Aaaahdiggers

That's the way Katie Mei pronounces "alligators".

Sometimes our schedule works out nicely so that Katie Mei can attend Tadpole Time at the Flint Riverquarium.   It's a little preschool program that takes place on the third Wednesday of the month and involves a craft project, a story, and a snack.  There is always a theme involving some kind of animal from the aquarium and last week's theme was alligators.  Since we love going to the aquarium anyway, it's always fun to attend Tadpole Time and then hang out to visit our aquatic friends for awhile afterward. 

Katie Mei made a craft project to show the alligator's bumpy skin, which involved green-colored macaroni noodles glued to the back of a cardstock alligator.  Note to self: glue sticks do not hold noodles well--go home with handful of fallen noodles and reglue with Elmers.

After the story and snack, Ms. Vicky brought out a real live American Alligator for the kids to pet.  I had to resist the urge to shove little kids out of the way and cut in line so I could pet the alligator first!  I do believe I was more excited than they were to touch the alligator.  Silly kids...they have no idea how awesome that was!  For the record, if you look closely at the photo you will see the alligator's mouth is held shut with a simple rubber band.

The alligator's skin did not feel as dry and rough as I expected.  It was bumpy, but it was a moist feeling.  Now wet, but cool and dampish.  I supposed since they do hang out in water, we should not expect them to feel dry.  She only let us touch him on the side of his belly, but I sure did want to stroke that long tail.  Ms. Vicky said he weighed about 10 pounds, smaller than I expected, and she said he was a bit annoyed at being picked up and used his tail to slap her.  I heeded her warned and didn't mess with his tail.

Merrilee tagged along, so she got to enjoy her second hands-on alligator experience.  The first time was last summer at the homeschool program at the Riverquarium.

When Tadpole time was over, we got some close-up peeks at Moonshine, the albino alligator; Katie Mei's favorite alligator snapping turtle, Big Al; and her favorite rattlesnake under the tortoise exhibit.  Those are her favorite animals at the Riverquarium, and we always have to visit them. (The photo of Big Al is from the Flint Riverquarium's website.  I didn't have a recent photo.  He's much bigger now--about 3 feet long!)

Gardening again

It's been a long time since I planted vegetable plants, and I love having a garden, but with all the neighbors' dogs around here, I knew I'd be asking for trouble if I even bothered with one.  But I got the itch a few weeks ago and asked Jay if he'd make a small raised bed for me so the kids and I could plant a few plants.  The sweet man did just that and made a beautiful little 4 X 8 square foot garden for us, complete with fencing to keep out critters.  It hasn't stopped the dogs from watering my plants on a regular basis, but at least they can't dig them up.

I let the kids help with planting, and Katie Mei enjoyed fertilizing.  Now we'll sit back and wait to see what grows.  These are photos from April 6.

Girls sure do age fast!!!

So hard to believe this...

Has become this!

Goodness!  Time has flown by.  It is so hard for me to believe she's already turned 8 and only has one more single-digit birthday to go!  These have been the most precious years of my life, and I am so truly blessed to call Merrilee my daughter.  She is such a joy.

We celebrated her birthday on April 1 at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  The Flower Festival took place that weekend, so we enjoyed walking around looking at the different crafters' booths, and even had time for funnel cake!  I think Katie Mei was most excited about the cake than anything!

We did quite a bit of walking, and usually Katie Mei gets lazy and wants to be carried--it's not a heart issue, it's a four-year old issue!  But she held up quite well and it wasn't until the end that she really started getting tired legs.  She mostly just hung out with Grandpa and Grandma and enjoyed the time she had there.

The azaleas were in full bloom and despite all the booths, there were  a few lovely places to take pictures.  Katie Mei wasn't really in the mood for posing for photo ops, but she did pretty well.  Merrilee is always ready for a photo!

After the festival we stopped for some nachos and iced tea and Katie Mei showed us how tired she really was.  This was way out of character for her, so I knew she was worn out after several days of staying up late, not napping, and then a long walk in the morning.  Poor girl was wiped out!  But we managed to revive her and she ate her share of nachos dipped in cheese.

We went home, and later that day Merrilee enjoyed blowing out the candles on the cake Grandma made for her.  Mom used to make doll cakes for me when I was little and I had told Merrilee about them, but this was her first.  She thought it was awesome!

Then we moved on to opening her gift.  She got a wonderful artist's easel and paint set from Grandma and Grandpa.

We drove home on Saturday and she got to open her presents from Jay and myself that afternoon.  It was a long birthday that covered two states, but it was fun.  Wishing you many more happy birthdays, Merrilee!

Sand in our faces, continued

We arrived home last Saturday, after a couple of fun days at my parents' house.  Just to finish up the photos from the trip to the beach, here is Merrilee's prized sand castle, and Katie Mei's hole.

Katie Mei really enjoyed the digging more than that building!

I think what the girls liked best about the trip was that I let them stay up late and watch TV.  Katie Mei did'nt quite last as long as her older sister, but she did enjoy thinking she was staying up late.  It was a lovely time, despite the cold weather, but I sure was glad to get home and into a warmer clime!