Our crew at the zoo

We made a very spur of the moment decision this afternoon to visit the zoo. The weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky. We know it's going to get very hot soon, so we just decided to take advantage of the cooler weather today and spend time outdoors. It was the perfect day for the zoo. All the animals were out and about, moving around, and laying in the sun.









Go Longhorns!





After we got home, Elise helped me water the flowers and played outside while Jamie mowed the grass. She was so exhausted that she actually asked to go to bed tonight! Now that's a first.

1-2-3-4-5, Once I caught a fish alive!

Elise sings this song all the time:

1-2-3-4-5, Once I caught a fish alive,
6-7-8-9-10, Then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little pinky on the right!

This past Saturday, she finally got to catch her first real fish! She's been looking forward to this. My dad has been promising to take her fishing for a few weeks now. I can remember the first time he took me fishing and how exciting it was to share his favorite hobby. It was neat to go along and see Elise have this experience too. :) Of course, she was afraid of the fish, but I expected that! In addition to catching a few fish, we also fed the turtles and ducks. It was a great activity for the first weekend of spring.

Spring is in the air!

Spring has arrived!!! We've had a series of absolutely gorgeous days around here, and we are really enjoying it. I'm normally not that into spring. I am more of a fall girl. I love winter clothes, hot chocolate, the holidays, etc. However, this year I am really, really excited for spring. The warm sun feels so nice - I am ready for it! There is a rejuvenating feeling in the air. I potted some flowers for the porch over the weekend, and Jamie has been doing some work in the yard. Things are looking nice and green out there. :)

Twilight was released on DVD last Saturday, and YES, I already have my copy! I wasn't into it enough to wait in line at midnight Friday night, but we made a trip to WalMart Saturday afternoon and luckily they still had one display of DVDs left. I was telling Jamie how excited I am, because I just found out that Eclipse will be in theaters June 30,2010 (so only about 6 months after the release of New Moon). Then he compared me to a Trekkie, which I just found insulting because those folks are weirdos. And surely I am not a weirdo....hmmm....maybe if I showed up at the premiere in a Volturi costume. (No, I do NOT plan on it! LOL)

My dad and Jamie are bonding over March Madness. They've been texting each other quite a bit since the tournament began. I'm glad they have each other, because that means mom and I don't have to pretend to be interested. LOL It's not that I don't like it, but I just don't have the kind of time I used to have to really follow all the teams, and it's not as fun to watch when you don't care who wins. One of the girls I know online has a brother who plays for Gonzaga, so that is pretty neat! I caught part of their game the other day and it was fun to root for him.

Baseball tournaments are officially over! So, we have regained our weekends until playoff time. Hooray!

Easter Sunday is only a little more than 2 weeks away, and Disney on Ice is only 3 weeks away. I cannot believe it. I am really glad I did the Easter Bunny shopping early this year - it has really snuck up on me.

Fish and 4-year olds

Lulu II has officially outlived the original Lulu's life expectancy. I've also learned the window of interest as far as a fish and a 4-year old are concerned. It's about 48 hours for anyone out there who is curious or was considering a fish for their own 4-yr old. Especially problematic is the fact that the average lifespan of a beta is 2-3 years. I see many months ahead where poor grandma will be feeding and caring for Lulu II, and Elise has completely lost interest. Ah well, live and learn!

Also, speaking of fish...Elise has become very interested in an iPhone application called Flick Fishing. Jamie downloaded it on the recommendation of some of his students, and since Elise has learned to play she has become addicted! I never would have guessed this would be such a hit with her. She has basically taken over our phones (I downloaded the game also for those times when Coach is not home). She is truly grandpa's girl!

Future Mommy

Notice how the stuffed animal has been tucked into bed. I find Elise sleeping like this a few times a week, and it always makes me smile.

Fridays

For a little over a year now I have been on an alternate work week schedule, which allows me to work 9 hour days and take every other Friday off. My dad is retired, and somewhere along the way, we decided to start spending my Fridays off together. Today was my day off, and dad and I were talking about what a blessing his early retirement has been for our family. I've had so many special times with him when everyone else was working. I got pregnant with Elise the exact month he retired, and I can honestly say that I don't know how I would have made it without him. When I was on bed rest during my pregnancy, dad came over and sat with me every single day. He brought me lunch and sometimes dinner too. He kept me company and helped me stay calm. I can't even remember how many Astros games we watched together - me laying on my left side on the couch and dad in the recliner.

Then Elise was born, and I was on my own with my tiny baby. Oh my - I was so clueless! My maternity leave was an intensely lonely time for me. I had a lot of health problems and since Elise was a preemie, I could not take her out for a long time. I was basically housebound, and if it weren't for dad coming by every single afternoon to sit with me and hold Elise so I could take a shower, I think I might have gone insane. He was my only contact with the outside world for days at a time. Mom stopped by a lot as well, but she was working full time and couldn't stay for more than just an hour or so in the evening. For the first 4 months, Elise wouldn't sleep unless she was being held. To give me a break, dad used to sit with her and let her sleep on his chest - every single day. Those times we had together during my maternity leave will be cherished forever.

