Mothers' Day and Flowers

After singing at Mass, we went to McCrory Gardens for a Mothers' Day brunch. It was raining when we got there, but not long after the sun came out and we walked around the gardens after eating.

Mostly tulips out for TuliPalooza. 

This one still had rainwater inside it.

New growth, kinda felt like a toothbrush.

Cool tunnel #1

anemones

Cool tunnel #2

Cool sister #1 

Cool sister #2

Warm Sunday

Ah, the first day of spring. For once, the weather is wonderful on the very day. Yesterday it was in the 60s, and Tessie and I walked to campus to see a dance recital. Then we walked with Claudia downtown for a sisterly outing.

Warm days...keep 'em coming!

Christmas 2016 (part 2)

In the past week, the weather has been like this...

...so we've spent a lot of time inside playing games, etc.

Some interesting/special Christmas presents:

"open when" letters from Cecilia

bamboo watch from Mom & Dad

Catholic planner from Mom--it's insanely complete

Rosary bracelet from Spare Mama Kane

I knitted this scarf for Claud...it was a long and fun project!

A few days after Christmas, the besties came over and we baked gingerbread. Dad and Patrick were especially pleased with the results.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve. I went to bed early because I was singing for Mass this morning.

Happy New Year, and feast of Mary, Mother of God!

Recent Happenings

I decided to post some pictures of various life things.

Mom has been making delicious roasted tomato sauce. 

On Sunday after church we walked to Cottonwood Coffee...

...and obviously took pictures.

Sunday afternoon was an art afternoon.

Tessie finished her four-season fox project.

Later Sunday evening we went to Cherry Berry and were our usual awkward selves...

Claudia and Othman the day he left.

A random picture I took while practicing piano.

I've been making dinner once a week: this was yesterday's effort. source

Rehearsals for All-State Chorus began this week. It'll be a blast! source

Lemon Cookies

I have a fondness for baking, which obviously means that I save recipes all over the place with little expectation of actually using them. Well, last night I decided to finally make one of those random recipes, and it turned out well enough to save on here for posterity!

These cookies are similar to sugar cookies, but very lemony and soft. They were easy to make and oh-so-delicious! And they had nothing in them that Claudia couldn't eat (which is saying something).

 Obviously my pictures don't make them look as scrumptious as they are. They are really good with and without glaze--depends on how sweet you want it.

News!

Some certain people came home, including her:

and him:

As a result we've been doing some fun things, including getting coffee...

and shopping!

Two Birthdays!

Monday: Claudia turned 27! She was home sick with a sinus infection, which is bad, but it did mean she had more time to talk to us. Love you Lala, and I can't wait to see you this summer!

Tuesday: Isabel turned 21! The milestone! And one of her birthday "presents" was a statistics final. Happy birthday, Isa! I couldn't ask for a better role model!

Christmas Snow

We certainly had a white Christmas. Our snow level must have risen a foot since December 24.
Claudia, who is in France, requested that Tessie and I send her some photos of the snow around the house to show the little girls of the family she is staying with.

What I took on the camera...

...while she took this on the phone.

the street to campus

the street to downtown

house across the street

Tessie looking majestic

The sunset was almost worth the cold.

the abandoned house across the street

a message we sent Claudia

Selfies...

 We have been relaxing and enjoying our Christmas presents. I also have a few more photos from Christmas day.

We got the 10th anniversary edition of Ticket to Ride.

Each train is different!

I've been having fun with the coloring book Claudia sent.