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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Wrapping Up Winter

It hasn't felt like Winter here for weeks which none of us are complaining about. We've been enjoying the unseasonably warm days playing outside, taking walks, going to the park, and going out for ice cream! I had a few winter-time pictures that I never did post, so this will be it and onto Spring!

We continued our Super Bowl picnic tradition (it was the second year so I guess that makes it a tradition). The kids thought this was super fun and even watched the game for a bit. We had pizza and other snacks on the blankets on our living room floor.











Ellie also wrapped up her swimming lessons in late Feb. She's now a Sunfish graduate and ready for Shrimp class =) She did really well, and is starting to make attempts at swimming on her own. It seems like we've been swimming a lot lately with Thur. night lessons, family open swim on Sundays, and several hotel visits. There wasn't a class this Spring session that fit well into our schedule so might give it a go again this Summer. The next class Ellie gets to participate in will be just with an instructor - she's getting so big! Until then we can still do open swim which the kids like just as much. Grandma came down for one of the last classes, so I took a picture since that was pretty difficult to do when I was usually the one in the pool! =)



Monkey Joes and Wild Air were also fun spots to play this Winter. The kids always run off so much energy which is needed when it's cold outside! We barely even got to play outside this winter, we didn't have any snow! And the little snow we did have didn't stick around long. Oh well...onto Spring!





Saturday, March 17, 2012

Chicago Weekend

In mid Feb. we traveled down to Chicago area for a fun weekend with the Betkers and the Mayos. This was our second annual Chicago weekend, and once again we had a great time. On Saturday morning we went to the zoo which was really fun! What was so awesome about it, 1) it was a gorgeous day, 2) it wasn't crowded, and 3) it was free! Free zoo on a beautiful winter day - I'd recommend it to anyone with small kids. Some of the exhibits were closed, but most were open, and there was still PLENTY for our 5 kiddos (and the adults too) to stay entertained. We spent 4 hours at the zoo looking at animals and having lunch too. The kids loved it! Ellie's favorite was definitely the dolphin show. Emmit liked all the animals, but the BIG bears were pretty fascinating to him!

Walking around the zoo. It was a perfect winter day!









Checking out a bunny at the petting zoo.



Hat head! We were in and out the whole time we were there. This is right before the dolpin show.



These dolphins were pretty cool! Ellie just laughed and laughed! It was really funny when they splashed the crowd (we sat out of the 'splash zone') =)



Our whole crew!



Looking at the fish in the aquarium



Ellie measuring up against the giant condor!



Waiting for lunch...Emmit is starting to get sleepy. My arms were so sore the day after from carrying him around.



Nathan, Ryan, and Julianna



All the kids on a big bear!



Literally 30 seconds after getting on the road!



After our visit to the zoo, we just hung around the hotel the rest of the day/evening and until noon on Sunday. We swam a couple times and had brought plenty of food for meals in our suite. It was Suzy and Jamie's birthday (same day!) so we had cake on Sat. night too. That evening the kids all cuddled up together and watched a movie while the adults had some adult time which was nice after our long day at the zoo =)



Emmit and Julianna sitting together having a snack.



Jamie made each of the kids capes with their initials on them. This was Sunday morning before heading out. The kids were running up and down the hall =)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Happy 60th Papa Herb!

Wrapping us our February birthday extravaganza weekend, we hosted the Pomeroy family here for Papa Herb's 60th birthday. We had our whole group from the Tundra Lodge plus Gayle, Mark, Russ, and Diane for a nice birthday dinner. Everyone enjoyed the evening; eating, drinking, and just catching up.

Papa Herb's glasses and silly 60th birthday gear were a hit with the kids! This was sooo funny!







Opening up some gifts



Uncle Wellyn is always a hit with the kids! =)



Ellie and Aiden playing a game together



Emmit with the silly glasses =)



Checking out the food!



Cousins! The kids had so much fun together =)



Tired girl...this was one busy weekend!