I reeeeally hate to be that blogger who posts about holidays that happened months ago…but…here we are. I found Easter pictures and there are several cute ones with Dallas’s family that I have to share.
Kathryn invited us over for dinner and an egg hunt. The kids loved searching for eggs.
Dallas and his mom:
Dallas, his mom, and his two sisters:
We had just about the funnest day ever the other day. Dallas had to take a week off of work in order to use up all his paid vacation days before he lost them so we dedicated one of those days to visiting Tracy Aviary and Liberty Park.
The Aviary was a lot bigger and had more exotic birds than I was expecting. We got there right as a show was beginning. They were introducing us to several different types of birds and the birds would fly right over our heads.
Madison loved it:
There were fun things to climb on:
There were little bird houses throughout that featured different birds. Spencer had to keep an eye on them:
We got to see how we measure up:
Brooke with a peacock:
My highlight was meeting this little bird:
He was just roaming around the area. If you approached him he’d run away from you like any other normal bird. However, if you ran AWAY from him he’d start chasing you. So imagine you’re a little kid, who likes to run, and all of a sudden you notice this somewhat large bird is chasing you. So you run faster. Which makes the bird run faster and the only way to get him to stop is for you to stop running. But try explaining that to the kid who is running all around faster and faster and screaming because the bird is about to attack her and she won’t stop running for anything because her life depends on her needing to keep running when actually, she needs to STOP running! It’s all very confusing to the child and hilarious to the parents.
And maybe it will be hilarious to you, too? We took video:
This is Brooke very carefully WALKING because the chasing bird of doom was near:
We forgot our stroller (GAH!) so little missy had her dreams come true as she was able to wander around as she pleased:
While the Aviary was fun, it was also hot which got the kids complaining right away. Spencer found a shady bench, hung his hat up, and took a little rest:
We found some rare species of owls hanging out in a tree:
The never-before-seen Caroline Piggy Owl. You can almost hear her hooting:
We found a picture that you can stick your faces through, and it was perfect! Three spots for three faces! Except one of the face holes was too tall for Caroline to reach so you might notice she’s hanging on for dear life as her feet dangle below:
The kids were positively DYING of heat and hunger and thirst so we headed out of the Aviary and into Liberty Park with our picnic lunches. We found a nice, shady tree and ate and drank:
We were right next to this huge hill that the kids weren’t too hot or tired to run up and down a billion times. Go figure.
Dallas took Caroline and Spencer to the bathroom. Brooke saw them coming back so she hid behind a tree to scare them. They caught on and hid behind a tree to scare HER. It was an amusing game of stalemate that lasted several minutes before Brooke made the move and ran out to get them.
They had paddle boats and canoes that you could ride. Dallas decided to take the big kids out:
Caroline was pretty convinced she was going to die:
They had a fun water play area that was just opening for the day. The kids loved splashing there. We just may have to go back sometime when we’re actually wearing swimming suits:
And that ends our very fun day. We actually wanted to stay longer and play at the park playground but Madison was more than ready for her nap so we had to head home. Hopefully we can make it back again soon and finish exploring the park.
Once again I have a million pictures saved up that I feel compelled to show you, so here’s another installment of Potpourri!
The kids wanted to go to Yogurtland. Dallas said it was too expensive and that we could have a similar experience buying our own ingredients and doing it at home. Then he proceeded to go to the store and spend more money on ice cream and toppings than we would have had we gone to Yogurtland in the first place. (Dallas would like to point out that at least we got multiple servings from the ingredients he bought.) Either way, we all had fun:
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Dallas allowed us an authentic trip to Yogurtland. (It was the day they were giving out yogurt for free.)
One Sunday Dallas pulled out the hard drive with all of our kids’ baby videos on it and let them watch. They laughed and laughed and laughed:
Dallas had a birthday (…four months ago…):
Brooke made a stuffed pony:
Dallas thought Spencer needed a stuffed animal so he got him a Hobbes tiger. Spencer loved him immediately:
We’ve been trying to be better at using our children for slave labor while we sit back and take pictures:
I stumbled upon the kids and this setup. I asked what was going on. Caroline was in the baby’s room speaking into the monitor so her voice was projecting into the living room where the rest of the kids (and stuffed animals) were in “church” listening.
Brooke made a house:
Apparently the kids felt like we didn’t get enough use out of our sleds this year during our winter of no snow so they pulled them out of the garage and gave each other sled rides:
Looks like Madison likes sledding!
When we’re outside Madison heads straight for our porch stairs because she loves nothing more than to perch precariously on slabs of cement, threatening to fall with each movement, and smiling at me as I save her from tumbling to her death.
One day Caroline gave herself the job of keeping Madison off the stairs. She started off with just using the umbrella to keep her away. Here she’s introduced the sled as another obstacle, or as Caroline explains, “Madison is on Level 2.”
Madison with her cute cousin:
Brooke learned how to weave paper baskets at school and came home excited to show us her new talent. She made Madison an Easter basket which doubles as a helmet: 
Madison has taken a liking to sleeping with her doll:
Spencer told us Hobbes was trying to get on the couch:
Then Spence put Hobbes to bed along with all of his prized possessions:
Now how about some pictures with no captions?
My little Miss Madison. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love watching you experience new things:
I love your silly faces:
I love your happy smiles:
I love cuddling you:
I love watching your siblings adore you:
I love your pigtails:
I love when the big kids try to barricade you in a corner so you won’t get their things:
Or when they banish you to the laundry basket, again, so you won’t get their things:
Or when they put you in a container. (Seriously! Stop getting into their things!)
And while we’re at it, stop getting into my things! You are a little Tasmanian devil wreaking havoc on EVERYTHING in your path.
Like, the pots:
And the trash:
And this cupboard:
And you love to dump your unwanted food on the ground:
Did you notice you were wearing the same thing in the last four pictures? Because you made all those messes on the same day in practically the same hour which makes living with you and trying to keep the house in some type of order frustratingly, annoyingly impossible.
You’ll make messes of anything, really.
Did I mention you also pull out the lid drawer, get your body stuck underneath it, and then lie paralyzed on the floor trying to figure out how to get out of the predicament you now find yourself in?
(And then, once rescued, you’ll empty that drawer of all its lids, of course, because I needed another one of your messes to clean up.)
Or how about that one time you killed our fake plant?
I had forgotten how exhausting it is to live with a one-year-old. A one-year-old! You’re one! You turned one at the end of February. Your dad made you a cake and you loved it:
You’re starting to walk more and more. You love dogs and books and bananas and slides, but your number one love is “Da!”
You crawl through the house pointing to every picture we have of him and shouting, “Da!” When he comes home from work, you’re all smiles. This wouldn’t be so bad if you ever occasionally, even ACCIDENTALLY said “Ma!” but no, that simple syllable rarely comes out of your little body.
“Da” did a photo shoot of you in honor of your first birthday and the pictures he got were adorable.
I love you my little baby girl.
