Dallas Blooms!

It was Good Friday, my birthday, and Jackson was out of school.  I thought, what should we do?  Dallas Blooms, of course!  We had never been to the Arboretum during this time of the year, and I've always heard how gorgeous it is.  When the weatherman took rain out of the forecast and told me it was going to be 76 and sunny, I was sold, so off we went.  Seems we weren't the only ones with this grand idea!  We even ran into three of my friends and two of Jackson's friends. 

From the moment we got there all of us were in awe.  The tulips were so beautiful!

Both girls really wanted to smell them.

I'm not sure why, but this picture just melts my heart.  It's so sweet and innocent.

Another bonus of going during March--you get to meet the Easter Bunny!

Lila was a little weary about sitting with him without her mamacita, so I hopped in the pic, too. It was such a nice treat.  We only waited about 8 minutes and then got to take pictures with the bunny for free, with our own cameras.  Who needs a $15 picture with that creepy mall bunny anyway?!

I'm really glad that both grandmas spent the day with us, too. 

After a nice picnic lunch, the kids were off and running.  They chased birds, laughed at squirrels and just ran around in the beautiful sunshine.

Then they found the frog fountains and promptly got a little wet.  I wasn't really wanting them to get soaked, so we made a quick exit from that area.



Freedom!



Did I mention how beautiful these flowers were?!  We could not get enough.

We finally found the big slide that friends had been telling us about.  The big kids were all about it.

They zoomed down three times before we lured them away to go see the huge tee-pee.

What was so great about the inside of this tee-pee?  Just dirt.  They liked it, though!  They did some dirt artwork and then came out to go for a ride in this log canoe.

When it didn't go anywhere they were over it pretty fast!

J man remembered that we could see White Rock Lake from the Arboretum and he really wanted to do that.  He and the girls walked so nicely towards it:)

Little did we know that there was also a petting zoo set up near the lake.  It might have been the sparest petting zoo ever, with only one sheep, five goats, one bunny and a chicken, but they enjoyed petting the bunny!

They also liked brushing the sheep for a minute, but then the sheep ran off.  Guess he'd had enough grooming.

It was getting later, so we started making our way back towards our car. 
What a nice path on which to stroll:)

By this time, both girls were pretty tired and Jackson offered to pull them around.

We found lots more vibrant tulips on our way to the fountains.

Thank you, Shelley and Mom for spending the day with me.

And thank you kiddos for being sweet children while we were there!

Of course, I owe the biggest thank you to my mom for giving me life 33 years ago.  As I have been told, I was a week late and put her through a very long labor.  Sure hope I was worth it!



I know that this sweet kid has brightened my life in ways I never knew were possible...



and his sister has, too.  I am blessed.  So very blessed.

Easter Eggstravaganza

We were bummed that the egg hunts got rained out last weekend and then there was lots of rain in the forecast for this weekend, so we just decided to host a last minute Easter Eggstravaganza of our own.

The girls started out by decorating these cute little eggs with chicks, flowers and such...



and then everyone moved into the kitchen to ice and decorate their sugar cookies.



It's safe to say they loved putting sprinkles all over their cookies. 
Would you like a cookie with those sprinkles?

Austin, Jackson and I hid tons of eggs in the backyard and then it was time for the hunt to begin.  Ready, set...

GO!!



I asked Jackson and Austin to give the little kids a headstart and encouraged them to help their little sisters.  Jackson was trying to so hard, but Lila would have none of it.  She just kept running away from him saying, "I don't need your help, Jackson!" 



Seems she had this hunting business down pat!

The kids found eggs all over the backyard...even way up in the fort!

A few minutes later, J ran over to me with so many eggs that he could barely carry them all.  He said, "Mom, what do I do now?"  My response--"I think you're probably done, son."

With the egg hunt over, the kids just got to enjoy the afternoon in the backyard.  Carter loved watching Austin and Jackson play baseball...

and the girls had a ball playing "Crack the Egg" on the tramp.

Lila LOVED getting to play with her friend Chloe...her new best friend, according to Lila!

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  And now I'm feeling so much better that my kids have had a proper egg hunt!

Lila's first egghunt--on her own!

