Plants & Animals

The day after Easter we took in a baby bunny.  Our neighbor's dog caught it, but somehow it was not harmed at all (just extremely frightened).  She brought it to our door and asked if the kids would like to care for it.  Of course they would!  It was the cutest, sweetest thing!  We bought puppy formula at Petco and fed it with a syringe.  The first day it was too afraid to eat, and I was worried that it might not make it.  The next day it had calmed down and developed a big appetite.  It took the formula with no problems at all and was so energetic that I could barely hold it.  We fed it formula twice a day for almost a week and gave it hay, clover and lettuce.  Once it started eating those things we thought it was probably independent enough to return to the woods. 

We let it go in the woods beside our house.  It was really ready to be free, but we were sad about it and a little worried about how it would do on its own.

Good luck, Brownie!

*****

I went to the zoo with Crosby's 2nd grade class.  It was a fun day, and I loved hanging out with him and his friends.

The giraffes are very friendly!

The petting zoo was very popular too.

Crosby had a great 2nd grade year!  This was a sweet class, and he made some new friends.  

*****

We're attempting to make a butterfly garden with milkweed and nectar plants.  Unfortunately the deer seem to like the plants too, so I'm not sure how well it is going to work.  

We've had a few monarch caterpillars.  They ate and ate then disappeared.  We are hoping we'll see them again as butterflies soon.  

We had a bluebird build a nest in our birdhouse.  There were three beautiful eggs, but unfortunately they never hatched.  I'm not sure what went wrong.

We also have a phoebe flycatcher nest (I think).

We had one peony bloom.   I planted a hibiscus tree and several tomato plants.  I love this time of year!

Bogart asleep on the couch.  :)

Spring Break in Kansas City

March 14-16

We spent two nights in Kansas City during the kids' spring break.  It was nice to get away for a little while and spend time together outside of the normal routine.  Unfortunately it turned cold again (and snowed a little bit during our drive) so we stayed bundled up while we were there, and we had to change our plans a little because it was too chilly to go to the zoo.  And I happened to wake up with that weird stomach bug the morning that we left town, so that wasn't great timing but we still made the best of our break.

When we got there on Tuesday we ate at T-Rex Cafe and then took the kids to SkyZone trampoline park.  I think they jumped for two solid hours!

Crosby wanted his picture made with the pterodactyl in the background because he did a project on pterodactyls earlier this school year.

We went to Trader Joe's to restock our cookie butter and coffee.  I love their fresh flower displays, but we're never able to buy flowers because we're traveling.  It would be nice to have a TJ's closer to home.

We also visited the College Basketball Experience/Hall of Fame at the Sprint Center.  It was very interactive, and I think the kids really enjoyed it.

Breakfast at eggtc. and shopping at World Market

We'd planned to visit the zoo on Thursday, but it wasn't warm enough so we went bowling instead.  We hadn't been bowling in years!  It was a lot of fun (but so much more difficult than it looks--my score was terrible)!

We ordered pizza there for lunch.  Love Crosby's expression on the left.  :)

That afternoon I dropped Lane and the kids off at home then I went to meet my parents to get Bogart back.  He does fine staying with them, but we were really missing him!  It was great to have him back.

Snowy March B-Day Celebration

On March 11 we got a spring snow!  Alexee had a volleyball tournament 45 minutes north of here, and by the time we got back home, the ground was covered with snow.  The roads remained clear though, which was great, so we carried on with our plans to go to Flippin for our annual March birthday party.  It snowed on us all the way there, but we had no trouble at all.  

Snow on the redbud tree in our front yard

It had snowed a lot more in Flippin.  It was so pretty!  Strange to see it on the blossoming trees though.

No coats...It didn't really even seem cold!  

I love the tree-lined road by my parents' house.

So Saturday evening was our family party to celebrate all the March Birthdays:  Micaela's, Rhett's, Jaiden's and Crosby's.  Mom made chicken tacos, chips & dip and we had cake and ice cream for dessert.  She got these cute little individual cakes for the birthday people and a large cake to share.

