a perfect evening

I got to spend yesterday evening with my boys.  Watching the Rangers take on the Yankees.  6 rows behind home plate.  With the weather in the 80s.  I'd call that a pretty perfect evening!

a hippity hoppity time

That's the kind of time we've had the last few days with the newest member of our family. Meet Bugs. Yes, Bugs the bunny. The name can be a little confusing for a 2 year old who likes bugs AND bunnies. So it took a several explanations but I think by day 4 of being bunny owners, we had it down.

Now I'm sure many of you are calling us crazy right now. You're thinking, "they live in the city, what on earth were they thinking, what will they ever do with a bunny?". Well we happen to have a little boy who is on the constant hunt for the rabbits that run our neighborhood. They are actually quite a nuisance. They eat our grass, eventually killing it, and they love to munch on my plants. We entertained the idea of getting a bunny for a few weeks (because we are always hunting them) and then the idea just went by the way side. Until...Nana mentioned she knew of a family that raised them and said she could possibly hook us up. So, for now, we have a pet bunny. I'm not sure how long he'll last with a rough and tough 2 year old boy as his owner. But we are getting a kick out of how much attention our little guy gives this bunny. He loves Bugs! He looks forward to giving him his lettuce snack every day and has finally come around to feeling comfortable with picking him up and holding Bugs all by himself. And as I am typing this, he has taken off with my phone and is saying "cheese Bugs" and "oh you look so cute". Yes. Precious.

We had beautiful weather over the Easter weekend. Until Sunday when it came time to hunt eggs after church, that's when the rain came down. We resorted to a mini egg hunt inside. Seems to have been the trend for the last few years. We spent most of Saturday outside with Nana, Papa and B. Playing with Bugs. Kicking the ball around in the backyard. Riding the jeep out front. Visiting Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch.

And then when the sun went down, we headed in to dye eggs. Some of us were a little more patient and gentle with this than others. Not mentioning any names.

So proud of their work.

Thank you Jesus for paying the ultimate penalty for our sins. For that, we are ever thankful.

Happy Easter

a hill country weekend

A few weekends back, we drove down to San Antonio to visit Great Pawpaw Fuchs and Grandma Sharon. It's quite a drive but Bluebonnets along the roads to the Texas Hill Country made it more enjoyable. We spent a lot of time outside. It was so nice, we couldn't resist. We had coffee and milk outside for breakfast each morning. Kaden and Pawpaw spent a lot of time out in the workshop. Pawpaw likes woodworking and I'm pretty sure Kaden enjoyed joining him for the many treats that are hidden out in the workshop...hot tamales, chocolates and Pepsi.

Since Pawpaw and Sharon live just down the road from Natural Bridge Caverns, we thought we'd go on a little African Safari, Texas Style ~ which means we drove through the wildlife ranch in our truck with our windows down, taking in all the animals.

Some of the animals got a little too close for my comfort. We rolled the windows up on this guy!

Looks like this fella is posing for his picture. Lemurs are such pretty animals.

You may not be able to tell from this picture but the female giraffe (on the left) is sticking her tongue out at the male. Silly girl! All the while, he was going crazy on the other side of the fence trying to get to her. True love.

After the safari drive thru, we visited the petting zoo. The goats munched on our clothes and the sheep were much too full to get off their bellies.

And at the end, we had one worn out little guy. Our job was done!

The most exciting event of the day for Kaden was watching the deer run through the Pawpaw's neighborhood at dawn and dusk. One evening, we had to go on a hunt for deer. So I snapped a few pics. No, we didn't actually shoot at them, but the boys sure did pretend to.

spring

Spring. It's probably my most favorite time of year. It brings longer days. Green grass. The freshly cut lawn smell. Screams of kiddos playing outside. Time at the park. Cooking out with friends. Staying up late to ensure we catch every bit of daylight. Beautiful blooming flowers.

AND BASEBALL. You can't tell from the picture but he's got a baseball in his right hand.

He's working on his pitchers stance.

Yes, we are VERY excited about getting to watch Daddy play baseball again! Season starts this Sunday.

Spring. It's a pretty short lived season here in Texas. So we're making the best of it while we can!

joplin

My nephew turned 5 on the 18th. So we packed up and headed north to celebrate! Loads of fun was had at the Star Wars themed party...coloring, lightsaber wars, a pinata, cake and even a 3D movie.

R2-D2 birthday cake. Made by my SIL and MIL. The BIL had a hand in it too.

This 2 year old had an absolute blast hanging with all of his cousins 5 year old friends.

Stocking up on the goods from the pinata.

Even got to soak up some time with Grandma while we were there.

Once the partying was over, my SIL (with reinforcements) took an insane ~ my opinion ~ amount of 5 year olds to see Star Wars 3D. Here they are looking very stud like in their 3D glasses.

The boys are at a really fun age right now and had so much fun together. We are still talking about how much fun we had at cousin Kamden's house. Can't wait to visit again.

Peek-a-boo. One of his favorite things was climbing up to the top bunk of Kamden's bed and pretending to go night-night.

Most know that last May Joplin was hit with an EF5 tornado. Catrina, Aaron and Kamden were not in the path of the storm ~ thank God. However, some of their friends and their town was not as fortunate. Sunday after church, we drove around with Catrina to see the damage. It's almost been a year, and there's still so much left to rebuild. Tugs at your heart...

What's left of the hospital.

This was the location of the Catholic church. The cross was the only thing left standing.

The high school. The tornado hit on a Sunday afternoon. God had his hand in that one.