1st Holy Communion

Today, Kayli celebrated her 1st holy communion. We began planning ahead a few weeks ago by finding the perfect dress and shoes, which her 3 godmothers offered to purchase as a gift. We decided that Kayli would wear the communion veil that I wore on my 1st communion. We added a purse, her favorite fancy lace gloves, and a beautiful cross necklace. I decided that I really wanted to take some pictures of her before the big day arrived, since I knew that things would be pretty chaotic at the church with all the other kids and families trying to get pictures after mass. So, last weekend, I mentioned to Suzanne that I was looking for a nice chapel or church to take pictures. She mentioned that she just happened to have a meeting at the monastery, where they just happened to have several beautiful chapels! Perfect! Kayli and I headed to the monastery last Sunday, when we were actually having "normal" Spring weather! It was a beautiful sunny 70s day! We met up with Suzanne, and she escorted us from one chapel to the next, as I snapped photo after photo of my beautiful little 1st communicant...got some great photos!

on the big day, we were not allowed to take any flash photos during mass, so I set my camera on the rapid fire, flashless setting, and got a few candid moments...

I had a beautiful cake made for this day that Kayli was dying to taste!

and even though I had naively planned to host a celebration outdoors, with the sun shining, and the kids playing in the yard, and the temps somewhere in the 70s or 80s, as one would expect in May, instead we hosted an indoor party while the grey sky loomed overhead, on this cold day with temps in the 40s, and the swamp in my backyard forcing the kids to make mayhem in the basement instead of playing in the yard... such is life.

What? SNOW? IN MAY???

Like I just said in my last post, the weather has been insanely unpredictable! Well, at the end of the school day, I looked out the window and saw...drum roll please...you couldn't possibly guess this...but it's true...yes, in the month of May...May 2nd to be exact...it was SNOWING!!! Holy Moly Spicy Guacomole! We could not believe what we were seeing! Simply unbelievable!
When we got home, Kayli quickly changed clothes, choosing winter pjs instead of a snowsuit...

Sprinkles looked outside, and the bubble above her head said "Seriously? Snow again?"

and they ran outside to begin playing in this record breaking child's dream come true!

I guess I won't be needing to set the sprinkler out today, haha!

"A half of an inch of snow has fallen at Kansas City International Airport, breaking the previous snowfall record for Kansas City for May 2. Snow has fallen just four times in Kansas City during May, according to the National Weather Service. The only measurable amount of snow was 1.7 inches on May 3, 1907. "
Tomorrow, at school, is the annual May spirit day "Shorts and Shades Day" where all the kids are supposed to wear...of course...shorts and shades, Ha!
May 3rd, 2013, Shorts and Shades Day...
We had to make some modifications...

then I decided to get permission from Kayli's teacher to take a picture of her whole class outside in the snow, with a sign to commemorate the significance of this day...

we sent the photo to a local news station, where they aired it on the Monday morning news. Pretty funny!

Just For the Record...

It is May 2nd and the temps are currently 39 degrees, with the forecast to steadily decline throughout this day, culminating in snow showers by tonight!!! Seriously??? Do we all know what month it is?  Do we all know that on the school calendar we are scheduled to have "shorts and shades" day tomorrow? Kayli had a talk with "Old Man Winter" last night (at my request) to ask him politely to step back and take a rest for a while. She told him that she wanted him to know that she DID believe in him, and Jack Frost, and was sure that they were listening. Se thanked them for the fun snow days we've had this year, and invited them to return again next year during the real season of Winter! She did mention that she still loved snow more than her mom. (Mom's response: I like snow, just not shoveling 2 feet of it!) Sheesh, I am losing my good sense of humor about this. It's the ultimate weather tease...one day we get 70s, the next day we get 30s. One day we pull out our shorts, the next day we've got long pants and boots. One day the flowers are blooming, the next day they're drooping. We go from dressing like this...

to this...

this morning Kayli came downstairs with this skirt, a sleeveless top, and a pair of sandals. I said "Ok, I hate to break the news to you, but it's Winter again, so you better make some switches." I think she did a nice job switching out the sandals for a matching pair of tights and boots. She just grabbed a long sleeve hoodie and put in on over the sleeveless shirt. Then, with only a few minutes to spare, (as usual) I pulled her hair up in a bun, and voila...a Spring Garden on her head!

Please, oh please, let Spring come and STAY!!!

Bike Rodeo

Last weekend we decided to check out the bike rodeo, hosted by the hospital in our neighborhood. Each child got a laminated "bike license", followed by a thorough "bike check-up" (tires pumped, seat tightened).Then they proceeded to the next station where the staff measured each little head to determine the appropriate sized bike helmet for each kiddo. Kayli was thrilled when they handed her a pretty pink bike helmet for FREE! Ohhh, it's a good day when you not only get a FREE bike helmet, but one that matches your outfit, AND... happens to be your favorite color! 

ok, just don't pinch my neck please...

oh yeah...

time to try out this bike course...

then, Kayli got her face painted like a puppy...

there were other fun activities like planting flowers, fishing for prizes, and even learning CPR!

we had a great "hotdog lunch" with chips and pop for only $1.00! Then, as we were headed for our car, we saw the clowns walking around and just had to take a picture with them...

Oh, and the other thing that happened on our way to the car was that a guy from our local newspaper stopped Kayli and asked her some questions about this event, then quoted her in the newspaper the next day! One of the quotes was about wearing bike helmets to stay safe. The other quote was about being lucky enough to get a pretty pink bike helmet that perfectly matched her outfit today! Too funny!

Lots of Snow Days This Year!

One day, towards the end of February, we came home from school and were so excited to see this...

the next day we awoke to this...

not really time for Spring, but still...

The snow just kept coming and coming and coming! We had snow day after snow day after snow day! Kayli kept wearing her pjs inside out, putting spoons under our pillows (and I mean 4 or 5 spoons under each pillow until I told her it was unlucky to use more than one spoon to wish for a snow day!) She was loving all the snow! I thought it was pretty, and enjoyed sipping a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning. However, I was not thrilled with all the shoveling! (I really need to break down and get a snow blower next year.)  

we still managed to have lots of fun with all the snow!

AND we got another foot the day we returned from our Spring Break in March! NOW, it's time to tell Old Man Winter to go hibernate for a while and let Spring begin!