Backyard Butterflies

We have trees in our backyard that bloom each spring and have an amazing aroma. We always hate the pollen but look forward to the wonderful smell. This year we've been treated with something even more amazing, butterflies.  At least a hundred of them between the two trees. If you sit outside for a few minutes, you can see the trees almost moving with the unbelievable number of butterflies. It is so much fun to see. I love our backyard butterflies and hope they return next spring to make our yard beautiful again.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Opening Day

Leo is playing baseball now!! I think he seems to enjoy it more than soccer and he looks adorable in his uniform. We've had one game so far and our boys did great! With two games per week, plus Leo (the big one) one of the assistant coaches AND playing on two different teams of his own, our family will be living baseball for the next few months. At least it's fun and the concession stand is open:)

In the outfield

Swinging away

Intent on the game

Lindsay's Allergy Adventure

A few weeks ago Lindsay's allergist suggested we do testing to help us find out what makes her sick. When she gets sick, she starts coughing and coughing and coughing. All day. All night. Cough. They test for 24 irritants....she was allergic to 12 of them, and in all seasons of the year. No break at any time. The best part is that she's allergic to both types of dust mites they tested for. You can do things to minimize contact, but basically that's a part of our world. Poor girl gets to be on year rounds meds like her brother. Oh well, thank goodness for insurance!


So here's what it looks like to be allergic to two molds, two dust mites, a tree, 3 grasses and 4 weeds:


She did great, by the way, flinched once or twice but in true Lindsay form, she took it like a champ:)

Making Rain

Pinterest has opened my eyes to so many fun things that I can do cheaply and easily with the kids. To explain how clouds get heavy and rain falls, we did this neat little experiment.


First, put some water in the bottom of a glass then put shaving cream on top.

Next, use food coloring to make the "cloud" heavy.......



Then watch it "rain", in color.

Happy and fun learning. Just the way we like it.

What happens when the "cloud" won't "rain" and fingers are used to help things along. It helps to drip the food coloring down the side of the glass instead of the middle;)

Go make it rain and sing some songs about rain. I'm partial to songs by Adele, Bruno Mars and Milli Vanilli.

What We Do All Day

I've been taking pictures of the everyday stuff lately. I want to remember even the average day, how it felt to live our lives. Soon enough my kids will be too busy to sit around with me, so I'm enjoying the little things. Simple pleasures like.....

Playing dress up with friends

Riding bikes

Reading good books

Doing puzzles

And creating with playdough.

The simple things in life are what make it worth living. So, go enjoy your average everyday!

Pretty Flowers

It's a bit late I know, but I wanted to share the beautiful roses my family picked out for Valentine's Day. I'm a lucky girl.

What a 3 Year Old Does When Mommy Turns Her Back

I really try to be a good mother and keep my children from harm, but there are times when you can't be everywhere at once. Lindsay took advantage of that a few days ago and this is where I found her. Yes, I did get pictures before getting her down.

Trinity Likes Water. Who Knew?

Our girl Trinity looks like a black lab. She's beautiful, regal, fun loving and playful. But, does she like water? No. The answer has always been no. She does not try to get into the kiddie pools with the kids. She does not enjoy trips to rivers. Water is to drink. The end.

Well.....until today.

We decided when we booked our vacation that Trinity would be apart of it. We were unsure how the beach would go. Today, we ventured forth and hallelujah....she had a blast. She ran. She romped. She played. She rolled and dug in the sand. She was happy.

She drank LOTS of ocean water. She pooed. Ick. That's another story.

So, anyway.....enjoy our beautiful baby dog of 9 years and her new love of water.

Arts and Crafts Vacation Style

We are spending two weeks in Port Aransas for our vacation this year. Since Leo can only take a week at a time, I made the insane decision to drive the kids down a few days ahead of him. We have rented a cute little one bedroom beach apartment. Its perfect for us and has all the amenities of home plus the beach! Today was shopping in town, lunch out and arts and crafts in the afternoon. Included activities:

Water Color

Sweet Paintings for Mommy

Markers. I think Lindsay was trying a tiger stripe thing.

All the artwork

Our crazy girl. Note the marker on her leg, arm, face and glow bracelets. She was on the phone with Daddy at the time. BTW, she also has blue marker on the bottom of her foot:)

The Last Few Weeks....

Here's a short recap of the past few weeks:

Snow cones at The Austin Zoo

Leo asleep on a bench at the zoo

(He had an ear infection)



Lindsay tried her hand at hair beautification and gave herself a trim.

We grew butterflies from caterpillars and released them.

We took in an orphaned kitten.

Hope your summer is as fun and crazy as ours is!

Using Our Imagination

We're in a drought here in central Texas. I believe it may even be a severe drought. No rain for quite a long time. So, the kids took advantage of the sprinkler to play with those colorful things they're holding. I don't remember what they're called, something you use when it rains I think.

Running Isn't Pretty

So, I'm doing this Couch to 10K app on my phone. I'm almost finished with week 9 of 13. You know how some people just seem to be born to run? Their bodies lean and muscled, it looks effortless when you watch them? Well, that's not me. I have foot pain, knee pain, back pain and I force myself to run. (Running here is a loose term, I come closer to jogging on a good day.) Its work. So, during my runs, I often have random thoughts (almost delirium) and I wanted to share todays with you. Running isn't pretty. I sweat like crazy, my nose runs and when I try to breathe out of my mouth spit comes out. Not pretty. Can't be, too many bodily fluids present. Just wanted to share that:) And, if you are one of those natural runners who perspires and doesn't spit or snot, I don't want to hear about it, thanks.

Big Bike and A Little Scooter

For Leo's last day of school, we thought it would be fun for him to get to ride on the Harley. So, we borrowed a helmet and the boys took a test ride last night.

Adorable in his helmet
(You may note he's now lost both front teeth.)




Excited to take off

Cruising the neighborhood

My Harley boys

Not to be left out, Lindsay got on her scooter and made vroom vroom noises

When Losing Teeth is a Good Thing

Leo lost his two front bottom teeth last summer. His mouth has been quiet and uneventful since. (Well, his teeth have been quiet, his mouth almost never is.) We noticed one of his front top teeth have becoming more loose over the last few days. Yesterday, was outside playing. He came running in holding his tooth. "It just popped out!" Very exciting for him and us. I love the snaggle tooth look! At seven, its still ok for your teeth to fall out:)

Memories

I took pictures of the kids hunting Easter eggs and thought a few of them looked like candidates for a change to black and white. Two in particular came out really well. Looking at Lindsay running barefoot hunting Easter eggs is already one of my favorite memories of our beautiful little girl.

Up Close and Personal