Fun times!

Renee got invited to her friend Devon's 3rd birthday party and the kids all had a blast!



Can you tell she's having a ball??



The birthday boy and pals LOVED the bounce house!



This little girl told us that Renee was really good at sliding!



Look at how big this bounce house is... *I* want one!



Party time!



What's a birthday party without birthday hats?



Ok, back home now, Renee wanted to show off the tower of blocks she built. "Take my picture Daddy!" She's trying to hold up three fingers to show you she's three years old :)

Waterloo Bucks baseball game!

We got invited to go to an evening Waterloo Bucks baseball game a couple of weekends ago and just loved it (our local non professional team)! Last year we went once and Renee still remembers meeting their mascot, Buck!



Renee got Buck's autograph on her arm, but in this particular picture, you are seeing the "No, I don't want to share" look that is so common with 3 year olds!



Our dear friends Serenity and Marlin, who invited us to the game! Marlin is a baseball addict and John had a blast talking sports with him. Meanwhile Serenity and I tried our best to keep up with the action, and share some good snacks and girl talk!



SOMEONE spoiled Renee with some tropical flavored dippin' dots ice cream, which is what you see all around her mouth!



Marlin and Renee caught in the act- goof balls!

Farmer's Market!

We love our local Farmers' Market! A couple of weekends ago, when we were actually home and not traveling, I took Renee and her good friend Emily out on Saturday morning to get some goodies at the farmers' market- we like to look for fresh scones, homemade cookies and anything else that catches our eye!



Emily was nice enough to share her wagon with Renee- and it was perfect for towing our goodies!

Memorial Day weekend in Lincoln

Well it's been awhile since I updated chun-beeks! Here's a flashback over the last few weeks!



John was showing off the hula hoop skills he says he gained from playing Wii Fit!



Doesn't even look like it's touching him!



I can't believe I got this shot of Monster! Do you see all the mud in the pool...?



Apollo is almost a different colored dog with all the mud on him! It was everywhere!



Melena and Renee had so much fun playing in the pool in Auntie Debbie's backyard! Don't they look like best friends? :)



I couldn't resist... Melena is so adorable, and independent! She just didn't want to wear her swimsuit anymore! I had a battle trying to keep Renee in her swimsuit after that!



Silly goose!

Renee and her cousins at the Lincoln, NE Sunken Garden

We took a trip to Lincoln, NE 2 weeks ago and had a wonderful visit to the Sunken Garden among other fun events that weekend (including the wedding reception that John and his brothers played in!). I just loved these gorgeous, huge koi! The girls of course were enchanted with them, too!



It was so gorgeous to see so many blooming flowers already- so many roses especially! The roses in Iowa aren't blooming yet!



Renee and her cousins, Melena and Sofia had fun "washing" flowers in the fountain, then right out splashing each other!



Sofia and Renee hug! Watch out, looks like one of them just dropped the bag of snacks!



Angela brought fresh strawberries from her garden for the girls to snack on- so delicious!



Ok, getting this shot was practically impossible, because getting all three girls to sit still at the same time just never happens!



Sofia is following in her older cousin Sass' footsteps and becoming very interested in photography! It's a skill she's been working on actually for a few years already! I remember her taking pictures of us all during the 4th of July celebration we had together back at our house on the lake in WA- I think that was 2 years ago!



The girls remarkably did stay out of the pond, but fed the fish plenty of rocks and sticks!

Concert in the Park

We love going to the Tuesday night concerts in the park. During June and July, the Cedar Falls Municipal Band performs a free concert, everyone brings lawn chairs or blankets and you can buy popcorn and lemonade from the Lions Club! She got the sticker on her sleeve while going with mommy to a prenatal appointment- Renee can already identify nearly all of the different Disney princesses, and we don't own *any* princess movies. Amazing...



Here, Renee decided to pose while wearing Daddy's hat! Super stylin'!



This is how most of the time at the concert is spent!



I love her pose as the music ends!

Getting ready for Renee's dance recital!

I know the grandparents were eager for pictures of Renee's dance recital which was last Sunday, so I am skipping posting other pictures until later! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures or video during the recital itself, though we did order pictures and a video, and I will share those when we get them!

I just wish I *had* recorded Renee during her dress rehearsal, because she was a hoot! She pretty much improvised the entire dance and it was so cute- of course I'm biased but all the little girls were adorable! The performance went without a hitch, and Renee did her best to stick with the prescribed choreography (when she remembered it), and Mommy and Daddy were very proud of her! She's come such a long way from when she started her dance lessons in January- she wouldn't even participate in class, just sat in the corner of the studio and ignored everyone. I'm glad I stuck it out, and was patient, because I wanted to yank her out of dance class so many times in the beginning! Now she really seems to do well, for a 3 yr old! She's certainly not the best one in her class, but I think she is the most creative! Mostly though it's her growth I'm proud of... my little girl is growing up!



Here we are getting Renee ready for the dress rehearsal, notice all the bobby pins on the edge of the sink? I think I used about 30 to keep the bangs out of her face and the bun in her long red hair!



Here Renee struck a pose on Recital day, before we got her costume on! Trying to get makeup on her was a challenge, which made Daddy very happy! Daddy didn't want her to wear any makeup, and really that would have been OK since she's so little! We did manage a little bit of lipstick and blush- however any attempt to put anything near her eyes was met with fierce resistance! Ah, good. Let them be little!



Here Renee is showing off for Daddy in her costumer before the recital! Imagine her doing this along with other improvisation during her rehearsal... this image actually gives you a pretty good impression!



Aww, my sweet little dancer strikes a professional pose! I just *love* those feathers in her hair!