Saturday, April 24, 2010

356 SOOC Saturday

Admittedly I have a thing for weeds. It continually amazes me that the things that annoy the heck out of us are so beautiful. The tiniest details and nuances of color. Gorgeous.
The weather has been perfect for several outings to the park behind our house. This is what I end up doing while the kids play in the park.
I PLAY :)

SOOC Saturday is hosted by Melody over at Slurping Life.
Hop on over and check out her SOOC shot and the links of others.
Make someone smile, leave a comment. Even something as simple as "Nice pic" really brightens someone's day. Well, it does mine ... *hint*

Sunday, April 18, 2010

355 SOOC Saturday (or Sunday)


My first peony bud! So excited!! I can't wait until she blooms!
SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) Saturday is hosted by Melody at Slurping Life

Friday, April 16, 2010

353 Pick-Up

Katie has been begging to go to her Mimi and Pop Pop's for a weekend for a LONG time, but things always seemed to pop up to keep us from coordinating. And she didn't want us to stay with her. She wanted a sleepover. So, last Friday I packed up the kids and delivered them to their grandparents. I stayed a few hours to make sure that there wasn't a complete meltdown, but finally I had to head back. The actual events of the weekend are mostly unknown to me. I do know that they ate way too much ice cream ;). Well, not TOO much ... Mimi and Pop Pop took them out for a treat both days. And Katie was in heaven with her cousin Tori to play with. She even let Tori put her hair in pigtails! SO CUTE!When we got there on Sunday to pick the little heathens up, Connor was so happy to see his Daddy ... well, unless you check out his hand (surely that is an accident)... he didn't want to let Daddy out of his sight, and he barely let Daddy set him down for the first hour. So much for him being a Mama's Boy :(And Pop Pop .... I am not sure which subject he is enlightening us on, but it was very important.And of course I walked around and took a few pics of Mimi's garden as it awakens.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

352 More Love Thursday from the Zoo

Pollen Sparkles

My eye was caught by this Forest Pansy Redbud. Absolutely gorgeous with its purple flowers and red leaves. As the season moves on the leaves will change to green, and the flowers explode then fall away. Right now it is gorgeous!!


I am sure it will still be pretty when the petals fall away and the leaves all fade.
Love changes from season to season as well.
Sometimes it blooms and grows.
Sometimes it suffers winter's blight.
I hope that your love always maintains underneath it all.
Happy Love Thursday!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

351 First Zoo Trip of the Year

When Katie didn't get to play at the "big park" on Easter she asked to go to the zoo the next day. We checked her out a little early from school and headed off. Our membership had expired, so we had to renew. (by the way, Memphis Zoo has raised their family membership $20 to $99. It is still an absolute STEAL!!) So, we tossed the kids in the wagon and took off. This was our first attempt at Connor in the wagon. He was excited about it, and Katie loves not having to walk everywhere (she's lazy .... shhhhh). Connor lasted about five minutes in the wagon. He got out at the lions and never wanted to get back in. Also, I took a ton of photos and I am trying not to bore you with all of them. You are welcome. The zoo landscape is really starting to come to life. Truly some gorgeous areas, and without kids screaming there are some very serene spaces.I am pretty sure they were breaking rules here .... I apologize.The railing is not just a suggestion kids ... they really do expect you to stay on the outside of it. Connor was not convinced of that truth. But, I couldn't snap a pic since I was desperately trying to pull him back.And this is how Connor used the wagon for most of the visit. He would scream at us if we tried to help .... HYAH! Pack Mule!In the Once Upon a Farm area you HAVE to take a pic in the gopher holes ... I think we signed something on the way in.And there is that darn penny machine!! Sheer genius the person that came up with this concept. For two quarters and a penny you get a .... SQUISHED PENNY! Watch out ... that Buddha looks hungry!It was about this time that we realized that Katie only wanted to go to the zoo for a Hawaiian Ice ... guess what they have stopped having at the zoo? AND of course it as a conspiracy on our part that caused Katie not to get what she wanted. The pouting was LEGENDARY!! They had ICEE's ... and they had ICE CREAM, but nothing was satisfactory to Katie. You know, until we got an ICEE for Connor and then she had to make him share. Lucky for her, Connor is a sweetheart and will give her almost anything.I guess he thought that Daddy needed a little help :)DUCK BUTT ... It never gets old. I laugh everytime they go bottoms up. I know, I am a big child.Daddy took them in and Daddy took them out .... Thank goodness we brought the wagon!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

