Where to begin...

I finally got Ava's smile on film!!! She was is a great mood most of the weekend, but she still gives me that deer in the headlights look when the camera comes out. Luckily, if you take 200 hundred pictures of one thing, you are bound to get a smile at some point :)
We have had a very busy week, so you will be getting lots of pictures again today! Let's see if I get this right, last Tuesday we had Patrick's grandfather's sister's son, Danny, in town. He is priest in the Phillipines and he was back in the states for a few weeks. It was a very short visit, but the girls and I had never met him, so it was great for us. We all had a great dinner and we were able to hear some great stories of Danny's missionary work and life in the Phillipines. Email and blogs are great because we will be able to keep in touch so much easier.

As soon as we finished dinner on Tuesday, we were off for the first ice skating lessons of the summer. Anna took ice skating last year, but she hasn't been in over 3 months and this was McKenna's first time. They both loved it, and it is nice to be inside where it is actually cold for a little while! McKenna only used the walker for the first 10 minutes of class and now she is skating on her own. I will get some good shots of her on the ice at the next class.

For Father's Day we went out to the lake and had a great weekend. The girls went swimming and out on the boat, we grilled and had a really great weekend. Ava has decided that we can't make the trip to and from the lake without stopping at least once. There aren't the best places to stop along the road, so I am hoping she will outgrow this phase soon! I think she is just jealous that she can't see the DVD player in the car - maybe I will have angle some mirrors so she can watch 'Shrek' with her big sisters :) Anna and McKenna are very comfortable in the water now. We still won't let them swim in the lake without lifejackets, but they love jumping into the lake. They also got grandpa to take the boat out and even let them 'drive' (while it was parked in the boathouse!).

And last, but certainly not least, Happy Father's Day to Patrick (daddy), Tom (grandpa) and Louis (Jiddo). You guys are the best. The girls had so much fun with you this weekend - Jiddo I hope you got your shoes back, Anna was having a blast wearing them around the house!

Dance Recital

Saturday was a big day for us - Anna and McKenna had their first dance recital! They are both in dance classes for the first time this year - Anna in tap and ballet and McKenna has ballet. They were both so excited for their 'Colors of Dance' show - Anna's class performed to 'You are My Sunshine' and 'Orange' and McKenna's class danced to 'Little Red Riding Hood'. They both did a wonderful job and both classes did a very good job of remembering their dances. We had the whole family out to watch - Mom, Dad, Ava, Grandma Franz, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Brian, Grandma and Grandpa Clerkin, Sitto and Jiddo - the girls loved all of the attention. I spent about 3 hours running back and forth from dressing room to the performance hall to the other dressing room, backstage, lobby and all around between the dress rehearsal and the actual performance. They will both be dancing again next year, and I can't wait! I did the total mom thing and cried during their performances, I am so proud of them. 2 of our good friends Maddie and Abbie (also our swimming buddies) are in dance with the girls and they all loved posing for pictures.

We are still spending most evenings and several times a day on the weekends at the pool. Ava still hasn't gone swimming, but maybe one day soon.

Ava has been smiling so much recently, but the little stinker won't let me get a picture of it - I am blaming the camera, not the photographer! :) We had professional pictures taken this weekend and they got a great one of Ava's smile. Hopefully I will be able to post that one soon. The other thing Ava has been doing, without my permission, is getting bigger :( My little baby is 3 months old as of yesterday. Not only is she getting older, but I had to start putting her in 3-6 month clothes this weekend. She is really picking her head up on tummy time, and she loves to look at herself in the mirror - seems to be a Clerkin girl trait - Anna and McKenna still love to look at themselves in the mirror!

This weekend also marks the girls great-grandparents' (Sitto and Jiddo) 61st wedding anniversary. The girls are so lucky to have their Sitto and Jiddo so close by to be able to celebrate these special days. First is Anna and McKenna helping Jiddo blow out the candles while Ava spends some time with Sitto. The second is a great picture of Anna and Jiddo laughing over something - I just love it! A busy, but absolutely wonderful weekend.