Sorry for the radio silence

I have sat down several times to update the blog and something always pulls me away. Now, it has been so long and we have been so busy, it is overwhelming where to begin so I am just going to take one adventure at a time. Our April and May have been the two busiest months since we have had kids. But they are all fun things, two beach trips, our first Disney adventure on the cruise and park and a golf tournament in Atlanta. We were on a streak where we were only home 1 weekend in 6 weeks, whew! But now we are home for a bit so hopefully I can catch up.

So, let's go back all the way to the beginning of April. We spent a glorious spring break week down at Seabrook for Easter. My aunt, uncle and cousin who live in DC came as well. My aunt is 15 years younger than my Dad so we have always been super close and I wish I saw her more often. My cousin Annie is a junior in high school and the girls just adored her!

This view never gets old! We were fortunate to have amazing weather for early April!

 Swimming in the outdoor heated pool with Uncle Court

 Miss Laura joined in the fun also

 Bathing beauty

 One really fun thing we did was go to the Firefly distillery. They made their own vodka and moonshine and we had a blast sampling everything.

 One of our favorite things to do at the beach is to attend the concerts at Freshfields village. They always have live bands and these girls LOVE to dance!!

 Learning to shag

 On Saturday, the golf course had an Easter egg hunt (about the 5th one of the season) and the girls had a blast. Ella loved meeting the Easter bunny but little sister was way too scared to pose with EB.

 But she loved collecting the eggs

 All that partying made this little one very tired. This literally never happens but she fell sleep in my arms on the back deck of the beach, heaven for both of us. And check out those eye lashes!

 The Easter Bunny got our note and made a special delivery to Seabrook. The girls loved hunting the eggs and finding their baskets. We all went to church after that and then back to enjoy one final day at the beach.

 Anytime we spend at the beach is always a great time!!

 And I am really going to try and hard and keep up the blog posts a little more frequently. Have a great weekend everyone, we are off to the pool!

Spring Break/Easter Weekend

Last week, the girls had "spring break" from preschool. That's right, they needed a "break" from that all that finger painting and play doh, school is rough for a 2 and 4 year old. So, we took a little trip down to Atlanta on our week off. Papa had a very special treat and got tickets for Ella and I to go to see the Lion King play with him at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Ella was watching the DVD on repeat and knew every line and song and was so excited to get dressed up for her big night out.

 Her first real play and this one did not disappoint at all.

 Special Daddy/Daughter/Granddaughter night

Inside the theatre taking it all in

 Ella loved every minute of it, she watched every scene and stayed awake and never once said she was tired or wanted to leave. It was a long play, almost 3 hours and didn't end until 10:30 which is very late for her and as soon as we were in the car, she was asleep within seconds. A big thanks to Papa for taking us and having such a special night.

 Unfortunately, the weather that week in Atlanta was not great. Mike drove down on Thursday night to join us and play golf but it was cold and rainy so plan B was bowling. DeeDee stayed home with wild one, I mean MG because we know she would have been everywhere in that bowling alley and a wreck but Ella loved it and it was actually a lot of fun.

 We mixed it up a little bit this year and went to church on Saturday evening and it worked out great. They had a great nursery that the girls went to and the adults went to church. It made for a much less hectic Easter morning. And finally a picture of the 4 of us, we don't have enough of these.

 And speaking of Easter morning, the Easter Bunny got the memo and delivered the girls baskets and treats to Atlanta. "He" made a trail of eggs from the front door to where the baskets were hidden.

 The girls were excited to see the eggs in the morning and start hunting!

 Yay, candy!!

 This girl has a love for chocolate like no one else. She could care less about any other candy or sweets but chocolate, oh yes, she LOVES chocolates.

 My big girl also discovered a new favorite treat, Peeps! That was her absolute favorite candy that the bunny left her this year. Nothing like some marshmallow wrapped in sugar, I mean, what is that even made of?

 They found the baskets!

 The Easter Bunny had a tall task this year. All Ella asked for was Elsa stuff from the movie Frozen. Well, Elsa dresses and pretty much anything Frozen is completely sold out, everywhere. The E.B. went to every Target in town and even stalked the Disney store and finally found an Elsa and Anna nightgown and luckily it was a huge hit and she was worn it every night.

 Yup, she could care less about any of the toys in her basket, she only wanted chocolate, more chocolate.

 And...this is the aftermath of all that chocolate when you tell her she can't have anymore because it is 9:00am and she needs to eat some breakfast first. Full on temper tantrum, pulled and threw her hair bow, dress up and tears galore. Not a pretty picture but it is real life.

 Shortly after that, we all had breakfast and then the weather finally improved and the guys went out to play some golf and I took the girls for a walk and this happened, the aftermath of a sugar high.

 Shortly before lunch, we headed up to my parents club for an Easter egg hunt and to see the Easter Bunny himself. Ella and Ms Laura discussing egg hunt strategy. 

 These two didn't know what to think of the E.B. At first very curious and then a little scared. Maddie wouldn't take her eyes off him all day and but when we tried to go closer, she would give me a death grip.

 Ella was definitely more open and wanted to give him a big high five and thank you for all the great Easter gifts!

 Me and little bunnies on Easter

 Despite the bad weather and tantrums, we had a great week and were so happy to spend time with family and celebrate together. Now, if I could just get rid of all this Easter candy.

Hippity Hoppity

This past Saturday was one of those great days! The sun was shining the perfect shade of Caroline blue, the temps were in the mid 70's, and we had a fun filled day. Ella had a soccer game in the morning and then went and had a special lunch with Daddy while Maddie stayed with me and napped. After naps, we woke up to get ready for our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. There are so many things I love about this neighborhood and one of them is the events for the kids. But before we went over, I had to get pictures of the girls in their matching outfits. As you can have probably seen on this blog before, I am sucker for matching outfits. I know they won't let me dress them like this forever but while I can and they think it is fun, I am going to take advantage of it!

 Credit goes to Daddy for the great looking green lawn!

 This girl and her many faces. She is a natural born comedian and loves to make you laugh so the sillier the better for her. And the even more amazing thing, I got them both standing still long enough for a couple pictures, that's a miracle in itself!

 Then we headed off for the hunt. The kids 3 and under were in the front yard and 4 and over were in the backyard. So, I took MG and Mike took Ella. There were probably only about 5 kids 3 and under so no fighting for eggs (unlike on the big kids side!). Last year, she still wasn't walking at this time and didn't really participate so this year was her first time. It was hilarious to watch. She would check out each egg, put it back if she didn't like the color (she only wanted yellow and pink ones!)

 Oh yippee, a pink one

 And then stop to open it and see what is inside!

 When she realized there was chocolate and candy inside, she got a lot more excited!

 Then she spotted something shiny, the magical golden egg! She LOVED it! She opened it to find a Ben and Jerry's gift card, jackpot!

 This girl is obsessed with my wallet! Wants to play with it all day long pulling all the cards out and putting them back in. So, she grabbed the gift card and said, "Mommy's wallet." Smart girl!

 Daddy went with Ella so there aren't too many pictures of her. There were a lot of kids in 4 and over and Ella was probably the youngest so she didn't get tons of eggs but she was still happy.

 After the hunt, all the kids gathered on the front steps for a picture!

 Love these sweet little bunnies!

Following the hunt, I had a little trick up my sleeve for Mike. His actual birthday is tomorrow but I told him we were just going to dinner with some neighbors of ours for dinner that night but surprised him at the restaurant with a bunch of friends. I think he was surprised and had a good time (maybe a little too much!) So, it was super fun Saturday and we are all so happy it is finally spring and warm weather again!!

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!