Wonder Woman in the Woods

Ever have one of those days that is jam-packed with activities but somehow manages not to be hectic?  Yesterday was like that for us.  We woke up in the morning, headed to the Friends of the Library book sale, swam for an hour, went out for lunch and browsed at a store or two before heading back toward home.

Less than a mile from our little yellow house, there's a little forest preserve.  It's a great one for The Princess, because the trail is only about a mile-ish, and she can walk the whole thing pretty freely.  One of our major family goals this year is to get her more independent with walking trails and following verbal instructions (for obvious safety reasons).

The sun was shining, though it was a bit chilly.  We had a lovely time in the woods with our girl.

Wonder Woman and her "lasso"

 

Yup, Da's proud.  Nothin' better than taking a walk through the woods
with Wonder Woman and the Hulk.

Some of us walk; some of us fly.  I suspect she's in the invisible plane here.

Fallen log

Mushrooms and moss

This marshy area is not even visible later in the season.  Water levels are
very high at the moment, and the surrounding vegetation has yet to fill
in to block this beautiful view.

The lightning tree

I just love that we never have conventional pictures of our family.  There's
something about this one that's just super-special to me.

That smile

Walking the path through the woods, certain trees were selected for a
special fliddling with the "lasso."

We suspect the selection had something to do with the wind and how the
"lasso" moved, but there were plenty of trees she just blew right past
without even looking.

The good news is that she didn't discriminate.  Even horizontal trees were
eligible for the honor of the Wonder Woman fliddle.

After a day like that, you'd think she'd be ready to chill at home.  Not our girl.  She badgered us to go back out, so instead of The Hubbs doing the grocery shopping as we had planned, it became another family outing.  Three stores and a big loop around town, and she was an absolute delight.

This morning brought clouds and a chill in the air that suggests our theory will likely prove true once again: when the Weather Channel says 30% chance of precipitation, they really mean 100%.  That's the magic number around here, and I suspect that - yet again - it will end up thirty percenting all over us today.  Good thing we can go to the pool.

Easter and Birthdays and Twinsies, Oh My!

Every year for Easter, we pack up our little family and head on down to The Hubbs' parents' place by the city.  This year was no different, and we celebrated The Princess's seventh birthday at the same time.

It was absolutely beautiful outside, and I'd like to thank Jello for taking
this gorgeous family picture of us in the lawn.

So, funny story: either Jello or her mom, can't remember who, started this
thing where everybody matches on the holidays.  I think it's cute, but I like
to pick our outfits, so this time I bowed out.  I found this dress at a thrift store
for less than $5 and altered it to fit The Princess.  Note K's outfit...this was
not exactly what had been planned in advance.

Just after we arrived, K asked her momma to help
her find a purple dress, because she wanted to be
"just like" The Princess.  Here are the three cousins
enjoying the beautiful weather together in the yard.

It's no longer so easy to tell, but The Princess has about a year and a half
on K.  I love seeing these kiddos together, and the hand-holding stuff
today totally got me.

Talk about twinsies.  Right down to the stripes, the cross necklaces and
the oh-so-stylish gym shoes with their dresses.

Our sweet, beautiful goddaughter, E.

The Hubbs and me with his fabulous grandparents.  I am so fortunate to
have these people in my life.  I lost all of my grandparents years ago, and
these two have always been so welcoming.  Thanks largely to them, I
have never for a second doubted that I fit into this family.

My favorite present picture - "Look, Da...I'm Wonder Woman!"

First set of candles to be blown out.  Yes, those are donut holes.  :)

Batgirl toted her new ribbon everywhere.

More candles!  This time, we sang to The Princess and her awesome
Great Uncle P, whose birthday is coming up in a few more days.  She
really had fun blowing out the candles this year.

In between all those pictures, I was also fortunate enough to play with my lovely niece, K, for at least an hour.  We ran around the yard, played ball and hide-and-seek, and I had an absolute blast.  This little girl has always been all about The Hubbs (she calls him Uncle Goofball), and this was the first time I had ever really had the chance to spend so much great one-on-one time with her.

I'm so thankful for the wonderful family we're blessed with.  Y'all are amazing.  We love you.

Somebunny Had a Birthday

So, you're all familiar with our little family unit now.  If you know us in real life, you also know that our doggies each have about nine hundred and seventy-two names.  Bubbles is our oldest kid, and she's also known as Bunny.

Well, Bunny turned nine years old on Saturday, April 19.  I can't believe we've been blessed with her presence for so long; it seems like only yesterday we drove to a farm about an hour away to meet our new pup.  She's still as sweet as ever, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

Happy birthday, Bun.

My big, bodacious birthday girl.

I was up early on Saturday...go figure: the one day I can really sleep in and my eyes pop wide open at six o'clock.  Oh, well.  Before the rest of the fam woke up, I spent my first chunk of time in the garden, clearing away the debris from fall and winter, and making way for the new chutes that are coming up all over the place.

Hosta

Tiger lily

Day lily

Daffodil

Tulip

After making a yummy pancake breakfast for the family, we went for another swim.  The Princess has always loved the water, and I'm very proud of the progress she's making at the pool.  It sure ain't the lake, but we're getting a routine together, and it's easier each time we go.

Then it was off to the nature preserve for another walk on yet another gorgeous afternoon.

Pine cone and stray needles

Cute coot

Fuzzy caterpillar

Cutest kid ever.  And I'm not even a little biased.

Overflow creek

This girl loves to run.

Hubbo Family!

As if all that wasn't enough, somebody mentioned ribs.  I know, right?!  After all this physical activity, how can a girl turn down barbecue?  So we headed out to eat (queue dramatic music) to one of the few places The Princess ever tolerates.  It's a few towns away, and they serve Southern barbecue family-style.  It totally didn't suck.

Restaurant selfie!

And the bonus: the birthday bulldog got some leftover fries with cheese.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Good Friday? YUP

This past Friday, The Princess and I had a rare coinciding day off from school and work for Good Friday.  And, boy, was it a good Friday.

First up: a nice, leisurely walk around the neighborhood with our doggies.

I'm, ahem, the one on the left.

Next: a two-mile nature walk through our favorite forest preserve area.

My loves, getting under way

The painted turtles are awake!  The painted turtles are awake!

Pretty little coot soaking up the sunshine

Spent seed pod

Canadian geese

Mossy log with mushrooms

Hi!

Pensive Princess

The Hubbs says this could be a Windows background.

Pretty sun behind the clouds

Don't worry; we thwarted this escape attempt.

The Hubbo Family!

I'm so happy she enjoys these walks, because I know we do.

After the state park, we stopped for lunch at McDonalds and played at one of the remaining PlayPlaces in the area for a while before the big surprise of the day: SWIMMING.

My two favorite people, in one of my new favorite places.

It may sound like a lot, but this is our favorite kind of day around here.  There's nothing better than spending time with our family doing the things that we love to do.  I only wish we'd joined this pool earlier so we didn't have to go months over this long winter without swimming.  The good news?  We'll never have to go through a swimming drought like that again. :)