A Few More Events

Analise's first communion went smoothly. Emma was the altar server that evening and 12 children received communion that night. Grandma Kathy commented that Analise stood the same way in her picture that Mom and Grandpa Mark had stood in their first communion photos. I guess behavior pattenrs can really be passed down through the generations. We were lucky to have Aunt Joan and Uncle Don came to mass and we had dinner afterwards at our house.

The following week, Ani's performance in Stone Soup was definitely something to not miss. She did a wonderful job projecting her voice. Tons of people came up to us after the concert and told us how amazing Ani's voice was and that she should continue to participate in plays/musicals. Emma also had her final band concert this week. We have had so many performances! Emma and Analise now have an idea for a music business where Emma writes the songs and plays them on the piano while Analise sings the lyrics. They currently have one about a tornado of thoughts. Emma is very good with metaphors and similies. They are hoping to find a way to record some of the things they create together.

Our lass ice skating class for the spring also happened this weekend. Emma started practicing her first jump. She said that she would continue to practice it at free skating for the next few weeks before summer lessons begin. Mom was hoping for an ice skating break over the summer but Emma's passion is too strong so I guess I wear and coat and gloves in the summer. At least we will have some days where we can get out of the heat.

Enjoying the Year

As the girls started off 2022, they had many opportunities to try new things as well as hone their prior skill development. Both Emma and Analise took swimming lessons this past year. They managed to pass all the lesson levels and moved onto the swim team where they competed for ribbons.

Because of the long, cold winter, the girls had a lot of time to play in the snow. They even had the chance to go skiing with Aunt Joan and Dad at Trollhaugen.

Besides the outdoors, the girls had many opportunities to show leadership and speak in front of large groups. Emma presented the poem "Ragged Old Flag" this fall and Analise presented the original "Star Spangled Banner." Both girls also presented science fair projects. Analise was inspired from our Louisiana trip and studied alligators. Emma researched Archimedes Screw. Emma's project was a bit more intense this year with some personally designed experiments using her own screw. Emma's efforts paid off and she ended up getting 3rd place in the science fair.

Analise celebrated her birthday in February at the ice skating rink. Most of her friends had never been on skates. Ani was a thoughtful birthday girl and took the time to help make sure people felt comfortable. Ani's friend Tessa really enjoyed her first time ice skating and said she would definitely do it again. Over the course of the year, Emma and Analise have become amazing skaters. Emma has decided to take her skating to the next level and continue on throughout the summer as well. She is working on one legged turns and hopes to be jumping soon. Mom is a bit scared of that idea.

While Emma delves further into ice skating, Analise is planning for her gymnastics classes this summer. Analise started gymnastics this year at level one and has already advanced to level four. She tries very hard and spends a great deal of time practicing. This is another sport that gets Mom worried but it sure is fun to watch.

In addition to sports, the girls spent time with the creative arts. Emma learned to play the clarinet this past year. We are hoping Analise will try the piano or another instrument next year.

Both girls participated in the school art fair. Emma's class learned about American history this year so all of her art projects realated to this time period. Analise's art work was related to Medieval times. Mom's favorite piece of art designed by Emma was her George Washington and her favorite of Analise's was her watercolor castle and vase. Perhaps the most memorable history piece of information shared this year was Ani's story of Hannibal and his elephants. After Analise came home talking about it, mom and dad got curious as to how Hannibul could have brought those elephants along for the journey. Research ensued. Curious minds must know.

In terms of musical performances, Emma was a the technician for the play, "Peter Pan." She was in charge of painting the scenery, coming up with the song selections, doing the lighting and making sure the microphones worked. This seemed like a big task to Mom and Dad, but Emma was more than prepared to take it on. She was also head mermaid in the Lagoon scene. Analise will be taking the lead roll next week in "Stone Soup" as the Solider/Traveler. We are excited to see her on stage!

Last but not least, there is always time for a bit of fun. Emma and Analise have become quite the puppet show masters. They put on hilarious scenes that have Mom and Dad rolling with laughter. The Christmas scene with the vibrating snowman that gets everyone in the town to vibrate along with it (and not know how to stop) had us laughing so hard tears were pouring down our faces. Dancing and gymnastics also tend to get combined into shows and stunts seen throughout our house.

Building with Legos and Structures has always been a favorite but the creations are getting a bit more impressive. The bridge below needed to be built from the sides inward. When the bridge was completed, it was incredibly strong. Mom was impressed that the pieces fit together in such a precise manner.

The laughter continues as the girls create April fools jokes outside the actual April Fools Day. Last week, we had quite a scene and a big lesson on checking with mom or dad before you do something you see on Youtube (nobody should ever try to fit inside a dresser drawer to scare someone else). Wrapped up with the fun is sometimes a consequence or two. Ani decided that making amends for hurting mom's feelings was just too time consuming for her to handle, so she used her creativity to her advantage. She designed a pencil that wrote three times while she only wrote once. Mom plans to keep it as one of her treasured "Ani" items.

April Fools Day Doll Head in the Bed Prank

Winter 2021

We have had an exciting winter with a trip to the GLOW holiday lights, visits with Chica our neighborhood Brussel Griffon, visits from Dan's relatives and a trip to Louisiana. At the GLOW lights we had a chance to tetter totter on glowing beams, and Ani convinced us to go on the skyride.

We met a neighbor who owned a Brussel Griffon when we were walking to church one Saturday. This lead us on a journey of dog sitting for a week as well as normal check-ins with our favorite dog on the block. The whole family loved Chica and her kind disposition.

Dan's family visited for his birthday and we visited the Animal Safari at the mall. Many members were brave enough to venture into the bird encounter where you sit with a seed stick and let birds fly all over you. Analise received her Christmas gift early and the family worked on setting up her gymnastics bar.

Our trip to Louisiana was a great way to get a bit of sun and heat in the middle of the snowy Minnesota months. We stayed at a rental house near the street car and were in walking distance of many parks and restaurants. We visited the French Quarter, the Savana in Sidell, a swamp on the Pearl River, Oak Alley Plantation, the levee and the Mardi Gras Museum. Although we took a cemetery tour, we weren't able to go in the cemetery on the tour because only one tour group had special permission. We ended up doing our own tour of a different cemetery later that day. We even got in some horseback riding at the local park.

We were supposed to have a pool at our hotel but it was closed due to covid. Luckily, we figured out a way to use a local pool for free. Erin ended up becoming a member of the local neighborhood to reserve a time slot for a quick swim on our final night. Before leaving, we checked out Storyland at City Park and the outdoor sculpture garden next to the art museum. Of couse the trees begged for us to climb in them. The branches the touched the ground made it easy to run up and down. We made sure to watch out for snakes.