Cornelius Chronicles

On Saturday we went with the playgroup to the Bayou Wildlife Preserve in Alvin, TX. It was tons of fun. The animals come right up to the cars and eat from you hands. We saw everything from cows and horses to lamas and ostriches. The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave. Here are some picture highlights from our day. They had a goat petting area. Loyd and Bekah touched nearly every goat they had. Here the goats are sampling Loyd. I guess he doesn't taste that great because he came home with all his fingers and toes intact. Bekah was more brave than I anticipated. She loved the goats and even fed some goats and elk right from her hand. My brave little gal! We took advantage of the free pony rides they offered. Bekah didn't need any help from Momma to tackle this rough rider. Here is Loyd channeling his rancher roots. He did great and held on for the whole horsey ride! (so did Momma!) Ride 'em cowboy! Ok, so this isn't the wildlife park, but it is pre...

This week we have been playing pretend to our little hearts' content. Bekah is very stylish as a princess. I especially loved the purple sunglasses. They really added flare and refinement to her onsomble. I just want to have it noted that she put together every piece of her outfit herself. She deserves full credit for this look. Loyd was brandishing the bubble wand around the back yard like a light saber pro. Hm, maybe we should have named him Luke? And last but not least, Loyd spent some time practicing his future daddy skills. Here he is singing to his baby. I think he will make a terrific dad one day.

We hope you had a fun and happy Easter! We sure did! Yesterday we got our baskets of candy from the Easter Bunny and a new sand box. The kids went on the traditional indoor jelly bean hunt. Rebekah found most of the jelly beans, as Loyd got stuck at the first pile he found. He decided he would rather eat them then instead of find more. Silly Loyd. Today we had a nice day at church and enjoyed our ham dinner. Happy Easter wishes from the Cornelius Rabbits!

It must be spring! The lilies in our back yard have finally bloomed. I waited all year for them! Every time we go outside Rebekah looks at them and excitedly shouts, "Mamma! The flowers open up!" while she quickly opens and closes her hands. She loves to look at the flowers in the yard. For FHE on Monday we colored Easter Eggs. It nearly killed Rebekah to wait all day until Dustin got home. Once dinner was done and the eggs came out she couldn't contain herself any longer. I think it took us about 5 minuets to color our 8 eggs and Rebekah loved every second of it. Loyd couldn't care less. He didn't really pay much attention to our mess. :) Thursday our Ward Playgroup hosted an Easter Egg hunt at a local park. Rebekah found 3 dozen eggs! She was fast and had a great eye for finding hidden treasures. She loved it and we haven't been able to pry the basket from her hands since. She doesn't want anyone to take her candy. ;>) Loyd found one ...

Curious George came to the library this week and met the kids. Rebekah was so excited to go it was all she talked about for the 2 days before we went. She even made sure I did her hair so it looked pretty and she wore her favorite Strawberry Shortcake outfit. She bubbled about this curious little monkey the whole car trip there and could hardly contain her enthusiasm when we walked into the library. "Where's Curious George, Mommy? I can't see him!" she chanted. He was in a special little auditorium. When we walked in and she saw him she froze. Bekah gets a bit shy around new people and I guess Curious George is no exception. She could barely get close to him and she wouldn't look directly at him. Dustin snapped a few quick pictures (Loyd is obviously confused by the guy in the monkey suit) and we quickly ushered Bekah out of the room and toward the coloring tables. She happily colored a picture of the guest of honor and then we played in the Children...

This last week was Spring Break and we spent most of it outside. We finished planting our square foot garden, went to the Johnson Space Center to see an awesome diving show, and we played outside until we couldn't take it any more! We even got to celebrate St. Patrick's day and eat corned beef and cabbage to our little hearts' content this week. Loyd is getting so tall and fast on his feet. He loves to go outside and walk/run around the patio finding things to get into. I just love this face. That smile is the reason he gets away with so much trouble! Bekah found our bubbles stash and has insisted on playing bubbles every day for hours at a time. As you can imagine, I quickly decided she was old enough to learn to blow her own bubbles. She actually does well for a 2 year old. And the added bonus of her getting light headed instead of me makes her new talent all the better. Bekah likes to recapture her bubbles after she blows them. As you can see, she is pretty good ...

Thanks Grandma P. for the speedy repair and return of the Snow White dress! Rebekah LOVES this dress and is happy she can wear it all the time again. :) I'm sure her face says it all. I need to get better with nap times. I've been a bit of a slacker lately and have been letting our routine slip. Rebekah decided to take things into her own hands the other afternoon. She found some old packing material and created her own makeshift bed for naptime. These kids crack me up! Loyd finally decided to use walking as his main mode of transportation this week. During bubble time at the library story time Loyd realized he was unable to compete with the other walking children to pop the bubbles. His mind was made up. We came home and he commenced walking practice at once. He is pretty fast now and can walk across the house with relative ease. He will totally be ready to massacre those bubbles on Tuesday!