Breaking News...

T.S. insisted on taking the training wheels off this evening. We did and he peddled right off. The bike is a little too tall, so getting on by himself is tricky.

He peddled away then jumped off, threw his fist in the air and pronounced, "I'm okay!!" (He thinks you jump off to stop.)

Here he is riding off into the sunset towards the west.

Someone's Five Today...

Happy Birthday, T.S.!!

Five things about T.S.:

1. brings joy to our lives
2. bashful in a crowd
3. thoughtful, most of the time
4. busy and imaginative

5. adventurous and spirited

Adventures in the Pasture

Yesterday, the kids and I got on the four-wheeler and explored the east pasture.

We checked out the draw and the green grass. We spotted coyote tracks and badger tracks (we think--still checking on those).

We found a part of the playa lake that we didn't realize was there and saw several ducks and at least a dozen American Avocets. (Yes, I looked it up).

We went on over the "hill" and found a part of the pasture that right now is "beautiful" according to Sadie. (I have to agree with her.)

We ventured to the pasture by the house and the kids climbed the windmill and observed more ducks while listening to the frogs begin their evening serenade. Our goal is to see a frog and catch it--so far no luck on either.

T.S. even thanked me for taking them down there and said, "Mom, that was a good adventure."

Swimsuits in April

Yesterday the temperature hit 90 degrees. So the kids set up the sprinkler under the trampoline (all by themselves).

Blast Off!!

T.S. finally got to go purchase the rocket he earned by filling his "breather" chart. (He has to use an inhaler twice a day for asthma and we used the chart as an incentive to help make the daily task a habit.) He thoughtfully picked out a kit that had 2 rockets so Sadie could have one, too. He and I finished the second rocket assembly today. The weather was very favorable (breezy, upper 80s), so we decided to launch.

The kids took turns firing both rockets. The best part of the whole thing may have been watching the walk to the field (and back) to recover the rockets after the last launch.

(BTW--Definitely up in the standings for Mother of the Year after today and yesterday)

Boom a Ring!!

We enjoyed another circus performance Saturday evening. This time we travelled to Amarillo to see Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey's Boom a Ring! We all had a fabulous time.

At the pre-show, Sadie tried on circus costumes.

The kids thought the snow cones in clown mugs were cool.

Fun in the Water

Tryce brought his rain boots today, so I let the boys have some fun in the puddles. When they were finished, I think we poured out several inches of water from their boots.

Playing and Waiting

What do you do while you are waiting to see if you need to take cover during a storm? Why, play Play-doh candy shop, of course.

I took this--and, yes, Sadie really does have a top to her head.

T.S. took this one--much better composition than his mother.

We had storms in our area last night. We managed to get by with small hail and lots of rain. South of us, near Tulia, they had some tornadoes, LOTS of hail and lots of rain. The Interstate is still closed this morning south of Tulia because of water over the road. They had to get the graders and snow plows out in Tulia to clear the hail from the roads.

The Day After

I think these boys are up to something:

The boys were thrilled to get to do a little target practice with all of those dyed eggs. They were very intrigued with the inside of the egg--amazed that it was white and that there was a yellow ball in the middle. They thought they were very sneaky trying to bring the yellow part into the house. I caught them and convinced them that Petunia would love it.

Talley certainly enjoyed the egg-throwing event.

Hunting Eggs

There's a story behind T.S.'s bucket. We couldn't find his bucket on Saturday morning. I told him he could use Sadie's other one. (She was choosing to use the basket from Sissy's wedding.) T.S. didn't want to use it because it was pink and had beads on it. I went on to town to set up the community egg hunt. T.S. arrived with our bead bucket (formerly a play-doh container). He didn't seem to mind it.

Easter Morning

Dyeing Eggs

Every year, the cousins get together and dye Easter eggs. This event has become a very big deal to the kids (and parents and grandparents). It ranks right up there with Christmas. The Fourth of July is a HUGE deal, too, but that's another story. This year, we didn't have quite as many cousins as usual, but that didn't slow us down. We had a ball dyeing eggs to the sound of rain on Shipo's barn roof.

(Sorry the pictures are so dark-- I think my camera has seen better days and has been dropped one too many times.)