Happy Easter! - 90/365

Happy Easter!! 

 Reagan woke up around 8:00 and she was so excited to hunt for her eggs. The Easter Bunny planted eggs and an "empty" basket outside her door. She had to follow the eggs all the way to her filled basket.  She had so much fun gathering her eggs but she wanted to stop and open each one as she went along, so it took awhile. LOL! The Easter Bunny put jelly beans, M&M's, gold fish crackers and some princess socks in her eggs. She was thrilled! 

She finally made it to her basket in the living room. She was lucky enough to receive a Loving Family home from Nana and Papa that the Easter Bunny delivered for them. The Bunny himself, left some accessories for the house, Belle Play-Doh, and a Jasmine for her Little People Castle. She must have been a good little girl! 

 We played with some of her stuff then we headed to meet Jim's family at Squaw Creek for our annual Easter Brunch. The food is always so good and we enjoy a few mimosa's, YUM! Jim and I love the little blintzes. They are crepes filled with a cream cheese goodness. In years past, it has always been a berry topping, but this year it was banana! It was delicious! We hung around after, let the kids run and took some pictures. 

We then headed over to the camp for an Easter Egg hunt. Jim's mom and dad had eggs filled with goodies, all over the hall. The kids had a ball gathering them all up! It was so cute. Reagan is getting to be a good hunter! 

 After all the festivities we headed home. Reagan took a nice long nap and so did daddy since he's been feeling under the weather. 

This evening we just enjoyed playing with her new treasures. 

The photo of the day is the Cvetkovic/Figelman group after our brunch....

 

Easter Dinner - 89/365

Today is Easter Eve...LOL...and it was another gorgeous day! 

We started the day by hitting the three mile trail in Mill Creek Park. It was of course, packed. Everyone is trying to get out and about and enjoy this weather! It's SO NICE! 

 We came home, had some lunch, then went and let Sadie (our neighbor's dog) out for them.

 Brinkley, Sadie and Reagan spent some time running around the yard. It was a total hoot! 

Once everyone was slowing down, I took Sadie down to the "studio" and took a few Easter pictures of her. She was such a good girl and I got some adorable shots. 

This evening we were heading out to Tippy to have a small Easter dinner with my mom, dad, Ray, Jenny and of course, Jim and Reagan. We stopped over at my mom and dad's first. Nana and Papa wanted to have a little Easter egg hunt for Reagan and give her a few little treasures. My mom had eggs everywhere, it was great! She had some larger eggs and some smaller ones. She put quarters and stickers in the larger eggs. Once Reagan found them all, she sat down and was having fun opening the larger ones and checking out her stickers and money. She was done with the big ones so she grabbed a small egg and cracked it open. She saw it was empty and she just said "Nothin'" and tossed it down. We all started cracking up! It was hilarious!! 

We then went over to Tippy to meet Raymond and Jenny and had a fabulous meal and good fun! 

We got home and Reagan put out her carrots and water for the Easter Bunny. She is just so excited for him to come tonight...hope he shows up! ;) 

The photo of the day is Jim, me, Reagan, Papa, Nana, Jenny and Raymond after dinner! 

Love my family!

 

Coloring Eggs - 88/365

We had a fun filled day today! 

Jim was off work for Good Friday so we got to spend the day together! It was nice after he was gone for pancakes the last couple weekends!

Jim and I started the day with a hike around Lake Cohasset. Jim's mom was nice enough to come over and play with Reagan for the afternoon, so we could explore the more difficult trails. A Facebook friend who frequents Mill Creek Park has been seeing a Bald Eagle around Lake Cohasset and Lake Newport, so we figured we would give Lake Cohasset a try today, to see if we could catch a glimpse. No such luck, but it was an absolute gorgeous day. I bet we wandered for a good hour and a half. 

We got home and felt bad that we didn't take Brinkley, so we actually loaded up Brinkley and Reagan and hit the Kirk Road trail for about another 45 minutes. We were exhausted! We got home just in time for Reagan's nap. We all crashed in various places around the house for quiet time...LOL!

When she got up, it was egg coloring time! For some reason, we didn't get a chance to color eggs last year, so we were pretty excited. We got everything set up and she dove right in. Her favorite saying was "oooohhh look, it turned gween! It's beautiful!" 

