EASTER AND BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

We could not have asked for a more beautiful Easter weekend!

With having Friday off from school, the boys and I were ready to be home Thursday afternoon and to enjoy our 3 day weekend!  Shortly after we pulled into the driveway on Thursday, Lee’s parents pulled in to spend the Easter weekend with us.  We had a full weekend of fun and spent so much time outside in the awesome Spring weather!

Friday morning we colored and decorated Easter Eggs.  The boys have fun with this, but it is a much longer process than what they would like to sit through.  And they don’t eat the eggs!  However, it’s a part of the holiday that we must do, so it will always continue.

The rest of Friday was spent playing yard games and riding bikes.  We enjoyed our time outdoors and with Lee’s parents.

Saturday morning we had a busy morning planned.  We took the kids into Living History Farms for their Easter activities.  It was awesome and it was an amazing way to spend the morning on my birthday!  It could not have been a better Spring morning and the boys had the best time with all of the activities!  We had never been to Living History Farms before, but I can say that we will be going back.

They were able to do relay races, egg hunt, toy hunt, see the Easter Bunny, eat popcorn, hold a baby chick, and so much more!

Doing the pancake flip relay race.

Brady doing his Easter Egg Hunt.

Brady was given a sugar cookie and chocolate milk after his egg hunt.  We sat down to enjoy his snack while we waited for Tyler’s toy hunt to begin.

Tyler doing his toy hunt.

My boys and I.

We had such a great day with our kids at this awesome Easter celebration!

They were so excited to be able to sit with and meet the Easter Bunny!

And they got to pet and hold some baby chicks and ducks.

Tyler did the egg flip race.

The ‘Bonnet Race’ was very fun to watch!  They had to run down to get a hat, run back to put another hat on, and so on.  So much fun!

And the Bunny Hop Race was the last event we did before leaving.  They each hopped and hopped and had a great time!

I can only hope that next year the weather will be just as beautiful and we can enjoy all of these fun Easter activities at Living History Farms again!

Since we had Lee’s parents at the house for the weekend, we kept them home with the kids on Saturday night so that we could go out to dinner with some friends to celebrate my birthday!  We had a terrific dinner at Latin King in Des Moines.  Delicious!

It was a wonderful way to spend my night with some great friends and a great way to top off such a fun day!

The Easter Bunny visited the house and brought the boys plenty.  Tyler got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Skateboard, a water gun, and a Star Wars light saber.  Brady got some roller skates, a water gun, and a light saber.  Besides those few gifts, they got all the ‘small things’ along with candy, candy, and more candy! 

They were so excited to come downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny had left for them.  After they checked out their gifts, they quickly emptied their baskets and started on the egg hunt around the house.  The Easter Bunny left tons of eggs filled with both candy and money!  So much excitement!

Our Family on Easter.

April 20, 2014

I woke up very early on Sunday morning to prepare food for after church.  After I got things finished up, I had enough time to get myself and the boys ready and out of the house for church at 9:00.  After church we came back home to play outside for awhile before sitting down to eat brunch before Sam and Eula had to take off to head back to their home.

Brady had to try out his new roller skates after church and Tyler tried out his new skateboard as well.

A picture with Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds on Easter.

Me and my sweetie, Brady.

After brunch and after Sam and Eula took off, we took off as well and headed to Dysart to see some of my family to celebrate Easter and my birthday.

When we got there Delaney was sound asleep out on the front porch swing.

Grandma and Delaney.

We spent the afternoon playing outside in the front yard and the kids played at the park.

My mom got the kids a new game called Swing Ball.  It’s similar to tether ball, but smaller and played with paddles.  Above is Tyler and Ava playing Swing Ball.  Below is Brady playing Ladder Golf with Josh.

Aunt Judy, Ava, Tyler, Brady, and Josh enjoying the lovely weather outside!

I sat Delaney down in the grass for the first time in her life.  She wasn’t so sure what to think about it, but it was fun to watch her.

Lee and Josh competing at Ladder Golf.

Tyler and his favorite, Delaney.

The cousins; Tyler, Brady, and Delaney on Delaney’s first Easter. That dress is just too cute!

Great-Grandma Kriz playing with Brady.

And a beautiful picture of Mommy Liz and Baby Delaney.

What a very special and fun Easter it was!

After that busy, but fun weekend, we were all exhausted on Sunday and ready to head to bed early!

APRIL FOOL’S DAY FUNNIES!

We had a few April Fool’s Day jokes in our house this year that the boys were amused with!  They began their morning with some green food dye at the bottom of their cereal bowl.  Once Tyler noticed his milk was turning green we played it up and then I had suggested that maybe even the water in the house had turned green. Along with green food coloring in their milk, I had also put some green food coloring on the underside of the bathroom faucet.  As soon as Tyler finished his cereal, he ran into the bathroom to check the water.  He yelled at Brady to come see that the water in the house was green as well!  They were shocked and Lee and I were loving it! 

Before leaving the house that morning, I went to rinse my coffee cup out in the sink only to be squirted with the kitchen sprayer!  Yep, Lee had put a rubberband around the sprayer and got me.  One of the oldest April Fool’s Day jokes in the book.

That morning I had also made up some jello and put it into two clear cups with straws.  They sat in the fridge all day.  When we got home from school/work that day, I told the boys that I had made them some special juice.  They both sat down and sucked, sucked, sucked the straw and didn’t get any juice!  Brady was getting pretty frustrated and was almost on the verge of crying, when Tyler had pulled the straw up and noticed that it wasn’t juice but it was jello!  They were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed their afternoon snack of jello!

Such a fun day!

BYE-BYE TRAINING WHEELS!

Bye-Bye Training Wheels!!!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

It was going to be my goal to get Brady trained on his bike without training wheels this summer.  However, this past weekend we were all feeling ready, so we went to the track to give it a shot.  This was not our first attempt.  We had taken him in the fall as well, but had quickly realized that he wasn’t ready.  However, this past weekend was a different story, he was ready and he did an amazing job!

It didn’t take him long and he was going around the track all on his own!  Not only are we so proud of him, but his pride showed that day in his huge smile that he would show with each stop to get a drink of water!

The longer we were at it, the more comfortable he got.  On Saturday he would even try to push start himself.  It’s definitely more difficult for him to start up by himself.  Growing another inch taller and the push start will be simple for him!

We went back again on Sunday and he did even more awesome with a few starts on his own!

So, at his 4 1/2 years of age, our little Brady has mastered the bike with NO training wheels!  It’s going to be a good summer!!!

Back at it on Sunday!  He was so happy!  Just look at that smile! 

And, just for a quick comparison, this is Tyler at his 4 1/2 years of age on the first day that he learned how to ride the bike without training wheels!

No Training Wheels!