Easter / Birthday Dinner

Mmm-mmm-mmm!

Ham, cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, jello salad, Caesar salad, rolls, and lemonade.

Oh, and cheesecake. :)
And gotta love the pirate sword!

Easter Morning

Wow. That hair.

Go Fly a Kite

For Good Friday, Scott and Lizzie both had the day off. Among other things, we attempted to fly a kite at the park. (Either our kite was too cheap, the wind was too weak, or our kite-flying skills were sub-par; we couldn't get the kite off the ground.)

Owen spent pretty much the whole time playing in the dirt and collecting sticks.

Easter Eggs

We decorated Easter eggs today:

Daddy is making funny faces on the iPad in the background. (He's in Houston this week.)

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to an Easter egg hunt at the local rec center this morning. 

It was kind of a mad house, and Owen only found one egg. But at least he had fun playing on the playground equipment.

The girls, waiting for their turn.

Bluebonnets

Bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas. For a few weeks each spring, bluebonnets and other wildflowers pop up all over Austin--mostly along the highways. They are a legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, who believed in planting wildflowers to beautify the riverfront and roads. (LBJ and his wife are from this area, so they're a pretty big deal around here.) Apparently it's a "thing" to go take your pictures in a wildflower patch each spring. It's a bit early in the season still, but here was our first attempt. (This patch was less than a mile from our house.)

If you notice, Owen is wearing a pilot hat with cowboy boots, and he has a pirate spotting scope stuffed in one of his boots. Not sure if he's a pilot, a cowboy, or a pirate. (P.S. Scott hates that he wears his sisters' boots, but some days it just isn't worth the fight--especially when you're 37 weeks pregnant.)

Heidi wins the prize for being most photogenic today.

Owen picked this bouquet all on his own. (Notice the infant car seat, all ready to go!)

Lakeline Mall

Yes, we went to yet another mall today. I've been trying to avoid South Austin because SXSW is going on (i.e., a lot of traffic and a lot of people), but it seems like all there is to do in North Austin is shop!

Anyway, today we went to Lakeline Mall, which is on the border between Austin and Cedar Creek. Of the three shopping centers we've visited in the past three days, this one was probably my least favorite. (But we still had fun.) First we visited a kids' consignment store while we waited for storytime to start. Then we went to a St. Patrick's Day-themed storytime at Barnes & Noble.

Owen opted out of storytime and decided to play with the trains instead.

After that, we played in the kid zone at the mall for an hour or two. (It's amazing to me that mall play areas keep my kids entertained for as long as they do.)

Oh! And while we were at the mall we met the Easter bunny! He was really nice and gave each of the kids some Easter stickers.

The Domain

Today we checked out another upscale shopping center called the Domain. In the plaza there were three areas for the kids to play: an armadillo playscape, a longhorn playscape, and a turtle playscape. There was also a toy store and a candy/soda store right there. We'll have to go back sometime with Dad; it would be fun to split a frozen yogurt or a pizza on the patio while the kids play.

(Those are baby armadillos, in case you're wondering.)

That's the backside of a longhorn slide. The girls are showing off their muscles.

Armadillo slide

There's also a plaza with a stage, a big artificial lawn, and a bunch of lounge chairs. The girls are dancing on the stage.

Turtle and butterflies

Good Sister

Owen was sad, so Lizzie helped him feel better:

The Arboretum

For Day 1 of spring break we took a short drive to the Arboretum (a shopping center in a nice part of town). They have 5 giant marble cow statues for the kids to climb on, a big outdoor area to run around and play, a scenic overlook, and a little hike to a duck pond. We took a picnic, and the kids had a great time.

Our friend Susan came along (from church, one of Owen's nursery teachers).

Feeding the ducks

Do you see the Muscovy duck? He definitely was not shy.

One of the highlights for the girls was when this duck caught a live fish in its mouth. The girls were fascinated and insisted that I photo document it.

The duck couldn't manage to swallow the fish, so it eventually ended up spitting him out.

Too late for the poor fish though.

Rodeo Austin

This morning we went to Rodeo Austin's Rodeo Rumble, a kids fun run at the rodeo grounds.

Liz lost another tooth about a week ago. She's now missing 2 on top and 2 on bottom (plus 2 more that have since grown back in).

All the participants got these nifty cowbells to take home. (Lucky us.) ;)

Owen did NOT like his "wings" (his runner's bib) and eventually ripped it off his back.

When it was time for the 0-3 year old heat, all Owen wanted to do was play in the dirt. So Mom (36 weeks pregnant) carried him pretty much the entire race.

Here are the girls doing their run.

With Rusty, the Rodeo Austin mascot.

Afterward we checked out the livestock barn and saw lots of cool animals. These are some cute baby chicks.

Petting zoo

Longhorn cattle

And the kids got to "milk" a "cow."

As if the morning couldn't get any better... Cotton. Candy.