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.