Hello, Spring!

After a seemingly endless winter with several April snows, it seems that spring has FINALLY arrived.  After such a long wait, we have been taking advantage of as much outdoor time as we can.

We've been playing at parks and playgrounds and having outside playdates with friends and neighbors.

Briggs has been working on riding his bike.  He does pretty well with pedaling and braking.  Next step?  Steering.  And watching where he's going.  He's often too busy watching his feet pedal and brake to worry about where his bike is headed.

Adelie's new favorite outdoor activity is riding her scooter.  She's gotten really fast and really good.

The other day we were walking past our neighbor's house with a beautiful tree in bloom.  Staley said, "I would like to sketch that tree."  So she got out her art kit and did.  She's also been practicing her baseball skills as she's preparing to play "coach pitch" ball this summer.

We've enjoyed starting back up with our family walks in the evenings after dinner.  It's also been nice to reconnect with neighbors that we haven't seen regularly since we've all been spending so much time inside.

We joined the Eureka Sportsman's Club in the past few weeks.  This gives us access to the club grounds and little lake for fishing, camping, swimming, shooting, and boating.  We took advantage of fishing and boating this week-end.

Staley was very determined to learn how to row.  As is evident from Adelie in the background, she seemed quite determined to fall out of the boat.  Surprisingly, she didn't.

We are all so happy spring is finally here!

After being cooped up all winter long, we're all a little stir crazy.  Or just plain crazy.  Hopefully spring will help remedy that...at least a little bit.

Good-Bye, April!

The past few weeks have kicked off a month-long parade of special end-of-the-year activities to add to our already busy schedule.  Couple that with finding the time to enjoy the spring weather that has finally decided to show up, and this next month promises to be busy and full and fun in an "I-can't-wait-for-this-to-be-over" kind of way.

Adelie performed in her pre-school program.  She knew all her songs and all the motions and performed her little heart out.  According to her end-of-the-show introduction, Adelie plans to be a ballet dancer when she grows up.

Adelie enjoyed performing with her friends from preschool.  The farm theme was evident in the songs and finger plays and decorations and even the after-show cookies.

Adelie also enjoyed showing off her classroom to her brother and sister...and posing with some of her pre-school friends.

We celebrated April birthdays with Zach's family.

Adelie enjoyed her pre-school fieldtrip to the Bloomington Children's Museum.

There are always so many fun areas, but the climber and the window painting are always favorites for Adelie.  Adelie's artwork, of course, featured her signature mermaid.

Adelie got to explore the museum with her friends and have a special learning time as well.  Her class learned about farms and got to plant grass seed and shake whipping cream into butter...and then eat it.  She had a great time!

The whole family experienced the over-stimulation of the PTO carnival at Staley's school.  Face painting, bouncy houses, balloon animals, carnival games, a book walk,and a magic show were lots of fun for the kids.  Long lines, close quarters, too many people, and tired, over-stimulated kiddos were not as much fun for this Mama.

I took the girls to see a musical production of "The Addams Family" put on by the high school and college age group from Staley's acting class.

We all enjoyed it.  Adelie had a few moments of tears when she thought that one of the characters was going to be poisoned, but we got through that and the rest of the show was fun for us to see.  Although it was labeled "family friendly", I was glad that some of the references and themes of the show went over my girls' heads.

Luckily this little guy doesn't have any end of the year activities to add to the mix.  He's just happy to go along for the ride.

As I look at the May calendar for the next few weeks, I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed with all that we have to do.  However, I also know that these next few weeks of busy-ness signal the end of the school year and the beginning of summer break...and for that, I am thankful!

Not a Vegetarian

The other day we were driving past a field of cows.  Staley said, "I love cows.  They're delicious!"

She hates veggies.  Her go-to adjective for cows is delicious.  I don't think being a vegetarian is in the cards for this one.

Birthday Surprise

This past Wednesday was Zach's birthday.  His 40th birthday.  When we discussed birthday plans and ruled out what wasn't feasible with our schedule, life, and budget, he decided that he'd like a week-end in Chicago with a show and a White Sox game.  It's not often that you can ask someone what they want and then surprise them with it, but that's just what I was able to do.

Without Zach's knowledge, I was able to arrange childcare (thanks, grandparents!), pack bags, secure tickets, and book a hotel.  Under the pretense of a "day date" on Saturday afternoon, Zach's parents took the kids and Zach and I headed out.  Once in the car, I informed him that instead of lunch in Bloomington, we'd actually be dining out in Chicago.  Score!

We stayed at a great new hotel in downtown Chicago.  The hotel itself was lots of fun with cool amenities and a modern feel.  The highlight was butler robots that would deliver things to your room.  Although we didn't have a lot of needs in our one night stay, we decided that we would at least take advantage of our complimentary bottles of water so as to experience a visit from Leo.

It's the little things in life that make it fun!

