And What Did I See…?

I looked out the window and what did I see?

The sun shining brightly on a little white tree.Spring had brought me such a nice surprise…
Blossoms popping right before my eyes!

The little white tree on the right in the picture above is a Royal Star Magnolia. We have several in the yard. They were spectacular this year, as always. The tree on the left, however, was a surprise. No, the tree didn't suddenly appear during the night, but the flowers did.

Spring in these parts of THE OHIO has been unusual. I LIKE it, don't get me wrong, it's just been a bit different. Our Cleveland Pear trees actually bloomed this year. Every other year the leaves and flowers came out at the same time, so the flowers didn't look like much. This year the trees were COVERED with blossoms for over a week. I'll take it, I'll take it! So pretty. The above picture was taken out my bedroom window. Royal Star Magnolia flowers are at the front, with Cleveland Pear blossoms in the background. Once those blossoms started to fall, the ground was covered with white petal snow. That too was different, and quite pretty.

WHAT ELSE AM I SEEING TODAY?

Well, the next shots are not exactly seen out my window, but that's OK.

Here are Helena and Kate and Andy on Easter Sunday. It would appear that they are reading a note from inside a plastic egg. How exciting!

And here's baby brother Andy at 14 weeks. I like looking at him too.

AND PRESENTING!!!! Drum roll please… ELIZABETH

Peter and Karen's little one is now 15 months old and just as cute as ever. She walks, she runs, she carries animal friends in an Easter basket!

The big news from their family is that Peter got a job working for Brandon Sanderson so they are in the process of moving to Utah. YAY! (Goodbye LA freeways.) They are packing up this week and will leave on Sunday night.

All ABOUT HAZEL
One day last week I received the following messages from Barb and Hazel:

I had to bring Hazel with me to work for a little bit, so I'm letting her type you an email.

Love, Barb

Dear Nana,

.kl;/ukgy gggggg mmmmmmmmvbggggggggggggbvvvvvvvvvvf fcvbjhngffvddcssssssssssssssssss \4410 010000000000000000000000000000000000021000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000bnn bv nb Love, Hazel

I wrote back: "I LOVE IT!"

And Hazel wrote back:

b jh ,bvbvv fmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm iunn gvvvvvvvvvvug vbh dddddddd,kmm,kjm

to which her mom provided the following translation:

"I'm glad! I can't wait to see you in June!"

Love, Hazel

How fun!--K

That was the first ever e-mail that I received from a 6-month-old. And speaking of Hazel: Here she is: Her mom tells me that she loves sweet potatoes. It looks like she also likes to wear them.

6 months old 19 lbs. 15 oz, 28.75 inches. Hazel has outgrown her infant car seat. With parents like hers she is destined to be a bit tall. Perhaps she will enjoy basketball or volleyball. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

Something I Really Did See Out My Window

Last Friday: I saw Mollie stalking a pair of mallard ducks in the middle of the street. The brave, intrepid hunter turned and slunk into the woods as soon as the ducks started walking towards her. :-) It was too funny!

The buds on our maple tree continue to grow and change. On March 21 I wrote about Bud Break. Today I added another picture showing the progression from buds to maple seeds. I think it's fun to see. Perhaps you would too. Click here or scroll down.