On the way to school yesterday Lila was so excited.  It was their Easter party and egg hunt day, so she was pumped.  When I asked her if she knew what an egg hunt was she replied, "yes, it's when you color eggs."  Hmmm.  We had to have a quick lesson and then she was good to go!

After a few of us parents hid the eggs on the playground, the kids got their baskets and were rearing to go.  Ready, set, find those eggs!



Lila was so happy when she found the egg that she had dyed at school a few days earlier.  It even had her name on it:)




After finding a few eggs, she took the fast way down and slide down the slide.  An egg hunt is no time to be slow!



During the hunt, she found all kinds of cool eggs like this big blue one.

All the kids were happy with their loot and ready to smile with their sweet teacher.

Then back to the classroom we went.  The kids got to choose one piece of candy to eat.  Lila popped a whole chocolate egg in her mouth and ate it with a big grin on her face.  After that, the kids had some donut holes and yogurt.  It was a fun way to start the day.  Load 'em up on sugar and then the parents get to leave!  Sorry, Ms. Kristy!

Easter Eggs

Why do we dye eggs at Easter and go on Easter egg hunts?  What does the egg really mean?  Last week we got out all of our Easter books and started reading them every night.  The kids really love telling me the story of Easter and it shows me how much they have been listening. 

On Monday afternoon we got out our bibles and read in the book of John about what was happening when Jesus rode into town on a donkey colt for the Passover feast.  We talked about how his followers all took off their coats, laid them on the donkey and then he rode through town while they waved palm leaves at him and shouted "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  Lila immediately piped up, "we made palm leaves in Sunday school yesterday!" and then started talking about how they waved them very fast.  We discussed how the people thought Jesus was going to become their new King and save them from the mean king that was in power.  I told them that Jesus was there to save them, just not in the way the people thought. 

Then I asked Jackson, "what did Jesus do for us." He said, "he died on the cross."  Why?  "To save us from our sin."  Now that's the answer I expected, I just wasn't sure he knew what it really meant, so I probed a little more.  What does that mean?  He said, "Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin so that we could all go to heaven with him when we die."  Perfect answer.  Happy heart. 

Which brings me back to my first question.  Why so much fuss about eggs?  Well, the eggs are symbolic of new life.  Jesus died so that we can all have a new life in heaven.  It's so simple and yet so meaningful, too.

So let's decorate those beautiful eggs!  The kids patiently dyed the eggs until they were just the right color.

They loved writing secret messages on the eggs, too!  Lila had me write "I love you, Mom!  You're the best mom in the whole wide world!"  J man wrote one for me, too.  I was feeling the love.

We also got to decorate the eggs with stickers and paint.  How fun!  I painted a few bunnies and some flowers for Madison.  I don't think our eggs are going to win any pinterest contests, but the kids enjoyed it so much.  And they understood what the egg represents during this special time.  And that makes the fact that my hands still have blue dye on them today totally worth it!



Shoes are tied!

Another milestone--Jackson learned to tie his shoes yesterday!

He'd been practicing for a few days and he finally got it.  He was so proud of himself and I was proud of him too.  Gosh, where did my little boy go?  He's lost 5 teeth and can now tie his shoes!  Good grief!

Spring Break Outtakes

Candids and other fun moments from our weekend with friends

Spring Training with Adam and Jared--this guy is ready for baseball season to start already.

"Swing me higher, Mom!"



Fourwheeling on a gorgeous day--pretty sweet!



Leaf blower Man--watch out!

The little kids going off on an adventure.  When we asked what they were doing, Lila replied "we're going to see the horses, Mom, by ourselves!"  So sassy and yet so darn cute.

Someone loves to play in the hay

Super Saw flying high!

J's turn--he was a bit harder to catch!

Little girl took a flying leap off of this big hay bale...

Sweet friends

Brushing Emma so nicely--Lila and Riley got her looking good!

"Daddy can you help me feed the horses?"

Sawyer and Riley took the first lap on Emma...

and Jackson got a turn, too.  Thank goodness this horse didn't take off like Mr. Dub did!

Finally, a few minutes to relax!  We let the kids run around outside and play, play, play.  After dinner and dessert it was time to wash all 7 layers of dirt off those little rascals.

Clean and sweet-smelling, as her daddy would say!  It was a fantastic way to end Spring Break. 
Thanks, Gigi and Boom for sharing your rockin' ranch.  Love y'all!