The Smooth Operator at the Crawfish Boil

Once again, our great friends Maxine and Luis hosted an outstanding 11th Annual Crawfish Boil in their beautiful backyard.  (note: Maxine and Luis are two of the bests hosts you will EVER meet). Amazing food,  live music, great company. What more is there?  They also host an annual pig roast every fall. 

Our great friend, Kevin, rocks the guitar


Simms met a cutie pie, Ella, daughter of our friends Katheryn and Cory.  He quickly charmed her with his knowlege of botany. She was clearly impressed... 



"Ok, I've ran out interesting plant facts.  Pat-a-Cake?"



Just moments after this shot, Simms planted a little kiss on Ella's chubby little cheeks.
What a Smooth Operator..... 

 cute overload

Soon after this "first date" Simms had to crawl back over to Grandma Barbara for comfort and safety.
It's hard being a ladies man...



Happy Birthday to the Granddads!

Last month (April 15th), Upa celebrated his birthday. Roscoe did a great job of helping him blow out all the candles.



Nora made a delicious pound cake topped with fresh berries. Delicious!



Earlier this month (May), Barry celebrated his birthday. Chris, Michelle, Mia and Mariane all came down from Cleveland to visit.  Here's Mariane about to blow out Barry's birthday candles....

Barbara made Barry's favorite dessert: Stawberry Cake with Whipped Topping
(It's one of my favorites, too.)

 

Simms and Mia do an inventory of all the great toys at Grandma Barbara's house.



Native Wildlife

Here's the latest wildlife sighting in our front yard:  an Easter Cotton Tail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) that we've  named, "Baxter."  We often spot those long ears and fluffy tail in our front yard, nibbling on grass, hiding in bushes.



We also found this bunny in our backyard on Easter day.  (He is not of the Sylvilagus floridanus  species; but belongs to the Super cuteness variety.)

Happy Mother's Day to all the Wonderful Moms!

I had the BEST  first mother's day. To start,  Greg and a super smiley Simms brought me coffee in bed and suprised me with three beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers, sweet gifts and a delicious breakfast that Greg prepared  (grilled sausage and asparagus, poached eggs, biscuits and homemade hollandaise sauce. yum!) 

Doesn't seem like it could get much better than that, but to make the day even more special, Nina, Jerel, Roscoe, Barry, Barbara, Nora and Upa all came over for lunch that everyone pitched in to prepare. After lunch, the granddads napped while the rest of us watched the boys splash around in Roscoe's kiddie pool on Nina and Jerel's porch next door.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Little Naturalists = (Like Father, Like Son)

This weekend, Greg caught a green anole (Anolis carolinensis) to show to his zoology class.  Roscoe was very interested...

Meanwhile, Simms was in the front yard getting ready for some birdwatching...

Binoculars? Check.

Bird Identification Book? Check.

"Birding for Children," by Art Minton - Great book!
(Art is a good friend of the Powell family, used to live across the street from them.)