Lefse

On Sunday, February 7, we went out to Roy's parents house and made Lefse.  Lefse is a Norwegian potato bread, which I know I have written about before, when we made it in the past.  Great Grandpa Ells or Sue typically make is at Thanksgiving or Christmas time, but because Roy's parents were busy moving, they didn't get to it.  Ells and Sue had already made the dough before we came out, so our job was to roll the lefse, cook it on the griddle, and then taste test it.  Its becoming a meaningful family activity and tradition, which we hope to continue for years to come.    

GG Ells giving Roy instructions, making sure its not "too thick" or "too thin."  

Hudson got in on a little bit of rolling.  

I'm thankful that my man is good in the kitchen.  

Sue and I rolling out the dough.  

Cooking it just right...

Everyone discussing the strategy and getting involved in the process.  

Hudson was more interested in building LEGOs than making the lefse.  

Our finished stack of delicious lefse.  

But he did take a break from LEGO building to eat some lefse.  Delicious!  

Dino-Mite Eaters

After all the fun activities, games, and gifts the kids watched a short dinosaur show (Dino Dan was Hudson's request) while we prepared the feast for the little omnivores.  Many of them wore their dinosaur party hats while they ate.  

A group picture before digging into dinner...  

 We served dinosaur chicken nuggets, apatosaurus applesauce, prehistoric peas, stegosaurus straws, and a juice box.  Yummy!    

Thomasasaurus and Leviasaurus enjoying dinner.  

Jonah...

Harper and Nella...

Evie...

The handsome birthday boy...

For dessert we made dirt cups with a dinosaur on top.  

Getting ready to blow out his 5 candles...

  

"I never knew that dirt could taste so delicious!?"  

Its so much fun to end the birthday fun with a sweet treat.  

Dino-Mite Friend Party

We hosted a party for Hudson's little dino friends at 4:00 on the afternoon of his birthday.  We were thankful the weather cooperated and everyone was healthy (you never know how these things will play out when your birthday is in the middle of winter).  The kids had playtime for the first 30 minutes including the noodle and dinosaur bin, a dinosaur puzzle, dino books, blocks and dinosaurs, dinosaur puppets and dinosaur coloring pages.  After playtime we read a few dinosaur stories and then went on a dinosaur egg hunt, as we did at the family party.  Hudson requested all the guests come in their pajamas, as its his favorite thing to wear.  He had a pair of dinosaur pajamas, which were cozy and perfect.   

The cute (not scary) dinosaur guests, minus Brycen who had to leave early.  

Next, it was time for gifts.  Thomas decorated the gift bag, giving it an extra special touch.  

Group hug with two of his preschool buddies, Levi and Nella.  

Hudson was thrilled with his gifts.  He got lots of LEGOS, which is something he has been super into since he got his first set for Christmas.  

Aunt Angela was forced to stay an extra day (YEAH!), because of the snow storm we had the day before.  It was wonderful to have her around to buddy up with Greta during the party.  

2.3.16

Now that Hudson is FIVE he has opinions about lots of things, including how he wants to spend his time.  When planning his special day we gave him lots of ideas and options and he picked getting Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (for the 2nd year in a row) and going to the Science Center.  

Daddy went all out and got an entire dozen, including some delicious cream filled valentine donuts.  

For his birthday gift we sent him on a scavenger hunt around the house, reading clues and looking for  the hidden spots, including the freezer, the bathtub, his special chair, etc.  

At the end of the search he discovered that our gift to him would be to go shopping to pick out a NEW BIKE.  

 Mid morning we headed downtown to the Science Center of Iowa.  This had been our "family fun list" for awhile now and a trip there was exactly what the birthday boy had in mind as the fun spot for the day.  There were interesting animals to see...  

Cool contraptions to build...

Rocket ships to construct...

and then shoot off.

The "Ball Wall" was Hudson's favorite place to play.  

We got to meet Stuffie the oversized stuffed person who taught us more about the function and placement of various parts of the human body.

We had an opportunity to do some detailed leaf rubbings.

Hudson was on the Channel 13 11:00 news...no smiles though. :)  

The space exhibit with planetarium was a favorite stop.  

We loved having Aunt Ang along for the day.

The boys did some climbing...

And Greta girl had a blast too.  This place had so much cool stuff to explore and discover for scientists of all ages and stages.  

Daddy could really make some huge bubbles, thanks to those long arms he has.  

Our time at the Science Center proved to be such a fun time of discovery for all of us.  We will definitely go back, sometime soon.