"High-Biscuits" in Bloom

It feels like July here!  The kids sprayed each other with water yesterday afternoon:

 They were excited to see the first bloom on our new "high biscuits", as Crosby calls it.  :)

A disagreement over whose turn with this water gun.

 mad

 Other pretty things in bloom:

 And they found this lizard on the side of the house.  They tried to catch it, but it was too fast. 

Helicopter Flight

Lane started a new rotation today, and he had the opportunity to go on a flight with the med flight team.  They were actually going a short distance to a fundraiser benefitting the hospital, so there wasn't a patient on board.  On the way back to the hospital, the pilot offered to fly right over our house.  I wish the kids and I had been home so we could have gone outside to watch them fly over, but we missed it.  Here are a few pictures L took from the air:

the pilot
(Lane said he offered to let the kids come by and take a look at the helicopter sometime--I know they'd love that!)

West Little Rock (Embassy Suites, etc.)

Our cul-de-sac

Promenade shopping center
***
Meanwhile, back on the ground...
Our hydrangea is blooming!

The kids and I went to the park after school.  We met Holly and Reid at the park in their neighborhood and had fun feeding the ducks and geese and playing on the playground.  Crosby was so excited about the ducks that he was running really fast down the path and fell.  He scraped up his knees and hands, but he was tough and didn't let it slow him down for long.

 The geese were a nicer than the swans that Alexee and I saw last Friday.

 Then we went straight to swim lessons.  

Rhett moved up to the next level for May.  His new class practices swimming the whole length of the pool.  He was excited about that.  That's him swimming in the third lane over.  He did great!

 Here he is swimming back to the side.

Mother's Day Gift & Dinner with Neighbors

We've had a good weekend.  I'm not sure what made them think of it, but Friday after school the kids decided to go upstairs and work on my Mother's Day gift.  :)  They were gone for quite a while, with a few trips downstairs for tape, scissors, old Christmas wrapping paper, etc.  Once they were done, Alexee was ready to go ahead and give me the gifts a few weeks early.  Rhett disagreed and said they should wait.  I don't think it mattered to Crosby.  By Saturday they'd agreed to let me open one of the boxes.  They were so excited--it was sweet!  When I unwrapped  the gift and opened the box, this is what I saw:

                                       

They'd made several colorful bracelets, rings, necklaces and two cards.  

I loved all of it.  The cards were precious, and they wanted me to try on all the jewelry.  What a blessing to be their Mom!  

Saturday Lane worked in the yard, and the kids and I played outside for a long time.  Saturday evening Lane and I went to Bravo for a going-away dinner for our neighbors, the Kortebeins.  Most of the people who live on our street were there.  We've had several neighborhood cookouts, but it's always difficult to visit with the adults because we're busy watching the kids, so this was a nice night out together.  Patrick and Betsy (seated on the right) are moving to Pennsylvania at the end of May. We're sad to see them go.  Betsy is a fitness instructor, and I've really enjoyed doing two of her weekly classes at the gym.  She is a great teacher.  She really pushes you, and her classes are very challenging (at least they are for me!), but her "Today's a gift--Embrace it!" mentality is inspiring.  We wish their family all the best!

L to R:  Dennis, Laura, me, Lane, Silvana & Ariel, Steve & Becky, Matthew & Lindsey, Lisa, Jennifer, Patrick & Betsy, Brad and Matt

Girls' Lunch

This morning Alexee came up with the idea that we should go out for a girls' lunch.  Lane was off so he and Crosby hung out here while I took Alexee to eat at Milford Track.  We rarely go there, but the food is great.  It is located in the lobby of an office building that sits on this pretty lake.  There are geese and swans on the lake, but the signs warn you that the swans are nesting and are therefore "aggressive".  We found this to be true.  Alexee stopped to pick up a feather near some landscaping, and I guess the swan thought she was trying to get its eggs or something.  The swan was swimming several yards away, but when it saw her it spread its wings, hissed and started swimming super fast toward us!  Alexee screamed, but I couldn't keep from laughing.  No one was hurt.  :)

 Waiting for our food...

We tried several times to take a picture of ourselves:

 A's fruit bowl

 my pear and praline salad

 photo by Alexee

 We had fun girl time!

 The landscaping there was pretty.

afternoon fun