Hamster Ball, Mini Golf and Baseball

We had a fun weekend and beautiful weather. Buttercup took some friends to play mini golf and they also tried out Aqua Ball. They said it was hard to stand up, but very fun! Snapdragon, Buttercup and I joined Uncle Bill, Uncle Jerry and all of the cousins at a Reds game. The Reds won!

Happy Earth Day!

We went to Family Art Night at Buttercup's school last night and painted reusable tote bags. The art teachers gave a short presentation on Georgia O'Keefe and we modeled our bag designs using her technique of painting like you were looking at a flower through the close-up lense of a camera. We reused styrofoam egg cartons for the paint and the newspaper was placed in recycle bins after we cleaned up. It was a fun and "green" evening.

Fishing and Buttercup's Photos

Buttercup is having a great time fishing. She is baiting her own hook and taking her catch off all by herself. She caught 8 blue gill tonight. Snapdragon adopted a pet wax worm after we told her she couldn't eat it. The first thing she said when Lou put it in her hand was, "Eat it." After we all said no, she carried it around in her little fist until it was a little squashed. Then she fed it to the fish.

The animal photos are some that Buttercup took at the zoo. She really enjoyed taking photos and is quite the photographer. All of the photos from the zoo, and the lake at sunset, are Buttercup's. I just need to change the date on her camera.

We're Going to the Zoo,Zoo, Zoo

Snapdragon is telling me the panda is from China like "me".

Which came first, the children or the egg?

We went to the Memphis Zoo for the first time today and it was beautiful. (Thanks for the Christmas present Mom and Dad.) We became members of the zoo because it is only about a 15 minute drive from our home. The zoo has an Egyptian theme at the entrance to honor the name of the city of Memphis. The city is named after the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, that was located on the Nile River.

Our favorite exhibit was, of course, the Giant Pandas. Their names are Ya-Ya and Le-Le. We have seen the panda exhibits at the National Zoo in D.C., the San Diego Zoo, and in Guangzhou, China. The Memphis Zoo has the best exhibit, hands down. It was wonderful.

Buttercup took some wonderful animal photos today. I will upload some later. She took her camera fishing with her. She and Lou are fishing one last time before we head back to Cincy tomorrow. We had a great week and can't wait to move here officially in June. 7 more weeks!

Snapdragon is sound asleep.... exhausted from our zoo trip! I know we will have some great outings at the zoo. They have a wonderful picnic area with a playground for the children and the farm area is a great place for them.

Happy Easter

Splish Splash I was taking a bath (and flinging bubbles everywhere)!

A game of checkers before church.

Two beautiful girls.

The joys of a sucker!

Checking out her loot.

Looking for quarters.

A little help from my Dad.

Sweetness.

More sweetness.

Wow, look at all the suckers!

Follow the trail of suckers.

Happy Easter!

Getting ready for the big day!

Coloring eggs.

This is fun!

The girls and I are in Tennessee for Spring Break. It feels so good to have all four of us together again! We had a very blessed Easter and Buttercup is enjoying her new home. She is around the corner feeding the ducks and geese right now. We had to go to the dollar store to buy more bread. She feeds them several times a day. She has named the ducks and is watching their nest for the ducklings to hatch.

The Easter Bunny found our new home and left a trail of suckers down the steps and out the back door to lead the girls to all of the eggs he hid in the backyard. We went to Easter Mass at our new church, Saint Ann's in Bartlett.

The girls took a bath in my tub today after lunch. Snapdragon had a ball and the bathroom was filled with bubbles!

Opening Day and Easter Fun in Cincinnati

Buttercup and Grandma are all decked out in their Red's gear today. Buttercup's school is celebrating Opening Day and Grandma and Uncle Jerry were lucky enough to score tickets to today's game. It is kind of a yucky day as far as weather goes. It is raining with some snow mixed in.

We went to and egg hunt this weekend at Delhi Park and met the Easter bunny! Cousin Travis and Snapdragon make cute little bunnies, too!

We are looking forward to heading down to Tennessee for Easter! Buttercup can't wait to see her house for the first time. In the meantime, Buttercup is getting four teeth pulled tomorrow. Our orthodontist in CA and the orthodontist we are visiting here in Cincinnati have both recommended this treatment. We decided to have it done here in Cincinnati because I am more familiar with the area.

We hope everyone has a blessed Holy Week and a joyful Easter!