And no Pollard family vacation can be called a "real vacation" if we don't catch something! I like to call 'em "critters" because it makes us sound really Southern!

I must say I was really impressed that the boys were first, fast enough and second, not scared at all of these little crabs. They both caught at least half a dozen of them by hand after Mommy showed them how to find them, stalk them and then grab them (gently of course)!

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a picture of William holding one of his crabs. Who knew that after approximatly 38 minutes of being handled, the crabs would get ... well, a little crabby. Both of the boys were pinched a couple of times at the end and they didn't seem to care too much for it. Since I also was pinched, I knew it didn't hurt them. When I asked ... "did it hurt you or just scare you?" they both were quick to say "it scare me!"

We had so much fun!

The Beach ... a preview ...

No time to post tonight as I am tired from my vacation! Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? Anyway, we had a great time at the beach. Here is a quick peek at the pictures ...

NO FEAR!

And perhaps the best part of this story is that "Milli" was waiting for me in a pitcher outside my office door one morning last week! I think it is great that someone on my team brought this to me. No one in Dallas ever brought me bugs! :)

It is pretty cool that the kids love stuff like this. It is so fun for me! The only problem with "Milli" was that William wanted to keep her/him ????? William, maybe when you get older and can take care of her we will get you another one. By the way, Mommy used to get paid to raise these things when she was in college working in the Entomology lab!

Milli is a Giant Millipede, has 200-300 legs and can live up to 3 years. According to some, millipedes make good pets

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/invertebrates/Millipede_GiantAfrican.pdf

Who knew! Maybe someday William!

Quenta

Aldridge Gardens

We love Aldridge Gardens! It is a free park in the B'ham area and we usually take a pic-nic lunch and stroll around for a couple of hours. Great place for pictures too! The kids enjoyed covering each other ... and us ... in pine straw! It was a little challenging to get them to keep it out of the grass! We did a little "critter" hunting ... with some success! :)

Our first earthworm!

The kids always like to "help" pull the wagon!

And they enjoy dancing with the Rabbit!

We even managed to spot a snake ... I think it is a Midland Water Snake???

Happy Easter!

Well, this is only a few weeks late! I uploaded the pictures in a timely manner, just never got around to actually posting them! :)

We had a wonderful Easter that started off with the kiddos opening their baskets Sunday morning and then off to church we went. We finished the day with Sunday dinner at my parents house and Easter Egg Hunting with our cousins.

The highlight of the day? Well two of them really ...

1. In church Sunday morning, William was praying out loud. When the kiddos started talking, we encouraged them to pray out loud along with us. We would say a few words, they would repeat them back to us. Guess I wasn't thinking about what would happen when they heard other people pray. Normally they go to nursury during the service, but we had a special service Easter morning and we wanted the kids to be part of it. When our Associate Minister (Charlie) was praying, little William prayed right along with him. It was precious. The gentleman sitting next to us commented on it after the service ... he said "Your son praying was one of the most touching moments of the service. He was really listening." And to think that I was worried that it was bothering those around us!

2. A day or so after Easter, here was Jackson's prayer:

"Thank you God for ... my bed, my milk, Glowie, all our friends ... and Jesus who died on cross and came back. Amen"

You know what? They really are listening! Amidst all the fun and commercialization that is Easter, my children are the ones who really get it.

Thank you God for Jesus who died on the cross and came back.

Quenta

Addison and her cousing Kate checking out the money the found in an egg that Granddaddy hid! Addison in the dress that Grandma Jack made (she made the boys shirts too!)

All 5 cousins in one frame ... Kate, Abby, Jackson, William and Addison ... only missing one!

William

Granddaddy and his grandkids ... looks like he is the pied piper!

My parents with the kiddos!

Kate and Abby