Happy Easter/Trip to Minnesota

So we continue to have lots of activity in our backyard.  Unfortunately this week things have been pretty quiet with all the rain. But, as most of you know, last Wednesday it was beautiful out and the kids and I walked down to meet the 'wurkors' as KTK calls them at quittin' time. They were all really nice and we chatted for quite some time to the point that KTK being the not so shy 2 year old asked for a ride!!  They were actually quite nice about it and said maybe this week, if we met them down there at quittin' time again that maybe he could have a ride and at the minimum sit in the seat!! Both kids were beaming ear to ear and raced their bikes back to tell Eric the good news.  With the rain we haven't seen them at all this week, but there still appears to be a TON of work left to do grooming the land so I'm sure once it clears up we'll see them again. 

As I mentioned in my last post the kids and I were doing Resurrection Eggs daily leading up until Easter and then on Good Friday we made Resurrection Rolls. You can see the 'trick' worked and the marshmallow totally disappeared from the inside the of the roll after having baked in the oven ( tomb) just like Jesus did from the tomb. It was super cool and the kids were able to answer all the basic Easter related questions with flying colors!!  I guess they were paying attention through all the single eggs and Easter stories we read from their Bibles that week. We invited Priya and Elisha over for the activities and all had a great time!  Thanks for joining us Kubalsky's. 

Maddox, Kennon and Priya love to ride in the Kubalsky's burley!!  Elisha and I quick did the math before she took off on her bike…adding up the kids' weights.  They are getting close to the weight limit  but still were under and managed to squish in together. Good Friday was beautiful out and we spent the majority of the day outside. 

Eric has mowed the yard one time so far….but after this rain it is needing it again already!  Both kids were in LOVE with the mower all over again and rode around, taking turns, with Eric.  Nothing more fun than ridding with Dad on the red mower. 

Kennon even got to help trim a bit. That bar is perfect for him to do his 'own mowing'. 

We celebrated Easter one day early and enjoyed a nice big meal together. Papa Dick was able to join us as well!!  He brought big baskets of goodies for the kid which kept them entertained for most of the afternoon. Then we all loaded up and headed to church for a nice Saturday night Easter service.  The weather was beautiful again Saturday and even into Sunday. 

I got the recipe for layered jello salad from Eric's sister Lora.  It has quite the reputation at the Kies family gatherings :) The kids LOVED it and I actually had a great time putting it together. We made another batch earlier this week we enjoyed it so much!!!  You can mix up the colors and do all kinds of combinations.  Much more fun to come with that recipe. 

 Maddox and Papa Dick reading after our meal. 

 Despite my original opposition to the Easter Bunny visiting the Kies house, he did decide to stop by with a few gifts.  The kids had fun watching their new movies Frozen and Little Einsteins almost immediately, and then after it warmed up we all hunted for eggs. 

 This was the day that we walked down and met the construction men. Kennon thought if he showed the men his green shovel that might encourage a ride!! Apparently it worked Kennon. 

Last week we drove up to Minnesota to visit our friends the Stegemanns and Eric's brother Scott.  The drive actually wasn't too bad, thanks to the new movie Frozen.  Jody and Aaron live in Maple Plain which is little town outside of MN.  They have a beautiful new home that is perfectly functional and incredibly comfortable for quests. It is out in the country, by my standards, and complete with a horse stable just down the road. Unfortunately the weather was cold and rainy so all the outdoor activities we had planned kinda went kaput! But we did enjoy the Como Conservatory in St. Paul ( minus loosing Kennon one time…whoops) and especially enjoyed feeding the horses carrots and then getting to pet him! He was extremely friendly. Hannah and Charlie are almost the same ages as Maddox and Kennon and it was fun to see them play together, despite the occasional spats primarily instigated by my two…ugh!  Hannah and Charlie are relatively laid back kids, with great manners, and good behavior! I enjoyed catching up with Jody and seeing the sights of MN.  Thanks for the great hospitality Stegemanns!  

 Maddox and Hannah getting ready to feed the horse. 

Maddox, Jody and Hannah. 

