Strawberry Picking

After a fantastic morning at MOPS {great food, fellowship, and one of my favorite speakers}, Ryan and I met my Dad at a nearby Waffle House to go strawberry picking for the first time.

The weather was pretty drab -- super cloudy and overcast and even misting when we left the church {although there was only a 10% chance of rain}, but I really wanted to go strawberry picking {and didn't want to wait until we got back from Disney for fear that (1) we wouldn't have time for it before moving, and (2) that the supply would be practically gone} so we headed to Warbington Farms anyway, which turned out to be a great choice!

After stopping for lunch at Zaxby's, we arrived at the U-pick farm. Ryan was thrilled to find some friendly horses to feed while we got everything we needed to start picking.  We just might have had to drag him away from the horses to head down to the strawberry fields :)

Thankfully, it never rained on us and if it had been a beautifully sunny day, it would have been super hot out there rather than nice and cool.  It ended up being perfect weather, in my opinion!  And the strawberries were delish ... just ask Ryan!  He ate more berries off the vine than he put in the baskets to take home {which may have been a good thing since his little fingers tended to squish the berries a little too much when he was pulling them off the vine}. That's part of the fun though, right? 

Ryan had a good ole' time throwing the berries too, which turned into a little strawberry war with Pop.  Boys will be boys :)  Good thing there were plenty of strawberries!  Although I'd have to say that our fun helped the farm out a bit too by ridding them of the berries that were too ripe, or at least that is the story I'm sticking too :) Ryan was absolutely covered in strawberry juice by the time we headed home! 

All in all, we had a great time -- just look at Ryan!  We'll definitely be going strawberry picking again {as long as I can find somewhere to go in Kentucky :P}!

Mealtime Prayer

I will admit that we need to do a better job of saying a prayer before meals; however, last night at bedtime, I was elated to hear Ryan recite the prayer that his class must say at school before lunch each Tuesday and Thursday. It was music to my ears! And a pleasant shock to hear it come out of his little mouth so unexpectedly. I had no clue he even knew it!

God our Father 

God our Father
Once again
Once again
  Thank You for our blessings
  Thank You for our blessings
  Amen 
Amen
 

Luckily, I talked him into singing it again tonight at dinner and was able to get it on video {which is hard to do these days}! Hope you enjoy! I know I have!!

Side note: I sure wish I could've been a fly on the wall in Ryan's classroom so I was aware of ALL the wonderful things he has learned this year at preschool! Guess I will just have to eagerly await the next time he clues me in on something else he knows that I haven't taught him nor know he even knows :)

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Last Friday, we went to the zoo with two of Ryan's friends from playgroup -- Alyssa and Anya {and their moms}. We have had play dates at the zoo in the past, but this was the first time in awhile so Ryan was very excited to be there, much more excited than the girls! And we got in for free once again {thanks to the guest feature on an annual pass}, which can't be beat!

The mama panda and her baby, Po :)

And the older brother, Xi Lan.

Ryan loves loves loves animals! Any and all of them although he claimed that the Tigers were his favorite. Since this was more than likely our last trip to Zoo Atlanta for awhile, I decided that we would stay as long as Ryan wanted too. This turned out to be all day! We arrived at 10 AM and left around 4:15 PM, and he wasn't necessarily ready to go then, but I knew he was tired and I didn't want to sit in any worse Friday afternoon traffic then we were already going to have too, so I played the mommy card and made him :)

The tiger cubs were so playful as was their mother -- all.day.long!
We have never seen such a show from the Tigers before.

It was a beautiful day and the temperature was near perfect, not too hot or too cold. But that also ended up meaning that the zoo was PACKED until about lunchtime. We had a hard time even finding a spot to park when we arrived. One nice benefit to staying for 6 hours though -- the crowd diminishes significantly in afternoon :)

After seeing a good many animals, we had a picnic lunch, and then took advantage of some of the other activities the zoo has to offer before our friends went home. We took a whirl on the carousel and rode the Zoo train. We played for a few minutes on the playground. And we stopped by the petting zoo to see the goats. Ryan, however, wasn't as into these things as he has been in the past. He just wanted to get back to seeing the animals already, especially the elephants because we hadn't seen them yet!

We saw many of the animals twice, which was nice because some of them had been hard to see the first time, but were awake and playful the second go-around. We tried to feed the giraffes from the all-new Twiga Terrace {just opened on March 31}, but they weren't interested. We did get to see them up really close though. And Ryan had fun {despite hitting his mouth on one of the metal bars in the exhibit causing his gum to bleed} feeding the parakeets and actually managed to be still/quiet enough this time for the birds to eat off his seed stick. He was thrilled!

It was a fun-filled day with the animals, and we slept well that night {after, of course, we watched We Bought a Zoo with Pop, which is a great movie}!

Easter and a Birthday Celebration

Easter Sunday fell on April 8th this year, which is the day before my birthday; thus, I just decided to celebrate my birthday on Easter {since my family was already getting together} and I have to say that it was one of my favorite birthday celebrations to date {at least that I can remember}. It was such a fun and wonderful day! I kind of wish my birthday fell so close to Easter every year :)

On Easter Eve, we made Resurrection Cookies after having dinner with my Dad and Tony and Debbie {David's Dad and Step-Mom}. I have wanted to make these cookies for a few years, but didn't think Ryan was quite old enough yet to grasp the idea. But this year, I decided to gave it a try and it went decently well for our first attempt. I kept things very simple and basic -- we skipped the Bible readings and just talked about the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection {in terms that Ryan would understand} as we did each step in the recipe, and Ryan went and played while I beat the mixture for what seemed like forever. I plan to make these cookies {or Resurrection Rolls, something similar that I've seen} a part of our yearly family Easter traditions going forward. It was fun to do together and was a great way to help Ryan understand the true meaning behind Easter!

