Coneygirl and her sidekick Dr. Hoot

You never know who you'll find at our house!

Piranha infested waters and big snakes....Ahhhhhh!

Crawling through Piranha infested waters.

Crazy picture in front of the "Finding Nemo" fish tank.

"That's a big snake!"

Pink Birds

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh, My!

This week, J, Z, Lyndee (my niece), and I took a field trip to the zoo. Although I thought we were either going to melt right there on the concrete or die of a heat stroke, we had a great time. It was soooooo hot! Pretty much everyone at the zoo had a completely wet backside from sweat and seemed to be searching for the same thing: the misting fans! Regardless of the heat, we had a fun day! Highlights were the new baby elephant, the robotic dinosaur exhibit, and for Z, the Flamingos (anything pink). I loved watching the kids checking out the animals. Lesson of the day: I will be purchasing a Garmin before the next trip downtown (the trip home was interesting :)!

Down in the Dumps Day

Okay, I really bored.  (Mom, I know you probably have tons of stuff I can do so I won't be bored...at least you always did when I was a kid, and that saying "I'm bored" is borderline cursing.)  Believe me, I've got plenty of stuff I need to do (my house needs to be cleaned, the guest bedroom has a huge pile of hand-me-downs I need to go through, I've got a ton of AWANA junk I need to deal with, I need to get the printer fixed so I can print Z's thank you cards, just to name a few), I just don't feel like doing anything...which means...boredom in my world.   I just feel like moping around.  I think it's that we've been so busy all year, especially the first month of summer, that I'm having the post excitement let down.  Or maybe it's that I've been thinking a lot about how fast life is moving and sometimes I feel like I'm left on the bench watching it spin around and I want to slow it down but can't.  Where did the last five years go?  Why does stress seem to make the years fly by faster and when it subsides you feel like you've missed something?  What a funk I've been in!!!  I just need to get over it!  Lesson of the day:  "Be still and know that I am God!"  Need I say more... 

It's the fiary, cowgirl, rock star's birthday!!!

The initial blow.

The power blow.

Today is my sweet baby girl's 4th birthday. Wow, those four years just zipped right by! Z has been such a blessing. I don't think any of us can imagine what life would be without her. She has definitely added a needed element to our family. Z is creative and imaginative. She loves music and dancing. She's insanely smart and super funny. She keeps us on our toes because we never know what to expect from her or who we're going to see...one day, a garden fairy, the next day a cowgirl, and the following day, a rock star. For lunch today, we celebrated with leftover cupcakes and trick candles (hehe)...note the power blow for that one candle that just kept relighting. It was too funny. Lesson of the day: Treasure every moment...because they pass sooooo quickly.

Go Brasil!!!!!!

The Big Fairy Party!!!

I absolutely love this picture...it's just perfect. Today, we celebrated Z's 4th birthday with the much anticipated fairy birthday party. It was so much fun! This was Z's first friend party, so she was extra excited. Six little girls including Z were transformed into beautiful garden fairies in our "Fairy Changing Room" complete with pink wings (Z's were a special rainbow color), jeweled necklaces, flower rings, and a light dusting of glittery pixie dust. They were sooooo cute waiting for their turn. They then created fairy wands, decorated flower pots, and planted their own flowers. Z chose strawberry cupcakes this year (no surprise since they're pink :), so we served those with fresh strawberries on the side, and pink lemonade. Z loved every minute and I loved it that she loved it! (Oh, by the way...J wanted no part of a pink fairy party. "Yuck" was his opinion. He served his big brother role well by trying to make Z's friends laugh with one silly face after another and then by scaring them all until he got a little lecture about harassing the girls. Much to J's relief, one of the girls brought her big brother, so the two boys secluded themselves in the little man-cave until they heard the word "cake." It's amazing how fast those two reappeared.) Afterwards, our kids even got to have special time with Mammy Sue and Papa Fred, who drove in just for the occasion. This was extra special for Z. All in all....it was great day! I'm so in love with my little girl. I can't believe she'll be 4 years old this week. Lesson of the day: I wish someone could teach me a lesson today in stopping time. The last 4 years just flew by!