Birthday Gifts in the Bookstore

Julia "spent" her birthday cookie coupon . . .

 . . . and gift card at Barnes and Noble today.  She did really well, hauling in five books and magazines with her $25 gift card.  Naturally, she couldn't wait to dive into this most recent Judy Moody book (it's all she's been reading lately).

Hyacinths in Bloom

If only you could smell these lovely flowers . . .

Julia's 7-Year Checkup

This morning, Julia went to the pediatrician for her 7-year-old checkup.  She was happy to hear that she is 4 feet, 3 inches tall (and weighs 66 pounds).  That means she grew 3 inches in the last year - and she is still in the 99th percentile for height.  All areas of Julia's health checked out fine, from her hearing to her vision and everything in between.  She's our strong, healthy girl!

Spring Soccer has Started!

Soccer was supposed to start two weeks ago, but with all the snow we had this past winter, the fields weren't ready until today.  And Julia couldn't wait to get out on the pitch!

We hardly recognized our little soccer player - she has improved so much over the winter (taking a break over the winter, I might add...).  She was running all over the field, chasing the ball as she kicked it (she used to just kick the ball once and not go after it).

 She even made a couple of good stops when she played goalie.

 Julia has always said she loves soccer, and today she played like she meant it.  Way to go!

The Butterfly Place

Julia's Girl Scout troop headed up to the Butterfly Place in Westford, Massachusetts to learn all about butterflies.

 This place is full of butterflies and butterfly-friendly plants and flowers.  We moved slowly around the indoor exhibit, being careful not to step on any of the flying insects.

 While wandering through the butterfly building, the girls checked off items on their scavenger hunt, which had them looking for specific butterflies and their food.  All in all, it was a great place to visit, and the bonus was Julia earned another Girl Scout patch for her Daisy smock.

Early-Birthday Dinner in Omaha

Even though Evelyn's birthday is still a few days away, we celebrated her birthday by going out to dinner this evening.  She loves eating at Upstream in the Old Market, she thoroughly enjoyed her dinner (and dessert!).

 Before leaving the Old Market, the girls posed for a couple of pictures - one with their Grandma Linda and Grandpa Phil . . .

 . . . and one of just the two of them outside.

Amelia Earhart's Birthplace Museum

Today was a road-trip day!

 Remember two weeks ago, when Evelyn represented Amelia Earhart in her school's Hall of Fame?  While doing her research, Evelyn found out that Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas.  I did a little bit of researching myself and discovered that Atchison is about two hours south of Bellevue.  We girls decided to take a day trip down to Kansas to see Earhart's birthplace, which is also a museum.  (And yes, Evelyn brought part of her Amelia Earhart costume with her on this trip so she could wear it at the museum.)

 The museum is set up as a self-guided tour - we had information on a handout that we carried with us as we wandered from room to room, checking out all things Amelia Earhart.

 We even saw her pilot's hat, complete with her initials written on the inside.

 Amelia Earhart's birthplace/house has been completely remodeled to reflect the time period of when Earhart lived here (1897-1909).  The rooms were jam-packed with all sorts of artifacts that detailed Earhart's life - her personal belongings, articles written by and about her, maps, and so on.  We only spent two and a half hours at the museum this afternoon, but we could have easily spent an entire day here - there was so much to see and read.

 One of the last rooms we visited was Amelia's bedroom on the second floor.  The girls were completely enamored with her bedroom, and several of the items in here belonged to Amelia Earhart.  Overall, it was a wonderful experience that both girls enjoyed.