- Darr Family Blog - https://darr.org -

Finally Starting to Dry Out…and a few family fun days

Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty fun. Paul had Monday off (since it was Memorial Day), so we headed to the zoo. It was surprisingly not crowded. The weather also cooperated with us (it didn’t start raining until we were heading to the car), so it was a fun trip. We then went to eat at Bobby J’s (one of our favorite hamburger places) before heading home to relax. The middle of the week was normal as usual and then Friday we went to Paul’s annual work family lunch. They had really good food, fun things to do (there was a dunk tank, some games, face painting, etc.), and we had a great time. After we left there, we decided to hit up the zoo again (the major benefit of having passes). We got there right before closing and it was awesome! It was practically deserted, so it was quiet and peaceful. We then grabbed a bite to eat on the way home. Yesterday we went and cleaned up our park (as part of the monthly clean-up that we try to do), ran to the store to get a few things, and then headed home so that Paul could have some much needed time to devote to homework. After dinner we went out for a special treat and got some frozen yogurt (Joseph says that Orange Leaf is his favorite restaurant). 🙂

The Weekly Weather: As the title of this post alludes to, we are finally starting to dry out. Texas has received an insane amount of rain this spring. A week ago, there were flash floods, tornado warnings, the works…luckily in our part of town, with the exception of torrential rain fall (and crazy thunder and lightning), we stayed pretty high and dry, considering. This past week has been quite a bit better. A few rainstorms have come through, but nothing like what we were getting. I even took Joseph to the park a few times!

What Paul’s Been Up To: We finally got word that he will be starting his new job…sort of. He will still be in the library until they can essentially figure out how to get someone to replace him, but starting tomorrow he will be getting the amount of money that he is supposed to get with the new job (and start the timetable ticking for the year-mark where he will get another raise). Once they have someone in to replace him in the library, he’ll move over to the IT department.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: My recital is this coming Saturday, so I have been getting my students ready for it. I have also been working hard to get my visiting teaching numbers collected since tomorrow starts a new month. This year is just flying by!

What Joseph’s Been Up To: His imaginative play is getting quite involved. There was one day that I was on the elliptical, and he ran into the room with his pool noodle. An intense sword fight with an invisible foe ensued, followed by him running triumphantly out of the room. Not a sound was uttered during the entire experience. I can only guess that he saved me from a horde of invisible ninjas or something…

This Week in Pictures:

IMG_20150525_125625 [1]
On the bronze elephant.
IMG_20150525_125648 [2]
Momma decided to hop on…I love his face in the picture!
IMG_20150525_125652 [3]
I sure do love being his momma!
IMG_20150528_083551951 [4]
Hanging out with his best buddy…of the plush variety, of course. There are days when these two are inseparable.
IMG_20150528_132729425 [5]
He wanted to try one my dark chocolate Hershey’s kisses. I didn’t think he’d like it (since dark chocolate has a slight bitter taste to it), but I was wrong! He actually asked for another one after he finished the first one.
IMG_20150528_145702403 [6]
We have so many blackberries on our bushes!
IMG_20150528_145708845 [7]
They are finally starting to darken…we have to watch the ants, though…they will ruthlessly attack them as they start to ripen.
IMG_20150529_120625 [8]
Family “selfie” while waiting in line for food at Paul’s work party. People thought that Paul and Joseph’s matching shirts were awesome.
IMG_20150529_124747 [9]
Getting his face painted. I was surprised that he held still for it (it helps that he chose something small that was completed quickly).
IMG_20150529_125109 [10]
He loved his turtle!
IMG_20150529_171626 [11]
Hanging out in front of the Nile crocodile…this captures his personality so well, I think.
IMG_20150529_171631 [12]
There’s a good smile for the camera…we get them, on occasion.
IMG_20150529_170914772 [13]
My sweet and handsome men…
IMG_20150529_164937961 [14]
Feeding the lorikeets.
IMG_20150529_164956618 [15]
This was the first time Joseph was brave enough to hold the cup of nectar.
IMG_20150530_193531338 [16]
He fashioned his own light sabers out of portions of a pool noodle and cylindrical wood blocks. He and Paul had quite a few “battles” yesterday.