Our little baker

Oliver absolutely loves helping in the kitchen, especially to bake cookies. He asks almost daily to bake cookies. Isabel, of course, must be wherever Ollie is. He is giving me the thumbs up for good tasting cookie dough.

Egg dying

Cattle Drive

Downtown Dallas Cattle Drive sculpture

Botanical Gardens

We had been planning a trip to the botanical gardens for awhile. Little did we know we would have to wait in line on the street in the van to enter, only to be told we have to drive to a parking lot somewhere else to be shuttled over. We went anyway. This was the line to get on the shuttle. There were probably twice that many people behind us in line when I took this picture. The bulbs were beautiful and it was a most gorgeous day to be outside! They added many new kids features including The Jolly Roger pirate boat and Treasure Island sand play area. But the highlight, for Ollie especially, is the frog water fountain.

For kids only

Can you guess what we saw at the zoo?

The zoo, always a favorite

Yesterday we headed to the zoo (along with the rest of the Dallas metroplex!) You know when you have arrived because of the huge giraffe statue at the entrance. If you look closely you can see the line of cars on the road waiting to get in. Clara took her camera and enjoyed taking many pictures! Most of these photos were taken by her (and cropped by me.) At the end of our time at the zoo we realized Clara no longer had her camera. She remembered that she left it in the restroom. It wasn't there anymore so we asked the information booth. Luckily a girl had turned it in. Clara was overwhelmed with relief. Izzy loved sitting on the "baa". I allowed the kids to play in the water in the children's area. This was Ollie's favorite part of the day. Surprise, surprise. Clara posed Ollie to look like a butterfly. By the end of our time, the grouchy face was coming out. But we had a great time being outdoors on a BEAUTIFUL spring day!

Treasured moments

Ollie is "reading" to Isabel.Just now as I am posting, Isabel came to me and noticed the picture. I asked her who was on the pic and she said "Ollie", "Izzy". This is the first time I've heard her say her own name.

Turtles Part 2

Spring has sprung in the south. The trees and bulbs are blooming. The air has been warm. And the rain is coming. For some time now the ducks have been on our pond quacking and mating. But today...today we saw the turtles! I knew there were turtles in the pond because this past summer, whenever we turned a certain corner on our walk, they splashed back into the water from there perch on dead branches. We could never get a good look at them. Today they were out in vast numbers. Maybe they just came out of winter hiding. I counted 20+ in a very small area and as we continued to walk, noticed all the turtle heads sticking out of the water. Also, I saw a dove (there are millions of them around) on Ollie's window ledge. Last year we found a nest on this ledge with eggs. We could see the eggs perfectly. But sadly, one stormy day the nest was blown away. I am hopeful that this dove (we named her Trudy) will make a nest in the same spot this year.

Turtles

So... Goodwill was having their winter clearance, 75% off all winter clothing. I learned they would not put out sweaters again until fall, so at $1.00 a sweater I thought I should stock up for the summer. They are all wool and cashmere for my projects. My new project is turtles. Clara, Oliver and Isabel love them. They want to play with the turtles, but I have listed them on Etsy. My only issue is where to store all this stuff, sweaters and finished projects.

Mac and Cheese

The ultimate comfort food, macaroni and cheese is a family favorite.

This is my mom's recipe that the kids (and adults) love so much.