The Further Adventures of Maeuschen

Kaitlyn prepared for her dance recital dress rehearsal this week.

She takes her preparation very seriously...

Flash photography was only allowed at the rehearsal, not at the performance.

She was not only comfortable on stage, but really took to it.

She told us afterward that she loves the bright lights.

This is the opposite of her father, who is more comfortable running the lights rather than standing under them.

The recital went equally as well. Kaitlyn is a beautiful little dancer!

Saturday I put the kids to work washing cars.

Of course, it wasn't really work for them...

For them it was a chance to play in water.

They love playing in water.

Caleb weeded the garden. This, of course, was truly work.

Grasses are threatening to invade the garden, even through the edging. Thus they must be, um, weeded. (Why not de-weeded?)

The tulip-poplar trees, however, do not require weeding. They look pretty just as they are.

Ahh, windblown hair. Don't grow up too fast, Kaitlyn. Don't grow up too fast...

The wildfires are not in North Carolina. Even without them, popsicles may be necessary to stay cool. It was over 90 a couple of days this week.

This loose tooth did eventually come out.

Our grass is only this full and lush over by the septic tank. It figures.

Both kids eat popsicles. There's really no story to tell here, is there?

Miss Kaitlyn is actually back-lit; the flash is on a table behind her. For some reason this blew the contrast completely out. Interesting effect.

This time the flash is sitting above Caleb. I tried to make Caleb look angelic, but even this technique does not deceive.

Easter Sunday is a perfect day for pictures. I spent a lot of time and "film" on portraits and really ended up with very little I liked. It turns out getting the most from the new flash and lens requires new skills. Who knew?

A detail from one of our porch chairs used in the portraits.

After portraits we hid plastic eggs for the kids to seek. Caleb doesn't wait to pick up one egg before searching out the next.

In a continuing effort to teach the kids not to kill themselves, I hung a rope swing from a high branch in the back yard. Kaitlyn has only a small swollen lip as a prize for her awkward attempts at swinging. Caleb has thunked his skull a couple of times and has a huge bruise on his back from swinging into the trunk one and two and three times too many. What an overachiever!

We visited the Raleigh Farmers' Market Friday afternoon. In addition to fruits and vegetables, the lovely misssaive discovered a wide variety of live plants available for purchase. After witnessing her smelling this southern lilac bush, I expect to find one planted by the fence soon.

I'm very fond of coffee, and more so fond of it when taken on the front porch on a cool morning.

Saturday I took the family to Medoc Mountain State Park. We didn't see any mountains, but we did find this old tobacco barn.

Caleb is just too cool.

I have better pictures of Caleb from this series, but I could not believe how old Caleb looks in this one. Don't pay the expression any notice though; he had a good time at the Fairgrounds looking at gems and crystals.

Kaitlyn hunted eggs with other preschool children at the annual Highland Baptist Easter Egg Hunt and Bike Ride. This was a creative hiding spot for an egg.

My angel. She went off to Georgia for the week. Le sigh... And then she came back!

Caleb got a "new" bike last weekend. Already he's riding no-leg.

Kaitlyn rode her bike around as well, though she spent more time playing in the sandbox. This girl is a Civil Engineer in training, no doubt.

When Caleb was a year old, he used to ride his little toy PowerWheels quad around the backyard... while standing on the seat. Nothing has changed.

After the biking there was a pinewood derby. One of the dads let Caleb race his car, and Caleb won 2nd place, although Caleb declined the trophy (since he didn't make the car).

With one game left my bracket shows 41 of 62 correct picks, putting me in the 56th percentile. Pitiful.

Kaitlyn helped me try out the new flash this week. She and Caleb were very patient.

Caleb has mastered many Wii games. This is his custom-skinned Wii-mote controller.

This is one of the lovely misssavie's dianthus flowers from our front garden.

Weekend gardening can get under your fingernails.

This guy was quite patient with my extremely close presence. This prompted Caleb to comment, He likes it!

Sometimes I spin the camera around and point it at myself...

Old lady Chloe was spotted sunning herself by the back door...

To Recap: My bracket was a total shambles this year, my predictions shamed, my algorithms tattered. I'm left with one team to route for: North Carolina. Route for them I shall.

Um, wow. Bracket now at 39 of 58 with 2 of the Final Four teams remaining.