Spring Update

I'm sorry I haven't been regular at all with my blogging lately. I will try to do better! Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Easter
The night before Easter morning, Claire and I read from her Bible the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection. I was very grateful for the opportunity to remind Claire (and myself) of the real reason why we celebrate Easter (not Easter candy, baskets, egg hunts, etc.)! Here are a few pictures from Easter including a visit with Grammy, Mama and Papa, and the annual egg hunt at my parents' house.

Claire in her Easter dress Mama (Claire's great-grandmother)made for her.

Claire and Mama

Claire, Daddy, and Grammy

Easter Baskets from Mama & Grammy

Egg hunting

Everyone at the Egg Hunt (with 181 eggs!)

Hershey Gardens
We love visiting Hershey Gardens, and thanks to our household membership, we can visit whenever we like. We took the day last Friday to visit the gardens with Aunt Debbie to enjoy the beautiful tulips.

Claire and Aunt Debbie

Stop and smell the tulips

Claire and Mommy

Tumbling Class (Sorry, no pictures)
I enrolled Claire in a tumbling class through our township, which consists of 6 consecutive weekly classes where three- to five-year-olds learn all sorts of tricks. In her tumbling class, Claire has been crab walking, log rolling, walking on a balance beam, and, most importantly, having fun!
It is so much fun for me to watch, too! Claire has also enjoyed making some new friends and is always excited to go back every week.

Learning Center Family Night
My nieces and Claire's cousins, Gabriella and Isabella, participated in a homeschooling co-op this school year. We were invited to their family night. Both girls did a great job in their presentations on stage! It was also wonderful to see some artwork on display and some pictures from their school year. Way to go, girls!!

Claire's First Bowling Experience
Claire got the opportunity to bowl last weekend for the very first time! I was impressed at how far bowling alleys have come since I was younger. The bumpers automatically came up out of the ground when it was Claire's turn, and they had a "slide" she could use to push her ball down, giving it a bit more momentum than it would have otherwise. :) The non-smoking part is a huge improvement, too. Claire was our team's cheerleader...it didn't matter how poorly you bowled, she would always be quick to shout, "Good job!" after your turn, complete with a thumbs up and everything. What a great encourager!! Claire carried her own, 7 lb. ball, every single turn. Thankfully she didn't drop it on her toes! She even bowled a spare for one of her turns!