Guess who's flying in!

The Tooth Fairy!

How cute is that? It was super simple here.  As usual, the hardest part was getting my model to cooperate...

Remember how HUGE that "hole" felt and how you just could NOT stop running your tongue over it?  I was at school when she finally plucked up the courage to pull it.  Loverboy said she looked it and said, "It's so tiny."

And it is.

Now we wait to see what the Tooth Fairy brings. 

More from the "photo shoot"

She never wears bows, and certainly not to bed, but insisted on one in some of the pictures.

"Bunny Bear" is her perennial favorite bedfellow.  I think it was her first gift from her Molly--at about 8 weeks gestation!  The gifts haven't slowed any--a new haul was brought in today.

She's always been a cute sleeper.

Not bad for a Monday

We're "attacking the TAKS" in the social studies department.

Here we are in a more threatening pose.  If it weren't for the students, this would be a great place to work.  I exaggerate...it's not just the students that suck the life out of you.  28 days and counting until summer.  The last summer before Little Miss goes to school.  I guess really last summer was the last one for a long time that won't involve back to school shopping.  Sniffle, sniffle, sob.

I'm not sure what Loverboy did today beyond getting a haircut, but it didn't involve cooking dinner.  Turns out, that was a good thing.

This tiny restaurant sprang up in field a couple of weeks ago.  Another opportunity to be seized before it disappears.  I hope this one makes it, though.  Serious yum. 

Excellent cheeseburger experience.  I broke with my pack and ordered the sweet potato fries--good choice.  Perfect meld of slight sweet with salt and grease, just crisp enough, but tender and potato-y.  The burger gets high marks.  The patty was thick, good quality/flavor, cooked through but not dry.  Liberal application of mayo.  Leaf lettuce in bite size chuncks, two nice slices of tomato, several rings of zingy white onion, plentiful dill pickles slices.  The buns were standard restaurant supply, but toasted, and it held up for the life of the burger.  Prices were good for the quality ($4.39 cheeseburger, $1.39 fries/$1.99 sweet potato fries, $1.39 fountain drinks).  Not much ambiance--three plastic booths and counter seating along three sides fill the interior a little to closely.  But I like the mom and pop scene, complete with a very entertaining 4-year-old Abby in residence.  And the bathroom was exceptionally clean. 

All the Nockinbirds agree that we'll be back.

The Nockinbirds go to Dinosaur Valley State Park

LOOK OUT!!!

I can't believe we have so remiss as to have not brought Little Miss to Dinosaur Valley until now.  I haven't been here in at least twenty years, and I must say I was a little disappointed by the fencing in of the giant reptiles.  And there's a gift shop now...not an exceptionally good one,  but none the less.  Loverboy, Molly and Papa had planned this outing for a couple of Sundays ago, but weather and illness put the kibosh on it.  We couldn't have picked a more perfect day, though the hamburger buns purchased for the original trip/cookout had to be replaced.

We started out with a educational track.

But then the playground called.  And called, and called...

As with any al fresco adventure with my family, we brought everything short of the recliners and big screen television (only a matter of time).  Loverboy grilled burgers and sausage, chips and dips were plentiful, cookies of all varieties. 

We didn't actually need or use the butter, but I think Molly felt prepared for all emergencies with it there.

We even talked Uncle Bubba into joining us.  So you know we had a good time!  I brought the ChatPack cards, so some highly entertaining conversation, and hysterical laughing, took place.  Love those.

Molly found a walking stick she "needed" at the gift shop.  I think she's had cane envy since Papa's knee replacement. 

After lunch, there was napping...

and shenanigans...

The people watching was frankly excellent.  The best were some late-comers to the site next to ours.  They had a lot of trouble getting their charcoal grill to fire up, which may have been a good thing.

Note the bag of charcoal sitting on top of the grill.

The Paluxy was running too high for the dinosaur tracks to be visible, but the river was there and had to be waded.

Everything is so green (even Uncle Bubba) from this wet spring,  and the wildflowers were gorgeous.  But on to the river!

A little chilly at the start.

Next time we'll just bring swimsuits...you knew it was just a matter of time...

This soaking came as no surprise, Loverboy and I had both grabbed a change of clothes for her before we left.  We know our girl!

None of us, not even Papa!, were in a hurry to leave.  The mark of a successful outing, indeed.  But Uncle Bubba had to get home to bring in the goats and llamas, and the promise of a Dairy Queen detour for dipped cones made packing up a little easier.  This was truly my kind of a day in nature--family, friends, food, dinosaurs.

The Nockinbirds go to the NICU Reunion

It was NICU reunion day.  A Hawaiian theme this year.  You know, I've never recognized any of the nursing staff, and only once saw another family I remembered.  But Little Miss likes to go back to were she was "borned," and I like to see all the other healthy, successful NICU graduates.  It certainly reminds me how blessed we were and continue to be.  It also makes me grateful that I have never had need of a triplet stroller--there were several of them there.  I really think Little Miss's motivation is for the games and prizes.

She would not take off her sunglasses, and they seemed to fit the theme anyway. 

Face painting, tattoos, bowling, duck bobbers, hand prints, bean bag toss, coloring pages, juice boxes and bbq potato chips, a creepy clown with puppets that made equally creepy sqeaking sounds, and not having triplets (though I'm sure they're a blessing, blah, blah, blah)--a good time by any standard.

And balloons.  The most important part.

All the times I or others that loved (love) that little-bitty girl walked through those doors...I always hated going out of them and having to leave her there.

But we were excited to leave today because we were continuing BurgerPalooza 2010.  A little project we started over Spring Break to find the best cheeseburger in north central Texas--or wherever we get to.  Today we went with a chain--Fuddrucker's.

Good marks for meat quality, good meat to bun ratio, excellent bread quality (although the buns didn't hold up well to condiments).  We also liked that the condiments and toppings are totally up to the burger-eater.

Leaf OR shredded lettuce (or none for me).  Purple onion rings(yes), or chopped white.  Jalapenos (no), salsa (no, really?) and pico (on a burger?).  Pickles--hamburger sliced dills (whatelse?  LOTS of them!)  Thick sliced tomatoes (not today).  Pumpers of ketchup, jalapeno ketchup, bbq sauce, mayo, mustard. Hot cheese and hot jalapeno cheese dispensers.  I like to go cheap and get a plain hamburger, then add the cheese sauce.  No wonder the buns don't hold out well.  I was going to take a picture of the "salad" bar choosings, but kept getting the google-eye from employees when I was photo-shooting my plain burger.  I wonder how much longer I can do this sort of thing without Little Miss hiding under the table from embarassment.  We'll see.

Little Miss Arcade Junkie bawled out her "fahder" for not bringing her wallet, which she had expressly told him to do, since it had her two dollars in it for her games.  Luckily, Loverboy had some $1s and the dark cloud of a day without video games passed.

I have never laughed so hard at a person playing a video game as I did at Little Miss's wild ride playing Fast and Furious.  The streets (and sidewalks, and walls, and tree, and buildings, and pixelated people) of San Francisco will never be the same.  Pedal to the floor and get out of her way!  Much like her Molly.

I guess catching your candy with a crane makes it sweeter?