Proud to Be An American!

May 26 marks a special day for our family - Benoit became a US Citizen! On this special day, we all attended the ceremony with over 400 other individuals to celebrate Benoit's nationalization. The judge was enthusiastic and offered his congratulations along with a moving speech about rights and responsibilities as citizens of this great nation. Jolie wanted to know if we would meet the President at the ceremony, and although we did not, President Obama did make a video appearance congratulation the newest members of the USA. She also commented that she was thirsty and it was dry as a desert there and wondered why she had to get dressed up for this BORING ceremony. It's tough to be four!

Cheering on Dad!

Welcoming our newest US Citizen!

Beach Bums

Spring in Minnesota is tough for me. As a southern girl, I am ready for flowers and sun and water in March. For me, it just can't come fast enough. So this year, we extended a multi-family Disney trip with a few extra days in the Florida panhandle to soak up the sun! My Mom lives about an hour away, so we enjoyed some Nana and PawPaw time. My amazing brother even flew in from CO and stayed with us! The weather was perfect and I could not get enough. What a perfect beach week!

I ate seafood everyday. I sat at the beach and read Gone Girl (yes, I'm a little late to the party) ever day. I watched my girls play in the sand for hours every day. I had beers with my brother every day. I stayed up late talking with my Mom and stepdad every day. I was happy. Every day.

Loved spending full days with my Kindergardener!

Belle was a real trooper with her broken arm. She just played in the sand for hours and had a blast!

Belle and Jolie showing off their sandcastle which kept growing every day.

Jolie could spend every waking moment digging in this perfect Florida sand!

If it ain't broke...

Well it is.... Belle broke her arm in April during gymnastics class. She was doing a cartwheel off the balance beam and fell on her left arm. She cried only a little and continued with the class after a quick ice pack. There was no obvious indication that she had broken her arm and we thought she was just fine. But she kept complaining about it that evening and even took Tylenol (gasp!). She despises medicine so much, that I knew something was wrong. We saw her pediatrician in the morning and they said she had a buckle fracture near the growth plate and wanted her to see an pediatric orthopedic physician that day. After another doctor visit, she is comfortably in a sling for the next four weeks. Little does she know that we've been planning a beach/Disney trip for the past year! Ugh. But she should be able to enjoy most of the rides with no problems and we are lucky she does not need a cast because she would not be able to go to the beach with it. Silver linings!

She was all smiles and ready to show her friends at school the next day!