The Zoo!

These last few weeks have been a little crazy here, so Saturday morning when Logan asked to go to the Zoo, we tossed aside out To Do lists and decided we needed a day off. And it was awesome!

We started with lunch at the Beastro. I promise they had fries to shovel the ketchup in their mouths. Fingers were just more convenient.

We climbed a brass rhino.

And patted some brass lions.

Then we saw a real tiger!! He came right up to the glass and made eyes at us!!

Apparently he was thirsty.

The kids were glued to the glass outside his habitat. It was so awesome to see him right up close!

The giraffes are always fun to see, too.

After checking out the animals, we hit the park.

Logan LOVES the snake slide. He'd spend all day here, if he could.

Myra held court on the back of a giant spider, while Duncan hung out underneath.

Then she hung out with some new friends inside an alligator egg.

After we rode the train, the kids played with the ball water sculpture.

Myra had fun making handprints.  After a morning of fun at the zoo, we were all ready to get back to our regular routine. It's so nice to just play hooky sometimes!

Easter!

While the Christian adult world celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, their children revel in a smorgasbord of chocolate and pastel sweets, get new clothes, and hunt for eggs. While we attempted to instill some recognition that this is actually a holiday about Jesus into the psyche of our children, I'm pretty sure all they've gotten out of it so far is a sugar high.

The haul

Naturally, I made the mistake of laying out the goodies on the table for them to discover upon arising.

Jammies and bed head attest to the fact that an actual breakfast and getting ready for church was far from their thoughts.

Myra wanted me to show you her Princess chocolate bunny. The ears did not last for long after this picture was taken...

Even Duncan got in on the action with some M&Ms. He loves M&Ms. Perhaps more than life itself.

New clothes were fun, too. Duncan was adorable in his suit and big boy shoes. Myra loves her purple dress and was so excited about her new shoes. Can you believe I didn't take a picture?? There are a few of the dress here.

After church, we hunted for eggs. The kids had a blast on Saturday coloring them. Logan even got creative and made a striped one. Egg hunting went quickly, but it was such a beautiful day, we decided to just hang out outside.

Duncan did what Duncan does best - climb and be adorable.

Spelling

One of the kids new favorite videos is all about spelling and sounding out words. I'm thrilled that they like an educational video, but I had no idea it would do such an effective job actually teaching them something.

Her handwriting is a work in process, but Myra wrote "Pop" without any assistance at all. It is one of the words they spell frequently on the video, so she's seen it a few times.

Logan, not to be outdone, spelled "Dad" and then demonstrated his understanding of the word by insisting that Daddy some down and see that he "drew him". Dad is also a word they spell on the movie (which is all about filling out an application form for the Best Dad of the Year Award), but Logan did sound out each letter as he wrote it.

Then he surprised me by sounding out and writing "Mom" all by himself! (The last "M" is a little small - he says it is a lower case m.) In the movie, they never spell Mom at all, and don't really talk about sounding out and spelling other words. I was pretty impressed with my little guy. Words are hard for him.

Nostalgia

Duncan hasn't needed many clothes, since Logan had quite the impressive wardrobe and he's pretty much set with hand-me-downs. Sometimes I run across a particular favorite from Logan's babyhood, and I can't believe Logan has gotten so big, and that Duncan is getting that way, too.

Here's Logan is his tractor overalls. And Daddy's crocs. Logan's love for crocs began early. He still refuses to wear anything else.

Same overalls, different baby! Duncan is a few months younger than Logan in this picture. And mesemerized by Despicable Me, therefore not even looking at the camera. That's a good thing though - once he sees it, he will not stand still. Picture taking is an impossibility with the busy little guy.

I love my boys.

(And my girl, too. She doesn't wear tractor overalls, though. More's the pity.)