She had a ball! We only did twelve because we had no idea what we would do with more than that. I think she was bummed when we were done. 

 All in all, it was a wonderful family fun day!

The photo of the day is her tiny, dyed hand and her masterpieces....

Bonus picture for our photobook just because we don't take enough photos together....

Love this pic from our hike!

 

Closet Cat Nap - 87/365

This morning I went to grab some towels in our room before my shower. I pulled open the door and had a little surprise visitor in the linen closet. 

Bailey LOVES to jump up and sleep on the clean, folded towels in our closet. If we leave the door cracked just a bit, he will open it with his paw and hop on up for a nap. He scares me at least once a week. I should know better if I see the door open but he always gets me. 

I have had this as an idea for a photo of the day, but I haden't caught him or I already had a photo for the day. Today, I had success! 

Here is Bailey snoozing on our towels....

CAVS Game - 86/365

Hubby and I had a date night tonight! 

Reagan & Brinkley spent the night at my mom's so we could enjoy a night out. We love the CAVS, but have had so much other stuff going on, we haven't made it up to see them since the start of the season. 

 We headed up around 4:30 and arrived inside around 6:00. We went to the club, grabbed a table, drinks, and got some yummy food. We realized that it happened to be Superhero Night/Mascot Mania! How fun! They had mascots from all the area teams, and the hosts/hype people were dressed as Batman & Robin. They changed the logo of the Cavs for the night to a Superman Symbol with a "C" in the middle. All the kids 14 and under received capes when they entered the arena. I saw a guy passing out something, so I went over and said "Oh, what's that? May I have one?" He replied "Those are for the children!" Well then....LOL! 

We sat down low this time and it happened all the fun stuff during timeouts would be going on right behind us. They had the mascots do a t-shirt toss, they had a karaoke contest, and a poker game right behind us. It was so fun to see! Actually, while they were waiting for the mascot t-shirt contest, Moondog's tail kept hitting me in the head when he would turn around...LOL! At 1/2 time the mascots all competed in an obstacle course...hilarious! 

The game itself was great to watch. It was back and fourth the whole game. The CAVS almost pulled it out but lost, 93-92 with literally NO time left on the clock. The Celtics had nailed a 2 pointer. Such a bummer! As Cleveland fans, we're quite used to the at the buzzer loss, so no biggie. We still had a great time with a lot of laughs...LOL! 

We have always enjoyed Ahmad as the host/hype man, he does a fabulous job, so when he was standing right behind us in his Batman costume. We couldn't pass up getting a picture.

 The photo of the day is us and Ahmad....

The bonus picture is me with Moondog's tail on my head! 

And one more, just because it's Chomps with a cape! 

 

Birthday Celebration! - 85/365

We hit the town with Jim's mom and dad tonight to celebrate Greg's birthday! 

We set out to Jeremiah Bullfrogs in Austintown. When we got there there wasn't too many people around but suddenly almost every booth and table filled up. The food service ended up being a little slow, but we didn't mind. We were having a nice time just talking and catching up. 

 Reagan was being her adorable self and kept saying "Happy Birthday!" There was a family at the next table, that had a little girl with them who was around nine or ten. She must have overheard the "birthday" talk, because all of a sudden, her and her mom stood up and the little girl brought over a stuffed cow and said, "I want to give her this for her birthday." She thought it was Reagan's birthday! She had won the cow and a couple other stuffed animals in the arcade at the back of the restaurant and wanted to share her winnings. We explained that it was Greg's birthday and that she could take her cow back, but she insisted that Reagan take it. It was so adorable! 

What fabulous parents that little girl must have. We could all learn something from her! 

Reagan really enjoyed her cow and played with him off and on throughout the dinner. 

We all had a great dinner and a great time....and we were all stuffed by the end! 

The photo of the day is Reagan, Papa and the frog they colored.... 

Happy Birthday, Greg!

 

Covered Crocus - 84/365

It's almost Easter AND it's almost April but we were under yet another Winter Weather Advisory today! We woke up to snow covered everything and most of the schools were closed. It was cold, but not cold for a winter storm, so my mom, Reagan and I went out to play in the snow! 

