In like a Lamb. . .

Well. .March is in. .my 2nd grader deemed it "in like a lamb" since it was so nice.  And we all hate that it means "out like a lion" to come. Blech!! As I am in the habit of doing. .I rang March in with a trip to the Wichita Garden show!! All three boys got to participate in the 4-H judging contest and classes.  The bigger boys were pretty independent in their photo taking this year.  And Dev just likes to hit the trigger. .so life was good.  I was able to enjoy the gardens with little stress.  The guys each got some adequate photos. .and even a few that might be fair material. .will just have to see them full size on the computer screen before knowing for sure.  This year's theme was "Gardens in the Movies."

The large gardens featured scenes from the movie Avatar. . (the fuzziness was created by the fog machine. .super cool atmosphere in there!)

. .Jurassic Park (right in front of the "wrecked" pickup was a cement cast of a huge dinosaur track filled with water from the "rain.") And that WAS a full size vehicle. .to give you some idea of how huge the dinosaur replica and the trees behind it are!

And my personal favorite. .the movie "Up." This house was "up" in the air. .and standing directly below it. .the floor was still a good several feet above my head (and I'm 5'10)!

This year the exhibitors had an abundance of these Avandale redbud trees! They are a multi-stemmed redbud that is more of a shrub.  About 4-5 years ago, a friend happened to be at the garden show on the last day, when they sell many of their plants, shrubs, and trees for 1/2 price.  She brought home one of these beauties for each of us.  That spring. .Tristan gave it a pruning (unbeknownst to me at the time). It is slowly growing taller. .and does provide a beautiful show when we need it most to welcome in the spring! 

I didn't take a lot of pictures at all. .less than 10. .but this simple little swing just invoked a feeling of peacefulness to me!! And I couldn't resist! 

Here's our judging crew!! They enjoyed the swimming late last night more than they enjoyed the judging. .but they DID admit that they had a good time and learned some things.  My guys and I crammed in some shopping too.  Tristan and I were able to sneak out for an hour yesterday afternoon to shop for his 8th grade graduation attire.  He bought his first tie. .Ooooooh. . .Awwww. .

And when we got home this evening, his first stop was youtube to find out how to tie the sucker!! True story! Grant celebrated his birthday amidst all the activities yesterday. .and there will be more to come on that. We are looking forward to having our Houston family here tomorrow for the party!! They made it to Kansas yesterday for their permanent move home! As I gaze ahead on my calendar. .I am overwhelmed by the number of things overtaking it in the coming weeks. Life will be crazy. .and I am struck with the realization that, as fast as time moves. .in about a week or two. .I'll be sitting here pondering the arrival of Christmas. .does anyone else's life seem to move that fast??? An incredible phenomenon for sure!!

Well. .I have worn out the short break I allowed myself from my trauma class studyin'. .Better get back after it! I'll be glad when that class is over next week!! Enjoy your weekend!