BUSTED!! 120/365

I guess we forgot to bring in the bag of bird seed after refilling the feeders yesterday. But does that give this dude the right to help himself? Judging by the volume of shells around that bag, this guy wasn't the only one helping himself to some extra seed.

What the . . .? 119/365

We're sitting at the dinner table enjoying our time together. We are all finally eating the same food - no short order cook tonight - and I look up and see this. Is this what I've worked so hard to teach my children?

Forced Self Portrait. 118/365

PG, the project 365 master, tagged me for this snapshot game.

The rule is that as soon as you learn you have been tagged to play, you take a photo right away, no cleaning up, no primping, no preening. Just grab the camera and shoot. No cleaning up the photo in post either.

Fortunately I found the tag after I had been to the orthodontist and obviously had to make myself presentable for that appointment. I took the photo outside since I had to run to the car for the camera. I hope my neighbors weren't watching. They'll call the nice people with the funny white jackets to my door.

I tag Rachel and Jordan. Your turn!

Hotter than the blazes! 117/365

I can't believe the temps have been in the mid- to upper-90s the past three days. Maddie thought we needed a pool - any pool. So we bought this beauty yesterday. Oh, and pay no attention to the over-turned porch swing. We had a bit of wind today and the darn thing blew over.

Service with a smile. 116/365

I think there might be a future in the restaurant service business for one or both of these girls. Yesterday, Maddie waited on Jordan - prepared and served her breakfast and lunch. Today Jordan returned the favor. On the menu this afternoon was a club panini on toasted Monterey sour dough with your choice of chips, sliced fresh fruit, a selection of our favorite cookies, and iced tea with lemon. By the way, this all came about because Maddie purchased a silver-plated tray yesterday from a church yard sale for $1 (thanks for creating this monster Auntie Rachel).

Not Picky. 115/365

This bird is not picky about where it lives - he/she built it's nest in the fencing outside of Jordan's school. This particular fencing is metal tubing, with about a two inch opening.

Make a wish. 114/365

I love the older neighborhoods around Jordan's school. There are so many wonderful things to see! This well catches my eye everytime we drive by it. Tell me this, are all wells "wishing wells"?

Yee-Haw! 113/365

This kid of mine is hillarious!! She scoured her and Jordan's closets for something to wear for Western Day at school today. Once she had the outfit on and decided it was perfectly western, she did a little giddy-up dance with her arm in the air. I almost wet my pants it is so funny. I need to learn how to post video on the blog so you can join in the fun! Anyway, I tried to photograph her dance with no luck - every photo is blurry - so instead you get this beauty.

Cloud Shapes. 112/365

This is the only photo we took today. The shot was supposed to be of the smaller, low-hanging cloud when it still looked like the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom. But the wind was blowing just enough that by the time I actually snapped the shot, it looked quite different.

Dogwoods. 111/365

This one of the streets we drive down everyday a block from Jordan's school. It normally isn't anything to write home about, except when the dogwoods are in bloom. By the way, the dogwood is Virginia's state tree and these beauties are everywhere (except in my yard).

Quite Contrary. 110/365

Mary, Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow?

This year our garden grows . . . without fire ants. We've been unsuccessful with our gardening efforts for the past eight years due to those pesky fire ants in Texas, but we kept planting anyway. This is a photo of our radishes just pushing through the earth. We can't wait to see the rest of the seeds sprout. This year we planted radishes, carrots, beans, peas, cucumbers, yellow squash, and zuchini seeds. We also planted tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, and strawberries.

Ouch! 109/365

The weather was beautiful yesterday. Temps were in the low- to mid-80s and the sun was shining. Madison was dressed for summer and we were not prepared with the sunscreen.

Part Leprechaun. 108/365

Jordan has a fascination with Leprechauns. I don't know why, but it's been fun. She picked out this oxalis (clover) plant at the garden center last weekend and today it bloomed.

Jordan's Birthday. 107/365

Jordan turned 14 years old today. She is always so excited for her birthday!! She only asked for one gift for her big day - an orchid. She got one . . . in a lovely shade of purple.