We headed down to Mill Creek Park near the Daffodil meadow to see if any Crocus were popping up amongst the snow. We saw so many beautiful ones last year in that same spot but no such luck. We then headed down to the Lily Pond to check out some ducks. We took a nice stroll around the whole pond and saw a bunch of geese. They seemed really friendly today. There were two that literally "followed" us around the whole pond. They would come up right to the water's edge and just look at us. Reagan was in HEAVEN! She kept saying "What dat duck doin?" and "That duck see Reagan!" We finished up there and headed to Fellows Riverside Garden. We wanted to walk around the garden and hoped to check out the nature photography exhibit. We forgot they were closed on Monday, so we never got to see the photography, but we had a great walk around the garden. They have the nice brick path now and it was all cleared off. Reagan was having a ball bouncing in the slush piles. She stomped every slush ball she could find! 

We ended our afternoon at Gia's for some soup and salad to warm up. What a great little adventure we had trying to make the best of hopefully the LAST SNOW STORM of the winter!

 The photo of the day is a Crocus we did find peeking through the snow....

 

Tricked by the Train - 83/365

All aboard the Easter Bunny Express! That's what we heard at 11:00am...turns out, it wasn't an "express" after all. 

Nana and I got tickets to take Reagan on the Easter Bunny Express awhile back. Jim was still working the Pancake Festival with Rotary, so we decided to just make it a girls day. 

My mom picked us up at 8:45 and we got on the road. We were about 10 minutes from getting off the turnpike when Reagan said, "I'm sick". She was acting her usual self all morning, RUNNING through the house and singing, so I knew she wasn't "sick". She was a little quiet after that, but she's usually nice and calm in the car, so I didn't think anything of it. We were on 480 about 15 minutes from the train station when I heard her "cough". I looked back and she had spit up. My first thought was "Oh no, she IS sick", next was, "I don't have any extra clothes to put her in", and finally "she's not going to get to go on the train!" 

We remembered there was a Walmart near to where we were, so we thought we would go there and at least get her cleaned up and I could get her something to wear home. We got off the exit and the Walmart was CLOSED, there was no more Walmart. What!? 

There was a Giant Eagle in the same plaza, so I asked a lady where I could get some clothes. She said there was a Kmart down the road, so we headed there. Reagan really did seem fine and she was just sitting there talking. We had an hour till the train to make a decision and we were only 10 minutes away. We pulled in the Kmart, I jumped out to get clothes, Lysol and extra wipes, while my mom tended to Reagan. I came back and my mom said, "she's fine"! There was nothing on her, but poor Mr. Fuzzy got it all! Thank goodness for Mr. Fuzzy! She was spared! 

My mom said she just held up her little hands that were a bit "messy" and said in a sad voice "I go Easter Bunny Train?" Who could deny that, so we decided we would just go ahead and catch the train since we had driven all that way. 

We got to the train station and boarded the train without a problem. The horn blew and we were underway. About five minutes into the ride, a Trainman got on the speaker and started to explain the adventure. He said, "We have about a 45 minute ride down to Peninsula. There, we'll get off the train, board a BUS and head to the lodge for the hunt, and Easter Bunny. The train will be back to pick you up at 3:15. We'll be back to Rockside at 4:00!" UM WHAT!? We're departing at 11:00 and not getting back till 4:00!? The amazement and shock in some parent's faces were PRICELESS!!! We were a little shocked but we had nothing else going on, so we were OK with it. We were really just expecting maybe a 2 hour trip like the Polar Express and the Wine Train but were clearly wrong. 

We enjoyed our ride down to Peninsula. It was neat riding in the day, which we had never done. It's a very pretty and scenic ride. Reagan was glued to the window the whole time, looking for deer and birds. We did go through a marsh area and the Trainman pointed out a bald eagle's nest. The eagle happened to be sitting a few trees down. Reagan was fascinated! 

We finally got to Peninsula and hopped off the train. The buses weren't there yet so we were all just standing around at the outdoor station. They finally came around the corner a few minutes later and it was too funny, they were old school buses painted white and blue. They said Midway Lanes Bowling Bus...LOL! We all piled on these four school buses and headed to Happy Days Lodge. 

