El Soldadito Ranch

when she speaks

her words i drink with a familiar perfume of the past. flashes of faded green comforters cloud our conversation. she says much that leaves me with a want for the marrow of discourse...something i can take in, digest, and appease the hunger for substance. but instead, i engage in clandestine dialogues...alone, and her voice sadly fades into the shades of neglected eggshell walls.

9th Anniversary Trip: "Beastro"-- Better Than Ezra Concert

steve and i don't miss an opportunity to see our favorite band play in concert. i guess some couples have a "song"; we have a band!-- better than ezra. the concert was held as a charity event at the fort worth zoo with wine and food tasting as part of the draw, hence the name: "BEASTRO"! as we entered the gates, carribean music was played by the TCU band.

the food was delicious! my favorite was a cold avocado and jalapeno soup & a cold lobster and tarragon salad. the corn dogs were perfect; steve favored the sliders. every kind of food was available (prepared by local restaurants, serving up their very best)!

honestly, it was very weird to be at a zoo without the kids!

mr. corny dog is the absolute best!

since we were at the zoo, the "pre-show" was actually an animal act. they brought out a python...

a sweet penguin, and other animals.

it was so wonderful...we were front row. we were actually so close, the speakers were behind us and we had a hard time hearing the lyrics and banter.

he came right up to us; we were quite happy.

hope it won't be too long before we can see them again. it's always such a happy treat! makes us feel young again, (really young)...even if it's just for one night.

10,000 drums beating on the roof--

april 15th at about 6:30 pm-- the sound was remarkable. i can't remember that i've ever heard hail like this. i've seen it like this while driving in my car, but the sound in the house is quite different.

looked like tiny snow balls bouncing in the grass as it fell.

Easter Gathering

things weren't quite ready here. my photographing friend, she documents all the parties, was absent here. last minute change of plans and so i took the photos. my camera was acting up as well so all the pics could have been better. oh well. --- the carrot cake on the left is not yet fully "dressed". it looks a little odd.

alex and his friend playing in the toy room... waiting on the easter bunny to arrive.

my mom and i made the cupcakes the night before at 3 a.m. at that point we were just having fun.

jack borrowed the blue paper mache' basket my mom made alex when he was born.

zacky takes a load off and decides in the middle of the egg hunt to check out his new find.

who doesn't love confetti?

and candy???

my friend, nicole and her baby.

dinner time.

camera took weird pics. too dark and photo shop didn't quite get it.

the end! HAPPY SPRING!!!

Preparing for Easter

getting ready for easter, the boys dunked their eggs in colored baths.

alex was very careful not to crush his. he has learned how fragile they are after several bad attempts.

zacky is always excited to try something new.

i was very proud of them both. they improved by leaps and bounds compared to last year.

these are mexican cascarones. the top is cracked open with a small hole to fill with confetti.

finishing up...

the last batches. we only made 10 dozen. it felt like a bunch (i've been saving egg shells since new year's), but in the end it was a small collection.

grampa pat fills the eggs with confetti while nonnie (grandma) glues squares of colored tissue paper to the tops. we use "grudo" which is a homemade paste made from flour and a little water. the kids were in bed by the time the eggs dried.

beautiful memories!!!