Hippity Hoppity

Easter's on its way! Though the weather has been testy and unpredictable, we have had a few super-lovely days lately. We have enjoyed grilling out, eating on our deck and lots of bike riding (Molly FINALLY without training wheels!). Our azaleas are blooming, the tulips and daffodils are out.



Our church had its annual Easter Fest, complete with crafts, games, egg hunts, and pony rides. Amelia's daycare class had an Easter party yesterday--I made duck-shaped turkey sandwiches for that one! And today, Rebecca's sweet preschool had its Easter Egg hunt and party. Peter, Papa and I all came to hide the eggs (as much as one can hide eggs in a field of mowed grass!) and watch Rebecca enjoy her treats afterward.

Don't Blink or You'll Miss 'Em!

Like the famed cherry blossom trees in DC, the Memphis Botanic Garden cherry trees reach peak bloomy-ness for only a short time. Once they're full, you have about 3-4 days to see them in their glory. They are a fragile sort. So last week, I picked up the kids from school and drove them straight out to Audubon Park for tree-climbing, avoiding golf balls, and illegally picking flowers. (She's only 18 months old, Officer...!)

Spring Break!

The girls went back to school today (finally--they were really starting to annoy each other! I really think the only people who truly like Spring Break are teachers!). We were really lucky this year to have our friends visit, first our Iowa friends and then our Mississippi friends.

Pankaj and Hemali drove down from Davenport. We've known them since our Connecticut days, as Peter and Pankaj have worked together for 10 years--first in CT and then in IA. Their beautiful daughters were born 2 months after Molly. Even though it's been 1 1/2 year since the twins and our girls saw each other, they fell right back in as though time had not passed. They dressed the dog in headbands and sequins, had movie nights, giggled, told secrets, held hands, and made jewelry together. The families visited the zoo and Graceland, the Incredible Pizza Co, Corky's barbecue, The Cupboard Restaurant. The grown-ups had an evening out with dinner in Midtown, followed by a night of live music at Morgan Freeman's club downtown. We watched on TV when the Memphis Tigers won their conference basketball tournament. It was a real Memphis-filled weekend!



the mirrored stairway at Graceland


listening to the tour in Elvis's TV room


at Elvis's pool, near his grave








enjoying Southern country cookin' at The Cupboard ("what is chicken fried chicken?")

When the Smiths came through on their way back to Jackson, MS, we took advantage of a gorgeous day to visit the zoo again with their sweet little girl! Then Peter, Jason and Paige, took in a Grizzlies NBA game at the FedEx Forum.

The final weekend of Spring Break was pretty low-key with lots of outside time, family games and grilling out. Whew--I'm exhausted. When is Spring "Break"?

Leprechauns and Pedicures

St. Patrick's Day fell in the middle of Spring Break this year, but we still got creative with the green. I painted the girls' fingers and toes shimmery green (all three--even Amelia let me paint her nails!) and added flower sparkles. Rebecca wore the skirt Nana made with clovers on it. Peter printed off coloring pages of rainbows and little men dancing Irish jigs. The Magic Leprechaun left green beads, glitter and a pot-o-gold with gold-wrapped Reeses peanut butter cups and golden coins. Although I have kissed the Blarney Stone to receive the "gift of gab," the girls have not. I feel certain, however, that they don't need to bend backwards onto some bacteria-laden rock to talk your ear off! Luck of the Irish to ye!

Renaissance Man

My sweet husband is a true Renaissance Man. He can fix pretty much anything. He's not afraid to wear a tiara and dance around to make his daughters happy. He knows the words to an endless number of musicals. He arranges flowers and quilts (not often, but with surprising skill). He's good at his job. He knows the Bible and lives it. He does dishes and laundry. You want him on your trivia team. He plays softball and gardens. I could go on and on, but Father's Day is not til June!

Here is a little peek at his talent. It's on display at our church as part of a Lenten art series entitled "Broken." It's a detail from the sculpture "The Pieta" by Michelangelo (Mary cradling the crucified body of Jesus--her son--like a baby).

The Squealing Lesson

Big sisters teach little sisters lots of useful things: eating with a fork, what a bird says, how to safely get down the stairs. One recent March evening, Molly and Rebecca decided to bestow upon Amelia one of the most important skills any little girl can learn: How to Squeal in the Bathtub. Here are a few still images of the event. There's a video, too, but I don't know how to get video from our camera to this blog. Once I figure it out (or get a lesson of my own), perhaps you can come back to enjoy it with sound!

Hi Spring!

Last post = 24 degrees. Today's high = 79 degrees. Yesterday was a gorgeous day! (Apparently, Saturday was, too, but I was on call at the hospital, so it's only hearsay.)

It started out a little dour. Molly threw up a few times in the morning---no fever, slept it off, felt "great" by about 1 pm. So I got home from work around 10 and was with Molly at home while Peter took Rebecca and Amelia to church. Today was Kite Day at church, so they had a hot dog lunch and enjoyed the windy afternoon with kites and preschoolers! Although we couldn't let Molly play with neighborhood children--doin' our part to minimize the spread of germs--we just couldn't bear to make her stay inside since she was feeling so much better.

So she joined the rest of us for bike/scooter riding, planting seeds, repotting herbs, popping a few pansies in the wall baskets, gathering twigs from the backyard, playing "Baby Kitty" and "Baby Animal Vet" with Rebecca, chasing Amelia around the front yard, swinging on the porch swing, talking about the promised treehouse, having a family meeting on the front porch on a quilt, playing checkers and cleaning out the garage. The entrepreneurial ice cream man showed up, to a round of squeals and jumps for joy from our girls and the neighborhood gaggle of children. We opened all the windows in the house for airing out. Dad made his beloved "pizza chicken" for dinner (sundried tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella), and we talked about things we'd like to do this summer.

It was a perfect day. No pictures to prove it. You'll just have to take my word for it.