We pulled into this parking lot, that had no building or anything, so we were a bit confused. Everyone got off the bus and were escorted down this little path with some stairs that took you to a huge metal pipe tunnel that went under the road. We all walked through the tunnel and came out on the other side where we went back up some stairs. We saw this huge building sitting next to this HUGE field with hundreds of eggs. We knew we were in the right place. 

The lodge was really nice and they had a huge stage set up for a puppet show. They also had numerous crafts, games, snacks and of course the Easter Bunny! Reagan even got an egg tattoo. LOL!

They split the kids up into groups and took them out into the field. Reagan was an old pro and dove right in. She probably got 15 or so, which was awesome for the amount of kids! 

 We headed back inside and a volunteer said that if anyone wanted to head back to Peninsula station to wait, they were more than welcome. There were a couple shops and a few restaurants around that station and we still had about an hour and half before were to get back on, so we chose to go back to town and wait. We headed out of the lodge, back through the pipe to catch the bus. 

Once we got off the bus, there was a Winking Lizard there, so we had some lunch and a couple beers. YAY! LOL! My mom and I split a pizza and had salad, while Reagan had her favorite, chicken tenders and fries. Our waiter was really nice but the poor guy dropped a glass right next to our table that shattered into a MILLION pieces!! He was so embarrassed. 

After lunch we STILL had about a 1/2 hour, so we of course decide to hit up a shop. There was a really nice shop called Trailmix, that is run by the Cuyahoga National Forest/CVSR. We wandered around in there for a little bit and Reagan fell in LOVE with this little stuffed deer. Of course Nana made the purchase for her sweetie. She was so cute holding that deer. She kept saying, "I love him", "He so soft". She was just hug, hug, hugging him! 

 Finally, we heard the train blast and sure enough, the train came chugging down the track. We boarded the train and Reagan immediately said, "we see eagle?" She just stared out the window on the way back. She even propped the deer up so he could "see" out the window, too! We luckily did see the eagle again! YAY! 

 We got back to the car at 4:00 and got back into town around 5:30.

 Reagan never had any other issues throughout the day or on the way home. She ate normally and played as usual, thank goodness. I think she may have just got a bit car sick or had a strange burp.

 We walked in the door and Mr. Fuzzy went straight to the washer to get a bath before bed time. I ran him through twice...LOL! Reagan happened to be with me when I moved him to the dryer. She was so darling, she wanted to watch him go around and around. I tried to get her out of the laundry room a couple times, but she would just run back in. I had some clean clothes sitting in a laundry basket that needed fluffed before going upstairs, so she sat in the laundry basket on top of the clothes watching Mr. Fuzzy. I didn't want to leave her alone, so I went and got her little Mickey bean bag chair and leaned on that, on the floor of the laundry room. Jim wanted to chat with us, so the next thing I know he and Brinkley are in there sitting on the floor, too. We all sat there a good 15 minutes just waiting for Mr. Fuzzy to dry. It was TOOOO FUNNY! Finally, she got board and said "I go pwayroom!" YAY! 

We finished our waiting in there until bath and bed. 

 So, after a rocky start and the shock of how long we would be there, all in all, we really had a super fun day and I wouldn't have changed a minute. It all worked out and it was a ball. 

After all that.....

The photo of the day is Reagan and her new deer friend, watching for the eagle. 

 

Egg Elegance - 82/365

Boardman Park was hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt this morning! We took Reagan last year and while she enjoyed it, she was still a bit small to keep up with the other kids. We wanted to take her again this year and she was so excited. 

She had quite the little posse that came out to watch her "hunt". Nana, Papa, Jenny, Greg, Daddy, and of course, Mommy was there to support the little hunter! They hold it in the Bocce court for ages 2 and under. The weather wasn't too bad, it was chilly in the shade but not uncomfortable. There was a ton of kids, but they had plenty for everyone. After the hunt was over we headed over to the Laricca Center to support daddy and the Boardman Rotary for their second weekend of the Pancake Festival! We had yummy pancakes and Reagan was having fun opening her eggs to see what treasures awaited her. She of course got candy, a few rubber bracelets and her absolute favorite was the three "rings" she got. I think her favorite of the three was the skull, but she also enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean. We were driving home and I hear a distressed voice coming from the backseat saying "Oh NOOOO! I dwopped my pirate wing!" We recovered it and all is well! 

