Chocolate Bunny

Someone was very excited about her chocolate bunny for Easter.

Can we just die a little because of the dress, hat and plaid shoes?

She attempted a bite and found a little difficulty but was not deterred.

Of course she figured it out in the end.

Then she decided it was more fun to smash it and rake up the pieces with her new garden tools.

Easter Basket

Easter in our family meant waking up to your basket on the table, full of candy and some cheap toys, with a new dress and coordinating hat on your chair. This is the clan when I was 3, back when I had a true bonnet (my kid does look like me sometimes).

And here is the group three years later

For several years, my mom even took our bears and gave them a make over. I remember thinking it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was even purple, my FAVORITE color. With pierced earrings too.

I had upgraded to a hat this year and Lil' Sis inherited the bonnet.

Then I notice my older sister's bear was one of mine, pilfered from my collection during the night.

I was upset in a way only a middle child could understand. 

My poor mother. She promised to get me a new one to replace it but I was not consoled. I'm sure she thought I wouldn't notice the absence of one white bear (I think I had 5 white bears in my collection of 100 stuffed animals) and was trying to make sure my sister didn't feel left out even though she was older. Add that to the work of trimming hats and filling baskets the night before and trying to get everyone ready and out the door for church, it was probably not her favorite holiday.

I'm sure I was such a easy child to raise. I appreciate my mother so much more as an adult. (P.S. Mom, that is only one stained memory among many a fabulous Easter. My ridiculous memory should not make you feel guilty.)

I wasn't on the ball enough to dress up a bear for J, but I found an Easter hat at Target for a $1 and couldn't resist.

Check out the bed head

I love the sleepy, happy expression.

 The chocolate bunny caught her eye first.

And since my lovely parents don't get to hear her sweet little voice enough, here is the video of her discovery. It will probably bore the rest of you folks, but you are welcome to waste 5 minutes if you like.

Happy Easter!

Spark! festival

Mesa is a pretty awesome place to live if you have to live in the Valley of the Sun. The Mesa Arts Center is actually on the radar nationally for artsy and performing folk. The facilities are top notch whether you are taking a class or seeing a show. I also like how they put on free events like this festival for the public.

There were street artists.

J really liked the butterfly lady.

One artist was doing some fancy chalk drawings

Some different art displays were scattered about.

They also had various performances happening on different stages. This one was called Erth: a Dinosaur Petting Zoo which had some amazing puppets and puppeteers. We were too far away to really see much.

We moved farther back so J could climb the sweater clad trees for a better view.

But she got bored and decided spinning around the street light was more fun.

Until the T- Rex came out, then she used her amazing toddler powers to find a new spot closer to the dinos.

The T-rex is being lulled to sleep by back scratches

 After that we went indoors for a bit and J was entranced by a floor you can see through.

I loved the flower sculptures hanging in the courtyard.

They had a place where you could make musical instruments out of recyclable materials (think coffee can drums, cardboard box guitars) but J didn't want to wait in line when there was a fountain to explore.

At this point I figured the whole outing was for her entertainment so we might as well do what she wanted to do, which was play in the water feature like the other kids.

It took all of my self control not to hover as she traversed the slippery wet tiles surrounded by head-cracking cinder blocks. All this covered by rushing water made the "DROWNING HAZARD!" alarms go off in my head, but I took my shoes off, stayed near, and just let her discover the world.

And she did just fine. She got water in her eyes without crying (a grand victory if bath time is any indicator), slipped a little and caught herself several times, and had the time of her life.

Of course I was ready to be done from shear anxiety so we followed this marching band to the next stage.

They are called the Squonk Opera and did a non traditional music show.

J was bored fast though so we went to a booth where kids could eat snacks and draw pictures

At this point, we had spent 3 hours in the 90 degree sun and were ready to call it quits. It was well worth the time, especially since it was free.

Drinking fountain

So I was working in the garden, repairing the never ending damage a pit bull does to the irrigation lines, when I stumbled upon my daughter's latest discovery.

I didn't realize I was actually installing various pint size drinking fountains.

Of course it looks like she is just smelling the flowers, but it you look right about the purple and to the left, you can see her new favorite water supply.  And why I whine having to run the AC in March, at least I get to see all this green and flowers outside.