Beating the pecans, which symbolizes Jesus being beaten
by the Roman soldiers after his arrest.

Tasting some salt -- represents the salty tears shed by
Jesus' followers when he was put to death.

Looking at our cookie mounds, which represent the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

The oven door was sealed tightly until Easter morning.

After getting ready for church on Easter morning, we ventured downstairs to check on our cookies. Unfortunately, Ryan had completely forgotten about them overnight, but while I had his attention for a brief second, I quickly bit into one of the cookies {he didn't want one} and showed him that it was hollow inside. Then I explained that it was Easter and Jesus had risen from the dead! The most important part of the story! Although he wasn't really into the cookies anymore, I know that he benefited from making them, and whatever his little brain retained was completely worth our time and effort :)

Next, we were off to check out his Easter basket, which he was very excited to find! It was filled with goodies -- an Easter Carol {Veggie Tales movie}, Play-Doh Easter Eggs, an Easter Bunny Hatch'Em Eggs Growing Pet, a chocolate cross, Reese's Eggs, jelly beans, white chocolate covered rice krispie treats on a stick, and some Easter ring pops. Ryan was most excited about the movie, which we watched in the van on the way to church, and then the jelly beans :)

Ryan's 2012 Easter Basket

A boo-vie!

We attended the 11:00 AM Easter service at our church in Alpharetta, and my Dad and Alan joined us. The sanctuary was PACKED, but luckily we managed to find four seats together {Ryan was in the nursery}. After the service, we took some family pictures in front of the flowering cross that the church puts up every year. I love the way they turned out {although the sunlight was quite bright}!

We stopped at Panera for lunch on the way back home. Then, after changing clothes and checking out Ryan's Easter basket goodies a little more, we all walked up to the neighborhood park for a little while. It was a beautiful day! I will miss having these amenities right around the corner when we move! Once Ryan was nice and worn out from playing, we put him down for a late nap, and David and I made a quick run to Walgreens to get some Starbursts, plastic Easter eggs, and sweet tea and lemonade for Arnold Palmers. David wanted to orchestrate one last Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard for Ryan when he woke up, and it turns out my Mom was on the same page. She arrived around 5:00 PM with a cute little Easter basket for Ryan and a dozen dinosaur eggs to hide. David hid the eggs {36 of them!} all over the backyard and then Mom helped Ryan find them. It was fun!

Checking out the Play-Doh

Daddy hiding the eggs :)

Ryan was a real fan of the dinosaur eggs!

Better keep up, Grammy! :)

Yay, Ryan! You found all the eggs.

We watched the end of the Masters {which was really exciting}, and then had a delicious Easter/Birthday dinner together ... beef tenderloin, brown rice, squash casserole, and spinach salad. Thanks for the wonderful meal, Dad! Did I already mention that it was delicious?!? :)

The table, which I decorated for the occasion.

My plate of yummy food!

After dinner we partook in one last {new to us} family Easter tradition. Have you heard of Resurrection Eggs? I learned about them last Easter from Aunt Cathy and then found a set a few months ago at the Family Christian Bookstore. They are basically a set of a dozen rainbow-hued plastic eggs that are filled with symbols of Easter inside -- a little donkey, silver coins, a cup, praying hands, a leather whip, a crown of thorns, nails in the shape of a cross, die, a spear, a linen cloth, a stone, and an empty one. I would highly recommend them! They are fantastic, and I loved incorporating the Easter Story into our time together at the dinner table! Ryan had a great time with them too. He opened each egg {you open them in a specific order}, told us what was inside, listened to what I read, and even asked some questions/repeated some things back to me. I asked my Mom what she thought when we were finished and she told me it was one of the most wonderful things she had ever seen. What a great compliment! Thanks, Mom! I look forward to doing this each Easter for years and years to come!

Then it was time for birthday cake and presents. I picked a coconut cake this year because that was Easter-ish and I enjoy them. Dad made it from scratch {twice because the amount of flour was screwed up in the first recipe I gave him}, and it was yummy! I got lots of nice cards, and David and Ryan got me something to make my laptop wireless and upgraded the center diamond in my engagement ring :) Both were nice surprises! My husband is a great gift giver {and could careless about the cost/budget, for the most part}. I may need to take some lessons. I enjoyed being sung to by Ryan {and David, Mom, Dad, and Alan} and he was a huge help blowing out my candles. He did, however, struggle a little with the last one so he more or less spit on that half of the cake to get it out. It was hilarious, and a good thing we were in the company of family! But once the candles were extinguished, I thoroughly enjoyed licking every last one of them with my boy. I have to say, birthdays are A LOT more fun when you have an excited little guy around, as are so many things! :)

Last but not least, we ended the wonderful day with some friendly egg spinning competitions. Alan learned of this from his fourth grade teacher so my family has been putting our dyed Easter eggs to good use in this way for years. There are some rules that you can follow {although I am not even sure I know them}, but we choose to ignore those and just see who can spin their egg the longest. It is really fun! And the best part of this year's completion was getting to spin eggs again with my little brother :) I probably haven't done it with him since I graduated from college, which has been awhile now {7 years to be exact}.

It was a perfect day that I will remember for years, and for which I am so thankful as we prepare to move away and miss get-togethers like this for a few years!

{And I got to go on a nice birthday breakfast date with my hubby the following morning before he headed back to Kentucky :) Such a treat!}