Although our lunch date had to be postponed until dinner, it was totally worth it to enjoy a fabulous dinner at a nice restaurant.  We returned to one of Zach's favorite restaurants from a previous Chicago trip.  He was a little worried that it might not live up to his memory of our first meal there.  Luckily, he was wrong and it was once again A-MAZ-ING.  The food and drinks were wonderful, but it was all the better that we could just leisurely enjoy sitting, eating, and visiting without time constraints and no one to worry about but ourselves.

I'm sure my kids would have thought this looked disgusting and complained about it while refusing to eat it...which is why we savor these meals all the more.

We followed up dinner with a walk around downtown Chicago, followed by a show by one of Zach's favorite bands.  Although the headlining band we wanted to see didn't even take the stage until 10:30 (WHAT?!  Don't these people know that we have a bedtime?), we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

We felt like wild and crazy kids, leaving a concert venue after midnight.

Luckily we were able to sleep in on Sunday morning before heading out for the White Sox game.  I had one more surprise up my sleeve as my brothers, their wives, and my dad all met us for tailgating and the game.  (It did take a little trickery to get Zach to park in the specific parking lot where we were supposed to meet everyone without explaining exactly why.)

The gang's all here!!

The food was great, the beers were cold, and the weather was beautiful.  What more could you ask for?  (If you said a White Sox win, well, that might have been lacking a bit.)

At the end of the week-end, Zach said he wasn't sure whether to feel loved and appreciated or worried by how easily I was able to deceive him.  I hope he goes with loved and appreciated!!

Happy 40th birthday!!

Progress?

There are very few meals that are placed on the table in front of my children that are not met with some sort of criticism.  We have talked repeatedly about how it is rude and could hurt someone's feelings to make negative comments about a meal that someone has worked hard to prepare.  The other night we were sitting down to dinner at the table.  I looked over to see Adelie pinching her nose with her fingers.  I gave her an "I-don't-want-to-hear-about-it" look across the dinner table.  Sweetly, with her nose still pinched, Adelie said, "Mommy, this meal looks delicious...but it smells disgusting." 

Sadly, I'd call that progress.

They Say...

Briggs has a fun imagination.  He often titles his play activities as if they were books or movies.  For example, instead of saying that he wants to play in the sandbox, he'll say, "Let's play 'Sandbox Digger Time.'"  Yesterday he was running around on the playground saying, "I'm playing 'Robbers on the Loose.'"  And this morning, instead of asking me to play train table with him, he said, "Do you want to play 'Thomas Saves the Trains?'" 

I like to play "Boy, Do I Love This Boy!!"

This morning as we enjoyed walking to school in the spring weather, I mentioned that it was going to get cold again tomorrow.  Adelie said, "I just want to crush winter's head."  And although I agree with the sentiment behind the words, I mentioned that maybe she could come up with a better, less violent metaphor.  But at this point, I do kind of want to crush winter's head.

Last evening, we decided to do some random acts of kindness as a family.  The girls decided to draw pictures and then they taped some of their candy to the pictures.  Then we walked around Eureka College campus handing out their candy pictures along with gift cards to Uncle Bob's and Subway.  The kids really enjoyed it.  As we finished handing out the last of our goodies, Adelie said, "I'd like to do a random act of kindness to myself.  Can I have a piece of candy now?"

I love her kind heart...even when it's directed at herself.

Staley still loves her short haircut, but has talked about getting a different style for second grade.  Yesterday she said, "Maybe for my second grade haircut, I could still keep it above my ears, but then let it be longer in the back."  I said that maybe we could look at pictures of some different options before she made a decision.
#thatsamullet
#hardpass

I love this girl.  I love that she has a mind of her own.  I love her willingness to be different.  I love her bravery when it comes to hair and fashion.  And I love the fact that she is now open enough to let me offer a few other options.

Spring Break

Although it still doesn't look or feel like spring (more April snow?!), last week was Spring Break for the girls.  Since we didn't have plans to head somewhere warm, we decided that the next best thing would be to enjoy the ongoing cold someplace other than home.  Indianapolis was our destination of choice.  Uma and Papa joined us for our cold weather get-away.

We arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday, ate lunch, checked into our hotel, and then headed to the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  We were able to take advantage of their first Thursday of the month deal with $5 admission from 4-8.  We crammed as much as we could into those 4 hours.

They had a large outdoor sports exhibit with tons of interactive sports activities to try, but Staley was the only one interested in taking advantage of that.  She played some basketball, but the other two kids either weren't interested or weren't tall enough for any of the other outdoor sports activities, so we didn't spend much time out there.  I paid an extra $2/person so we could enjoy this exhibit.  #badchoice

All three kids enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit.  Briggs didn't even freak out when a pretend storm rolled in.  #progress

Briggs enjoyed playing in the water and sand area, riding this little horse, and playing in the mirror maze.  But his very favorite area was the train area.  #shocker

The girls liked exploring the museum and playing with all the interactive exhibits.  There were many exhibits that interested them, but they both declared the chocolate slide as a favorite.  