350 Love Thursday

I haven't done a Love Thursday in a while, but the past few days hearts have been popping out at me again. Chip and I took the kiddos to the zoo on Monday, and I found several hearts peaking out at me. This was my favorite. It seemed the most unlikely. The most hidden. Yet it was the first thing I noticed when I looked at this tank.

So, here is hoping that love pops up in your life today and everyday. Happy Love Thursday. Check out Chookooloonks for more found love. This week she lists the five things she is loving now.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

349 Easter Weekend

Katie insisted on a trip to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap. Funny, just a year or so ago I had to force her to do these things. I have to beg her to sit still to take a picture. Dress some poor adult up in a smelly bunny costume that freaks out 13% of the population and Katie is game. I think I might have gotten suckered though. We had to find Connor a shirt to wear, so we hit up Children's Place which just happens to be across the way from Build-A_Bear Workshop .... hey, look where we ended up! SURPRISE! Although I did tell her JUST THE BUNNY! No clothes ... And she agreed....

Just right? She always says yes.At least she had a little friend in line to see the Easter Bunny...And Connor got a little friend as well. Connor was NOT a fan of the Easter Bunny. He didn't trust that furry guy at all. I don't blame him. How can you trust someone that doesn't blink?? One good thing though, at least the Easter Bunny didn't ruin a pic by not smiling. And then it was home and time to boil some eggs. Oh, did I forget to mention that the first night that we were in Atlanta, Chip tried to make himself some fries? And he left the oil on the stove while he went to the bathroom ... he came back to a fireball and I returned to no stove. So, boiling eggs posed a bit of a problem. I googled boiling eggs in the microwave. I know, it seems like a REALLY bad idea to me, but there are instructions. However, it did NOT work well. So, we came up with another plan. We grilled out to boil our eggs. Probably the only grilled eggs the Easter Bunny saw this year. By the way ... it takes FOREVER to grill out eggs.It did give us time to take a few pics ... well, me time to take pics.An hour later we had almost hit boil .... At that point I figured they had cooked long enough.Can you tell we had fun dying eggs? I can assure you, it was every bit as fun as this pic suggests. Katie and Connor had to fight over EVERYTHING. I set up the mugs, and got out the dye. Chip had grabbed food dye instead of the packaged egg dye. At first I was a little annoyed, but after looking at the back of the package there were instructions for a ton of different colors. And WOW did they turn out vivid!The Easter Bunny took it easy this year. The kids got candy and one little toy. And you know what ... they were just as happy as if the baskets were overflowing. Connor especially loved his Reese's Bunny. I just wanted him to hold it for me to take a pic, but he wouldn't keep his tongue off the poor thing.Katie couldn't wait to do the Easter egg hunt. I tried to get her to stand still for a picture ... that was a fail. Yes, she is in that darn dress again! I washed it ... I had to after we went to the park and she rolled down hills in it.And I tried to take a picture AFTER the Easter egg hunt ... failThen we had to re-create the Easter egg hunt. Again. And again. And again. And again.Katie got it into her head that she wanted to go to the park. Not the one behind our house, but the big one (Latimer Lakes). Which was of course PACKED. So we kept driving. We ended up at a different park. When I realized the direction we were going I suggested a stop for bread. Surely feeding ducks would cheer up our little pouty pants ... right?? Nope, not our moody britches. She was sad because all of her little friends were grounded. I can't blame her. Mommy and Daddy can't compete with two 7 year old girls for fun. Also, it didn't help that the ducks were a bit aggressive, and one of the Canada Geese was a real jackass.
Our Easter was laid back and a little pouty, but we spent it together.... that counts for something, right?