60th Birthday and Early Mother's Day

I told you I was going to be doing this backwards for a few days. Anywho. . . on Saturday the 9th, Daniel's family went to a neat little place in Palo Duro Canyon to celebrate Marlene (Grandma's) 60th birthday and Mother's Day. Here she is looking at her cards Here is the view looking down towards the little house on the edge of the Canyon.
The kids are always ready for some action. Here is Nicholas, ready to go!

Grandpa Ralph grilled up some lunch for the crew!

Lane was looking out over the canyon. He loves binoculars!

My princess can find flowers and beauty in everything.

Branson is always thinking.

Here is my sister-in-law, Krista. Daniel thinks she looks like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys. All I know, is that she is beautiful.

My brother-in-law, Todd spent as much time as I did taking pictures.

Pat and Krista

Grandpa and Macy

Some of us went on a short hike. Well, it felt like a short hike to those of us over the age of 5. Those under 5 were a bit draggy. When you have walked too far for your liking the last thing you want to do is pose for a picture!

While we were off hiking, the rest of our crew was across the way doing a little rifle practice. I was able to catch a shot of them from our hiking spot.

By the end of the day, we were all ready for a good nap. Some of us more than others! Samuel needed a snack and a nap!

Macy and Meredith were all played out.

Ten Days

When I sat down to blog this morning, I noticed that I hadn't done it in 10 days. My intention was to catch up and post pictures I have taken since the last post. Wow - I have taken a ton of pictures. So this is what I am going to do instead. These are pictures from Sunday - Mother's Day. Then I will post backwards over the next few days. I should finish up sometime in the near future! I hope. This will keep me from putting a zillion pictures in one post.

On Sunday, we took the Fairlane out to a graffiti wall here in town. The original intent was for me to take pictures of the car along this wall. We wound up taking pictures with all of us in them as well. Dan took this one of me and our kids. I think Lane was practicing his Father's Day hugs a bit early. I thought this was precious.
Branson turned 9 yesterday. He is getting so grown up (and tall)!


You couldn't be a Fleischman boy if you didn't know all about wheels and tires! The lessons start early.

The races - I just love looking at the excitement on their faces.

Quite a handsome guy and a sweet daddy

Oh yes, we did actually take some of the car. Here is the front end of his 1966 Ford Fairlane.

The other end. . . .

The whole thing. Lane loves to take "Daddy's red Fairlane" when we go somewhere.

We also made a stop over by Dan's office. The kids love the water fountains, rocks, and anything else they can find!

The huge globe is always a hit.

We had a great day. There is nothing better than this.

In other news, Betty (my grandmother) made it through her surgery fine. She wound up having a quadruple bypass instead of the triple they were planning. She is still recovering in the hospital. She is up an walking, sitting up, and starting to do normal things again. She has a lot of swelling and some problems with the wounds on her legs. The doctors hope to get this under control soon so she will be able to go home. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words.

Grandmother Update

In case you read my last entry, my grandmother's kidney test came back okay. The dye test didn't cause any significant damage, and she will be able to move forward with her treatment. She is going to have triple bypass on Wednesday.

My Little Ballerina

On Wednesday, Macy had her parent watch day during her ballet class. It was so much fun. She was a delight to watch. Here she is dancing with a couple of her little friends. Working hard to get it right!
Always posing

My sweet baby girl is getting so big.

Also my grandmother went in for a heart cath on Wednesday. The news wasn't great. She is going to need bypass surgery to restore blood flow to her heart. However, her kidneys are not doing well and may have been damaged due to the dye used during the heart cath. If her kidneys are too damaged, the doctors can not do the procedure. I am praying that she will be able to move forward with her treatment and that she finds a sense of peace. Any extra prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Easter

Macy was the first one up this morning. With her crazy bed-head she preceded to wake up Dan, Branson, and Lane. I was fortunate enough to have just gotten out of the shower. She was super excited and half asleep all at the same time. We all went down stairs to see what the Easter bunny had brought for the kids. They dove into their buckets of toys and eggs. Then it was breakfast and getting ready for church. I was pleasantly pleased to get them all in one picture looking cute!
Then I captured a few moments individually while they were still clean. Here is my princess in white.

My baby

And my handsome little man

After church Mom (Nee Nee) took us out to eat. Then it was off to her house for more goodies and fun. Mom and I are not usually in the pictures, so I had to put this one up!

We had an egg hunt in her backyard!

Off they went, in all directions

He is on a mission.

Looking to see if she missed anything. I really love this picture.

Investigating the loot

Nothing tops off an excellent Easter like a good round of throwing Easter grass everywhere!

What a hair-do!

We hope you all had an amazing Easter and were able to spend it with those you love!

Easter Egg Dying

Macy was so excited about coloring Easter Eggs. I didn't share the enthusiasm at first, but it grew on me. Seriously . . . this face is contagious. Branson had a plan for his eggs. He was thoughtful and careful.
Macy had a plan for hers too. We just didn't know what it was until the end.

Lane just lives in the moment. He liked to stick his whole hand in the dye. His hands were blue, green and purple for the better part of two days.

His eggs turned out pretty nice, and he was so pleased with them.

Macy, bless her heart, dyed all of hers pink. She had a wide assortment of colors. But she chose the one special color near and dear to her. I tell you, some times she is a blond joke waiting to happen. She is very smart, but sometimes she has blond moments!

Which stickers to chose?

All in all, they turned out beautiful. We only have 3 dozen boiled eggs.

Egg salad sandwiches anyone?

Amarillo Weather . . . isn't it grand?!?!?!

There is nothing like waking up to winds howling through your windows. Actually, first things this morning the weather was fairly calm. Misleading. Within a couple of hours the wind was blowing full force, I think we are having gusts close to 70. Macy and I went out to run a few errands. When we came home we noticed that our neighbor's tree was destroyed. It was such a pretty tree. Macy has been trying to figure out how to save it. Should we get a band-aid? Or maybe tie it back together? What about glue? Sad. . . I actually just posted this, and when I was looking at the finished blog post I noticed that this tree was in my last blog post. The last picture was taken during the snow storm. So now you can see the after and before.