Zoo Days

Anden's on Spring Break this week. So we headed to the Zoo!

This rare wild creature was Anden's favorite

Taylee was thrilled when she found the swinging monkey!

Anden was suddenly nice to his little sister

only so he could drag her over to the warty pigs

where she was scarred from their smell

Their favorite part is the Little Tikes Playground!

While Anden admired the "real life" machinery,
Jer looked one way...
Taylee darted the other way.

I asked for her cutest smile. She gave me a full body bear growl instead.

Trying to steal back the limelight, he posed without any promptings

Looking for the Zebra

Finding the Zebra!

Heading up the Giraffe Tower

Just cuz she's so cute!

And one more. This pic is my fave!

I only asked for a simple smile.
You would have thought I just told them all the animals had died.

It really was a great day at the Zoo!

Many Faces

Taylee is one big ball of personality!

She is so animated and has a "face" for every emotion!

And those were all captured within 30 seconds!

As she told me about all the rocks and weeds she was finding.

Spring Sundays

WE LOVE SPRING IN AZ! The desert is beautifully green. The sun is warm. The air is crisp. And somehow it even smells good outside! We're living it up!

We took a Sunday afternoon drive in the rhino.

We played on top of a mountain

Here's our little "town"!

Enjoy it! For soon enough the desert will be boring brown. The sun will be blistering HOT. The air will be straight from a blow dryer. And it'll smell like charred earth outside.

Good thing we live in the water or A/C during those months!

T Ball Game #6

Saturday was Anden's final T-ball game! (We didn't know this until we arrived!) Good thing Grandma AND Aunt Kristy decided to join in the fun. (warning: double vision occurs when they're both around!) And better thing for me since Jer couldn't make it and I would have struggled alone!

Pre Game Warm Ups

At Bat

Aunt Kristy being the "field babysitter"

Grandma being the "sideline babysitter"

Medal Time

Taylee's Training Time

Thanks for coming to the game!

And I thought this scene was adorable and hurried and grabbed my camera while managing to not push the stroller &Taylee into a tree.

It wasn't until I downloaded the pic that I realized something was awry.

Anden's bull-legged cowboy noodle legs.

I apparently caught him when he was prepping for "1, 2, 3, Whee"

Til Next March

Unfortunately the day arrived that it was time for Papa Nolie to go home. Anden really did think he could get in the suitcase and go with him. He was a bit distraught when I wouldn't allow that. As a consolation prize, we let him walk 5 feet into the airport.

Later that night when we were saying bedtime prayers. We blessed that Papa would make it home safely on the airplane. Anden interrupted to add to the prayer:

"And please bless that he falls out of the airplane and lands in his backyard."

Bye Papa Nolie! We love you!

Come back soon! (well once you've recovered from the fall!)

Spring Days

On Monday morning, Jer took Dad and the kids to the park...while I was at work. (c'mon people, someone has to work around here!) Judging by the pictures, they had a great time!

(more pics coming soon - blogger was fighting me to upload them)

That afternoon, I ditched work (ok retract my previous comment) and took Dad to Spring Training. Just us. No kids. We actually watched the game! A's vs Mariners. It was awesome.

Dad was so excited, he could smell AND taste the baseball fever.