poppy, cracker crumbs, ibis

My papaver "Manhattan" bloomed (finally!) today, and I am so happy. It is so pretty. Memorial Day trip to the zoo this morning with D and the children. James ate cheddar bunnies with gusto, as you can see, and Lucy and David enjoyed the birds in the aviary.

tractors and guns, oh my

We spent most of the day Sunday at D's sister's house in Lane, KS, about an hour south-west of here. J spent most of his afternoon parked behind the steering wheel of a vintage, non-operational John Deere tractor. He was in heaven. The grown-ups and older kids spent an hour or two shooting clay pigeons with shotguns. I have VERY mixed feelings about guns, children with guns, and the idea of shooting things. But it was fun to watch, and D, his brother and brother-in-law were incredibly careful and cautious when the kids were shooting, and they even managed to convince me to give it a try! Aghhh, I know, I can hardly believe it myself. But it was actually fun, and empowering. Might even try it again sometime (but no, I would NEVER want to go hunting, no way, no how)

fairy gardens, happy children

A few weeks ago we moved our enormous swing-set from the side of our house to the backyard, right outside the kitchen window. Since the move the children have been playing outside a LOT more than they were before, because it easier for me to watch them AND cook dinner/fold laundry/etc./etc. All this outdoor time has inspired all sorts of new creative play, including the "fairy house" Lucy and I made (out of an old plastic pot, twigs, moss, and a lot of hot glue from the hot glue gun!) and the "fairy garden" we've been constructing all around the fairy house. We think the fairies approve of their little refuge, and have been visiting often.

sweet baby james

I really am going to have to stop calling James my baby sometime soon - he is a "big boy" now! But oh, he is still my little sweetheart baby boy sometimes, like this morning. We had half an hour to kill before Costco opened at 10:00, so we stopped at the Kauffman Garden for a little mommy-son romp among the flowers, and James was so sweet, so cute, so funny! (This is rare these days as he is definitely putting the "terrible" in "terrible twos" . . . hopefully he'll get through this stage quickly!) He had so much fun sniffing flowers, running down the paths, balancing on the curbs . . . it was a joy and delight just to see him so happy!

artichokes

I adore artichokes. I can eat them all ways, at all times. Lucy does not (yet!) love them, which breaks my heart. But tonight I introduced James to his first-ever steamed artichoke. I showed him how to peel off the leaves one at a time, dip the leaf in the dipping sauce, and scrape the yummy artichoke flesh off of the leaf with your teeth, and toss the spent leaf into the "trash" bowl in the middle of the table. The first two leaves he needed a bit of help with, but after that he took to it like a duck to water. He'd take each leaf off, eat the good part off, then throw the leaf into the bowl and scream "I did it" - then repeat. It was noisy, but very, very, very cute!

prairie children

We had a little ramble at the "Lakeside Nature Center" the other morning. It's one of our favorite places to visit, despite (me) or because of (J & L) the enormous rattlesnakes they have on display. I favor the owls. The kiddos like the giant alligator snapping turtle. We took photos out in front of the center with some native grasses and wildflowers.

Happy Mother's Day

My darling children, David and myself celebrated Mother's Day with an outing to the Zoo this morning. Like all of our outings to the zoo, this one began with a ride on the carousel.

In addition to the trip to the zoo, I was presented with a lovely breakfast (but not in bed!), we had a fun lunch out at our local "mexican" restaurant, and David and the children are making a supper of a green salad topped with grilled chicken, grilled zucchini (Lucy's favorite!), grilled peppers, and grilled ciabatta - yum!

15? Really?

This cannot be real, but the calendar just doesn't lie. Andrew turned 15 on Saturday. He is now old enough to drive (!!!) to and from school and work without an adult accompanying him. Crazy. Celebrated his b-day with a great big 3-layer mocha cake and a heart beef-centric dinner.