Easter Eggstravaganza!

Christy's eggs...

Becca's eggs...

We started with 14...had 4 casualties in the pot...1 casualty during decorating...but fun was had by all...still smilin'!
(p.s. the 1 is still in service with a band-aid on the boo-boo)

MN Zoo Field Trip

The weather is warming up in MN, and Spring is actually in the air (although, it's not completely on the ground yet since there are still a few snow piles). But, with such nice weather, we couldn't pass up a trip to the Zoo to see the new farm babies. We were able to see a few baby sheep, some little chicks, and five baby pigs. The girls and Samuel also got to feed the baby goats--at least when they could sneak a tasty morsel past the bigger goats!! Here are a few pictures while at the Zoo. Sorry, none are of the babies, since we were usually too preoccupied when they were around!

This picture was taken just outside the pig pen...now that's a big Momma pig!

Here are the girls playing around in the chicken coup!

Inside the Bear Cave... why is Becca scared??

Oh! That's why. Nice Grizzly... Nice boy...

Living on the Edge

Well...
I guess it could be called,
"Sleeping on the Edge."
Just a cute picture of my wiggle worm at nap time.

Medieval Goliath

What do you get when you combine action figures from the Old Testament with a card castle from the Middle Ages?

Answer: A fun game that builds character and teaches a bit of History!

These two sets were part of Eric and Christy's birthday gifts, and they had a lot of fun building the castle and playing a game that Eric created! He thought up a risk-type scoring system using dice to help make the battles between David and Goliath fair. Not only did they have fun battling it out, but Christy's cousins, Lance and Liam, stayed overnight and played the games also! It has been great for all the "kids", but I'm still trying to figure out how to reclaim that part of my counter-top space. Because, you know, it just wouldn't be a good idea to leave the castle and the little plastic guys on the floor where a 15-month-old could act as a real "Goliath"! ;-)

Birthday Eights

Today, Christy turned eight years old! Even though we aren't having the party until next week, we still had a fun day celebrating at home! I cooked all of her favorite meals (for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner), and she opened a few of her gifts. She loved everything that she got, and she had plenty of time today to enjoy her new "toys".

The highlight of the day was when we all worked together to make the birthday cake! Christy drew up the plans for the design (literally, on a piece of paper), Becca mixed the batter, and I put the cake into the oven. After icing it with white icing, I attempted to follow her design as accurately as possible. If you look carefully, you'll notice a definite theme (eights everywhere!). And, for those of you who might think otherwise, those tadpole looking things on the sides are actually supposed to be balloons!

Sticky Situation

I made a dessert, and Sam just happened to reach a bowl with a little bit of it left on the bottom. He was so hilarious, walking around the living room with the bowl covering his face as he attempted to lick every last bit out of it! Of course, we didn't think to take a picture until he was almost done. So, here he is, on my lap, finishing it off.

Texas!

We drove down to Texas last week to visit my parents and family! It was a very long drive (about 20 hours), but it was worth it! We had a great time with the family, and the weather was fantastic! The temperature when we left Minnesota was -9, and when we arrived in Texas it was about 80! The daytime highs ranged from 60 to 88, and the nights were cooler at about 30. One night, a cold front blew in, and the wind blew so hard all night that I could hardly sleep. But, it made for some good fishing weather the next day, and everyone caught some fish (except for me). The kids loved all of the sunshine and fresh air, and they were outside most of the day, every day. Some of us came back sporting a Texas tan, and others of us...just a sunburn. We all had a great time, and made many memories!

Cowgirl Christy enjoying the wild West Texas wind!


Holding hands by the duck pond...


Sam was surprised and delighted by all of the fun toys in the garage!


Who can resist that smile?!


The only incident of "road rage" we experienced was in the garage! ;-)


Doesn't Becca make the "Mud Warrior" look cute?


The 4-Wheeler was a hit!


Sam preferred the larger bouncers over the toddler-sized ones.


He did pretty good at staying on his feet!


Christy loved the Jumping Party!


Isn't Sam cute in his hunting hat?


Christy enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa!


On the last day of our trip, we were blessed by a glorious West Texas sunset!