Crosby--soon to be 8 & Rhett--soon to be a TEENAGER! 

I can't believe how big my nephew is already!  We don't get to see him enough.  He's sitting up and reaching for everything...he seemed to love C's glasses. :)  He's such a sweet baby.

I think Jaiden had one of her "laugh attacks".   :)

Happy Birthday to these sweet kids!  We love you all!

My parents asked Crosby what he might like for his birthday, and he sent them a picture of a snake rubik's cube.  He was excited to get one (and has spent many hours since then improving his time working the puzzle).

SO FUN having a baby to play with!

In preparation for swimming season, Crosby also received some pool toys!

My parents and grandparents with all the kids.  A fun time together!

February Summary

These photos/events probably aren't in chronological order, but I'm just trying to catch up...so this is a summary of what happened in February:

Lunch with Crosby.  I'm very surprised that he likes broccoli, but I'm glad he does.

Crosby got glasses!  Now our whole family needs contacts and/or glasses.  I think he looks super cute!  They have lime green and blue on the sides.  He was excited about getting them, and hasn't complained at all about wearing them.  

Alexee participated in the school dodgeball tournament fundraiser.  The girls chose their team name:  Dodging Donuts.  They made it to the finals of the tournament, but got beat in the last few seconds of the game.  It was an exciting day for them!

 Watching one of A's ballgames.  Rhett needs a haircut!

 We had unusually warm weather in February.  One afternoon we went for a hike in the woods.

 I just thought this was funny.  He hates baths.

We had lots of ballgames in February!  It kept us busy and left zero free Saturdays, but it's always fun to watch the kids play.  It has been a fun season for both Alexee and Crosby.

I had this chair recovered at a local upholstery shop, and I repainted the frame (with Annie Sloan chalk paint and dark wax).  I'm happy with how it turned out.  It's a great little spot to sit and drink coffee by the window.  :)

A's school had a showcase night for 4th-6th grades.  Alexee showed us her final draft of Agent Cheesy Cheese, Spy Mouse, her group robot and a great piece of artwork!  Proud of our creative girl!

Also proud of Rhett, he was voted as a "student of the month".  He and the other student pictured were invited to lunch off-campus with their Principal!

We had some stormy spring weather, including tornado warnings.  We spent some time in the basement laundry room waiting out the storm (or so we thought).  We couldn't hear anything in the basement, so I was trying to read the radar on my phone to get up-to-date information about the storm, but it wasn't working very well.  I sent Lane a text at work that said, "I can't really read this weather app."  He replied, "It's over is now", which I interpreted to mean "It's over now"...as in moved on and safe to get out of the shelter.  So we came back upstairs to (a cold) dinner, noticing that the storm still seemed close by.  Later that night I figured out that Lane meant to type "It's over us now"....meaning the storm is currently right over our area.  Oops!! Glad we were okay.  Bogart was very nervous for a while, but finally settled down for a nap on top of a pile of Alexee's stuffed animals.

 Crosby had a fun class Valentine party!  

This came home in his backpack one day...I loved it!  So precious to me.  

Lane's parents came up to visit the weekend before Valentine's Day.  We went out to dinner at the Japanese steakhouse Friday night, and they were able to see A & C play basketball Friday and Saturday.  Rhett took the ACT that Saturday morning, and we took the kids to the indoor climbing place on Sunday.  Busy weekend!

Valentine's Day dessert was heart shaped cookie cakes with ice cream.

Lane and I had Valentine lunch out and went Target shopping for two new small appliances...practical Valentine's gifts!

I drove a group of girls to NW Arkansas for their first club volleyball tournament.  It was a fun weekend!

One weekend Rhett went to NW Arkansas with my Dad to see my niece and nephew play basketball. (Unfortunately it was a different weekend from when we were there playing volleyball--wish we could have all been there together.)  Between games they went to Cabella's.  R had a good time!

It seems like things have been extra busy lately!