Easter and the Botanical Gardens

Easter

This year Larkin has really gotten into all of the holidays.  She had a blast decorating Easter eggs and was so excited to wake up and see what the Easter Bunny had hidden around the house.  Brayden wasn't quite ready for dying eggs, but he sure had fun hunting for them!

Larkin getting ready for some Easter egg dying.

 Larkin and Daddy concentrating on getting those eggs just the right color.

Goodie basket time!

Why did Mommy make us wear these silly ears?

 Larkin searching for Easter eggs.

 Look, I found one!

Bradyen having fun with the empty eggs.

 Our happy little girl!

One of the goodies that the Easter Bunny brought was a kite. Here Larkin and Daddy are trying to fly it on a super windy day.  Might wait until she is a bit older to try that one again!

Success!

 Bray decided to sit down and watch all the excitement from the sidewalk.

A Visit to the Desert Botanical Gardens

Before the weather got too hot we decided to explore the botanical gardens.  Since we had never been before we weren't quite sure what to expect.  It was absolutely beautiful and full of color!  Larkin especially loved visiting the butterfly tent and Brayden enjoyed getting to roam around on all of the paths.  Amazingly, he didn't even try to grab any of the thousands of cacti around!

 Checking her butterfly guide.

 Our little caterpillar.

 Bray loved being able to wander around.

Trying to get them to pose together and smile is pretty much impossible!

Beginning of Spring

Beginning of Spring

Spring sure arrived quickly this year and has been keeping us busy.  First there was our visit from Doug, and after that Grandma came to visit for a few days.  It is always nice to have company!  We also watched Brayden master walking, have been going to Larkin's weekly dance class, went to Disney Princesses on Ice (which Larkin was mesmerized by!), sold Shaun's old gray truck, and lost our kitty, Willie.  What a start to spring!

A Visit From Grandma

We decided to take Grandma to the Phoenix Children's Museum to see all the cool rooms to play in.

Brayden showing off his walking skills in the planting flowers/home area.

 Larkin showing Grandma how she makes lunch in the cafe.

Larkin and Grandma walking through the three story maze in the center of the museum. 

 Yes, that is a bathtub with wings!

Getting ready for dance class.

 Celebrating Grandma's birthday a few days early.  Larkin loves to have cake and wear that Abby Cadabby  party hat.  Guess we will see what she chooses for her birthday theme this year in just a few more weeks!

 The Truck

After all these years we finally said goodbye to the truck.  She has been great, moved us and others numerous times, and was a necessity for hauling some of our Home Depot purchases.  Unfortunately she is not the most family friendly vehicle and was rarely being driven.  So after many offers from random notes left on the truck Shaun decided that if the right person asked he would be willing to consider it.  Along came our neighbor... his Father-in Law wanted to buy it for his seventeen year old nephew.  They put a little love into it, got it all cleaned up, and now is running like new.  What a happy teenager and we are happy that the truck has a new home and will get some use!

The old truck all cleaned up.  Even got some hubcaps!

Dance Class

 After a practice performance for their recital in June, Larkin's dance class had a little Easter celebration. 

Fun at the Park

Right now the weather is beautiful so we have been enjoying our weekend morning walks.  Of course we have to stop at every playground to play a little as we pass by.  Even Hailey, our dog, likes to play!

 Our Kitty

Unfortunately a few weeks ago our lovable kitty, Willie, went missing.  He loved to go out at night and was always waiting for us at the door in the morning, but this time he didn't come home.  We have looked and looked, but no luck.  He is missed (well by some of us more than others).

A Visit From Doug!

A Visit From Doug

Well this should have been a post from Super Bowl weekend back in February, but that crazy snow storm hit Dallas and Doug was snowed in.  Anyway, we were lucky enough that he could reschedule and got to come to Phoenix for a visit in March! 

NCAA Tournament

 Doug actually picked the perfect weekend to come to Phoenix because our KSU Wildcats were still in the NCAA tournament and, as luck would have it, they were playing that same weekend in Tucson.  Tucson really isn't far from us, so Shaun and Doug found some tournament tickets, headed on a mini road trip, and spent the day watching basketball.  Even though the Cats lost, they seemed to have a great time!

Great seats right at mid court.  Plus if you happened to be watching the game on television,

Shaun could point out the numerous times they showed the back of their heads!

 A great game from Pullen, but unfortunately that was the end of the tourney for the Cats.

A Morning at the Zoo

After a day of basketball we decided to visit the zoo and check out the animals.  One of Larkin's very favorite things to do! 

 The rare and elusive family photo!

Brayden's first carousel ride!

Having fun at the petting zoo.

 Fun with the kangaroos!

 Posing with the elephant statue.

 Learning to ride the tractor with a little help from Uncle Doug!

 Brayden was happy just to stand in front of the tractor.

 Brayden was NOT happy when it was time to leave the tractor.

Here is his pouty face!

 As Bray was learning how to walk he felt it was helpful to point everywhere he went. 

In this picture he was just starting to walk all on his own.  Now there is no stopping him!

Practicing riding a pony.  Again the pointing must help with balancing!

 Taking a break with Uncle Doug!

And they are off again... 

Larkin had to consult her map every time we started walking.  She is BIG into Dora these days so for all of you who are familiar with Dora we had to check the map each time and figure out the 3 places we were going to visit.

 Cuddling with Daddy!

 When the stroller got boring, it was time to ride on Daddy's shoulders.

Again, when the stroller got boring it was time to ride on Daddy's shoulders!

 

Larkin has learned the art of holding on!

Are we done yet! 

Poor Daddy, he is so much more fun than that silly stroller.