So Jody is MUCH better at taking pictures and actually captured some great photos of the kids while we were there.  I've provided the link to her website, with her permission. Enjoy! The name of the post with Maddox and Kennon included is 'Hannah's First Sleepover'.  However if you are interested in seeing a cute kid click on the next post down about Easter and Charlie eating Candy…and there are some adorable pictures of Charlie and his jelly beans from Easter!!!   

http://jodystegemann.wordpress.com

After our couple nights stay with the Stegemanns we headed down to St. Paul to visit with Uncle Scott and Aunt Sue.  They live in this adorable little neighborhood complete with a great park!!  We couldn't make a visit without checking out the park.  The rain had finally stopped by this point in our visit so we were ready to stretch out legs a bit.  Maddox was enamored by Aunt Sue…and I mean ENAMORED… It was 'Aunt Sue can you?   Aunt Sue let's do this'….about every other sentence.  So funny yet adorable.  So glad there are so many Aunts in Maddox's life. 

Kennon had a run-in with the cement on the driveway on Easter Sunday. Thank goodness for his helmet or his face would have looked much worse that this!  The scab finally came off yesterday…so he's ready to go get a new one :) 

I love this picture of Maddox. Super smiley and natural. 

Saturday morning we loaded up Sienna and headed just up the road from Aunt Sue and Uncle Scott's to the Como Zoo!! It is a free zoo located right in St. Paul.  It is just the perfect size for two toddlers and has some unique animals….polar bears, penguins, and a bunch of different types of monkeys/apes that we aren't used to seeing.  There is also as little amusement park there that is toddler sized. Both kids got to ride one ride before we headed back for hot dogs and PBJ.   After expending all this energy it was time to pack up to head home for Iowa just in time for naps. Thanks for all the hospitality Kies family!  We had such a nice time. 

 Maddox, Aunt Sue, Uncle Scott, Eric and KTK

Kennon was only a tad ( or maybe tad is an understatement) after riding the train that it 'didn't go through a tunnel'.  The train at the Niabi Zoo that we frequent in our area has a large tunnel and I guess KTK thought that ALL trains had tunnels. So when our ride came to an end and we hadn't gone through a tunnel Kennon was slightly confused and to say the least upset!  But we handled it with a snack. Snacks fix everything!! 

As soon as we got home both kids wanted to hop on their bikes!! Both were happy to stretch their legs and even happier to sleep in their own beds.

Today was Farm Day at Church School. Maddox and the other 3 year old classes moved about the church to different stations completing activities related to farms. I got to volunteer which was LOADS of fun!! I was in the Messy Table room and got to work in big tables of of soil with worms, root vegetables and planting green bean seeds.  It was great fun to teach the kids about the soil.  Kennon's room didn't do all the stations but they did get to go to the Petting Zoo that was brought in for the occasion. And best of all on 'Fun Days', as the church calls them, they bring in a bouncy house so both kiddos got to bounce away. Thought I"d bring out the overalls for the occasion.

Spring Soccer, Resurrection Eggs, Inagural Zoo Trip and St. Louis!!

Cousin Hannah, Kennon and Maddox a top the giant cement caterpillar.  The kids love Hannah and I surely enjoy having an extra set of hands to help with the kiddos!! 

Two weekends ago we made our Spring trip down to St. Louis so Eric and I could compete or rather COMPLETE our first 1/2 marathon of  2014. We love spending time with the Gillaspies and we always tour one of the many St. Louis attractions that are kid friendly the day before the race. This year we opted for The Butterfly House. We had a fabulous time. There were tons of butterflies to look at in the nice warm greenhouse, as well as beautiful vegetation. Plus just right outside the Butterfly House there was a fabulous park for the kids to play at as well as a carousel.  It was such a nice warm day…!! 

One of the blue beauties landed on Aunt Diane..!! 'Don't touch it Kennon!!!' 

All the blue objects are butterflies. There were tons of this type flying around. I was actually pleasantly surprised how many there were.  In fact I could have stayed in the house forever. Unfortunately the attention span of my toddler aged kiddos didn't quite match my enthusiasm for the small but beautiful insects, so we headed out to run off some energy at the park.

I didn't manage to get any smiles in this picture….  but they were really all happy to ride the magnificent carousel.  Aunt Diane said it was from the World's Fair in like 1820…or maybe 1920…I don't remember…sorry!  Probably 1920 as I re-read this. Surely they didn't have engines/motors to run this thing in the 1820's??  That's a Grandpa Jim question…..

Aunt Diane and a happy face Maddox

Aunt Diane, Maddox and Kennon reading bedtime stories.  

