Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had!  It began on Saturday when I went to a tea party in Burnet with my mom, my grandmother, and my aunts.  This is the kind of thing you can only find in small cities.  Very girly and very fun!

Here are some of the decorations.

We had scones, various sandwiches including chicken salad, and dessert.  It was dainty, but I was full when it was over.

Here we all are.  Left to right: My mom, me, my grandmother, my aunt Kara, and my aunt Tammy.

Outside the dining area was a nice garden where we took the remainder of these pictures.

My mother who I love dearly!

The following day Josue, the kids, and I went to church.  Joshua was so excited it was Mother's Day.  He loves any holiday!  I love his passion for life!  No worries, just parties.

The kids and I.  I chose two pictures because they are each smiling in a different one.

Josue and his mom.  The kids and Josue took Evelia and I to lunch after church.  We felt special.

The kids and Buela

I am so blessed!

Pre-Summer Fun

Already we've got the the sprinkler going!  It started with the kids wanting to use their new umbrellas.  Just one evening I took them out when I was watering the yard. 

Since then, we've put on the bathing suits and headed outside.  Here they are, full of smiles.

Our friend Adam was over to enjoy it as well. 

Two boys having fun!

There will be lots more water to come once the heat really hits!

Pickin' Strawberries

Last week I met my mom to go to the Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls. They have strawberries ready to pick. The kids had a great time.

The first thing we did was pick strawberries.

The kids did a great job finding ones that were just right.

Here's a picture of the strawberry plants.

We have been studying ladybugs, so it was fun to see real ones. I later learned that they are friends to the farmers. Their diet is the bugs (aphids) that like to eat the plants. Joshua discovered he has no fear of bugs. Ever since this picture, he lets bugs crawl on him. I have had to make sure he doesn't let spiders crawl on him.

A place to take pictures.

Then the petting zoo. Tabitha has no fear. She loved feeding them. Joshua let Gigi do it for him.

Tabitha summed it up well!

Easter

For Easter this year, I wanted to teach the kids more about Jesus, so we made an Easter lapbook.  Here they are coloring some crosses to place on the front. 

For the remainder of the book, we made flashcards with words like heaven, Jesus, cross, saved, etc.  We also made a puzzle from the number three so they would remember that he rose on the third day.  I was absolutely amazed at how much they learned.  And they enjoyed it as well.  It was our bedtime book for at least a week.

I also did an arts and crafts project, and let them color eggs.  They did two apiece.  We would never eat a dozen eggs!

On Saturday before Easter, we did a treasure hunt to find their Easter baskets.  Easter day is so busy for us, and I didn't want to take away from it.  The kids had so much fun finding the baskets and then playing with their new toys.  Josue and I both agreed that we had never seen them play with toys for so long.  Joshua got the Scooby characters, and Tabitha got Cinderlla to dress up.

This is my lovely family at church Easter Sunday.

Here we are outside my grandmother's house.  Every Easter we go to her house to celebrate with my family.  The kids really, really look forward to it.

Of course there is an Easter egg hunt.  Joshua and Tabitha are by far the youngest, and every one treats them so kindly.  They placed many, many eggs in one location for them, and they didn't allow the older kids to search there.

Confetti eggs were included.  They told Joshua you crack it on someone you like.  Papa was on his list!

My two babies!

Fiesta Texas

I found a couple of things I hadn't yet posted.  One was a trip to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.  We took a mini-vacation to get away for one night.  We visited a kid friendly hotel first.  Joshua got his face painted.

I wish you could have seen Tabitha.  Even I missed it.  She got into the chair to get a princess crown, but when the girl began, Tabitha wanted nothing to do with it.  I didn't realize it because she wasn't saying anything.  Josue however was watching her, and he called it to my attention.  When I looked at her she was looking at me saying, "Mommy, mommy" and then sideways glancing at the girl.  I asked her if she wanted it, and she said no.  When I asked Josue what he saw her doing, he said Tabitha was giving her a look like, "What are you doing?!"  Girls.  How we can get our point across without actually saying anything!

We then headed to Fiesta Texas the next morning.  What surprises we had waiting for us!

Scooby Doo is a character there!  I don't know who was more excited, Joshua or myself.  When I come across things they really like, I get so excited for them! 

Tabitha did get a little sleepy...she still naps.

Surprisingly, the kids had many rides available to them if a parent was to ride.

Josue didn't care for the teacups.

One of the last rides was a Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion.  It really couldn't get any better for us!  It might even be more exciting than DisneyWorld.  (Probably not, but we didn't have to travel far or spend a lot of money to go.)  We had so much fun!

Visitors from Oklahoma

Grandpa, Auntie Jayne, and Peanut came to visit us last week.  The kids had a great time playing with them!

Here are the kids with Grandpa and Peanut.

I joined them.

Tabitha loves the princesses, and she got a few gifts from them.  A set of books.

And pajamas.  (The pajamas were on a chair in her room when she went to nap.  When she awoke, she came out looking like this.)

Joshua got a castle, and now goes around the house telling me, "I have always wanted a castle!"

He enjoyed it even more when Grandpa played with him.

How the little things are so much fun!  Joshua is really enjoying his new whistle.

Bubbles

Cowboy hat

Of course toys are fun, but what the kids enjoyed most was spending time with them.  The next morning after they left, Joshua woke up asking when he would see Grandpa again.  We are looking forward to the next visit!

Dance Recital

I taught a neighborhood dance class for the months of January, February, and March.  Just sharing a skill I spent 15 years of my life practicing.  When I began teaching, I didn't know the end result would be a recital.  But these kids are awesome!  They learned 3 dances (two ballet, one jazz).  Our church has a stage, so I reserved it and began planning the costumes with the other moms.

Here are the jazz costumes.  In the first picture, leading the train is Joshua, then Sarah, Grace, and Tabitha.

Here is a picture of them doing the ballet dance.  It was the best one I have.  Maybe the other moms have some I can post later.

This is Grace.  She brought me the beautiful roses.  I felt so special!

These are pictures of my family.  I had lots of fun putting on this production!