Spring is Here!

There has been so much going on for the month of February and now it's March and spring is officially here in Texas.  This year we really had no winter -- not a single freeze or snow when we usually get at least one!  I wouldn't complain except that one of my friends reminded me that a mild winter equals a lot of bugs in the spring and summer.  But I am enjoying the warmer temperatures and the trees all budding.  My parents came to visit for Megan's baptism and my mom stayed for a week and she's a little upset about having to return to Ohio after the beautiful spring week that we've just had!!

Megan's baptism last Saturday got off to a rocky start.  We were very blessed to have a small group of family and close friends.  Megan's art teacher from school came too!!  But she refused to come out of the bathroom after changing.  So I stayed in with her and when it was time for the actual baptism she did go (a little reluctantly) into the water.  But after it was over, she was all smiles and even let us take lots of pictures!!  Of course after that I realized there was a fingerprint on the lens of my camera.  Then we had a celebratory lunch at home and overall it turned out to be a really wonderful day.  

All of these girls (except Abby of course) are friends of Megan's in her primary class who will be getting baptized this year!

I think this is the best picture we got and the smudge is right over my head!!  It makes me look a little ghostly I think!

 

Our family picture makes me laugh.  Megan likes to put stuffed animals on peoples heads, Abby likes to smile for pictures, and William is engrossed in the flashlight that Grandma Gasser used in her talk on the Holy Ghost (which was a really good talk!).

 

First grandchild baptized!!

I tried to get a picture of Megan drawing without her knowing.  She loves mythical creatures, especially dragons and uses toys as models sometimes.

We went to the school's open house this week and saw the work that the girls are doing and visited with all the teachers.  This is Megan's latest art class piece that is hanging in the hall.  I love how her teacher does mixed media with the kids (the dolls are separate pieces glued on top of the buildings) and teaches the kids so much in the process of doing the art.  Since doing this piece, Megan has really been interested in the onion domes of Russia.

Random picture of William apparently hungry.

The week before the baptism and my parents arrival, William and I went to the zoo with some friends.  We don't do enough of these trips I think -- poor last child.  Anyway, they had a sculpture display of animals made of Legos that was pretty amazing.  Behind William is a snow leopard -- made entirely of Legos!  I cannot even begin to fathom how you do that!

The peacock

One of the snakes in the reptile house was VERY active and William thought that was the coolest thing ever for it to slither all the way up the glass and down.  I think he'll really love the plush snake he gets for Easter!

We fed the giraffes!!  We'd never done that before and he thought that was pretty cool as well.

This is just proof that somehow, 2 of my 3 are left-handed.  I guess I have powerful genes!

Abby was kindergarten student of the week!

The day after the baptism, my dad flew home, but my mom was able to stay for a week (we miss her already though).  Chopper had one of those days off and so he stayed home with William and we girls went off to Denton square and McKinney and shopped and ate and saw the sights.  The courthouse in Denton is pretty amazing!

Then of course with such amazing weather, we had to take a trip to the Arboretum to see the tulips!  And it was well worth it. 

This year they've added a temporary display of sculptures to the garden of great Americans.  They were all pretty incredible and included a lot of symbols of their accomplishments. 

Benjamin Franklin

Yes there's a car on display (for advertising purposes as a sponsor I'm sure) and yes it's pretty much William's favorite thing.  Although he does also love the fountains and waterfalls.

Abraham Lincoln

Whoops!  Did I say Americans?  Ok most of the them all but I think that they're just contributors to society because this is definitely Shakespeare.  And he's my favorite because of all the symbols of his characters in his plays.

Monet

The Wright Brothers

Albert Einstein

Mark Twain -- who I honestly don't love.

 

 

Friday was Abby's horse parade!!  It's the culmination of a week of learning all about Texas and they create their own stick horses and dress in western wear and parade around the school.  She looked adorable!

And then William had to pose too.  He was also adorable.

At the parade we saw Abby several times, and every time William had to go and stop the procession and give her hugs and kisses.  

Abby's class 

Yet more hugs and kisses

After the parade we went back for Abby's lunch and then back for Megan's.  Of course all the pictures I took of her and Grandma were sneaky ones because she refused to pose and smile!

After such a busy day, we went to play at the park and William had a HUGE meltdown over a diaper (long story) and screamed and fought and hit and ran away for a good long time.  I finally got him to calm down and was holding him when this happens.  You see, he figured out how to open his bedroom door despite the child-proof knobs.  That means that in the past 2 weeks he has not slept past 6 in the morning and has not taken any naps.  I need to be grateful that he doesn't get up during the night like Abby did (for 5 years!!!) but we have both been pretty worn down by his new choice of schedule.

And last but not least, I ran a 5K last night with friends and we were the Glowdeo Gals!!  See our cute mini cowboy hats?  I've really been trying to run and race and keep myself healthy and active to keep up with the kids.  Racing is the motivation to actually run but it definitely helps when I've got such a wonderful group of ladies to do it with!  I met my goal last night and had a good run so that's a bonus!