Garden Update

Things are starting to blossom. Just take a look at our tomato and strawberry plants.

I wish I could say the same for our carrot plants. I've been weeding flower beds for a long time, so I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference between a weed and a plant. But seriously, I'm pretty sure only weeds have popped up green in the row where carrots should be. What's up Doc?

Mystery, Murder and Mayhem

For my dear friend Alisha's big birthday (let's just say it ends in an 0), we celebrated on a Murder Mystery Dinner cruise. None of those attending had been before and we all had a blast. For the sake of argument, this event did not occur tonight but rather recently. Tonight, I lunged and jogged and did tricep dips until I was a puddle of sweat. (Nice visual, eh?) I'm pretty sure my arms and legs will be thanking me tomorrow. Anyways, back to the event at hand.

Even Alisha's mom, Ms. Betty was caught throwing beads to the people on the Kemah Boardwalk when she wasn't taking pictures.
Several dinner guests were chosen to be participants including the birthday girl. Meet Ms. Terra Fied and Alisha's sister the pirate. I'm still trying to figure out how she tied into the play.And I may or may not have had a minor role that required me to use some of the Zumba moves I've been learning with a feather boa.I highly recommend taking a group or just going on a date. Happy Birthday Alisha!

Brother's Birthday

Happy Birthday Casey! My little brother turned another year older. And yes, that is a match stick in a pie. You do what you have to do in a pinch. I'm sure the candles were packed somewhere.

We enjoyed celebrating and seeing your new house this weekend. I think you and Gavin enjoyed yourselves despite making your big sister terrified.

Cookin' Up A Lazy Sunday

We all woke up feeling less than spectacular. It didn't take long to decide it was going to be a p.j. day. Since we've cut back on our sugar intake in the last couple of months, I haven't baked very much and missed it greatly. I found a recipe that uses apple sauce in place of sugar and with the help of my mini chef, we got to work making chocolate chip cookies.A mega box of wipes was a make-shift stool for Gavin to help me mix the cookies. He even insisted on trying to help turn the bowl.But a closer look was the tool to ensure everything turned out just right.A good chef must taste the results of his hard work.Later while the tired mini apprentice took a nap, D and I started dinner using a recipe from the same Cooking Light cookbook the chocolate chip cookies came from. We rarely eat red meat, but the recipe for Center Cut Tenderloin with Chilean Chipolte Sauce looked delicious. Here take a look.Let me just tell you, the picture doesn't do it justice. It was delicious and that much better since we enjoyed it outside in beautiful weather. After Gavin woke up, I found myself finishing the cooking with one hand and holding a cow puppet with the other all while wearing a cowboy hat. Let's just say that was a first. And no, there are no pictures.

By the end of the day, we had all upgraded from p.j.s and were feeling a little closer to spectacular.

Random Moments of Joy

Gavin playing peekaboo with the sun while riding in the car

My husband who went to the grocery store for us when I was sick with the weirdest non-eventful stomach virus

Air conditioning working again

Teaching Gavin to slide

Watching his joy while playing with the water hose

Our tiny green strawberry growing in the garden

Feeling loved by my students when they were sad they were leaving me in only 39 school days

Seeing my long-distance friends this weekend

Sitting outside in the perfect temperature

Easter Post Part 2

I completely underestimated what I had going on this week when I thought I would get this post out five days ago. Wishful thinking I guess.

So this is Easter Sunday with the Moores. The three of us went to the middle church service with high hopes of making it home in time for Gavin to take a pre-Easter dinner nap. Again, wishful thinking. No nap was to be had at that time.

We left a trail of eggs to Gavin's Easter basket. He seemed quite thrilled will all of the soft balls.

Then we had a nice Bible study after a delicious lunch thanks to Me Me and Granddaddy.

It's amazing that Gavin looks so much different from last year since it seems like it was just his first Easter. Same smile though.

Cousin Ayden was a pro by now, so we let him find all of the eggs that were hidden really well.

Gavin and Cousin Logan each had one year of egg hunting under their belt, so they took to the field of eggs.

At one point, both were tired of hunting. Logan resorted to eating what he found in the shell.

While Gavin thought it was more fun to talk to Nannie and play in the railing.

He may have also snuck a snack or two.

This goose laid an egg.

And that is the end of my Easter tale.

Easter Weekend Part 1

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend complete with family and beautiful weather. On Saturday, we went to my parents house so Gavin could look for eggs in their yard. I guess all of that indoor practice paid off because he seemed to know exactly what to do. If his basket got too full, he would lay it down, go get eggs and bring them back. At one point, I helped him carry his basket, which was technically a bucket. We then went to my aunt and uncle's house to be with the rest of the family. Gavin had a little more competition in the egg hunt, but you wouldn't know it. Audrie and Finn were so sweet to Gavin and would even point out eggs for him to find.

Since Gavin rarely eats candy, he was taking advantage of his candy-filled eggs.

He seemed happy about this at the time, but neither he nor I were very happy later on when those candy coated chocolate pieces suddenly reappeared.

I think Finn is rather pleased with his loot.

I love this picture of D and Gavin. And yes, they were sharing more treats that led to the later reoccurring chocolate and gummy mixture.

My uncle had a fun activity for everyone to join in on. He created a clover lined maze complete with dead ends. The first person to get to the middle won the "golden" egg. I still think my cousin Christopher staked out the path the day before, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

Hopefully tomorrow, I can post pictures of Easter Sunday with the Moores.