Our Week

It's been a busy week around here! We headed up to Chicago on Monday morning to visit with old friends we haven't seen in many, many years. We hung out at a splash park in the afternoon.

 We also spent lots of time talking about flowers since our friend, Rebecca, works at a flower shop. She took me to see the shop and gave me lots of ideas for Emily's wedding.

The next morning we headed downtown to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

It was such a lovely zoo, and free too! All the kids enjoyed each other's company.

The exhibits were well thought out and fun to look at.

Everyone loved getting up close to the polar bear!

A picnic was enjoyed outside the zoo in a beautiful garden.

We managed to get a family picture:

And more pictures of the kids:

Then we headed to the beach which was right there at the edge of the city!

There are few things more relaxing than sitting on the beach.

The kids LOVED it! And it was hard to pull ourselves away when it was time to leave.

Back in Indianapolis we continued our visit with Karen, our friend who is here from Scotland. One evening we went downtown for a little walk.

And we discovered this amazing new candy store on the circle. We'll probably be going back sometime.....

On the way home we were treated to a gorgeous sunset!

Yesterday we went to the IMA Gardens for a picnic.

And then toured Oldfields (the Lily House).

And ended our visit inside the art museum taking in European Art.

And I found a lovely painting of the Scottish Highlands.

School began for our neighbors this week! Can you believe it! We ended the week with a birthday party for several of the children.

Laura quite enjoyed herself. :)

And now for the weekend.......

Baby Cakes at the Park

It is so much fun to take pictures of David. I collected quite a few at the Art Museum Gardens last week.

He insisted on sitting close to Grandma to enjoy his lunch:

All the while making very cute faces and playing to the camera:

Eating chocolate cake was definately fun:

It was a bit like scooping up dirt and eating it!

Fortunately, there were plenty of wipes.

The most fun of all was playing in the little pond:

Who can resist?As a mother, I try to ask myself before acting, "Is this really dangerous? What would be the worst thing that happens if he really did fall in?"

My mothering instincts told me that any damage would be worth the fun. "Look at my fish, mom," says David:

Yes, the damage was worth the fun.

Try to imagine how hard it was to jump up and run to rescue my baby all the while choking back hysterical laughs and wishing I could have caught it all on video. Let's just say the other adults were having a hard time covering up their laughter too -- picture Baby Cakes falling into the pond, large stick in hand, terrified, but then immediately discovering it was only 6 inches deep and therefore able to stand up right away. The only problem was his hat, which somehow became lodged over his face. Poor thing stood in the murky water in a panic, stick in hand, scared more from the loss of sight than from the fall into the water. He really did look like a Marshwiggle.

April Says Yellow -- #3

Today is a very grey sort of day (sometimes "grey" feels more expressive than "gray"). I feel in need of a "yellow post". :)

I tried to collect as many yellows as possible on our trip to the Art Museum Gardens last Friday.

Seeing the variety amongst the daffodils is inspiring.

Sometimes one can't help seeing something else -- like Fried Eggs Easy.

Others seem so delicate and lady-like:

These seem to communicate joy and energy:

I'm always impressed when seeing a "double":

Wordsworth's poem "Daffodils" comes to mind, looking at all these flowers. I would love to see thousands upon thousands of these flowers all in one place.

Some sweet little primroses -- I'm wondering if these are becoming more popular over here....

I saw these tiny little things and thought their tiny intricate-ness was adorable, but didn't catch their name.

Another bright splash of yellow:

And creamy yellow:

I hope you all have a good day enjoying, in some way or another, God's beautiful creation.

Christina's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Christina's birthday.

It is tradition that we do so at the Art Museum Gardens.

The day couldn't have been more beautiful!

We had Caesar Salad, Chicken Salad Croissants and Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake. With the salad came a tin of sardines. Wouldn't you know, my kids loved them! Way to go baby foodies!

Here we are:

It's always a trick to have candles outdoors -- one made it!

While the adults chatted, the children built fairy houses.

It was pretty elaborate this year:

After lunch we took a leisurely walk to admire the flowers.

The colors in this photo make me think of the recent film about Marie Antoinette:

The viburnum was just beginning to bloom -- the smell is intoxicating.

The planters met with my approval this year:

It's always fun to see the many varieties of daffodils:

And I do love forget-me-nots:

More nice planters:

And a nice group of people: :)

The redbud trees are just coming into bloom. Why do I feel like they are late?

And these blue flowers were so lovely -- I forget their name:

I had to smile at this flower -- I have a blouse with the same color and pattern!

How close can the camera get?

And the day ended with a bit of play in one of the ponds.

I have plenty more pictures but have decided to break them up over several days.

We're enjoying another gorgeous day before the weather turns cold again. The boys have soccer and I'm doing laundry, mending, sorting, etc. Tomorrow is a pot-luck/pitch-in/carry-in at church, so I need to get some food organized. Enjoy your weekend!