Bluebonnets

I love this time of year. Not only is the weather warming up and the grass is turning green but the bluebonnets are blooming all around us. It just makes me smile to see them along the sides of the road every where we go.

Yesterday we saw the most beautiful bluebonnets on Grapevine Lake.

Stuart got some great pictures of the kids. This is one of my favorites!

We tried to get more posed pictures but it was too hard for Rachel to sit still AND look at the camera AND smile so we gave up on that and just snapped pictures as they explored. Some of the best pictures of our kids are just simple candid shots.

There have been rumors that it is illegal to pick bluebonnets in Texas because it is our state flower. I checked on it and can confidently say that's a bunch of phooey! Now I don't typically let my children pick flowers because I want them to learn to leave nature they way they found it. However, a few bluebonnets aren't going to upset me....and it sure made for some cute pictures.

She has such a natural daintiness about her.

I love this next picture. It combines several features that I love (besides my kids and bluebonnets). I always love pictures of kids as they are walking away from the camera AND I love pictures of paths in nature.

In the next three pictures, Stuart was trying to get Rachel to walk towards him. I think she did it about 10 times but eventually got some cute shots out of it.

Nicholas is such a pro at posing and smiling for pictures. I guess that's what happens when your parents always have a camera in their hands.

We asked Rachel to sit down next to him (still trying to get that perfectly posed shot). She reluctantly did it but couldn't stop watching the boats on the water so she isn't exactly looking at the camera. Still a cute shot though.

Of course, I love this shot too. Nicholas first tried to give Rachel a kiss on the check but she crinkled up her face and pulled away. As we told her that wasn't nice, she eventually decided to make up for it by giving Nicholas a kiss.

Rachel found several ladybugs and carried them around with her as she walked. Poor ladybugs!

When did my little boy get so tall? He's growing up!

I love the sunlight glowing in Rachel's hair.

Beautiful!

We took these pictures in the late afternoon. The sun gave a wonderfully warm glow to the kids faces.

Rachel found the perfect walking stick.

I loved watching my little explorers wandering through the bluebonnets.

Nicholas found this log and thought it made for good scenery for a picture.

This picture is cute. Rachel looks so pensive. She is actually just tired of posing and is looking at some boat on the lake.

Bye for now!

Easter Extravaganza

The weather is gorgeous this weekend. Our church had wonderful Easter Extravaganza today. I took Rachel to enjoy the fun while Stuart took Nicholas to try out an archery bow that he thinks he wants for his birthday.

There was a egg hunt just for the little ones.

Rachel scooped up about 2 dozen eggs filled with candy and stickers.

She was a proud little egg hunter!

There was a live bunny and Rachel talked so sweetly as she petted it.

She sat for a posed picture with these baby bunnies but wouldn't look up from them for me to get a good picture. I think the church photographer got a good picture so I'm looking forward to seeing her pictures this weekend at church.

I tried to get her to hug the Easter Bunny but she wouldn't even stand next to him. She reached out as far as she could to just take candy from his basket!

Then we headed out to the bounce houses!

Her favorite of all was this camo colored obstacle course.

She could get through it pretty quickly.

The big slide at the end was super fun!

Back in line again! Fortunately the line was short and moved quickly.

She scurried through the entrance when her turn was up.

Through the X's...

Running...

And sliding. Repeat about 10 more times....

There were about 6 or so bounce houses and inflatable obstacle courses for the kids. Rachel tried several of them but liked just bouncing in this small one with little kids.

She went kind of crazy with the bouncing at times.

Time for a candy break. Rachel popped open a few eggs to see what kind of treasures she had.

She loved the candy most of all.

We flew kites in the field. Well, at least we had fun trying to fly them!

We headed back inside to cool off with lemonade and snacks. Rachel opened more eggs and had fun playing with them. She pretended to wear them as headphones.

Then she called Nicholas on her egg phone!

Back outside, there was chalk art, a climbing wall and some fun booths. Rachel got her nails painted.

She wanted her face painted and chose a dog. Woof!

Cute and happy doggie!

Then she wanted her hair colored. She asked for red and blue. It was very colorful.

Unfortunately, we are supposed to be going out later today for pictures in the bluebonnet fields. I hope I she lets me wash this stuff out before then!

Those Cute Little Thumbprints

I love stamping my children's feet, hands, and thumbprints as keepsakes but here's a fun way to turn those prints into fun art work that the children will cherish too.

Find out more about our fun with Thumbprint Art at Quirky Momma!

Of course, once Rachel was done with our Thumbprint Art project, she went on to stamp her whole hand too.

Ink pads are just so much fun!

Casa Manana's Alice in Wonderland

Oh, we love our regular trips to Casa Manana Children's Theatre. We see several plays a year here and they are always wonderful.

Today we saw Alice In Wonderland Jr.

I wish I could show you the wonderful costumes and fun characters. However, we aren't allowed to take pictures during the production so I can only show you the stage before the show began. But you should really just get tickets and go see the show in all of it's awesomeness for yourself.

The kids had a blast and loved all the colorful characters. There was a little bit of dramatic license used for the story and songs but it was a fabulous production and great fun for kids.

Get your tickets now before it's gone. It only runs through Sunday, April 15th!

Casa Mañana Theatre is located in the heart of the Cultural District at 3101 West Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76107. For more information or tickets, please call the Box Office at 817-332-2272 or check out the Casa Manana website.