Katie's Hero

When my sister, Jennifer, found Katie's old bag of zoo animals, she quickly became Katie's hero. She hadn't seen the animals for over a year, and they were like long, lost family.

After I got my animals back, I worked on creating my own zoo!

A Mess

As our Spring Break neared an end, two things happened on the same day…trash day and a big wind storm…always a bad combination. As I woke up, I heard the wind rattling the windows. I peeked out my bedroom window and saw that our garbage had tipped over. Unfortunately, I had chosen that week to fill the top of the trash can with the styrofoam that had been collecting, and it blew all over the hillside. More unfortunately, in this case, our hillside is covered with very prickly blackberry bushes that welcomed our styrofoam deep into the middle of their thorny arms. Let the fun begin.

It's never good when you hear wind on trash day! 

I was so excited to help clean up, but... 

…it's tricky when the garbage is surrounded by thorns! 

I decided I'd let me mom get poked by the bushes, and I would be the garbage bag holder. 

My mom found this Golden Retriever hook that Aunt Jennifer had gotten as a joke, and it came in handy to get some of the trash. I helped move the trash from the hook to the bag. 

I started to think the hook looked like fun, so... 

…I tried it. It worked well as a walking stick as I climbed the hill. 

It was harder than it looked to reach the garbage. Even when there aren't big bushes, there are usually strings of branches in between the bushes that stretch the thorns out everywhere. 

You had to plan carefully.

It was a slow going process, but... 

…I felt good every time I got some garbage. 

A Princess

Katie has always loved to act out princess stories at night. In the past, she didn't care if I watched her performances. She has always had a tendency to be a  perfectionist, wanting to move just like the  princesses in her books and movies. She often keeps a book or princess stickers next to her to make sure she holds her head and arms down to her fingers like the princesses. I have always enjoyed watching her whole process.

Lately she has been acting out Beauty and the Beast while she listens to the soundtrack of the movie. I was disappointed, though, when she started saying, "No watching me please and definitely no pictures!'

I try to respect her wishes but still sneak a peak when I can. I did try to take one picture of Katie during the famous waltz scene with Belle and the Beast. She caught me and made sure I didn't take anymore pictures. I wish I could save the entire moment for her to appreciate when she grows up, but she'll have to be happy with a stolen picture or two.

I don't like cameras to interrupt my performance!

Watching the Blackberry Bushes

After what seemed like forever, the wild blackberry bushes next to our house finally have leaves on them. Once they have leaves, Katie likes to watch them carefully for flowers and then for berries. While we were out checking on the bushes, Katie was also entertained by looking at some of the other spring leaves.

I was so excited when the blackberry bushes finally started getting leaves! 

The leaves still have some growing to do before I get to see the flowers though. 

I found a tree with some new leaves on it and looked carefully at them. 

I wanted my mom to see that the leaves were so new that some of them were still curled. I love spring!

Quality Time with Aunt Jennifer

Katie loves doing most anything with Jennifer. One of their favorite things to do together is to color.

We like to just sit next to each other and color quietly. Well, maybe I talk a lot while Aunt Jennifer listens to me.

A Trip to the Zoo

One of the things we did over Spring Break was to go to the zoo. Katie has wanted to see the polar bears and the giraffes for a long time, and it was finally the perfect time to go.

Before we left, I had to promise my mom to carry my own things. I thought it would be easiest to tape a backpack to myself! 

You've always gotta start with the mountain goats. 

I like the statue, but it's always better to see the real thing! 

 The bobcat is usually hiding, but it was on the move on this day.

All of the black bears were active too! 

We always have to stop by the duck pond, and I always look for the blue bill. 

I went on a horse ride at the petting farm section! 

Then I found a beautiful blossoming tree! We like any sign of spring that we can find! 

I was so glad to find the playful polar bear. We watched her push the tub in the water and try and try and try to get into the tub. 

She'd go in... 

…and out... 

…and then back in. 

She never gave up even though it was hard! 

She was fun to watch. 

After the polar bears, we always stop for a snack. 

 Then we watched the elephants eat!

Since no one was around, we went to see the lion statues. 

The real lions were napping and looking royal. 

I was excited to see the chameleon because I've never seen it looking like this! 

I was also glad to see the hippos out of the water. They are almost always swimming when I'm there! 

I've never seen a tortoise there. Who knew! 

Time for my favorites! 

I think they are beautiful and graceful! 

My trip continued to be full of surprises. I've never seen a porcupine awake, and I got to watch two of them carry sticks all over in their mouths. 

It's always fun to see the pretty flamingos. 

Meow! 

Good-bye, friend! 

For a special treat, my mom and grandma took me to lunch at the zoo before we left!

A Second Easter Card

Katie felt lucky before Easter. It wasn't long after receiving her first Easter card in the mail that she received her second one. Pure happiness!

I was so happy to open my envelope and find Rapunzel looking at me! 

It was from Uncle Jeff, Aunt Grace, Ian, and Eva. 

I loved it! Thank you!

A Horseback Ride

When Katie found her basket of old toys, one of the things she found was her stick horse. She had a lot of horseback rides for awhile after that!

Who knew I had been missing out on so much fun?

Discovering Old Treasures

On Spring Break, Katie was in the basement, and she discovered an old basket of toys. It had been a long time since she had seen any of them, and it was just like they were brand new. She carried the basket upstairs with a little bit of help and had a play session with my mom.

The first thing we did was to pull all of the toys out of the basket. My air rocket was a little damaged! 

I started building towers right away. 

I made up a game. Grandma hid Ursula in the bag with blocks, and I had to try to find her with my eyes closed.

Once I found her, I pulled her out. 

Then Grandma and I raced to find Ursula to see who could find her first. 

We had so much fun! 

I love playing with Grandma! 

We could... 

…play... 

…forever!

What is better than laughing?