The azaleas are in bloom

When we came to look at our new house for the first time, it was back in July and our realtor told us that next spring, the backyard would be in full bloom with tons of azalea bushes. We both love azaleas and couldn't wait for them to bloom and they finally have! They are gorgeous and just add to our enjoyment of being outdoors. So, I wanted to get some pictures of the girls before we lose the moment so I dressed them in their Lilly dresses, very springy and a little homage to Lilly Pulitzer. 

But one major fail, it was super sunny this morning. Sun streaming into the girls eyes and lots of squinting and super bright pictures, oh well. Maybe next time, we will try for a late afternoon shot when the sun isn't so brutal. But hey, when you have them both up and dressed, you have to jump on the opportunity.

 And just to keep it real so I don't only post the happy pictures, this is how it ended. Maddie crying, Ella with a pouty lip, yup, picture time is o-v-e-r!

 Last weekend, we had such a fun weekend celebrating Mike's birthday and we had some very special guests. My dear friend Lynn who I have been friends with since elementary school came down from Richmond with her family. 

 Lynn has two daughters also, Caroline is 3 months older than Ella and their Madelynn is 2.5.  The last time we got the kids together, Ella and Caroline were just about 1 and I met little Madelynn when she was about a month old and they had never met our Maddie before so this trip was definitely overdue. The girls had a BLAST all weekend long. You would have thought they see eat other all time because they would carry on little conversations and stayed up late "partying" each night!

 We had some other friends over on Saturday to have a small celebration for Mike. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect!

 35 is looking good on him!

 Everyone was very sad on Sunday morning when they had to head home but we vowed it would not be this long before we got together again. Ella has already been asking when they can come back and play again soon!

 Monday was Mike's actual birthday and Maddie and I met him for lunch at work. We had a fun al fresco lunch before we had to go pick up Ella from preschool.

 Pretty much every single day if it isn't raining, you can find us outside playing in the backyard on the new swing set. Did I tell you how much we love it!

 And guess who learned to pump all by herself?!?!

 Last Tuesday was national ben and jerry's day where they give out a free cone all day. We had never been before and me being super naive thought there would be a line but it can't be that long. Well, we have a ben and jerry's 2 minutes from our house so we didn't have to travel far to realize the line was insanity. We would have waited for over an hour so I bagged it but Ella was so sad. I promised her, we could go the next day when there was no one there. Ella doesn't let you forget anything, she asked about it the minute she woke up so that night after dinner, we went and got our ice cream. Chocolate with sprinkles. I think it was worth the wait.

By the way, she asked me to take her picture with her ice cream and did the pose all by herself. Where did she come from?

We also started a soccer program a couple weeks ago. Ella hasn't always loved all sports from the beginning so I was a little hesitant but she loves it! There are only 3 girls and about 5-6 boys and she does great. Her favorite part is when they get to wear a jersey (go figure, dress up time is her favorite!). She was perfecting her "airplane" move in this picture for me.

Besides that, we are just loving the warmer weather, except for one thing, the pollen. The pollen is out of control this year and one reason we fell in love with our house and neighborhood was the big, mature trees but man do they make some serious pollen. Right now, Ella, Maddie and I are all coughing and sneezing up a storm. Really hoping for some rain and to start feeling better soon. 

Have a great week!

Spring has sprung!

After a unseasonably cold and rainy March, I am glad to say that spring has finally sprung (or least I hope so!) Today is 70 degrees and we are LOVING it. Being cooped up in the house with two little ones is not very fun so we are happy to escape and enjoy the sunshine! 

Last weekend was Easter and we had such a fun weekend. DeeDee and Papa came up from Atlanta to help us celebrate. On Saturday, our neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt for the kids. The girls were wearing their matching spring dresses, thank you Great Grammy and ready to hunt! 

 They divided up the hunt for 3 and under and 4 and up so Ella was one of the oldest and I was happy we were in the small age group. The older one was quite aggressive and I am not sure she would have gotten one egg.

 She knows exactly what to do and heads straight for the eggs, gravitating towards the pink and purple ones of course!

 She stops mid hunt for a quick photo op! This girls sees a camera and strikes a pose right away. 

 And they had a couple special "golden" eggs and Ella found one! We can't wait to go use our ben and jerry's gift card when the weather warms up!

 And she really loved this carrot one also. She could see all the good candy stuffed inside!

 Sweet Maddie Grace even got in the action as well and DeeDee helped her hunt!

 She loved her pink egg and held onto it all afternoon. She had no idea their was candy inside but she loved the idea of holding onto it!

 Post hunt, all the kids gathered on the front steps for a quick photo. We are loving our new house and neighborhood so much and it was great to meet some more people and that they have so many wonderful events for the kids.

 The next morning, we woke up to find the Easter Bunny had arrived. The Easter Bunny was very clever this year, leaving a note and trail of special eggs to follow.

 The trail led right into their castle where the baskets were hidden! I took a video of Ella following the trail, she loved every minute of it and asked me about 10 times that day to read her the note again that the bunny left for them.

 The Easter Bunny did well this year, leaving them lots of special treats. Maddie's favorite was the puffs of course! Just give her some puffs and she is one happy camper!

 After hunting, we all went to a very crowded church service. The forecast called for pouring rain all the day but it actually stayed away most of the day so we could take some pictures outside and play. DeeDee and Papa got the girls their matching Easter dresses and they looked adorable!

 A massive project that has been happening at the Hennessy household is a new swing set for the girls. We have been wanting to get one since we moved in and found the perfect one at Costco. One problem, you have to assemble it yourself! Well, Mike decided to tackle the project and worked countless hours in his shed and outside assembling it. Last weekend, he worked so hard putting it together. Below are a progression of photos...

Bringing all the pieces outside

Phase one, putting the house together with his "helper"

 Anyone that knows that my Dad, knows that handy is never a word you use to describe him but he did help Mike and lent him some muscle.

 We all helped out, lifting up the roof. Notice the darkness, he worked all day and night on this.

Almost complete, just need to hang the swings, doesn't it look great!

Back view of the ladder and climbing wall

 To say Ella loves it is a huge understatement, she would ask everyday when it would be ready and when it finally was, she was in heaven. Here is her first slide down with Papa working as the spotter!

 We hung the swings and bars and now it is fully compete and operational and it looks so great! Mike worked so hard and it turned out awesome. It will provide hours and hours of pure fun and already has! Our neighbors have been over testing it out already as well!

 Even Maddie took a test drive down the slide and based on that huge smile, I think she approves!

So, in case you need us over the next several months, we will be in the back yard enjoying the swing set and warmer weather!

And a special birthday shout out to Mike who's birthday is tomorrow! We had a small get together yesterday with friends and had a lot of fun and I promise to post pics and talk about that soon but let's just say, the swing set after that one night got it's money worth! 11 kids all climbing, sliding, swinging and hanging on it all thought it was pretty great as well! Happy Birthday Daddy/Mike!