A post race picture. Sunday morning race weather was perfect.  39 at the start, no wind and slightly overcast. It warmed up quick after the sun came out. Go! St. Louis ( the company that puts on this race) does a really nice job.  It is a well run event with lots of volunteers, a priest spraying Holy water, and a pit stop with chocolate all on the course!!  Now who could ask for more.  Eric, Uncle Brian and I were all pleasantly surprised at how well the race went for all of us despite the limited training due to Ol' Man Winter.  Aunt Diane and cousin Hannah were savvy enough to get the kids up dressed, fed, and locked into their car seats in Sienna to head down to the race. We saw them at both mile 7 and 12!! Aunt Diane has both the Spring and Fall races almost down to a science.  Plus as the kids get older they travel so much easier with less paraphernalia!! Thanks for the hospitality Gillaspies. We are so happy to have your in our family. Next up…. Bix!! 

The kids and I took advantage of the warm weather last week and decided to go visit Grammy's box out in Orion and get her ready for Spring.  The kids had a blast rolling down the grassy hills and climbing over her box…. just how Grammy would have liked it!!  I think the Spring flowers turned out nicely and despite the raging winter the Christmas flowers are still in relatively good shape, good enough for next year.  I feel there is a learning curve as to what materials will last the best out in the elements.   Miss you so much mom.  I know you are smiling down on us constantly giving us your love. 

So after our trip to the cemetery we headed into the big town of Orion to play at Central Park. This is the park that I played in as a kid, although it has been upgraded a fair amount. The weather was nice and warm and the kids had a grand time!!  Lots of smiles and lots of spins. They loved this merry go round ( which luckily they have replaced since I was a kid…..this one is a newer version) as most of the parks that we go to in Bettendorf don't have this fun ride ( there is probably a reason for that !!)  

Yes…KTK does have on his Halloween shirt. Both kids are getting more interested in picking out their clothes! Hey….as long as they get them on themselves I don't really care what they wear… within reason I suppose.  

I think this horse and pig are the only thing original to the park now. I remember ridding these both as a kid. The springs are super loose and throw you back and forth pretty far.  FUN!!

So we continue on with the 'Kies school'  The letter for the week is A.  We have had a bit of slow down with our school work the last week or so because I've added some Christian education as well. We are doing Resurrection Eggs.  If you look closely there is a big hunk of bread on the Easter egg tree pictured above. So each day I fill and hide an egg with an item associated with Jesus' death and resurrection.  It has actually been a great tool to remind me of the real meaning of Easter.  The kids are excited to find the egg and for the most part have been happy to sit and read with me from their children's Bibles the verses associated with each individual object. So far we've had the bread, coin, purple cloth, rope, cross, nail.  Friday we are making Resurrection rolls. You put a marshmallow in a crescent roll and bake it. The marshmallow is supposed to sort of disappear  ( rise) as Jesus did. The tomb is the oven and the crescent roll serves as the cloths that he was wrapped in before he was placed in the tomb.  I really didn't think they were paying attention to all the stories but, this far in, I really think they are.  Maddox is very aware now the bread is Jesus' body and the wine is his blood and that he died for our sins.  Kennon is in good understanding of right vs wrong and knows that wrong are sins. We open the last egg on Easter morning.  It has been a great teaching tool.  

We took our first trip to the zoo last Friday. It was a beautiful day and the kids were itching to get outside. We met our friends the Wentlands and packed a picnic lunch.  Such a nice time! So nice to get some vitamin D. 

Maddox, Nolan,  Kennon, Megan and Nyle.  

Nolan and KTK

Kennon, Nyle, Maddox, Nolan.  

Maddox, of course, was quick to mother Nyle as he was the little guy of the bunch. Luckily Nyle didn't seem to mind. 

Saturday both Kennon and Maddox had their first soccer game of the Spring season…. they are on the SAME TEAM!!  Eric and I prepared ourselves Friday night, in discussion, for a terrible meltdown from   both of the kids but we were pleasantly surprised. Maddox played like a different kid in comparison to the fall season where she clamored onto Eric and barely even put a big toe on the field.  She ran with the bunch, kicked the ball, helped her brother out, and did not shed one tear or whine!!  Way to go Maddox. What a difference 6 months made.  Kennon did fairly well, given the fact that he is technically too young to play. They are supposed to be 3 I believe, and of course he isn't quite that and I think it showed.  He was upset he didn't get to kick the ball more and struggled with following directions but didn't seem to disrupt the team all that much, so I think we'll hang with it. The kid is SO COORDINATED compared to Maddox. I suppose boy girl comparison.  He did get to kick the ball a few times and when he did it went far and his timing on impact was really good.  So in time he'll mature with his emotions and they'll hopefully catch up with his physical abilities. I set Maddox up to 'help your brother' which did seem to work well.  She really excels at being a helper if you divvy it out to her that way.  I was really proud of her and she even was willing to play extra time on the field!! What a turn around from last Fall. They have several games through mid May so we'll see how the rest of the season goes. But, in general we were pleasantly surprised at how well both kiddos did. Go Team Kies… and Team Kenya…which happens to be the name of their team. 

