The spring has been quite filled with fun lately. Ben and I had a great time at the Cibolo Nature Center's Family Fair; Papa Bobby and Nathan took Ben to the drag races; we participated in our third Race for the Cure; we helped cousin Brandon celebrate his sixth birthday, complete with putt-putt golf; and we rock-a-billied all night at the Cibolo Nature Center's first concert of the season.

As for Shutter-Happy, I performed the feat of photographing an average of one session per day for two weeks straight (live bunnies sessions just in time for Easter). It was an extremely hectic and exhausting couple of weeks, but such a wonderful treat for the families, for myself, and for Ben (we let him keep one of the bunnies). Jenny and I then participated in the Boerne Business Expo in the middle of the chaos, getting to meet more of the town and getting to show off my work. It seemed to be quite a succes, with plenty of people stopping by to admire all the portraits and merchandise I had printed for the event. I also recently attended a children and family photography conference in Austin and got some new and exciting ideas for themed children's portraits. And I was just recognized as the Hill Country Women in Business' 2005 Woman of the Year!

Our big trip was out to the Davis Mountains. Nathan's parents, my parents, Jenny, and Nathan, Ben, and I all made the seven-hour trip up to the cabin for a wonderful Easter holiday. Complete with three egg hunts, cascarones fights, plenty of wonderful meals, and a handful of much-needed naps, we had a terrific time being away from it all.

Just a few things we want to remember and share about Ben:

*He says "sunscream" instead of sunscreen (maybe because he used to scream when we put it on), he calls a hamburger a "hangaburger", and he still talks about visiting Uncle Myk in "Chicado" instead of Chicago

*One of our favorite reasoning stories: Ben wanted goldfish crackers for snack. He offered them to me, in which I replied, "No thank you. I don't like crackers." That was good enough for him and he proceeded to gobble them all up himself. At dinner he asked Daddy if he liked goldfish crackers. Daddy said, "Yes." So Ben states, "Daddy likes goldfish crackers, Ben likes goldfish crackers, and Mommy says 'No thank you.'" We thought it was pretty cute!

*He regularly belts out songs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain, The Farmer in the Dell, Sing Hosanna, Old MacDonald, I've Been Workin' on the Railroad, John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, If You're Happy and You Know it, On Top of Spaghetti, ABC's, and any old song he makes up at the moment

*He has found that Mommy and Daddy have other names- he sometimes calls Nathan "Nafan", but I am always "Mommy"

*When putting on a new shirt, cap, or shoes, he now likes to state that he likes it "and Grandmom's gonna love it!"

*When asked what kind of sandwich he wants for lunch, he states "Triangles!" The shape in which the sandwich into is more important that what is between the two slices of bread

*None of his toys or stuffed animals have been named, but he declares his stick horse's name is "Ready"

*When asked his favorite places, he stated "Boerne, Grandmom's house, Costco, Home Depot, church." Go figure!

*Another favorite story happened after a playdate with Morgan and Madison, when we got settled after picking up Burger King on the way home for lunch. He was excited that his nuggets were in the shape of crowns. I told them they were for King Ben which he thought was funny. We then talked about Morgan being the queen. And maybe Madison was the princess! We laughed; the conversation faded. He then yells out "And Paula's the cowboy!"