The photo of the day is Reagan and her new "bling!" 

Bananarama - 81/365

On our quest to be more healthy and try weed out processed food as much as we can, we got a Yonana Machine. It turns frozen fruits into "ice cream". The best thing about it is you don't add any milk or sugar, just your fruit. They recommend you use bananas to give it that creamy ice cream texture, but you don't have to. You can do other fruits such as pineapple and mangoes without bananas and get kind of a sorbet. So far we've done banana and frozen strawberries mixed together...DELICIOUS! It came with a whole recipe book with some to die for flavors. 

We only tried once because we didn't have any bananas ready. I've since stocked up...LOL! You use a whole banana per bowl, so to have enough for the three of us to always be ready, we had to buy a ton. They recommend you wait till they have a few brown spots to peel and freeze. Apparently that's when they are at their sweetest. We've been waiting a few days for the bunches to turn brown, so we can really put it to good use! They looked pretty good today, so this evening I spent about 20 minutes peeling and putting them in containers for ice cream time! Looking forward to tomorrow!

 The photo of the day is our massive amount of bananas and our Yonana machine.

 

Putter Puppy - 80/365

Jimmy had a rotary board meeting tonight, so Reagan and I spent another night out on the town with Nana and Papa. We had a yummy dinner at Tippy! Reagan has enjoyed many a dinner at Tippy. She goes a lot if nana and papa are babysitting and we all go a lot as a family, too! Throughout her time spent there she has grown close to a dog named Putter. He is actually a cement statue that the staff named, Putter because he's right inside the golf area. Every time Reagan visits Tippy she has to stop and see him. She hugs and kisses him all the time! Agi, a server at Tippy, has grown quite fond of Reagan. She always says that if Putter is ever forced to "leave", he is going to live with Reagan, no questions asked! LOL! Reagan would be thrilled! 

The photo of the day is Reagan and her friend Putter....

 

 

Snowy Spring - 79/365

It's the first day of Spring!

Although, you wouldn't know it here in Ohio. It was only around 30 degrees most of the day with scattered snow showers. Around 5 o'clock this evening a pretty good squall came through that actually left a dusting of snow on the grass and mulch. The low tonight is only supposed to be 17 degrees and we could get an inch of snow! Cuyahoga County is expected to get between 4-8 inches.... What!? 

The other day, I noticed that my Irises are already starting to come up. They are probably ready to turn back around and head back in to hibernation...LOL! I hope they don't get destroyed in this crazy weather. They are my favorite in the Spring! 

 They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb...I think the lion is getting some overtime pay. Yuck! Hurry SUMMER! 

 Today's photo is my poor Irises peeking up from the ground surrounded by the awful snow....

 

Tournament Time - 78/365

Tonight was a big night for sports at Youngstown State University as the Penguins hosted the first round of the CIT Postseason Basketball Tournament. Jim went to the game with his dad, uncle Steve and uncle Frank. To be honest, YSU's basketball team usually struggles but this year they've played well and had a winning record. They were rewarded by being invited to their first post season tournament since the 1970's and even got to play the game at home. Jim said tonight's game was really exciting and the team played the best they had all season. In fact, they won tonight's game 99-87 over Oakland University and will move on to the second round of the CIT tournament this weekend. Good Luck to YSU as they continue on the road to the CIT Championship.

While Jim was enjoying his guys night out, Reagan and I went to dinner with Nana and Papa at the Fifth Season. We had a great time and Reagan kept us entertained the whole time! She brought her whole zoo, Uncle Ed! :)  

The photo of the day is Jim, Greg, Frank and Steve at halftime of the game....

