Turtah. More!

 We spent our Bishop's Day Off exploring the nature center.  Sarah continues to be fascinated by creatures large & small.  She was a big fan of this "turtah".

 Little chilly but great animal action, always a fun playground, & happy picnic for all

Can't resist

 As the days get more chilly, I can't resist every opportunity to use a warm one for an outing to the park.  It's amazing how much half an hour on the playground will brighten up all of our spirits!

Nice parking

A birthday celebration

February 15th marked our baby Zachary's first birthday in Heaven.  We miss him so. 

On his birthday we spent lots of family time together: morning Mass, (school for the big kids), watching a show at home, bowling on the Wii, lots of hugs, & going to the first Fish Fry of Lent.  It was good, but still rather quiet.  So, when we had gorgeous weather on Sunday afternoon, we decided to make this day the big celebration.  First we stopped by the cemetery to say a prayer & sing him "Happy Birthday". 

Then we headed out to a beautiful park for some hiking.  We made our first trek out to this old log cabin.

We enjoyed watching all the geese that had gathered on the pond as they went from the ice to the water to the land & back again.

We climbed up the big hill to see the statue & ran down as fast as we could.  Amazingly, no one wiped out!

Then it was fun on the playground time.  Teresa really enjoyed the "noodle slide".

The big kids were collecting coffee bean pods from all around the area & making their own little stash.  Too bad we don't drink coffee...



After a full day in the beautiful February weather, we warmed up with a tasty dinner out.  All of the kids were good!  Whatever version of Muzac they had playing was very pleasing to all.  Rebecca spent almost the entire time dancing in the booth as she ate.

 

Andrew gave in & let me take a picture of him grooving as well.

Teresa of course welcomed all chances for goofy photos.  ;)

 

What a happy day!  So sad that he couldn't be with us to celebrate, but so thankful that we have each other & that he is looking out for us from Heaven. 

Happy birthday, Zachary Matthew!

Park it

 We tried out a less-frequented park last week for Mom's Group... & even though the only other ones who showed up were our backyard neighbors, we had a blast.  :)

 The have a nice big playset that Andrew & Rebecca barely touched.  They were too busy digging in the sand & rocks.  Did I mention that I usually shoot for the parks without sand?

 Rebecca was collecting pinecones, flowers, sticks, & assorted leftover fireworks pieces.  She filled up two cups!

 "I stirring strawberry milk!"

Andrew was very proud of his pit that he dug.  He found a cup, an old rag (to which Rebecca said, "No, I think that's chicken skin"), & buried way deep was a little airplane!  Quite the find.  What a quiet & fun morning.

Adventuring

 Easter Monday we had an impromptu adventure out to the park & nature center with some friends.

 "Woah, big one," said Teresa of the bison skull.  She was even more intrigued by the live ones.

 This is usually the extent of the thrills in this area...

 frogs, geese, maybe some fish, but not that day!

 The elk are going swimming!

 And some deer that weren't even supposed to be in that area were swimming, too!

 Then we found some goose eggs!  Nature was sure busy!

 Andrew found the perfect hill to fly his glider.

Happy, happy Easter!  (Here's to the whole 50 days!)

Can't get enough

Even after a full day of fun, we just hadn't had enough of our cousins yet. So we brought Liz, my goddaughter, & Max home with us for three days. We kicked off our adventures with peanut butter banana smoothies. Yum. Their brother has a peanut allergy so it seems whenever they have the chance, they love to indulge. Max proceeded to just go after the jar with a spoon!

That afternoon we gladly welcomed Darren home & headed out to the county fair. We saw lots of amusing animals,

watched the impressive model trains,

& rode some rides.

Who's going to win?

After enjoying the racing pigs & live music we had to share a funnel cake. That's my signature fair fare. It's just not complete without one.

We did some playing at home including a couple rousing games of Boggle & Taboo. Taboo's a lot more amusing when two of the players are still learning to read!We couldn't resist enjoying the beautiful weather with some fun at the park. Check out that ensemble if you can... she was wearing a onesie with her horsey jumper when I dressed her in the morning. She added a pink tutu underneath before we left for the park. Such a fashionista.

We met Auntie Cara & the boys for a picnic,

& then headed to the Splashpark & pool with them that afternoon.

Teresa INSISTED on going down without any assistance & pretty much ran a non-stop circle down the slide, through the pool, up the steps, & down the slide again for a straight hour & a half.

Max & Andrew raced their torpedoes down the slide before they raced their selves. What a crowd. The one on the end looks like our cousin James, but it's really just another little boy at the pool fascinated by our underwater torpedoes. He decided to join the crowd.

We had lunch out at Grandmother's complete with a coloring contest for one last blast on Friday,

& then headed home for block creations. Check out this replica of the fair complete with the train, music stage, pig racing, petting zoo, funnel cake stand, ticket center, & in the middle the SuperShot ride. We finished up with a little craftiness & made a pinata to celebrate their brother Joe's birthday. Hope you liked it, Joe!

We're so glad you could visit Liz & Max. Come again soon! We love you!