Haircut

My baby got her hair all cut off! It was a shock to see all the beautiful blond hair lying there on the floor! But, I love her new haircut!

I love Spring!

These tulips were in the yard of the empty house next door. They had so many tulips. And, it's amazing how I have a feeling these will spread all the way across the street into my yard next spring!

Tammy's lilacs bloomed before ours so she said I could pick some. Don't you just love the smell of lilacs!

Guess what this is...

Duh, it's a fireplace!

Aren't they cute...

Aren't they cute when they can't fly and torment me! A Robin built a nest on Kelly's front porch, right where everyone goes in and out. I can't believe she stayed and took care of her babies that close to people. Since I took these pictures about 2 weeks ago the babies have grown up and flown away. I missed the part in between where they are learning to fly but still come back to the nest. That week I had to go into the house through the garage and my camera doesn't have a zoom lens so you'll see no pictures of that!

Wagnalls

We'd never been to the Wagnalls Library so Tacey took us... Here is Samantha ans Lane checking out their books in front of the library... notice all the space in between them... Samantha is still in the "boys are icky" phase. Poor Lane, he just wants to be her friend but she wants nothing to do with him. Tacey said he likes the challenge so I don't feel too bad...

Samantha makes Lumpias

When we visited John's dad in New Mexico his wife, Lita made us Lumpias, a Filipino dish. They were so amazing. John had had them before but Samantha and I had not. They were so so so good and we craved them after we got home. So I learned how to make them. Mine are good but no where near as good as Lita's... but I guess they will have to do as we are 2,000 miles apart. These pictures are of Samantha rolling the Lumpias...

The Toledo Zoo

For Mother's Day Samantha and I met my Mom at the Toledo Zoo for the weekend to see the hippo's. The Toledo Zoo is the only one nearby that has hippos. On the way to the hippoquarium we paused to see some of the other animals. This guy is a sloth bear. He had this long, floppy fur and he was quite charming. But, he did make Samantha mad. She tried so hard to take his picture. He would go up to the glass in the viewing area but by the time Samantha got there he would walk away toward the fence. By the time she got to the fence he'd go back to the glass. It would have been funny if it hadn't made her so upset. We told her to wait in one place but she wouldn't and kept going back and forth trying to get that sloth bear's picture.

Here is Mom and Samantha immediately after the sloth bear incident. Note the sad face...

...And me with Samantha after the sloth bear incident. I was gritting my teeth and explaining that you can't control what an animal does and that she needed to get over it.

The gates to the Hippoquarium!

Mom and Samantha about to enter the Hippoquarium!

HIPPOS! HIPPY HIPPOS! HIPPIDY DIPPITY HIPPOS!

They were so amazing!

Kissing hippos...

They were actually graceful when they were swimming...

And they looked like they were smiling...

And like they loved each other... just hanging out in the water... sunning themselves...

Coming up for air every so often...

And pooping... every so often...

They got right up against the glass and it was so cool to be right next to them and see how big they are...

Hippo butts are cute too... But we had to move on and see some of the other animals...

These vultures were having breakfast...

Yummy!

The one went over and decided his friend's carcase looked better so he took it away from her... Surprisingly she didn't seem to mind...

Oh look, a baby Monarch butterfly!

Samantha had to stop to say hello to some ducks...

Mom and Samantha on an elephant...

And still hamming it up on the elephant...

He was interesting... but we all know how I feel about birds!

Oh! Look how CLOSE I am to that BIRD! It only lasted a second before it dive bombed my head, I freaked out and Samantha had to come and rescue me.

Stupid bird thought it was funny...

These guys were really pretty and they stayed in their tree where they belong...

Samantha got a stuffed hippo that she named Howard...

And she got some charms for her shoes...

Samantha really enjoyed the pool at the hotel...

She got to swim several times and almost turned into a fish...

Finally I go her to come out...

Mom got some beautiful lilies to make the hotel room feel like home and she gave them to us to take home...

And, here we are getting ready to head for home but not before having a Mother's Day breakfast...

It was a perfect Mother's Day...

Phewtus the Squirrel

Samantha got the cutest squirrel and named him Phewtus after one of our favorite books we found at the thrift store. It's a story similar to The Velveteen Rabbit about a stuffed squirrel who thinks it would be better to be real. But, once he becomes real he learns it's not so great. Ok, I guess it's exactly like The Velveteen Rabbit...

My Husband is a Field training Officer and his department just hired some new guys. So, last week they did scenario training and I got to help. One day was traffic stops. I got to be the "bad guy" who gets pulled over and we spent the day role playing different types of situations that they will most commonly encounter and how to best deal with them. It's fun because I sometimes get to act like a crazy person and it is also a good reminder of just how dangerous their job is. Not everyone they pull over is a nice, normal, law abiding citizen. Now, getting to the above picture... the scenario was a guy was inside a building shooting people. That's me, I playing dead and, lying on the floor next to my outstretched arm is my dead baby. (Samantha let me bring one of her dolls.) So, the guys are scoping out the hallway. One of the forward facing dudes says: victim in the hallway! I guess Hank didn't get the message because right after this picture was taken his big marine shoe kicked me in the crotch! I was lying there thinking that it was a really rude way to check and see if someones alive when he comes sailing over me and lands on his big marine bottom almost on my freakin' head! He landed on Samantha's doll baby! If it wasn't dead already it would be now. Hank looked really funny sitting there with his big marine feet up in the air clutching his shot gun! The look on his face was priceless and I wish John had gotten a picture of it but he was probably laughing. The rest of the day was interesting but thankfully did not include me getting kicked again, just handcuffed...

Oops...

I guess it would help if I told you what my husband's blog site was... sorry, having a blond moment... Today is just a whole blond day. I tried to email a show contact at work and 3 times the email got returned to me because I had typed it in wrong. Then Ron told me several times what day he wanted to fly back from the California show but I kept on asking him: What day was that again? Then I went to the grocery after work and almost forgot to go pick Samantha up from school... and on the way home from school I had planned to go by the dry cleaners but totally forgot that as well... I am going to go take a bubble bath and then go to bed... tomorrow will be better.

Here is hubby's blog: http://uslawman.blogspot.com