After a late dinner at Steak and Shake, a good night's sleep, and a less-than-impressive breakfast buffet at our hotel, we headed to the Indianapolis zoo the next day.  The weather warmed up a bit for our zoo day with temperatures in the 40's and no rain.  #heatwave

The dolphin show was a highlight for everyone.  After the show, Staley decided that when she grows up, she would like to be a dolphin trainer.  However, she is going to design a mermaid costume that she can wear while she swims with the dolphins so she can combine dolphin training and acting.  #bigaspirations

Happy family waiting to watch the dolphin show.

The zoo had a large ocean exhibit with lots of aquatic animals.  The kids all enjoyed watching the fish, sharks, eels, seahorses, penguins, and dolphins.  There was even a shark petting tank.  Although everyone tried, the sharks weren't necessarily excited about coming close enough to be touched.  Staley really wanted to say she touched a shark, but kept hesitating or pulling her hand away at the last minute when she had a chance. After trying and trying and trying, Staley FINALLY touched a shark.  I practically threw her into the pool to get it done, but my persistent little gal wasn't going to let it go until she could say she touched one.  #shedid

Of course, a carousel ride is a must for the girls whenever they get a chance.  They rode the carousel at the Children's Museum and again at the zoo.  Briggs passed both times.  

However, Briggs was super excited about riding the zoo train.  There may have been a few tears when the ride was over.

There was lots of fun to be had at the zoo.  Running like a cheetah was just one part of that.  Briggs declared the elephants his favorite.  Papa always likes the big cats, like the lions and tigers.  And we all were entertained by the orangutans.  It was a great little zoo.

 After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon swim before getting ready for dinner.

My two little fish couldn't get enough of the water.

My not-so-fishy son preferred to play on the pool deck.  Putting his feet in was as close to swimming as he got.

Our dinner restaurant was a pizza place that had a model train with two flat cars that rode around the restaurant and delivered drinks to your table.  So much excitement!!  We all drank and drank so that we could have refills delivered.  The food was good, but watching Briggs's face light up each and every time the train came by was the true highlight of the dinner.

All three exhausted kids slept great and woke up rested for our last fun day in Indianapolis.  There were several other outdoor activities that I had hoped to do, but the weather just didn't cooperate as it was cold and snowy on our last day.  Instead we headed for the Indiana State Museum.  I was a little worried that there wouldn't be enough to keep the kids interested, but I was wrong.  They loved it!!  There were plenty of great, interactive exhibits to fill our morning.

The ice age exhibit with a big hit.  The kids enjoyed seeing the life-size dioramas of various animals, as well as the skeletons of giant ice age creatures.  They also enjoyed running through the ice cave.  

I even learned about the similarities and differences between mastodons and wooly mammoths.  #bothbiganddead

The kids found plenty to explore in each of the exhibits.  They enjoyed making an earthquake, imitating and recording different animal sounds, looking at clothes/toys/cars from the past, chopping and sawing wood, and watching pinewood derby cars race.  The poison exhibit about different poisonous creatures, poison in history, and poison in literature was interesting to all 3 of them.  The highlight was getting to solve different poisoning mysteries.  However, since coming home, Adelie has been a little wary about what poisonous creatures might be lurking around Eureka.  #noscorpions #notarantulas #novipers

To top off our day at the museum, Uma and I took the girls to a little marionette puppet show of Sleeping Beauty.  It was really cute and the girls both enjoyed it.  Staley has been making big plans to make marionette puppets as gifts for her cousins.  #somanyplans

It may have been cold, but that didn't stop us from having a fun Spring Break adventure.  Although next year, maybe we'll head to Florida.  #winterspringbreak

Adventures in Children's Church

Since turning 3, Briggs has started going to children's church during the church service on Sundays.  Today after the service, I went to pick up Briggs and Adelie.  The kids were watching a movie and the teacher informed me that her son had taken Briggs to the bathroom.  After waiting a minute or two, I sent Zach to the restroom to check on Briggs.  Zach found Briggs coming out of the restroom with the other boy.  In one breath, Briggs informed Zach, "The other kids are watching a Veggie Tales movie, but I didn't want to watch it so I cried, and then I needed to go potty so a boy took me but my penis was pointing up so I peed all over everything, but not my shirt."

I can't speak to the state of the boy's bathroom (or the little boy who was helping him), but I can vouch for the fact that everything Briggs was wearing was pee-soaked...except his shirt.

Easter

Easter is always a fun and full day celebrating with family.

We started with an Easter egg hunt on Friday night to kick off our Easter week-end.  (Thanks, Aunt Jan and Uncle Jack!!)

We enjoyed a nice church service and Easter brunch at church.

(Staley and her friend Lilian were excited to have similar dresses with matching belts and purses.)

The kids found Easter baskets in the basement.

There was a scrumptious lunch and a fun Easter egg hunt with Zach's extended family.

We followed that up with yummy desserts and another egg hunt with my extended family.  Spring said, "April Fools!  It's snowing!"

Despite the snow, the kids still enjoyed hunting for eggs and playing with cousins.

Staley spent almost the entire time making Rainbow Loom creations with her older girl cousins.

Erik and I spent Easter coordinating in our navy cardigans and white shirts.  If only Erik had worn his pink pants, we would have totally been twinsies.

What a blessed day celebrating our risen Savior!