A Nice Visit

Mom and Dad came down for a visit over the weekend and Seth was loving every second of it (along with the rest of us). Papa Roper came over for dinner and Dad and Mark made excellent New York Strips. (Trey decided to stick to his liquid diet, but everyone else loved them!) Mom was at his beckon call as they read books, did puzzles, caught fish on pampas grass lines and fried them up in a hat (cute one) and played, played, played.

Seth thought it was really funny when Papa said he was going to put Grandma in Time Out!

Seth and Papa got ready together and we had lunch at California Dreaming. Yum! Just before they left, Seth fell asleep in Mom's arms. When he woke up, the first thing he asked was, "Where Damma and Papa?" When Mark told him that they had to go home you would have though that we told him they died. He yelled out a sorrowful "No" and proceeded to cry hysterically. He crawled into my lap with one fist balled up over an eye and sobbed, "I needed to see them." He calmed down when he heard that we are going up there next weekend for Easter, but throughout the evening he'd occasionally call out, "Dem not gone."

Forget Pretty in Pink....

Carlee was Gorgeous in Green for her Prom on Friday!

In the Zone

We went to Fun Zone with our play group yesterday and Seth had a blast. We dyed Easter eggs (and then he ate one!), played basketball, bounced, went on giant inflatable slides and played with lots of fun toys. When we were climbing the steps, (If you can call them steps. They are more like little inflatable bumps on a 90 degree incline.) Seth's feet kept getting ahead of his body and I thought we were going to plummet into an inflatable sea for a moment. My palms are getting sweaty just writing about it. Really. I had some Monkey Joe's flashbacks for a second. At least this time he was big enough to not have to be carried and there weren't 30 six-year-olds pushing behind me. The terror didn't stop us. We climbed again and again. Even though Seth had been trying to give up his nap lately, he was wiped out and asleep by 1:45. Maybe we should go to Fun Zone everyday. Over the last 24 hours he has probably talked about or asked to go to "Pun Zone" at least a dozen times. We're adding it to our list of favorites!

Sensory Nature Walk

The other day Seth and I went to Granby Gardens for a walk on the nature trail. The hint of Spring was beckoning us outside. I love this time of year! The days grow longer and the earth begins to transform, reminding us that we are alive. I thought this would be a great time to talk about the five senses.

Smell:
Seth loves to smell things, so he was more than happy to sniff every flower that we came across. The wisteria is just beginning to bloom and the scent is divine.

Touch:
We felt the contrast of the pebbles that have been smoothed by years of rushing water and the rough and grainy granite rocks, the squish of the soft ground beneath our feet still wet from the weekend rains and the cool softness as our hands ran across the grass.

Taste:

Our picnic held the tastes of delicious sliced peaches, blackberry jam, salty pretzel sticks and southern sweet tea.

Sight:
We watched a squirrel climb up to the top of a tree and then scamper out of sight and tiny minnows darting in and out of the reeds in the stream. We observed how the large rocks made big splashes, while the smaller rocks barely disturbed the surface of the stream. Seth was delighted to watch the dandelion seeds carried off in the air when he blew on the transparent puffs...over, and over and over again. What a fun weed!

Sound:
I asked Seth to close his eyes and tell me what he heard.
A bird
Anudder bird
Da reever (river)
A truck
A Baboon

It was a good day.

Thursday Thirteen

1- Family - The most important thing in the world to me!

2 - Friends - This comes next - although some friends are also family!

3 - Fun - I try to do something fun with Seth everyday. I always want him to learn, but have a good time in the process. He has been saying, "We do have fun." It makes me feel good to hear this!

4 - Flute - My sister played the we were growing up. Oh, how I hated that thing!

5 - Faith - This is an odd concept for me. I prefer the concrete, but I'm working on it.

6 - Four Letter Words - I'm trying to erase them from my vocabulary, but one slips out now and again.

7 - Facebook - I have reconnected with so many people I didn't even realize I was missing and kept up with the day to day affairs of my loved ones through facebook!

8 - Feng Shui - I think I could use a little good chi in my life!

9 - Fabric - I love different fabrics and look at them often. There are so many cute ones. I buy them from time to time, but don't know what to do with them. I think I like the idea of fabric. I guess the first step would be to learn how to sew - which I am hoping to do in soon.

10 - Future - I often think about the future and wonder what the rest of my life holds. I still get excited about the possibilities. I guess that's a good sign.

11 - Fairies - They really do exist, you know!

12 - Farm - My grandparents owned a farm when I was small. It wasn't really a working farm - it was more of a hobby for Papa. I have so many great memories of that time.

13 - Folly Beach - We spend time there every summer. It's one of my favorite places on earth.

I can't believe...

what happened last night. Mark bought one of those scratch off lottery tickets. I told him to scratch it because he has better luck than I do. We couldn't believe our eyes! We had won $250,000! April Fools!

Wordless Wednesday