Getting' the low down from Coach Josh.  Maddox with the braids and Kennon with the skirt shirt and bright yellow shin guards :) 

KTK getting read to start the game off. 

I think he looks happy with his kick. Notice no one seems to be moving after he kicked it!! A lot of verbal cues provided from the coaches at this age :0

Maddox getting ready to kick the ball in.

The best part of playing soccer…the snack after the game!! 

We decided to optimize our time after the game and headed to Lowe's and Sherwin Williams!!  Possibly a bit much but we survived.  

The car seats came in handy to hold up these 2 heavy and large pieces of beadboard. Good thing the kids aren't any taller.  Laundry room renovation underway!! 

So I"ve been typing away on this post to the hum of the construction machines in the back yard. They have unfortunately started to groom the land behind our house for Century Heights 23rd addition, or something like that…uncertain on the number.  They started yesterday and have seriously gotten so much work done already.  The kids are in awe of the machines!!  And honestly I have found myself standing at the sliding glass window watching them go back and forth. They are amazing machines….excavators ( as Kennon corrected me after I called it a scoop…I guess he is a big boy now) earth movers and graders attached to John Deere tractors.    The excavator just pushes these huge trees over with it's  arm like it is feather in the wind. Super cool.  I am sooo sad to see the land be developed but excited at the free entertainment for the summer/fall as well as excited about the prospect of a family moving in behind us.  I wish I could order the family up and request they come with a boy 3 years old girl 5 years old and A DOG!! Maddox sooooo wants a dog or really any pet and if someone nearby had one I think we'd be good. 

This afternoon we walked down to the 'sleeping site' for the machines!!  So fun to tromp around on the dirt and see how truly big they are.  It's going to be a great summer of free entertainment.  

 Just a quick update on the kiddos.  KtK is definitely in the terrible 2's.  He is very defiant, physical, stubborn and (actually both are) great at bargaining.   He is a master of temper tantrums and is really testing Eric and I's patience.  We have returned to 'no paci' status over the last couple of days.  We decided we'd 'send them all to baby Reid…!!' He is doing just as well as he did the first time we did 'no paci' a couple of months ago.   Kennon isn't very fond of swimming lessons as the water is fairly cold and he hasn't quite mastered the timing of blowing out or holding his breath in order to put his face in the water.  But, give it time. He continues to be very physically advanced and is a maniac on his red balance bike. We've commissioned Grandpa and Grandma Knowles to get him a big boy pedal bike for his birthday.   He still takes a good 2 -3 hour nap in the afternoon but is a real fighter at bedtime.  He does NOT like to stay in bed and in the last couple of weeks has been up till 10.30 some nights!!  Maddox on the other hand continues to be her good usual sleeper. She too still takes a nap, just 1.5 hours but goes down to bed at night without a peep and sleeps through the night. She loves her baby dolls as well as mothering anybody and anything…including her mother. She is now calling Eric and I 'father and mother'…which I have no idea where she got. She likes to color and almost always writes her name next to a rainbow with God drawn on top of the rainbow, when she does free art. She is getting really good at her letters upper and lower and seems to enjoy learning about Jesus more than learning about subtraction or addition…can't say I blame her.   She absolutely loves to sing, specifically the songs from Little Mermaid and Frozen and I have to say she can actually carry a tune quite well….just like her Grammy and Grandma Jean.  She pelts out 'Let it Go' from her car seat in the correct key completely on her own with the radio turned to silent.  She LOVES to ride her big girl bike and is faster than ever.   Maddox put her face in the water multiple times very willingly yesterday at the pool!! I couldn't believe it. I was so proud of her.  Kennon still is in a pull up at night and really still needs it but does generally fine during the day. He is finally starting to take himself to the bathroom and does fairly well.  Maddox has a bladder like a camel and can go longer than 12 hours without peeing if we accidentally forget to have her go in the morning. CRAZY!! We are all adjusting to me being at home.  I think we have a good balance of play time, mom time, dad time, school time and Jesus time as we call it. I've been working most Wednesday mornings while the kids are at church school training new employees at VNA. I LOVE it!! and it keeps my foot in the door.  We are looking forward to the summer as both kiddos are already signed up for numerous summer camps which will actually keep them busier than during the school year.  Lots of fun themed camps.  Ok..this is getting long. Time to sign off.