Inniswoods

While in Columbus, we visited Inniswoods Gardens with Marissa, Sarah and Eldon. 

 

Spring flowers were in bloom.  Blossoms on the trees were starting to open.  The fragrance of spring floated on the soft breeze.  It was a gorgeous morning.

The kids loved climbing into the treehouse, watching tadpoles wiggle in the stream, following the albino squirrel, exploring the garden paths, taking a spin in a wheelchair, and seeing the beautiful flowers...  There is nothing so lovely as a spring garden with laughing children.

Cousin time

Last weekend we drove to Ohio to visit my family and celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and Kim's baptism. 

My family is large.  Lots of kids.  Even more grandkids.  It is awesome.  Here are some of the best cousin pictures from this trip. (Not all cousins are pictured... I didn't take enough pictures.)

Eldon and Ruby chillin' in their diapers.

Alli especially enjoyed playing with Emma and Eliza... Barbies, My Little Ponies, dress-up, Polly Pocket... this was a great weekend.

Isn't this boy adorable?

Pump It Up!

What to do on a rainy cold day?  Pump It Up!  The name of the place is super-cheesy, but Alli and Ruby love this place, and they use all of their energy here, so I love it too. 

Last week we escaped the chilly, wet weather at Pump It Up!  Marissa came along for some bouncy fun.  Ruby, in her true form, built a tower and climbed to the top.  She is always climbing to new heights.

Alli played with Elijah (not pictured).  There was much running, jumping, chasing, laughing, and general silliness.

Check this out!

I am a proud mama.

Ruby and Alli and their friend Elijah are in a very fun video with Mr. Singer singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider! Click here to see their singing debut.

welcome to the next big project

Oh yes.  It is time for a little renovation in our original 1970's bathroom.  This is the pre-demolition shot.  Ugh.  Currently the bathroom is torn apart... no sink... no tiles... no counter.  Bare.  Dusty.

A blank canvas.

Stay tuned for results.

Nice to see my niece... and brother

My brother Dan was here this weekend with his daughter Katheryn.  Dan make custom mahogany doors, and he was delivering a bunch in Chicago... I know that was just an excuse to come see us.

We took Dan and Kat to the zoo on Saturday.

Everyone enjoyed looking at the flamingos... except Ruby who seems to be checking some guys out.  Hmm.

We had lunch at Nookies... a great place for breakfast or lunch.  And cheap for kids.  And delicious.

Thanks for coming to see us!

Let them eat cake!

I just completed a beginner cake decorating class.  My friend Alison and I took the Wilton I  Course at JoAnn's.  It was four weeks of fun and frosting... and getting away for a few hours.

Anyhow, this was my final cake. 

What you can't see is that Ruby destroyed the top layer moments before class.  She really wanted to eat the cake filled with pudding.  She tore open the top layer to get at the pudding filling.  I pieced the top layer back together with frosting... and covered it all up with more frosting.  She was mad that I took the cake away.

When I got home Alli and Ruby got to peek at the cake.  They were so anxious to eat it.  But they had to wait.  The missionaries came over for dinner tonight, and this cake was dessert.

As excited as they were about the cake, they actually just ate the frosting off of their pieces... and the pudding out of the middle.