Thursday. 106/365

Too much to do today. No inspiration for a photo. After I confessed to Maddie that I had no picture for today, she eagerly posed atop her newly re-arranged desk.

Hippie Van. 105/365

Jordan and I had some time to kill while waiting on a favorite radio segment before I let Jordan off at school. We drove around the neighborhood and came upon this scene when Jordan said, "Look Mom, a hippie van." What??!
Photo courtesy of Jordan.

Rainy Day. 104/365

Today was chilly and rainy all day. I would have loved to get some of my flowers planted, but I am a Texas sissy and can't stand the mid-50 temps when it's raining.

Snack Time. 103/365

This was a pretty boring Monday. We hadn't taken a photo all day. But this is the time of the evening the girls and I look forward to - settling in with a snack and watching a bit of TV. Tonight Jordan has cookies and cream, Madison has her Dove chocolate bunny, and I have vanilla on berries.

Happy Easter. 102/365

After getting up way too early to see what the Easter bunny left, we went to Maymont to see the animals and the old Dooley mansion (completed in 1896 and bequethed to the City of Richmond in 1925). We enjoyed exploring some of the 100 acres of property.

I want you to want me. 101/365

So says this little kitty that showed up on our doorstep a few days ago. Jordan made him a bed right outside the door so he doesn't get cold tonight.

In search of the perfect Easter egg. 100/365

The girls like to decorate eggs, but each of them likes to keep her eggs separate from the others'. So, until I figure out how to merge two photos into one, you'll have to view both of them.

Busch Gardens or Bust. 99/365

We had a blast at Busch Gardens today. This stockade is perfect for these girls. Maddie often tells Jordan she needs to clean her room, and her crafting area, and her homework area, and . . . you get the picure. We all often ask Maddie if she can stop talking for just a few minutes.

New clothes for Hippey. 98/365

Jordan was in a sewing mood today which bothers Madison a bit because Jordan won't be playing with her. In return, Jordan made Hippey a new diaper.

Pay Day - Old School. 97/365

When I bought the new Pay Day game for my kids a few years back, I didn't think there was THAT much difference between the version they play and the version Rachel and I played way back in the olden days. I won an auction on Ebay - I was looking for a Gambler game to buy and I found one in a lot with four other games (Pay Day, Masterpiece, Dungeon Dice, and Hang Man). There is a whole world of difference between these two versions!! What fun it is to look back on these oldies but goodies. Rachel and I played more than our share of Pay Day and Hang Man back in the day!

Mo. 96/365

Meet Mo. He's the bully. We sent the cat out after him yesterday, but he's back again.

Love days like today! 95/365

A beautiful warm, carefree day. We had nowhere to be, and there wasn't anything that had to be done today. The temps were up near 80 degrees and there was enough wind for some kite flying fun. We found this lovely tree while shopping - the girls needed a few new summer things.

Animal Brigade. 94/365

Jordan became a member of the Richmond SPCA Animal Brigade today. She is very excited to volunteer for the SPCA. As a volunteer she gets to play with the animals, train dogs, deliver treats, make cat toys, do laundry, and other less glamorous tasks as well. During the tour of the extremely clean facility, the girls were picking out animals they'd like to bring home.

Dinner is served. 93/365

The girls decided to turn the kitchen into a restaurant. They dressed as hostesses/servers and set the table for two. Pete and I dined on spinach and romaine salad with tomatoes followed by oven-baked pizza. The girls were so cute trying to make sure everything was just as it might be in a restaurant.

Recorder Concerto. 92/365

We attended a very nice recorder concert this evening. The entire fourth grade participated. We were ready for lame, but it was actually quite cute. I didn't hear a single squeaky note!

April Fools! 91/365

We love April Fool's Day at our house! I sent Maddie to school today with empty containers in her lunch box, except for her sandwich container which was filled with Starburst candies. Her classmates were a little concerned that she had no lunch, but her teacher thought it was funny. I showed up a bit later with the real lunch. Tonight for dinner we had "eggs" (pudding and an apricot half) and "french fries" (crinkle cut pound cake toasted in the oven) with raspberry jelly "catsup".