Good Friday the kiddos were home from school so we decided to color eggs. They had a fun time and made it to egg number 10 of 12 before Kennon spilled an entire cup of dye~~ YIKES! Quick grab the paper towels!!
The YMCA spring soccer season started a couple of weeks ago. Maddox and Kennon are on the same team this year. We are very thankful for that as it frees up our Saturday mornings just a bit. As most of you have heard by now Maddox and Kennon are rockin' on the field this year. They have certainly played the most seasons in comparison to the rest of their teammates, some of whom have yet to actually step foot on the field and/or wear their jersey. Lord knows we've been there!!…but not this year. Maddox definitely knows how to get the ball into her goal as does Kennon. Both need work on their technical skills ( dribbling, maintaining control and stealing the ball) but they are certainly enjoying the game and doing well. The kids were sad to miss today's game due to the wind and rain.
The Saturday of Easter weekend Maddox and I were invited to a huge Easter party at one of her dance classmates' homes. Inika ( on the left) lives in Moline in a beautiful home with a gigantic yard great for hiding and hunting Easter eggs. Her family hid 1600!!!!, yes you read that right, 1600 eggs for about 15 kids. Amazing. Maddox had a ball as did her other buddy/classmate Kaylyn ( on the right). These three are the probably the oldest in the class and tend to hang together. I have enjoyed getting to know both of their moms. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Inika has a HUGE jungle gym that is placed on AstroTurf !!
Inika and Maddox decorating Easter egg cookies….in what appears to be their kitchen..but oh no..this is their garage!! The kitchen was state of the art complete with a sweet Spanish speaking housekeeper. Inika's mom and dad are very kind and even wanted Eric and Kennon to join in the fun. I was a bit hesitant as I didn't know the setting..but I think we'll join as a family next year. It was a grand time for all. So cute to see all the kiddos running around in the sun with their Easter dresses on.
We ended up having a nice low key Easter. The four of us enjoyed a great Easter brunch at HyVee. The food was really quite good and not crowded at all.
Easter egg hunt time!!
Kennon got a Ripslinger plane from the movie Planes in his Easter basket…..
….as well as a pair of goggles. Both Maddox and Kennon started swimming lessons at the Y the Monday following Easter so they each got a pair of goggles in their baskets! They are really doing well at swim lessons and have made improvements in only 3 short weeks. Both are gaining confidence in back floating and having their faces in the water. We are taking May off but then in June and July we are excited to take private lessons in my good neighborhood friend, Kim's pool. She found a lady who does private lessons and is going to come to Kim's pool to teach her kids as well as a couple of other neighborhood friends of ours. I am so excited to just be able to ride our bikes down the road to take the lesson. Kim's pool is really quite nice and it will be good for Maddox and Kennon to be with kids they are friends with…a little peer pressure never hurts :)
Yes….a silly picture but a picture of the three of us nonetheless.
Maddox and Kennon getting 'fives' from instructor Dan as they wait for their turn at the water slide. This is the icing on the cake…i.e....the reward for doing the lesson. The kids get to go down the water slide several times at the end of their lessons. So FUN!
Maddox getting caught at the bottom by her other instructor.
Kennon's turn
The weekend after Easter we drove over to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean's house to meet their new black lab Indy and to wish Great Grandma Reta a happy 80th birthday!! It was kind of cold blustery day but that didn't stop us from a little frisbee time with Indy. The kids got a little lesson on how to throw the frisbee from Grandma Jim and boom Indy was off! Indy did a great job of chasing down some of the kiddos odd arching throws. I see I didn't get a single picture with the birthday lady…but we were sure happy she was able to come out to the Knowles homestead and join us for the afternoon. We had a yummy taco lunch cooked by Grandma Jean! It was a very nice visit.
It wouldn't be a blog post if there wasn't a picture of at least one of the kiddos baking with me. This time around it is blueberry wheat bran muffins for one of my good friends who just had a baby! They sound healthy and they ARE but these are GOOD too!!
Last weekend we made our way down to St. Louis for our annual spring visit. This time around we did NOT get in a race but we still had a great visit. I had not signed up for the 1/2 marathon and Eric had but turned his ankle something fierce in January and just wasn't able to get the mileage in. We arrived Friday afternoon and grabbed some St. Louis bar-b-que and some friend powdered sugar donut holes!! YUMMY. We were able to get in some great pool time at the hotel and then hit the hay for a big Saturday.
We met the Gillaspies early Saturday and headed to Grant's Farm. We got to see lots of interesting animals, deer, camel, zebra, bison, elk, cows from Africa, yak, peacocks with their plumes spread and even got to feed the baby goats. We saw a great educational elephant show, rode the carousel and last but not least got to sample some Anheuser Busch products.
Maddox on cousin Hannah's shoulders…. you can see Maddox was not thrilled that I asked them to stand at the parrot area to pose for my picture. The parrots weren't in cages at all and were certainly letting Maddox know that they were near. They were squawking…loudly and she was not fond of it.
Cousin Hannah, Kennon and Maddox at the fountain in the 'partake of your beverage' area. It was set up like a quaint little city square with lots of tables and chairs. It reminded me of some little city in Germany and even had this German type music playing. We had nice time drinking our beers and then loaded up on the tram back to the parking lot and to see the famous clydesdales.
Diane and I enjoying our complimentary beverages.
There were several clydesdales in the stable….so majestic they are. We snagged this picture because this one was named 'Carter'. Unfortunately Carter didn't want to show us his good side:) We did get to see some of the clydesdales out in the meadow. They are just beauties.
After our morning at Grant's Farm we put Uncle Brian in the jump seat of Sienna ( the back end was full with Eric and the kids' bikes…Diane and I in the front seats) and headed to The Incredible Pizza company for pizza, treats, and lots of fun and games. Uncle Brian was thrilled to sit in between the two goofy kiddos!! :)
We spent a couple of hours at Incredible Pizza and then headed to the bike path. The kids rode while the adults walked along. It was a nice warm day and good to get some energy out before our 4.5 hour drive home. We had a nice time catching up with the Gillaspies and appreciate them taking time out of their busy schedules to hang with us for the day. We'll see you again in October!!
Last Monday instructor Dan and his assistant took the class to the deep end for part of the swim lesson. I was a little scared as I watched from the windows above the pool but both kids did well. Kennon on the far right and Maddox with her back to the camera with the green noodle.
It has been a good couple of weeks since my last post…or I guess it has been more than 2 weeks!! YIKES….time does fly. I have been able to sign Maddox and Kennon up for most all of the summer camps that they requested to attend. It is going to be a busy but fun summer. Maddox's dance class is wrapping up as they have their last few classes to practice before the big recital on May 30th. She actually has pictures tomorrow so this will be our first official time to do hair, makeup, and get her bumblebee costume on. She is VERY excited to wear makeup….which isn't directed by me but by the dance company she is in. Lipstick, blush, and mascara are all on the list and hair in a classic ballet bun. I admit, I've had to do a little YouTube watching to get the correct technique for the ballet bun. I've been doing a fair amount of audits this month ( hence the lull on the blog) and expect another batch in early May. I appreciate this work. The kids and I have started working in the yard. Some of my flowers have started to bloom and Kennon and I have begun our Thursday 'mow the yard' duty while Maddox is at preschool. He enjoys helping me out, riding the mower, and even raking up the grass. He's a hard little worker. It's nice for he and I to get the yard work done during the week to free up our weekends. Ta Ta for now.
Not sure how well you can actually see Maddox in these videos. She is in the long sleeve black leotard and black skirt with the hot pink bows in her hair.