Ice Storm - 77/365

It's March 18th and yes, we were under a Winter Storm Warning until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Are you freaking kidding!? Late last night I checked the weather channel app on my phone and was disgusted to see we were under a winter weather advisory. It was calling for snow and ice mix.
We woke up this morning to ice tinking on the window. I looked out to see big snowflakes mixed with ice balls. Wonderful! I re-checked the app and was shocked to see the blazing red bar showing now, a winter storm warning! The roads looked to be a mess but thankfully, Jim had no problems getting to work. He said once he got on the main roads, everything seemed O.K. Around 11:30 we headed out to run some errands. Parking lots were a mess but the roads were still fine.
It was kinda pretty seeing the trees all covered in ice. They had a beautiful sparkle to them, but that was enough. I'm just done with the winter, as I'm sure, all my Ohio friends are! I'm ready for begonias, sunshine and green grass! Come on Spring!
The photo of the day is an icy branch on our Dogwood tree...

Flipping Flapjacks - 76/365

Today Jim was up bright and early to work at the Boardman Rotary Pancake Festival. The Boardman Rotary is a service club that Jim has been involved in for the past 5 years. They have a number of fundraisers each year and then use the money they raise to benefit the community as well as international projects. The Pancake Festival is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year. 

This year Jim was asked to work in the kitchen, which doesn't happen right away, so Jim was very happy to be asked. Being that he was asked to cook and it was his first time, I wanted to capture this memory. Reagan, Nana and I surprised him with a visit. I knew if I told him I wanted to take a picture, he would say, "Oh no, that's ok." so I had to sneak attack him....LOL! 

I found him flipping pancakes at one of the four griddles they use. While he's always been excellent at cooking pancakes at home, this was the first time he's ever had to cook anything for a large group of people. He says the day seemed to be a success because he didn't burn himself and no one complained about his cooking! He'll be out working the festival next weekend as well. Stop out and see him if you have a chance! 

The photo of the day is Jimmy and his pancakes....

 

Hard Potato! - 75/365

For dinner tonight, I was planning on making grilled chicken breasts marinated in tropical marinade, sauteed veggies and sweet potatoes. We never really do "baked" potatoes at home, so I used handy dandy Google to get a time frame. It said 400 degrees for 40 minutes. I put the taters in the oven and set the timer, I went back to the living room and played for a little bit, then went to start the chicken and veggies. The chicken and veggies were done right on time with the "beep", so I went to pull the potatoes out. They were still kinda hard so I put them back in for a few minutes, while trying to keep the other stuff hot. I gave it a few more minutes, they were no better. I put them BACK in and we just went ahead and ate the chicken and veggies. I checked them after we were ALL DONE eating and they were STILL NOT DONE!!! No one is even still hungry at this point, but now it's just the principal! I actually cleaned up the entire kitchen, which was a disaster, then pulled them BACK out and they were finally relatively soft. I put them on a plate, we were ready to dig in and realized the middle was STILL a little hard. We are having a good time by now joking about these stupid potatoes! We tried to eat some, just because now, we had our heart set on them. We ended up just eating around the edges...LOL! The next thing I know, Jim says, "Ugh, that's enough." and pushes the plate away from him. We both BUSTED out laughing. I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard. It was HILARIOUS! He claims he just meant he was "full". I still think he was just sick from the awful potato! 

These surely weren't Morton's or Outback sweet potatoes. I have no idea what happened! Apparently I need to put them in in the MORNING! LOL!

 Photo of the day is our lovely potatoes....

 

Football Game Socks - 74/365

It's no secret we LOVE the Cleveland Browns! 

We have season tickets and never miss a game. (Who knows why...LOL!) 

Reagan of course, is accumulating quite the Browns wardrobe. The one thing she's been wearing all the time is her Browns socks. She seems to really love them and always gets happy to put them on. The first couple times we put them on, she honest to GOD, called them "Super Bowl Socks". We about died!!! Where she got that, we'll never know! Maybe because we always talk about the Super Bowl, the Browns and how it will NEVER happen...LOL!

 Today when I put them on she said, "Oh, mine football game socks!" She apparently is realizing the Super Bowl is never going to happen. 

I wasn't doing the blog when she called them "Super Bowl Socks", so today when she called them "Football Game Socks" I decided that was a cute little memory I wanted to document.  I may keep the actual socks, so one day if they EVER go, we can show her the "Super Bowl Socks".

The photo of the day is Reagan's "Football Game Socks".....hopefully one day they will be

 "Super Bowl Socks!"

