Milk Carton Bird Feeder

The girls made a bird feeder out of a 1/2 gallon milk carton this afternoon. We didn't have a pattern, I just cut a flap in the front and taped it down for a perch. They decorated paper and glued it on the sides so it would look nice, and they threaded the twine through some holes I poked. Julia is going to tie it to a tree branch in her yard. They were ridiculous posing for photos, and they wanted to be certain that I showed the bird feeder from every possible angle.

Play-Doh Playdate

Our friend Ranne turned 4 last month, and the kids decided to give him a "Play-Doh Playdate" as his gift ... although, they enjoyed it as much or more than he did! We got out our entensive collection of play-doh gear and made some good shapes, animals and spaghetti. It was a fun, messy time.

Here the guest of honor works with "that squeezy thing."

AnneMarie's snake.

Not a really good pic, but you can see Julia's new haircut. It is really super cute although she seems bothered by the asymetrical bangs.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Well, not exactly. But it was coming down steadily this morning, and boy, did we need it. It had been 72 consecutive days without precip in Albuquerque. After we got AnneMarie off to school, Jack immediately got dressed with his boots on, grabbed an umbrella, and headed outside to splash. He had a really good time and it wasn't too cold, maybe 50 degrees.

Flying a Homemade Kite

This afternoon AnneMarie made her own kite from a piece of paper. She cut out a diamond shape, colored it, and taped it to the end of a balloon. It is extremely windy today, which is why she was inspired to make a kite. I heard her saying that she was the first kid ever to make her own kite, only grown-ups had made kites before, and she is going to be famous. Unfortunately, so much dirt is blowing around outside that it's not much fun to stay out for long.

Zoo Trip - March

AnneMarie earned a trip to the zoo for finishing all of her kindergarten homework calendar for February. We went Wednesday after school since it was a half day. We don't go to the zoo that often, so it was a real treat and we saw almost everything.

The part she wanted to see first was the Tropical Americas section, which is an indoor section that is totally hot and muggy. It is supposed to be like the rainforests of South America. I think she likes it because it has a little bit of everything, including fish and spiders.

A major attraction were the puddles! I never saw it raining, but it was overcast, maybe it rained before we arrived. AnneMarie's canvas shoes are now in the wash. :)

Check out this chair from the African marketplace!

Pretending to be cheetah cubs.

Taking a little rest in the Africa section.

Climbing on the kimodo dragon just outside the play area. We played for a long time. They both had fun, but didn't play together too much. Jack was constantly trying to find AnneMarie. At one point, I heard him asking some other kids (that he didn't know) "You see my sisser?"

Did you know peacocks love Goldfish crackers? We were approached by this rather aggressive male peacock while the kids were snacking. AnneMarie decided to share and we soon discovered they love those little crackers!

Soon, he was joined by two girlfriends, and before we knew it, the peacocks had eaten our entire snack!

We brought along some stale Cheerios to feed to the ducks ... as you can see, they were quite a hit.

AnneMarie spent the whole time posing for photos. When I asked her on the way home what was the best part about the zoo, she said, "Taking pictures."

Three hours at the zoo can really wear you out!