Rylee's First Horse Ride

 The girls have loved watching the horses behind our house their whole lives.  One of Rylee's first words was even horse.  They would stand by the back door and stare at them when they were really little.  Then Matt would sometimes take them out to feed them and pet them.  But today Matt saw that Brother Kopp (the real owners of the horses, even though we call them ours!!) was giving his granddaughters a ride.  So we went out and asked if Rylee could ride.  She was so excited.  But when he actually put her up there she got a little scared.  She rode with Hailey and she was holding onto her pretty tight.  She said she wanted down before she even rode anywhere, but she was brave and stuck it out.  By the end she was loving it and didn't want to get off!  He said she could ride anytime they were riding (which isn't really that often), but she can't wait for the next time! 

 She started to loosen up her grip on Hailey as they went- 

even not holding on towards the end!

She was such a happy girl!

Feels Like Spring!

 Yesterday we had our first real taste of spring.  It was a beautiful day!  The girls jumped on the tramp, ate popsicles, rode bikes, and played baseball.  We live in Idaho and it will probably snow soon, so we have to take advantage!  We wish spring would come to stay though!

It's a . . .

GIRL!!!

We were kind of thinking this one would be a boy, 

so we were a little surprised to hear girl.  

But we are very excited and ready for another girl!

Fun with Cousins!

 Ricky, Angie, and Graham came to visit from Pennsylvania so the kids got to play with their cousins at Oma's.

Ashlyn, Mercedes, and Graham

 Bradley, Mercedes, Ashlyn, Rylee, and Graham

I told them that if they smiled nicely for a few pictures they could make funny faces!

Getting Ready for Sunday

 I haven't put curlers in Rylee's hair in forever.  So I decided to do it last Saturday night.  And I have never done it in Ashlyn's.  They were both great at letting me put them in.  But as soon as I did Ashlyn's, she wanted them out.  So they were in as long as it took me to get a picture.  So she didn't have any curls on Sunday!

 Rylee with her curls.

 And Ashlyn without!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 The girls were pretty spoiled this year!  Matt gave us all balloons- which the girls loved, of course!  They also got lots of fun stuffed animals.  And because I'm a sucker for books and just got a whole bunch for a great deal through my book order at school, they got some books too!  Rylee loves Skippyjon Jones, so I gave her a set of those books.  And Ashlyn got a set of princess books.  So we are all very excited to read some new books at bedtime tonight! 

Rylee in her new pajamas and with her valentines from preschool.  She was so excited to give valentines to everyone. 

East Idaho Dance Showcase 2012

 Rylee had a dance performance yesterday at Shelley High School.  She did such a good job!  Even considering that I'm a bad mother and we never practice at home with the CD's and DVD's from her teacher!  I think she likes this year better because she's with two of her friends- one from church and one from daycare.  I can say from experience that dance is much better with friends!!!  So she has one more performance at the end-of-the-year recital in May. 

I know these pictures look very similar to the ones of her first performance in November, but oh well!

 Rylee and Cami- her friend from daycare.

 Rylee is on the right- her friend, Hannah, is on the left. 

 I cropped in so you could see Rylee better- she's to the left of the S in the middle.  But her class was combined with the other class her age, so there was at least twice as many kids as this on the floor. 

 This was their butterfly dance.

 Here they are getting ready for their hip hop dance.  They had to wait there for a while before the music got straightened out.  So I got a few pictures of Rylee just posing!

And she was so excited to get a medal!

Great job, Rylee!