 

Sweeping Sweetie - 73/365

It was another typical day filled with chores. Reagan and I spent the morning around the house. She playing with toys, and I just doing some general cleaning. We finally had to head up to get ready for her hair appointment. We got all spruced up faster than I thought, so I figured I had time to run the sweeper quick before we went. I have run the sweeper a million times in front of her and she had never seemed to care. Today, she said "Mama, I help!" and disappeared into the playroom. The next thing I know, here she comes with her little sweeper. She followed me around the entire first floor with her sweeper. Everything I did, she did the exact same thing. It was hilarious! She was just having the best time! Let's hope her enthusiasm for cleaning lasts into the teen years. 

Photo of the day is her and her little Dirt Devil...

 

Habemus Papam - 72/365

Today was a typical day....grocery store, household chores...etc. Jim was at work all day and Reagan headed down to Great Grandma Downard's for a visit with Nana. 

While we were doing all that, we were riveted to the television watching the Papal Conclave from the Vatican City. It was really exciting to see history happen right in front of us. Around 2:00pm white smoke began flowing from the Sistine Chapel, signifying that a pope has been chosen. It was so inspiring to see the thousands of people packed into the square just to get a glimpse of the new pope.

 Saint Peter's Square seems like such an amazing place. It is a place we have never been, but hope to go someday.  My Aunt Pam has been there and says it's wonderful. 

 Jim really loves history and has been glued to the ecumenical channel the last couple days. In fact, he's watching a replay as I type this. ;)  We watched Pope Benedict the 16th get chosen together in 2005, never thinking this would all happen again so soon. 

 The new pope is the first pope from Latin America. His name is Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he's is 76-years-old and from Argentina. He has taken the name Pope Francis and is the 266th pope.
 The photo of the day is a very special cross JoAnn bought for Reagan before she was even born. Reagan has corner shelves, just as you walk into her room, and its stands in the corner on the middle shelf. We look at it often and decided it would be wonderful as today's photo of the day.

 

Beautiful Butterflies - 71/365

Nana, Reagan and I hit the Niles area today. 

We headed over to the Eastwood Mall to check out the new Spring line at Gymboree. I love the Eastwood Gymbo much better than Southern Park. They get way more styles and way more sizes. It's always exciting to see the new Spring clothes! 

We had lunch at the new Firebirds in the mall. Delicious food and fabulous decor! We really liked it. One interesting thing from lunch.... our waitress said that she GREW UP in Boardman, and before she got a job at Firebirds she had NEVER been to the Eastwood Mall!!?? How on earth can you be a Youngstown native and never go to the Eastwood Mall!? Granted, it's kind of creepy sometimes, but STILL! Anyway, just a little fun fact that's worth remembering...LOL!

 The mall has a little butterfly exhibit going on until Sunday. They put up a mesh tent in the center of the mall near the aquarium. It's free, but you have to get "tickets" at Captain McFinn's store. They ask that you kindly make a donation for Charge Syndrome research. We were really happy to do that in honor of Bridget! (xoxo) 

 It was a really cute set up. They had live plants, a fountain and some benches to sit down on. When you went in the tent there was a little dish you dip your finger in, then the butterflies would sit on your finger to "lick" it off. It was so fun! Reagan really loved it and by the time we were leaving she was literally kissing the butterflies! 

 Reagan and her butterfly friend is the photo of the day....

Damn Robins - 70/365

The gorgeous weather began to fade away today. It was a bit more chilly and the rain started up in the afternoon. 

Reagan, Brinkley and I, did manage to make it out for a quick walk this morning before the rain came. By the time Jim got home from work, it was an off and on downpour. I was cleaning up after our dinner, staring out the window at the ugly, gray sky when I noticed two Robins sitting in the dogwood tree. Those little red breasted friends were just the reminder I needed that Spring is truly on the way! They were the first I've seen this year and it was so exciting! I of course, grabbed my camera and tried to slyly slide out the door. Of course that didn't work, so I ended up wandering around in the sprinkling rain with my camera. I tried to catch them on the roof or wherever they landed as I moved around the yard. It got dark rather quick, and I never did catch them for my photo of the day. Oh well! 

