Avery's Bucket List

Yesterday, I stumbled on the most touching blog ever. A dad of a five month old little girl named Avery created a bucket list for his daughter. You see, this sweet little girl has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and isn't expected to live past the age of two. Her bucket list includes some of the simplest things like blowing bubbles, playing with play dough, and having a bad hair day. These are little things that many parents take for granted doing with their children everyday. This mom and dad are really cherishing every moment they get to spend with their adorable baby girl. Check out the story here:

Avery's Bucket List: My Bucket List

Puppy Kisses...

Walk MS 2012...

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn for a special cause. Today was the MS walk in our city and my family participated for the first time. It was amazing to see all of the people supporting MS research. We had a great time and I plan to get more involved in each walk in the years to come. My team raised $825 this year, which I thought was fantastic for our first walk. Have a great weekend!

Here was our day in pictures:

Scott, Ruby, and Me

Mom, Ruby and Me

My brother Josh

Sprinkles...

Scott and his Sister

Our Team

Ruby and My best friend's daughter

Ruby and Brette walking behind my neurologist... I thought it was so wonderful that she came to support her patients!

Changes...

A few months ago I wrote about all of things that I hoped would happen in 2012. This year is already proving to be a year full of change. Not only will Scott and I be getting married in August, but last week I found out that I am going to teach 2nd grade starting in the fall. I am so excited and a little nervous for these changes. I have kind of been stuck in a rut with teaching for the last couple years. This year I came very close to throwing in the towel and finding a different profession. I have always wanted to work with younger kids, so I think this is going to be a great opportunity for me. My hope is that this change will help me get back the passion I had when I started teaching. The thought of working with kids who still love school and their teachers is so refreshing. I can't wait to see what other changes will come my way... :)


"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."  ~Author Unknown


"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."  ~Harrison Ford


I'll leave you with some pictures from a recent trip to the zoo with Ruby:

Easter (Top Ten Edition)...

We enjoyed a very busy, yet fun Easter weekend with our families. Today we were nonstop visiting all of the relatives. Here is our top 10 Easter weekend countdown (In no particular order):


10. Seeing Ruby squeal with delight when she found and ate a single M&M in the backyard at Scott's parent's house.
9. Enjoying three egg hunts with our little miss.
8. Getting Ruby all dressed up in her beautiful pink dress... she looked so grown up today.
7. Ruby asking me Saturday night, "Is the Easter bunny going to visit me?" 
6. Coloring eggs with both Gigis (Grandmas).
5. Watching Ruby help her one year old baby cousin by picking up some of eggs for her during the hunt... it was very sweet.
4. Enjoying all our families traditional Easter foods: Cream potatoes, fruit cups, coffee cake, scalloped corn, cranberry muffins, etc.
3. Ruby freaking out in terror when she saw an Easter bunny costume on display in a craft store.
2. Watching Ruby trying so hard to crack open all of her eggs that she found during the egg hunts.
1. Enjoying every second with our families. 


We hope you all had a wonderful weekend with your families!

Ruby and Scott's Mom and Dad

Little Miss Flasher! :)

Little Chick Tutorial...

Ruby and I made the sweetest little Easter chicks today. These are very simple to make and they turn out so cute!

What you will need:
Small nests from craft store (brown paper bags work fine too!)
Yellow cotton balls
Wiggly Eyes
Craft Glue
Orange paper for the beaks
Broken egg shells (Optional)

Step 1: Glue together 2 yellow cotton balls and hold together until nearly dry.

Step 2: Glue the finished bodies in the nests. (If you use broken egg shells too, glue these in the nest first before you glue in the chick)

Step 3: Glue wiggly eyes where desired.

Step 4: Cut out orange beak and glue onto chick.

Step 5: Admire your cute creations.

This was a great toddler Easter/spring craft and Ruby had so much fun!

Happy Easter weekend!

Three Wishes...

I am loving this song right now... it reminds me of the two loves in my life Scott and Ruby. Enjoy!