Memories

Immediately upon taking this photo of Lyla, Tommy and I turned to each other and both started saying "do you remember that photo of Steven in Baltimore?"

The tables were turned ... I was on a work conference that week but it is funny how moments repeat themselves. And isn't it amazing how they have no fear at this age?

Remember our trip to Baltimore?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lyla!

It isn't my style to push my favorite things onto others but what could be better than watching a movie in a comfy bed while eating pizza followed up with yummy cupcakes!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lyla!

After dinner and cupcakes, I took the kids for a short walk along the White River. It was just a gorgeous night and there were lots of people out and about in the park. Only moments from returning to the hotel the kids decided to run wild (are you surprised?) and attack a tree that had a fresh pile of mulch around it. Then, Lyla put some in her mouth. Only moments after that she looked up at me and turned green. She proceeded to loose her dinner and cupcake down the front of her birthday dress. Turns out that mulch was laced with manure ... not the best end to her second birthday but forgetting that moment, the day was a blast!

Trike-a-thon

Steven had a very successful first charity fundraiser! He raised $75 for St. Jude Children's Hospital by peddaling like a madman around the preschool's parking lot.

I had the day off work and Tommy went in late so we were able to be there to watch the kids race around in circles. I think Steven thought they were going to ride their trikes to the hospital and bring the donations to the kids. That'd be a long ride!

Thank you for your support!

Lyla even got in on the action!

Questions

Lately Steven has been asking a LOT of questions. But most of them take the form of, "what is INSERT ITEM made from?"
What are clouds made from? Water
What are carrots made from? Carrots

This morning at breakfast he asked what are Pina Coladas made from? I told him they were made from pineapples and coconuts. Then he asked if Papa Gene was going to go to the jungle and find him some coconuts. You have your assignment, Papa Gene.

(For those of you who didn't go on the beach vacation last summer, Papa Gene and Steven had a thing going about pina coladas. It was completely nonesense but really funny. I can't believe we still talk about them!)

We missed you, Zoo!

Kangaroos and Tigers and (polar) Bears, Oh my! (Lions are off exhibit due to construction so we substituted Kangaroos today.)

This weekend Tommy was at a wedding in Houston so I was in charge of activity planning for the family. When I opened the door to let Kira outside this morning and was met with a blast of hot air, I immediately knew a long-awaited trip to the zoo was in order.

We thought the zoo might be mad at us because it has been a long time since our last visit and we were starting to be known as zoo regulars. This winter just beat us down but we did manage to visit the zoo's indoor exhibits a few times. Turns out the animals did forgive us for not visiting very often this winter.

Today on the other hand, was glorious. I even made the decision to leave the stroller at home because I knew the kids needed some exercise in the warm sunshine. I didn't regret leaving it at home because both kids made it walking for the full three hours we were there. Now we did stop for a snack in the Polar Bear exhibit, then we stopped at the kangaroos for some cantaloupe, then we rode the train 1.5 times around the loop, then we stopped and ate PBJ with the elephants, and then we rode the carousel. So we did get a lot of breaks during our visit. It was such a fun morning!

It is so amazing how much a little sunshine can do for a family on a Sunday morning in April!

My husband's sanity returns!

After a long, cold winter, my husband finally awoke with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. It was a hard morning trying to find a suitable outfit - should it be white or blue, what should the writing be, a logo or hotdog? Where are kids' new outfits? I found their hats! Oh the joy Opening Day brings to the Clark Family!

Now we just wait for a winning record!

I need a Super Hero