 Instead, the photo of the day is my new flooring, baseboard, and backdrop I picked up today for taking photos. I love the look of the wood floor I see around the internet, so I ended up finding some "remnant" flooring at Lowes. I was pretty excited! My little bunny model is on loan from Sharon. We were using him for Parker's pictures which we are going to continue tomorrow.

So again, no Robins...just a bunny and my new floor as the photo of the day! :)

 

Paid Admission! - 69/365

What an absolutely GORGEOUS day! 

I think Spring fever has officially hit! I know I'm ready! 

We decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather with a trip to the Cleveland Zoo! 

 We got to the zoo and hit the ticket booth. Reagan is a bit over two, and most places and/or events we have taken her that require admission, she has been free. Today was a big milestone for her, the Cleveland Zoo requires admission for anyone 2 and over! She is finally old enough to need her own ticket! She's a "junior"! Our little baby is all grown up! LOL! 

All Reagan talked about on the way up was seeing the Giraffe, so we hit them up first. She was just in awe and luckily they were quite active for her. We got to see pretty much all the animals, which was nice.

Reagan's question of the day was "What that (insert animal name) doin?" She said it for EVERY animal we encountered...LOL! Sometimes she would even answer her own question by saying, "That (insert animal name) is 'sweepin'" or "That (insert animal name) eatin." The funniest thing was when we went to the elephants and she said, "Elephant need baff (bath)." She truly had a ball! 

After seeing all of the main zoo, we headed over to the rainforest to have lunch, then took a spin through the rainforest itself. We had a super fun, family fun day! 

It's so fun to see how Reagan changes visit to visit. I remember one of our first outings, just the three of us, was to the Cleveland Zoo. I think she was only four months old or so. To imagine her being a "lump", to now practically running through the zoo, is amazing! We just love her! 

The photo of the day is Reagan and her first PAID TICKET! 

Easter Bunny Lane - 68/365

It was a beautiful day today! The sun was out and it was warm for Ohio in early March. 

We started the day by hitting the Mill Creek three mile trail. It was a full house! It seemed everyone was ready to be out and about. We came home, then Jim took Reagan back out to the playground and to the store, while I got ready to take some pictures of Parker for Easter. We finished that up, had dinner, and headed out to Easter Bunny Lane at Kraynak's. It's always fun to see and Reagan absolutely loves it. We must admit that last years was better. This year, the first room had all these monster type creatures playing on a playground. Weird! Then, it went on to a birthday party for Clifford, a Hello Kitty bedroom and Miss Piggy display! My favorites were the ducks, umbrella and rain. It was so adorable!

There was also a farm themed one, which was adorable. We would have loved to have some of those props for Reagan's second birthday party. We think it was one of her favorites. She seemed to stop there longer than the other ones. She loves anything farm related. 

We had a good time and went through twice. We stopped to see the Easter Bunny after the first trip through. She did fine, sat right on his lap and smiled on cue...LOL! He wasn't very interactive though, he might as well have been a statue. He did give her a pack of Smarties, which she loved! The photo of the day is Reagan at Easter Bunny Lane.... 

 

Corona-Rita - 67/365

Tonight, was a really fun night, we got to go out to dinner with our good friends and neighbors, Ron and Rachel. Even though they live across the street, we haven't seen them in awhile. We decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Los Gallos. The grandmas and grandpas were nice enough to keep Reagan and Parker so we could really spend some time catching up. We had such a fun time talking and sharing stories, especially toddler stories...LOL!

If you go to a Mexican restaurant, you know there will be drinks to be had. Rachel couldn't enjoy any beverages, being pregnant, so she offered to be our "DD"...LOL!  I, of course, had to get a margarita. It was just a classic, on the rocks, but delicious! Jim and Ron, chose to get something called the Corona-rita. It's a margarita with a full Corona tipped upside down in the margarita. Something with science, makes it so the Corona will only go down as you drink your margarita. It was pretty cool, and I was pretty mad I didn't get one...LOL! They really enjoyed their beverages. 

It was a really fun night and we really had a nice time catching up! 

 Ron and Rachel, we need to do it more often! Porch parties are right around the bend...LOL! 

The photo of the day is Jim and Ron's, Corona-ritas....