Aren't they cute??

Dad was sitting with me the day I hemorrhaged and drove me to the hospital - he was very literally my lifesaver. I will never forget crawling to the car on my hands and knees to go to the ER. Thank God for his ability to drive us there safely under the circumstances!

Life with Elise has gotten a lot easier since those early days, but he still helps us all the time - I can't even count how many times he's delivered forgotten dance shoes to the school, picked up Elise when Jamie and I were running late, met repair men at our house, etc. He is truly a wonderful grandpa and father.

I love & treasure my Fridays with dad. We always have lunch together, and inevitably he ends up chauffeuring me around to run all my errands that have piled up throughout the week. We've had a lot of great conversations while driving from place to place and eating lunch. Of all the people in my life I am most like my dad, so he really "gets" me. If anything is ever bothering me, we always talk it out on our Fridays. I'm also amazed at how much we can get accomplished! Just today we did the following:

• Stood in a crazy long line to get my passport. The idea of having to live with my less than stellar passport photo for the next 10 years is causing me a bit of anguish, but I suppose I will survive.


• Went shopping for some spring/summer clothes for Elise (and found a few cute things for my Jamaica trip in the process). It felt kind of silly since it was raining and 40-something degrees today, but it's already been in the 80s and I know the warm weather will return very soon. Of course nothing from last summer fits. We also hit Stride Rite for Elise's summer shoes.


• Stopped in the bookstore, and picked up a few books. I just randomly grabbed one called Love Walked In. It's a NY Times Bestseller, and it looks like a nice, light, romantic read. Then I went ahead and picked up Kushiel's Dart. Last but not least, I finally got around to buying Parenting With Love & Logic, which is a parenting book I've been meaning to read for quite some time now. Amanda recommended this one to me, and I think our parenting styles are similar enough that if she likes it, I will too! I love reading books about relationships and parenting. Speaking of which, I read an AWESOME book called His Needs Her Needs recently. It was very eye opening, and I think every married couple should read it! After I read it, I really understood why Jamie and I are such a good pair - we share a lot of the same basic needs. Fascinating stuff! I wish I had read it many years ago.


• Had some great, hot soup at Panera Bread

Thank you, Dad...for EVERYTHING.

What's up?

• Lulu bit the dust. Already. A replacement Lulu was purchased yesterday. I now take back my statement in my last post where I said it was good that Lulu was living with the grandparents, since I would kill her (him, but I am humoring Elise). Apparently it doesn't make much of a difference where Lulu lives after all. I'm going to call the new fish Lulu II.
• Jamie's JV baseball team won the championship at their tournament this weekend. I am sure it was due mostly to excellent coaching. We now have 2 tournaments down with only 1 to go. Jamie and I are both ready for them to be over.
• We booked a trip to Jamaica this past week with Jeremy, Candace, Jeff, and Debbie. I would leave tomorrow if I could - it really just cannot get here fast enough. Unfortunately we will have to wait until summer, but it's something great to anticipate.
• Jamie is mad that dad's Jayhawks beat Texas. I can't cheer for either one, because *someone* is going to be upset either way!
• I was going through my summer wardrobe, because in my mind I am already packing for our trip. I discovered that I am in need of some nice, open toed shoes. I mostly live in flip flops during the summer, but I want something cute and strappy for our nights out in Jamaica. So far I haven't found anything I like. I don't want a huge heel, because I am already almost 6 feet tall. But I don't want a flat either, because they look too casual. Aren't there any cute, 1-inch heeled, summery shoes out there?
• I'm also revamping my swimsuit collection. I want some suits that are a bit more conservative, but still bikinis. I feel like I'm beyond the days of string bikinis, in more ways than one. I ordered one cute suit from Old Navy this morning, and I want to get a few others for the trip.
• Okay, so I know Tara has recommended Kushiel's Dart (and the whole series) as my next reading project. I have to admit, I picked it up at Barnes & Noble and began reading the first page, and I had to think WAY too hard to keep up. I ended up not buying it. Tara, you are way smarter than I! But I am thinking about reconsidering and trying again while laying on the beach this summer. Maybe I could clear my head enough to follow along? And I am getting a real kick out of the llama that pulls up on the author's home page. LMAO! It must be a sign that I should pick up this book right away.
• Twilight is out on DVD on March 21st. I can't wait to buy it and watch it again. :) Jamie is looking over my shoulder as I type this and making fun of me for being so into this series for teenagers. What he would never admit is that he enjoyed the movie and is looking forward to New Moon. ;)
• My friend Lisa has finally set a wedding date after being engaged for like 4 years. I'm excited for her! I am helping with the wedding planning, which is very fun as long as it's not my wedding.