Sleepy

We went on a little walk today. I put the small ones in the double stroller and Duncan was quick to cuddle up to his big sister and have a snooze.

Myra held his hand and snuggled him until we got home.

The Park!

Logan has had a little trouble getting his work done at school, so I made him the deal that any day he does his work, we'll go to the park after school. It's been working beautifully, and we've been spending lots of time at various parks enjoying the beautiful weather. It's a total win-win. Today was Myra's turn to choose the park, so naturally we ended up at the pink park.

Logan picked a flower for Myra. So sweet!

Yep, the park is pink. Myra loves it.

Gymnastics is paying off.

We monkeyed around a little.

We did some climbing.

Then we did some wandering around.

We hung out on the park bench.

Then we went to see how the ducks are doing. The ducklings are getting so big!

We also saw some less endearing wildlife. Fortunately it slithered away before Myra could adopt it.

We hung out for a while at the duck pond. Can you see Mama duck peering through the fence rails?

Duncan really loves the duckies. This is about the only time he stood still.

After all the fun with the ducks, we took a walk and the kids discovered a doggy water fountain. Duncan thought it was the coolest thing ever. They were all three drenched after a few minutes, but it was all in good fun. After that, we played a little longer (to give them time to dry) and then we headed home.

Myra made sure Bullseye was safely bucked in before we headed out.

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.)

Spring!

Since we've been here in Utah, I've missed a lot of things about Texas. Don't get me wrong - I like Salt Lake! The people are friendly; the mountains are amazing; we actually have seasons - but Texas, well it's just Texas! And I miss it. Especially I miss the Bluebonnets.

All winter I would look forward to the appearance of these sweet blue blossoms. It meant Spring was here; Easter was coming; we could wear shorts again! This year, the inevitable Bluebonnet pictures started to appear on all my Texas friends' Facebook walls. Oh, my heart broke! It was still snowing here! Everything looked dead, and I couldn't even imagine Spring. I was so homesick.

And then these appeared. In. My. Yard! Tulips!! My favorite flower in the whole world - growing wild at the side of my house!!

Everything is blooming! Even the bushes! Everywhere you look is a riot of color - daffodils and hyacinth growing on the side of the road - it's amazing!!

Myra loves them all. She brought me this one. Isn't it lovely, with those deep red and cream petals and the bright yellow heart?

Side note: I know this poor blog has been sadly neglected. Is anyone still reading this? Life has been a little on the crazy side lately, but I think we're working toward a new routine. I'll try to keep you posted.