle is new, the pink is from a t-shirt that was Melissa's and the bottom stripe is from another pair of leggings! 
I also got Ava's Easter dress done. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's hard to tell in pictures, but the skirt is very full - perfect for twirling - a must for Ava right now! 
Here is a look at the back...
And the details up close. These were my first button holes...I know they shouldn't be intimidating, but they kind of were...but not anymore! I have a super cute white shirt to put under this dress and have already made a matching hair bow - I mean, where would a girl be without a matching hair bow??
This is where I am right now (although there is snow outside - unlike in this picture). I am back at Sugarleaf Retreat with 15 other women - craft weekend! I was just doing some digital photo albums, but got bored, so I thought I'd blog for a minute and document the moment!! We came last year and had a great time and I'm already in for a repeat good time! I'm off to start on a new Easter dress for Ava - and with nothing else to do - I may just get it done tomorrow! I'll keep you posted on that one...
