A Hoppy Easter!

Last weekend we celebrated a wonderful Easter in Nederland. I had so much fun playing and swimming with my cousins all weekend long. The night before Easter, we dyed eggs, ate a big dinner and even pulled on the wishbone of the turkey! I woke up on Easter morning to an awesome basket full of goodies. The Easter bunny brought me candy, eggs, and a movie. He also left me a train station and sidewalk chalk, along with more hidden eggs back in Frisco. It was a wonderful Easter morning with my cousins, but the best part was a taste of my chocolate bunny after breakfast. YUMMY! After church, we hunted eggs all over the two backyards. There were almost 80 eggs, but the boys and I found them all in no time! We also went to see everyone at Mama and PaPa Collins' house for lunch. There was an egg hunt set up just for me, but Mama helped me out. It was a wonderful Easter weekend. This week was business as usual except that Nannie was here to visit. This weekend she helped build me my own garden in the back, and we even added a grown tomato plant. Fresh fruits and vegetables are on the way!!!

Master of the House

As the master of the house, it is my duty to make sure the yard and house stay in order. I have my awesome rocker on the patio so that I can take a break from all my hard work to enjoy our beautiful yard. In the past week, my gardening has really hit into high gear. I have four HUGE blackberries starting to ripen, and I check on them every night to make sure they get plenty of water. This weekend Mommy bought me some mini-tomato seeds and a tiny pot. I added the seeds and some water and watched the soil expand out. When they get big enough, I'll get to move them to a bigger pot and hopefully have some tomatoes to eat! We have had some terrible wind storms lately, and I noticed the fence was leaning a bit. Until Daddy and I can replace the post, we decided to do a temporary fix with some rope and a stake. It's always fun to use my hammer! When the work is done, it is time to play. My new nightly routine involves, a little pitching, some base running, and lots of hitting. I like for Daddy to pitch it to me, and then I smash it over the fence. I am a self-proclaimed home run king! In other exciting news, I have recently adopted an imaginary grizzly bear. He started out by chasing us home from school a few times, but eventually he moved in and goes with us everywhere. If he gets too hungry, Daddy has to make him breakfast and a glass of water, but most of the time he's pretty low maintenance. Sometimes I even watch him jump over my toys. Grrrrrr! Also, after days of asking, my parents finally bought me my own pair of scissors. They have to be with me when I use them, but I love "snipping" the paper. I remind them all the time that we are not allowed to cut the table, wall, or hair....only paper. This past weekend, Daddy and I went to Kroger to pick up a few things, and while we were there, the Easter Bunny arrived on a fire truck. AWESOME! Then there was an easter egg hunt, and I found three eggs with candy inside. The Easter Bunny gave me more candy, a balloon and stickers on my way out. Best shopping trip ever. Now just a few more days until he brings me a whole basket of goodies. I'll keep passing the time until then singing Petter Cottontail all around the house. Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way!!!

Spring Has Arrived!

The sun is shining, the temperature is up, and I am finally out of the house! I hate being cooped up in there all winter. Daddy has been taking me to the park to practice soccer, and I've been riding my bike and helping Mommy tend to the plants outside. I recently gathered my first full crop of strawberries. There were three ripe at one time, and they were delicious! Hopefully I will be able to grow more, and we are patiently watching the blackberries start to come in. YUMMY!! As always, sporting events are at the top of my to-do list, and over the past two weeks they have kept me very entertained. Daddy and I went with some new friends to watch the Allen Wranglers arena league football team. We had awesome seats, and all the tackling was great. We even got to see Roger Staubach throw a pass to Drew Pearson. Pretty cool.

Wakeland sports are keeping us busy as well. It's baseball time, and I've resumed my position back in the stands. After the game, Ms. Wendie took me down onto the field and I played catch with the boys. That was tooooooo cool!! At home, I've started hitting the ball all the way across the yard and over the fence when Daddy pitches it too me. I'm ready to play ball!!!

The girls soccer team is on a roll as well. Mommy and I have been to several playoff games, and this past weekend we watched them advance to the state tournament. You can't beat a corndog lunch out at the stadium. We also go to lots of Daddy's soccer and softball games. I'm a sports-aholic!In social happenings around town, I visited a lemonade stand in Kaly's neighborhood that was benefiting the earthquake survivors in Japan. I also went to a going away party for one of Mommy's coworkers. I love hanging out with the ladies!

When the weather hasn't been the best, we've found other ways to stay busy. Mommy and Daddy took me to my very first movie at the movie theater! We went to see Hop, a movie about the Easter Bunny (although I still insist on calling him the Easter Rabbit). I got to order a large popcorn, and we ate it all. I really enjoyed going and can't wait to go again. I also make sure we stay in shape by leading everyone in exercises. Stretch, jump and spin... it keeps you thin! A little jumping on (and off) the bed keeps me happy, too!We've also had a few celebrations around the house. First, Mommy got into a PhD program at UNT, and she got a scholarship, too! Aunt Jenny and the girls surprised her by decorating the back. There were signs, balloons, and a card. So much fun! Also, today was Rocco's 8th birthday! We bought Rocco some treats and celebrated with cupcakes. I helped him blow out his candle and make a wish.

I'm sure we will stay busy in the days to come, and I'll be working on my new life goal. When I grow up, I want to be an elephant!!! I told Daddy it would be cool to have a trunk and be really really big. My parents laugh, but it can't stop me from trying!

CHOO CHOO!!!

This past weekend, Nannie and PaPa Vaughn came up for a visit, and on Saturday we had Carter Day! We went out to Grapevine where I took my first shuttle bus ride to A Day Out with Thomas. Riding that bus was pretty cool, but when I saw Thomas the Train out my window I shouted "Mommy, we have to stop this bus. How do we get out of here?" Everybody else laughed, but I was serious! When we finally got out, I got to do all sorts of fun things. I went in a petting zoo, jumped in two bounce houses, got a Percy tattoo, played in the sandbox, and best of all.....I got to ride in a train pulled by Thomas!!! A real conductor punched my ticket and got us aboard the train. I got to sit by the window and wave to all the people as we passed by!During the ride, we got to sing and dance, and I even became a certified Jr. Engineer. What a fun trip! After all the excitement of the morning, we stopped by Rainforest Cafe for lunch. I loved seeing all the pretend monkeys, giraffes and elephants and the real fish tanks. I made sure to point everything out to Mommy, and I kept a close eye on a cheetah that was near our table.We topped off a great day and a great meal with a chocolate lava cake! It was delicious, and I ate it all!! (OK, maybe I had a little help.) Today was a very exciting day as well. This morning Daddy took me to my very first dentist appointment! The hygienist showed me everything she was going to do on this very nice dinosaur who quickly became my special friend. I got an A+ report and was extremely well behaved. I even got a new toothbrush! In other news, two weeks ago when we planted our spring flowers, Mommy bought me a strawberry plant. I've been watering it every night and checking the plant for berries. I have been very patient, and it finally paid off. Tonight one was ready for me to pick, and it was DELICIOUS!! Now I just have to wait for some more to ripen, and hopefully I'll get some blackberries too. I am always looking for an adventure...even if it is in my own backyard!