Easter Pictures

Happy Easter everyone! We got all dressed up for Church on Sunday in bright colors, as is deemed appropriate for the holiday. Sara Beth wore a smocked dress made by Heather's aunt.

Sara Beth refused to take a picture without including her doll, Emma Rose, in it as well. It took several tries to get a picture where she was 1) Smiling, 2) Not sucking her thumb, and 3) Not holding Emma Rose in front of her face.

I'm not really one that does holiday celebrations. Heather put together Sara Beth's Easter basket without any involvement from me, but aside from that there wasn't really any Easter type paraphernalia around the house. School, on the other hand, appears to go all out for the holiday, and Sara Beth came home last Wednesday like this.

I attempt to add posts to this blog on a weekly basis, but for those of you that are keeping a close watch will notice I skipped last week. We were recovering from a trip. I decided that it would be a good idea to take a 4 day weekend and drive to Georgia to see my great aunt Alma. She is an amazing woman who has great stories to share (ask Heather about the worm story as that is her favorite). And for this extended 96 hour weekend, we decided that it would work best to drive the 14 hours to get there. After you include the time driving around town, that adds up to around 1/3 of the entire weekend spent in a minivan. And that is 1/3 of ALL hours, not just waking hours. I probably should have thought that one through a little more. Sara Beth handled it as well as can be expected, but she did have some trouble smiling for the 4 generation picture that we were trying to take.

With enough patience, we eventually got a good one.

My parents came with us on the trip, and we took their van. Sara Beth loved all the fancy options that our vehicle lacks. Her favorite, by far, was the automatic doors. She got quite a kick out of pressing the button to open and close the door. And the open and close them again, and again. She got in trouble quite a few times playing with the door buttons. Their car also has all sorts of neat compartments that our car lacks.

My great aunt has some roses growing in front of her house. Sara Beth loves to pick flowers and asked if she could pick a rose for mommy to add to her dandelion collection. I said no, but I did tell her she could smell the flower instead.

Finally, I know I mentioned that Heather and Sara Beth are feeding Little Bit strawberries. I suspect that cat has become a berry addict, but they continue to feed that cat's habit.

Cats

Sara Beth loves the cats. I know I have mentioned it a couple times in previous posts. And the cats have acclimated to Sara Beth; they no longer bolt whenever she comes near. Now, when Catta was sunning herself in the afternoon, she didn't bat an eye when Sara Beth decided to join her.

Little Bit, of course, will like anyone that feeds her. Strawberries are in season, and Sara Beth and Heather both feed the strawberry tops to the cat. Little Bit will now come up to the table and start meowing for strawberries while we eat. I wanted to keep my strawberries so I tried feeding her some asparagus; she didn't like it as much.

We got some packages in the mail this past week. Sara Beth excitedly helped to open the boxes. As soon as the contents were removed, Sara Beth decided she wanted to be boxed up next. Any explanations I offered concerning improper box sizings and volume estimations fell on deaf ears.

One night, we went over to my parent's house for dinner. We stayed over a little later and decided to give Sara Beth her night time bath in their jetted bathtub. Sara Beth requested bubbles, and the results were rather impressive.

Dinosaurs

Sara Beth has been exceptionally well behaved these past weeks. To further encourage this good behavior, Heather talked me into purchasing a animal vet box for Sara Beth. Typically, I feel that providing a roof over Sara Beth's head is reward enough, but Heater did make a convincing argument. So now, instead of trying to carry the real cat carrier around the house, she will lug her kid sized puppy carrier around. She absolutely loves it.

Sara Beth, this week, has started singing some of the words to "Frosty the Snowman" but to the tune of "Old McDonald." From the back seat of the van words will emerge: "with a corn cob pipe, and a button nose, e-i-e-i-o."

This weekend we went to Dinosaur Valley State Park, two hours south east of our house. It was the first fun adventure we have taken in quite a while, and Sara Beth absolutely loved it. We took off our shoes and walked in the river. I pointed out the fossilized footprints to Sara Beth.

It was quite a workout. The river bed was rather slick, and so, ever five seconds or so, Sara Beth would loose her footing, and I would be holding up 35 pounds of weight at arms length, preventing her from going below the water. She would regain her footing, and we would go on to look at the next waterfall or rock. I think Sara Beth cared for splashing about in the water more than the dinosaur foot prints. And though the park regulations strictly forbid "disturbing the rocks," I think we may have moved some of the rocks as we were stepping on them.

Grandma and Grandpa came with us as well. We sat down and had lunch at a park bench. Within 30 seconds of beginning to eat, Sara Beth had dropped her sandwich in the dirt. Without even pausing, she grabbed mine and began to eat that one instead. Fortunately, Heather was willing to share hers with me.