pretty, pretty tulips

We have some lovely "Angelique" tulips blooming in the front flower beds right now . . . they look like the embodiment of all things girly and fairyland and ballet tutus . . .so pink and ruffly and delicate . .. I am in love!

zoo days are here again

We've all been missing our frequent trips to the zoo, but now that warmer weather is upon us once again we've been getting to the zoo almost once a week. What's not to love about the zoo? The kids get lots of fresh air and exercise, it's relatively inexpensive since we buy a membership each year, we see lots of interesting animals, and the people-watching is endlessly fascinating. Last Sunday morning we took a jaunt to the zoo, rode the carousel, and had an encounter with a friendly goose!

easter weekend

We celebrated easter with a lovely family luncheon out on the back patio . . . homemade tomato & mozzarella calzones, grilled sausages, a big green salad (thank you Vanessa & Bo), and of course, a great big chocolate cake, since we also celebrated Laurie's birthday. James, predictably, cut his nose about ten minutes before our guests arrived, so has a giant gash on his face in all the photos (it's not dirt, it's blood, I swear!).

goodbye winter? hello spring?

Yesterday was the last day of winter, but the weather was nice enough that I was able to take the children on an outing to the zoo yesterday morning. it was a bit chilly, but not too terrible, and it was lovely to be out in the fresh air. Today is the first day of spring. It began snowing sometime in the night, and it has snowed all day long. There are about six inches on the ground, and more to come. Have I mentioned how much I dislike the weather in Missouri?

snow-day outing

A local nursery (Family Tree Nursery in Overland Park) had an "Open House" this weekend with all sorts of fun, free activities for Children, including a petting zoo, a balloon artist, an "airbrush tattoo" artist, bead bracelet making, pot-your-own plant, popcorn, doughnuts, and much more. James and Lucy had a ball, and it almost made us forget about the snow coming down outside! We've had about six inches, and it's still snowing! On the first day of Spring.

frozen-cold-snowy-icy

On Saturday it was finally warm enough to actually go outside and take some photographs of our frozen, snowy world. It has been so unbelievably cold and snowy and icy . . . I feel silly complaining, because I know much of the country has much colder, snowier and icier weather than we do, but this is more than we usually get here in KC (a LOT more!) and it's so tough with small children. If it was just the husband and I, I'm sure it'd be wonderful . . . lazy afternoons hunkered down in front of the fire, marathon cooking sessions in the kitchen, a couple of good old movies to watch . . . but with two little ones at home (and both with a stomach virus, naturally!) our snowy-day fantasies will have to wait until the children are older.

cocoa-in-the-snow

Yesterday another wave of snow began it's assault on kansas city, and the children and I decided to celebrate (?) this by making hot cocoa, getting bundled up, and going outside to have cocoa-in-the-snow. This rapidly became James using the child-sized snow shovel to scoop up snow and throw it at Lucy and I, but it was fun while it lasted. And yes, there was peppermint schnapps in my cocoa.