Finally

Sophia and I noticed something in the backyard last night.  The bush cherry that my brother John had given us several years ago had finally blossomed.  We started with two little cherry bushes.  Each year the deer would come and “prune” them for us.  The bushes would grow a few inches, the deer would eat a few inches.  The cycle continued year after year.  Finally last fall the deer were too busy eating my hostas and jumping into my vegetable garden to notice that one had finally filled out into a small bush.  I had seen the tiny leaf buds ready to burst earlier in the week.  I didn’t realize that some of those buds were actually flowers.

The First Blossom
The First Blossom
Cherry Blossom
Cherry Blossom

Many more tiny flower buds fill the bush.  My hope is that we will finally have cherries this year.  They are not like the cherries you buy in the store or even the kind that grow on trees near the Washington Monument.  My parents have grown these since before I was born.  They are perfect for for cherry pies or jelly.  John got his bush cherries from my parents and now we have one of our own.

More Blossoms To Come
More Blossoms To Come
Sophia wanted to take pictures of the blossoms too.
Photographing The Cherry Blossom
Photographing The Cherry Blossom

Sophia and I also noticed how pretty the bleeding heart plant was getting.  We decided to snap some photos of the flowers.

Bleeding Heart
Bleeding Heart

Then Sophia decided she wanted to pick one of the delicate little flowers.

Hand-Picked
Hand-Picked

We also snapped pictures of this beautiful pink geranium.  This little plant seeded itself late last summer.  I found it growing in our front garden near the hydrangea.  I brought it in over the fall and winter in the hopes that I wouldn’t kill it before spring.  It started flowering in February and hasn’t stopped since.  We recently re-potted it and have it out on the deck.

Geranium
Geranium

Father & Son

Sebastian is working on a special project at school and was in need of a father/son photo.  Last night he informed me that he required pictures in both a portrait and landscape orientation.  I questioned whether he knew what that meant and he went on to explain the difference to me.  He added that his art teacher had talked to his class about it.  And here I thought I had taught him everything he knew about photography. 🙂

We take a lot of pictures of the kids individually or together, but not many are with Mike and me.  We decided to do a quick photo outside of the “boys” in their baseball hats.  It was cloudy and close to sunset, but I think the pictures turned out really well.  We got a little carried away with our picture taking and came up with some extra photos as seen below.

The Boys
The Boys - Landscape
The Boys - Portrait
The Boys - Portrait
Mary & The Kids - Landscape
Mary & The Kids - Landscape

 

Mary & The Kids - Portrait
Mary & The Kids - Portrait
Mike & Up-Side Down Sophia
Mike & Up-Side Down Sophia

p.s.  If you ever need to make your kids smile when you are taking their picture, you can do what Mike did to get the pictures of me and the kids.  He tried the usual “say cheese”.   When that wasn’t enough, he said “say butt crack”.  That makes our kids smile every time.  Nice, huh?

Flat Tire

Sophia received her very first bike for her 3rd birthday nearly two years ago.  It took her all of about five minutes to figure out how to pedal and off she went. 

Sophias First Bike
Sophia's First Bike

We took the bike out of the garage last spring and found that she had a flat tire.  She had worn all the way through the tire and the tube was bulging out.  Mike replaced the tire and the tube and she was off again biking like crazy.  Mike pulled her bike out of the garage again this year.  She rode one block…another flat tire.

Flat Tire
Flat Tire

Mike set out this past weekend to find another tire and another tube.   He came home with two brand new black tires and one tube.  He had no luck in finding a 12″ white bike tire.  It took him quite a while to replace both tires, but he wanted her to have a matching set.  Although her bike doesn’t have the same look as the white tires offered, we are hoping the new tires are durable enough to last until next year when she has outgrown the bike.  A new bike for her 6th birthday next year may be appropriate – sshhh, it’s a secret.

New Black Tire
New Black Tire
New Wheels
New Wheels

Here’s a couple of photos of the mad biker from last night.  I know it would be more appropriate to show her on her bike, but I haven’t had a chance to get a picture of that yet.  For now, here’s Sophia with her purple nails and Sponge Bob pajamas.

Freshly Painted Nails
Freshly Painted Nails
Sponge Bob PJs
Sponge Bob PJ's