Sunday, April 19, 2009

Garden Girl Rock Star

Oakley and I stayed home the Monday after Easter. She complained of a sore throat and told me she "might not feel good, and that she might need to stay home".

We spent the day in our pajamas -- coloring, reading, and watching movies. At one point she went up to her room to get her baby doll and came back down like this.

"Look, Mommy! I'm a garden girl rock star!" she exclaimed happily.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Highlights

He is risen!! And what a glorious day we had celebrating with family and friends. Sullivan actually set his alarm and woke us up at 7am. After a little convincing, he agreed to go back to bed until 7:30. At 7:30am on the dot, he rallied his siblings and they bounded down the steps to see what the Easter Bunny had left them. Well, some of them bounded down. Sawyer actually dragged himself up the steps, but he was a good sport about rising early.

Mike's Dad is in the hospital recovering from hip surgery, so he took the boys to visit him early in the day and Oakley and I stayed home. We watched Mary Poppins and prepared food for an early evening cookout. Oakley LOVES to help out in the kitchen! We made an Asian Salad, a salad with Mandarin Oranges and Carmelized Almonds, a Strawberry-Pretzel Salad (more like a dessert), Broccoli Casserole and Corn Pudding. When coupled with the steaks we grilled (not your traditional Easter fare), we had ourselves a little feast!

Nicole and her family joined us mid-afternoon for an egg hunt (several hunts, actually) and the boys spent the afternoon playing frisbee and flying kites. We LOVE their beautiful girls (and Mom and Dad) and I'm so glad we got to spend some time with them yesterday.












Some of my family joined us later for the cookout -- the first of many we hope to host in our new home. We spent the evening watching The Masters, catching up with family and friends, and enjoying the day together.

Life is good!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A Typical Kentucky Spring

Today it snowed. SNOWED?!?! We awoke to freezing temperatures, great big flakes, and the ground blanketed in white powder. It's April 7 .... just a typical Kentucky spring. My Mom has always told me never, never, never put out plants prior to Derby Day. And she's right, although I do recall a white Derby in my past, too. It may be 70 degrees one day and 20 degrees the next. And although those 70 degree days tempt us into believing it's spring, we all know better.

Not that we don't take advantage of those warm days!! Last week the kids were out of school on Spring Break and Wednesday was beautiful. I took the day off and before I even woke up, Sullivan had already researched the forecast, printed it off the computer, and had it waiting for me on the kitchen counter. Sunny skies, warm temps ... a perfect day for the zoo.

So Hagan, Sullivan, Oakley and I loaded up and headed north toward the Cincinnati Zoo. We tried to coax Sawyer out of bed to go with us, but he chose to sleep in.

We were pleasantly surprised to find no crowds and because it was such a nice day, most of the animals were really active - ready to welcome the warmer days.

The gardens were beautiful, and the tulips, my very favorite flower, were in full bloom.

The boys were a little disappointed that some of the animals hadn't been moved yet to their outdoor habitats because the weather was still a little cool for them. We'd much rather see the monkeys hanging from trees than behind glass cages. I understand the importance of zoos but it's always been a little depressing for me too.

We spent the longest time at the Gorilla exhibit. They are SO AMAZING to me. Last year we were enthralled with the Momma Gorilla and her new baby, but this year, it was this large male that drew us in. He stood up and walked around like a man ... for a long time. Incredible!

Regardless, we all had a great time and it was the highlight of our week!