Tea Time

The English have their tea time, this is ours.....

Fiesta!

Last month we went down to San Antonio to visit family and to experience our 1st Fiesta. 

It was quite an event! 

Though we only saw a few days of it, we had no idea that Fiesta consists of 11 days of parties with over 100 events!

Also, we felt like we got the royal treatment, because on our first night we went to a great cascarone party at Steve and Randall's and then the next two days Gram and Pater got us tickets to the Battle of Flowers and Flambeau parades. It is good to know people that are in the know.

Charlotte napped each day and then partied until nearly midnight each night.

We had a blast!

First night -- Cascarone Party.

Second Day -- Battle of the Flowers Parade (Charlotte took this picture)

Third Day -- on the way to the Pooch Parade. Charlotte really loved tossing doggy biscuits to all the pooches. (There were doggy treats all over the road.)

Easter Baking

This year, we tried something new and found that we LOVED it!

We made Resurrection Rolls; named that way because of their hollow center. 

1 can Crescent Rolls

1/4 cup melted butter

2 T sugar

2 T cinnamon

8 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Unroll each crescent triangle. Dip 1 marshmallow in melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon mixture. Place cinnamon marshmallow in the center of the crescent triangle and roll it up, pinching the sides to seal in the marshmallow. Repeat until all marshmallows and crescent rolls are done. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Let them cool about 10 minutes, then break open to see your "hollow tomb".  I read Charlotte her Easter Story book while we were letting them bake so that it would all make sense and she could understand the true meaning of Easter. 

Then later in the afternoon, we enjoyed making some yummy Easter cupcakes. Charlotte enjoyed sprinkling the tops the best!

ABC's

As a mom of a 3 year old who loves to help cook, this activity proved fun and educational!

 Charlotte needed help learning some of her letters, so I went to our local teacher supply store and purchased ABC cookie cutters. We made the dough together and then rolled it out 1/4 of an inch thick for the cookie cutters. 

Before she chose any cookie cutter, I made her tell me which letter it was and then she could cut the dough. 

What I learned was that she really knew more than she'd let on.... When cookies are involved, who wouldn't learn their letters quicker?

When we took the cookies out of the oven, we sprinkled rainbow decorating sugar on top. And, before she could eat any cookie, she had to tell me again which letter it was. 

Taller

The other day Charlotte was in her room playing and shouted for me to come see....

"I'm growing Mama!"

Spring

Spring is my favorite time of the year. 

I love our Texas weather in the spring - not too hot.... not too cold!

I love getting back to the yard work that's been neglected during the winter. The smell of grass, dirt, and flowers makes me happy! It's time to prepare our veggie garden for new planting. During the fall and winter, we had wonderful broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, swiss chard, and a few carrots:

I'm excited to see what our garden can bring us this spring! Hopefully, our next batch of carrots will turn out better than these....

Who knew that if you planted the seeds too close together that the carrots would mutate and grow together?? Haha, probably everyone but ME!! Oh well, live and learn! It sure didn't stop this cutie from enjoying them....

she's my best critic.

American Bandstand

Oh their JOY for life and all that's in it!

 I pray each day that that joy will always remain.