Happy Easter!

I hope that you all had a lovely Easter! Our greatest blessing is that the tomb was empty...thank you God for Jesus!

We enjoyed the early 8:30 Easter church service this morning in Fred, and then relaxed for a bit at home (well...I did, while Chris did an hour-long run!). Then, we drove out into the country to The Preserve, for our elephant experience! It was such a fun few hours, I'm so glad we did it! There were about 30 people there with us. There were five female Asian elephants -- Tai, Dixie, Rosie, Kitty, and Becky. There were about 7 handlers, and the main woman taught us a lot about elephants in general and especially the Asian elephant. There are much fewer Asian elephants in the world than African elephants...the Asian version has much, much smaller ears, and one additional toe on each foot. They are covered in wiry hair that helps moderate their temperature.

First, they had Becky do a few tricks and then lay down on her side. Then we each got to take a turn scrubbing her with Mr. Bubble -- their skin didn't feel at all like I expected! It was also fun to play with her big ear! We were then taught about how they take care of their feet, and we were able to grind on the toes a bit if we wanted. It was interesting, they basically walk on their toes, and their heel portion is very tall and cushioned. Afterwards, we went to the main area and some of the elephants did some tricks for us, which was fun. They gathered up all 5 of them for photo ops, and then they all came under the tents to enjoy their treats -- carrots, bananas, and a full watermelon! It was fun to see how they ate it all! The carrots and bananas were eaten whole, and they did the watermelons two different ways -- a few of then stomped on it with their foot to break it, and then ate it in pieces. The rest of them scooped it up and crushed it in their trunks, and then proceeded to eat the chunks.

They seemed to have such sweet, relaxed souls...and they are so smart and well trained. Amazing creatures!!!! It was a sweet way to spend part of our Easter today.

Afterwards, we stopped for some frozen yogurt...relaxed at the house...and I made a delicious dinner of beef strogranoff and roasted asparagus. Mmmmm!

Going back...our Saturday in Fred was quite enjoyable too! A bike ride and run for Chris; a nice long walk for me and Poppy; met our friends at Becker for wine and great conversation; went to the first anniversary celebration of Hye Cider, our favorite quirky place - had a crawfish boil and a live rock band that was so fun!

Going back more...we had Good Friday off work!! So we came down to Fred Thursday evening. Our Friday was filled with good stuff like wine and walking Main St. and etc etc.

And now...Chris and I are on VACATION!!!!!!! So very needed for both of us. We are very excited to have a stay-cation here in Fred, and spend the week doing whatever we desire. It was very nice to not have to drive back to Abilene this evening...and I am looking so forward to the rest of our week here.

Hope you all have a lovely week ahead!!