Fair Haven Beach State Park Trip!

I always catch the funniest faces on Caitlin! She LOVES the water and sand.

We went with my youngest sister, Samantha, and her son, Jaydon. He loves playing with his cousins. :)

I'm not sure what they were searching for?! Maybe shells...there are some, but they are very tiny!

Cara....half buried.

Caitlin just taking a stroll.

Caitlin wanted me to take a picture of her falling for some reason...this was the result. I love this picture!

Brendan making a sand angel.

Cara getting buried by Jaydon.

Caitlin's turn to make a sand angel!

A view to the northeast of the beach. The clouds in the distance were the edge of the cold front and rain that moved away just before we arrived.

A view of the wall to the east.

Attempting to make a moat or pond.

The end result of their castle...it ended up just a pile of sand with a moat that ran back to the lake.

Caitlin making her own sand castle.

Brendan filling up his new bucket.

The kids were all filling their buckets at the same time to fill the moat. That's Samantha helping them out.

They all thought the moat was fascinating...how it would hold water after a while.

We had a lot of fun and plan to go back a couple more times this summer.

I love this tree!  I call it Beaver Lake's Joshua Tree...it stands alone in the meadow.

Wild Violets? So pretty and dainty!

During the spring break last month, I took the kids on our first outing of the year to Beaver Lake...lots of new plants growing, budding and blossoming!  

Beautiful tulips...not sure what variety, though I have seen them in catalogs.

A single pinecone.

Gorgeous purple hyacinth.

Looking up a pine tree.

New tulip bud.

I believe this is a dogwood just starting to bud.

My favorite photo....I think I may frame this one.  The sky was SO blue that day...and that tree so striking against it!

Looking through a hole in a stump..focusing on the background.

My kids all in one shot...this is rare!  Caitlin did not want to stop and turn around for me...that took a little coaxing!

Cara...she loves the outdoors like I do!

Caitlin...she does too...she's the one to get dirty though!

Brendan...stopping to get something out of his shoe.

A tiny new sumac plant coming up in the pines.

And here's the finished yarn!  Isn't it pretty??  I ended up with over 200 yards....I can see this being knit up into something special for a precious baby girl!

Sonny is now just over 6 weeks old...and growing fast! He's eating now, with a little nursing snack on the side every now and then, using the litter box and climbing the stairs! Our neighbors will be giving him a new home in a couple weeks!

Closeups from a pretty bouquet my friend Pam and her mom gave me...for a Happy Spring!
The yellow flowers are mums, the pink an Alstromeria and the peach, a carnation.

Winter Visit to the Zoo!

The kids had winter break last week, so I decided to take them to the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. All through January and February, the admission fees were less than half price. The four of us got in for $9!
It was cold and windy that day, so we only went outside to see the elephants. There are plenty of animals inside to keep little ones busy on a cold day. When warmer weather comes though, we will be going back and I will take more photos of the outdoor creatures!

The monkeys above are Golden Lion Tamarins...such a beautiful color!

A Puffer or Porcupine Fish.

Naked Mole Rats...truly ugly!!

A gorgeous Macaw, who wouldn't turn around!

One of the two lionesses...she was very busy watching something, or waiting maybe for dinner??

The other lioness and male...cozy in their little cave. I think the zoo is fundraising to build a better enclosure for them!!

Lions are absolutely BEAUTIFUL up close...WOW!

A Fossa(pronounced foosa), which lives only on Madagascar. They are a beautiful, reddish-brown color with huge chocolate eyes. This one was looking right at me. I think this is one of the zoo's newer animals.

A Fennec Fox. I don't think I was supposed to take pictures in here because it's so dark...saw the sign too late. Cara loves these animals and begged me to buy her a stuffed one in the gift shop!

The zoo's bull elephant, Indy. He is huge...weighing more than 11,000 pounds!

A powdery Cockatoo looking at treats the zookeeper is offering it. This one seemed very shy. This bird is fairly new here too.

I didn't write down what bird this was...but it is very pretty anyway!

A baboon watching the people. The kids get such a kick out of their colored rears!! It's very funny to hear other children's comments about them.