The Zoo

Marmosets....the most adorable animal ever! We hung out at their place for the longest time.  They are so interactive and ADORABLE! 

We don't really understand their fluffy raccoon-like tail....but, we want one!

It was a beautiful day.  Sunny, slightly breezy.  We watched this elephant reach really high for his hay.  There is a barrel hanging from the umbrella...with one hole.  Without even really looking, he reached his trunk up, spun the barrel around and pulled out clumps of hay.

This baboon was funny.  He was making faces at us and yawned really big-he's got ALOT of teeth. 

The lion cages were more accessible this time.  We could get much closer than I've ever been before.  The lady lion came over and rubbed noses with the male.....then she walked away.  He stood up for just a moment and then laid back down in the sun.

The bamboo forest was one of my favorite spots. 

                                    Wingspan is expanding...still not as big as the condor's. 

This parakeet cage is one you could walk in.  They were flying all over the place. 

Of course, the best animals are at the end in the gift shop!

NJHS, Arts Night & Giant lego

Tara was inducted into the NJHS this past Monday.  It was a quiet, quick ceremony.  I was so pleased she has kept her grades up to qualify and she is definitely  a "good" student, recommended by her teachers with good character and work ethic.  It's basically a service organization.....the service hours will not be a problem.  Tara loves to serve.

The middle school also had an Art's Night.  A night for the jazz band, girl's ensemble, 6-8 grade choirs, art classes all to display their work.  It was a great combo of music and art-a little long (2 1/2 hours)  but, fun. Tara auditioned for a solo.  She got the solo and then the choir director cut that song out (for time sake) the day before.  She was relieved.....I'm so proud of her for trying out for the part!  I'll see if I can get my video camera to load a clip on here. 

For her math class, Tara had to figure out how to enlarge a simple object.  The small white lego was hers...and she made it so big.  Not as big as she wanted, her original idea was to make one bigger than herself.  We settled on this size. 

Someone started painting toenails and is worried about wearing "cute" shoes to church......and curled her hair....hummmm?  wonder what this could be about!

Easter

 

Happy Easter  

The following is a poem Tara wrote yesterday.  I'm tempted to edit, but I will refrain.

Her words:

 

The Mix of Spring

Nature, green as green can be,

Flowers as far as the eye can see.

Bees buzz, birds chirp,

Spring is now hard at work.

 

Colors, colors everywhere,

The wind as it blows my hair.

Spring helps you realize what you might not see,

It can show you the beauty of everything.

 

When you show Joy-others become joyful,

Your Joy helps others enjoy spring.

Every girl should have a chance to be told they are beautiful,

Everyone should always feel accepted.

 

Spring can be happy and sad,

Spring could make some people joyful or mad.

Spring means school is almost done,

Then summer will come and be fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay for springtime! It's finally here.  Shorter sleeves, no socks, sunglasses for part of most days and pastel colors!

 

 

 

Emily complained that our activities for holidays have been "lame" lately.  I really have tried to avoid all the excess mess of the holidays as the kids have gotten older.  But, they wanted to try easter egg dying.....so....this is what happened.

 

Color, glitter, glue, stickers, yarn eggs filled with candy, tissue paper "stained glass",

AND I was reminded why I avoid all of this...but, it was fun.

                                           This purple glitter egg was one of my favorites.

We made nests with Chinese noodles and peanut butter , jellybeans and peeps for dinner with the sister missionaries.

Emily wants to try cello.....and/or flute.  We will see how that goes in middle school.

Of course, the best part of getting a big cello in a coffin-sized box......playing in the box.

Don't know where she learned this......Jonathan?......

 

Jake was the driver.  What I didn't get was a photo of the big stuffed lion in the batman costume and them rowing the "boat" with the croquet mallets.  Ahhh...to be young and creative with lots of time on your hands!

Dollywood during spring break

We went for a short drive down to Dollywood (about an hour).  The kids were given season passes for their birthdays from Grandpa Borden (thank you grandpa!).  We wanted to go Monday but, it snowed.  We wanted to go Wednesday but, it rained and was still very cold.  We went Friday because it was forecast to be sunny and 60*.  It wasn't close to that, but, we had fun anyway......before we got really wet.  The Cruze family went with us.  We split up the group right away..

Tara and Emma (the teenagers) went off together .

The Carousel was great.

We caught up with them after awhile.  Seemed to be enjoying their independence.

Tried our hand at a few games (same as throwing dollar bills into the trash can!)

The Ferris Wheel

The mini train (a lot like woody woodpecker's train at Universal)

The Dizzy Disk....spins and moves back and forth.  A lot of screaming on this one!

 

The Lemon Twist (shaped teacups).  The kids raced to see who could spin the fastest.

They asked us who won......I say the person who couldn't walk off the ride is the one!

It began to sprinkle, then rain....and didn't stop the rest of the day.  We had to leave earlier than we wanted too.....good thing we have season passes.  These were little puppets (with people in them).....they got really close to me and freaked me out a little.  But, they are just the right size for Lydia!