Little Visitors

These little visitors

hang out in our backyard!

 I don't know why but I

find them fascinating!

 They're so tiny and so fast

and I have tried over and over

to get some good pictures

of them. I've done

OKAY.... but not really GOOD!

But, now, getting

their picture is easy!

 My husband

a.k.a. Grandpa around here

came up with a

wonderful idea!

See!

He set the camera up

on a tripod and I can operate it with a

remote from the back door.

So there is no more flying away

when I run out with a camera!

Am I married to a genius or what?

Look How Big!

Not too long ago,

our little ducks were small

enough for the girls

to hold on their laps

and play with.

Now look at them!

 I think they grow a

little every day!

We're not letting the girls

hold them now because we

want them to know that they are

supposed to run from people.

Especially, little people.

Kids can be rough, so it would

be best if they kept a

safe distance....

especially once they move

to the pond!

Where's Brilyn?

There she is!

 

And she's having a good time!



A Fancy Tea Party

 Grace wanted a Fancy Tea Party!

 So we shopped for, baked and prepared

fancy treats!

 A few friends came over.

 And Grace served them tea

while they helped themselves

to snacks!

 Aren't the little ones pretty?

 And doesn't the table look nice?

I'm not sure Caelie knew that

Grace was capable of

pouring tea.

I think she expected a major

accident!

And I'm not sure that

Grace knew that Caelie was quite

capable of drinking her tea.

Here, she is showing Caelie how

it's done.... properly!

After all, a proper lady would not

drink her tea any other way!

Making Tulip Cake Pops

Making Tulip Cake Pops

is so simple a child can do it!



For these, we used real flower stems.

We picked them up at the florist when we

were shopping for chocolate.

They often cut off the blooms for corsages

and things and throw away the stems,

so stems should be available

at any flower shop!

I rinsed and dried the stems.

Then we put a big wad of home made

play dough in a tea pot to

hold them in place.

(you could use florist clay or Styrofoam)

 And then Grace pushed a Tulip

onto each stem!

Here are the results!

Now, it looks like we're ready for

A Fancy Tea Party!

Olivia and Grace at the Chocolate Shop

 

After Brilyn and I discovered this

secret chocolate shop,

I had to share it with Olivia

and Grace. So, we went shopping

for chocolate, too!

 

 Here is the chocolate

Olivia picked out!

Fancy chocolate is something

every child should get to

experience at least once! Can you

imagine being faced with so

many choices?

Here is what Grace picked out!

 

Now we're almost set to have

another tea party!

Hosting A Tea Party

 Grace woke up and prepared a tea party

for some very special little guest.

She got it all set up while she

was still in her pajamas!

 And her guest arrived!

 Aren't they cute?

She poured fresh water into each of

their cups, yet, they still insisted

on drinking out of the same one!

Their manners need work!

But, odds are they will find their way

to the pond before they are

trained to be proper!

We are hoping they will decide to

stay at the pond and eat

whatever crumbs they are fed by

neighborhood children.

But first - they have to get big enough

to insure that they do not become

snake or turtle food!

 

 

Easter Egg Hunt #2

 We did a second Easter Egg Hunt

on Easter Sunday!

 Caelie couldn't be here for the Egg Hunt

we had in the mountains

and was disappointed because

she missed it, so we did another one!

Grace and Olivia missed

the second one.

But Brilyn made it to BOTH!

I think she ended up with

over $50 in prize money from both

hunts combined!

And she's become an expert

at Easter Egg Hunting!

 



Happy Birthday Dustin!

Happy Birthday, Dustin!

Today is Dustin's Birthday!

Dustin is my wonderful son in law.

He's husband to my

daughter, Heather.

And he's "Daddy" to my

sweet little grand daughters

Grace & Olivia!

And when it comes to son

in laws, I don't think I could have

asked for a more perfect fit!

He never seems to mind his

mother in law coming

to visit.

I visited them in Japan

four times and stayed an

average of 4 weeks each

visit and the one time

a typhoon delayed my flight

home he seemed genuinely happy

that I had to stay

a little longer!

Not too many son in laws

would be happy about that!

But, Dustin is a special.

I'm often amazed at how God brings

people together so perfectly and

he and Heather are a

perfect example of that.

I can't imagine anyone more

perfect for either of them.

 

 



Shopping for Yogurt

 This little girl is a shopper!

If she wants to go to the refuge

to see wildlife she says she wants

to go "Shopping for Cows!"

(there are longhorn running free)

If she wants to go to Walmart

she wants to go

"Shopping for Paper Towels."

And if you follow my blog

you probably saw her

Shopping for Chocolate!

But on this particular

shopping trip she was

Shopping for Yogurt!

And she found some!

Yum!

How Many Balloons?

Brilyn was watching Bubble Guppies

and it was an episode on

flight. So, we talked

about flight and how balloons

fly and how many balloons it might

take to make us fly.

Then we decided to see how many

balloons it would take to

make a few of her little

friends fly.

Elephants are heavy.

Even stuffed teenie beanie elephants.

One balloon made no difference.

Neither did two!

 Nor three. Nor four.

 Five balloons give it a bit of

a lift.... but not enough

to make it fly!

 Six balloons and a boost

from Brilyn get it up, but it

comes slowly back down.

I don't know if there are enough

balloons to make

an elephant fly.

 But 4 Balloons is plenty for

a Pink Shoes Barbie!

And it takes 5 to make her little

Joey fly!

I don't know if she learned

anything from out little

science lesson or not,

but she's a bright girl.

Odds are she took it all in and knows

all about flying now!

New Tea Party Gloves

 Look at Gracie's new Tea Party Gloves!

Aren't they just adorable?

As soon as she opened them,

she wanted to have a tea party!

 Olivia joined the tea party!

She got new gloves, too.

She just isn't wearing them because

her Momma packed the away

so she wouldn't forget to

take them home.

 Grace loves pouring tea in

her new fancy gloves.

She loves drinking her

tea, too!

What a proper little

lady!

(And thank you, Aunt Janice for the gloves)



Who Likes Pretty Hair?

Gracie was getting ready to go

visit Papa so I fixed her hair.

I used hot rollers, and I used clips

instead of the clamps that come

with the rollers.

The clips go all the way around the rollers

preventing anything hot from

ever touching a little girl's

delicate skin!

I like pretty curls!

Does Grace?

 NO, she does not!

This expression shows you

exactly what she thinks!

But, her Daddy got her to smile

for the camera by promising

her a treat!

I wonder what she'll be like

in 10 or 12 years?

Will she like to fix that hair

or just let it fly?

Hmmmmm..... I guess I'll just

have to wait and see.

 

What Do You Do With Gourmet Chocolate?

What do you do with

Gourmet Chocolate?



Have a Tea Party of course!

 Our sweet Brilyn loves

a good tea party!

 She is also now big enough

to pour the tea!

I love sharing tea time

with this girl.

(the chocolate was pretty good, too)