Swingers Road Trip - Days 2 & 3

On Saturday we traveled from Lincoln, Nebraska to Denver, Colorado.  It was a 6+ hour drive, but the kids did awesome.  They were excited about all the new activities I had packed to keep them busy and were the most anxious to get to Aunt Angela's house to "play with her toys." :)  This was Greta's first time to Colorado (last time we went I was pregnant with her) and Hudson's 3rd trip to Denver.  

The kids got these headphones from my brother for Christmas.  They were a lifesaver!   They allowed the kids to listen to their videos in the back and Roy and I didn't have to listen to them too.  :)  

Thankful for naps in the car to help pass the time.  

Saturday evening we got there just in time to watch the ISU Cyclones play in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament.  It was a great game, which they won, so that helped to get things off to a good start.  Since Ang wasn't able to make it to Hudson's birthday party, she promised him a special birthday dinner when we were at her house.  She made a few of his favorite things and topped it off with a homemade birthday cake and ice cream.  Have I mentioned before that my sister is an amazing cook?   

Sunday morning we headed downtown to the Children's Museum of Denver.  It was a fun filled time that engaged all of the senses, kept the little ones entertained, as well as the adults.  There were several different exhibits to play at and explore in.   

There were plenty of things to take care of at The Village Of Healthy Smiles, which was a pretend dentist office.  

Hudson doesn't like dress up, but Greta was interested in trying on the fire suit at the Fire Station.  

Making a rocket ship to blast off with Aung Ang.  

Watching their paper rocket ships fly in the Energy room was a highlight of our visit.    

Learning about the forces of motion and gravity in the Kinetics/Ball exhibit.  

Both of our kids seem to enjoy anything that has to do with art.  

I loved watching her work on making a unique masterpiece.  

Things got a little silly with the markers.  

Bubbles...Bubbles...Bubbles!

This was such a cool contraption.  You could stand on the platform, pull on the rope and the giant square shaped "bubble wand" would make a bubble all the way around you.  

Getting cozy in the birds nest in The Big Backyard exhibit.  

The Assembly Plant allowed for a great D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) experience.  

Checking out the animals at Ready, Vet, Go!

They could have played at My Market for hours!  Everything was so adorably decorated with vintage kitchen and market items.  

Gathering all the Colorado peaches he could get.  

Hudson worked hard at gathering all the fruits and veggies in the oven.  

After we got our fill of play and adventure at the museum we headed back to Angela's place for lunch and naps.  Later that afternoon we took a walk/bike ride to the park so the kids could run and play.  I am so thankful we could have this time with my sister in her space.    

Sunday night was make your own pizza night.  What a delicious activity.  

Swingers Road Trip - Day 1

In December Roy and I decided "this was the year" for a spring trip to Arizona.  Roy's grandparents live down in Tonto Basin and we really wanted to take our kids to see them, for them to get to know their great grandparents, and to make memories with them.  It felt like a good time for our family to make a big road trip and our schedule allowed for it.  We decided to go over Spring Break, simply so our kids wouldn't need to miss out on any of their weekly activities.  Plus, it would be that much warmer down in Arizona.  We left around 3:45 on Friday afternoon, March 10th and made the 3 hour trip to Lincoln, Nebraska.  We spent the night with my good friend Nikki and her sweet family.  She prepared a delicious dinner, the kids played so well together, it was great to catch up face to face and we said as many words as we possibly could in the 15 hours that we had together.  Saturday morning after breakfast and a morning walk we hit the round around 10:00 for Denver, Colorado.    

A quick family selfie before pulling off of our driveway.  

A Green Eggs and Ham Book Club

This month Hudson participated in a book club with his buddy Jonah.  They read the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham.  This was Hudson's first attempt at reading a Dr. Seuss book himself and he took on the challenge with confidence and was proud of himself.  The boys read a section of the book on their own and then made short videos, sharing their favorite part, something funny that happened, an illustration they liked, and they texted the videos to each other, via their moms cell phones.  Each of the boys created a final project in response to their reading.  Hudson made a poster that told about the important parts of the story (main character, setting, problem, solution, conclusion).  We then invited Jonah over for a Green Eggs and Ham playdate.  The boys first shared about their final projects.  Then they made Green Eggs and Ham Pretzel Bites for a sweet snack.  We closed out the fun by watching a short movie of the story.  Learning with others makes learning even that much more exciting.  

Getting ready to make the Green Eggs and Ham Pretzel Bites.    

Hudson doesn't eat eggs so we made the sweet treat version of Green Eggs and Ham.  

I found this idea on Pinterest.  1. Lay out waffle pretzels on a cookie sheet.  2. Put a white candy melt on top of each pretzel.  3. Put in a 200 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, just until the candy melts soften.  4.  Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven and add an M&M to the top of each pretzel, gently pressing the M&M into the candy melt.  

Green Eggs and Ham Pretzel Bites, popcorn and a smoothie for the movie watching.  

Watching Green Eggs and Ham together.  

Hudson's First Loose Tooth

On Monday, February 13th Hudson discovered his first loose tooth when he was taking a bite into a Hershey's kiss (a Valentine he received from a friend at his piano lesson).  He came to me all concerned about the new found change that was in his mouth.  He was quite anxious about it and favored it for the first day or so, only eating soft things on the other side of his mouth and talking kind of silly.  He refused to let me touch it, let alone wiggle it.  We talked him through the process of loosing a tooth and that some blood may be involved.  He does not like blood.  On Sunday, February 26th (almost 2 weeks later) my mom sent me the above picture.  The kids were spending the weekend at my parents and Hudson's tooth fell out while he was there.  Mom said he did great and handled it with confidence.  We aren't going to the the Tooth Fairy, so we just awarded him with $1 a few days later.  Another "big kid thing" crossed off the list...loosing a tooth.   

Work & Play

We are in such a sweet season of parenting.  Hudson is six and enjoys taking on new adventures.  The opportunities of the day are exciting and we love to see him learn along the way.  Greta is two, talking constantly and taking it ALL in.  She is flexible and a perfect example of a 2nd child.  Our days are filled with a combination of work and play.  We find excitement in the work and laughter in the play.   

Playing at Backyard Adventures (an indoor playground) on a cold February day when they needed to run and burn off some energy.  

Greta grabbing a few minutes with Miss Kendra (after Hudson's piano lesson) to work on improving her own skills.  

Me and my favorite girl, oh how I love her!  I catch all the snuggles and kisses I possibly can.  

The kids grabbed some playtime in the sandbox on a warm afternoon.  

Working hard on her puzzle fixing skills.  And that messy hair in her face, I just love it.    

Is this considered work or play...a Valentine's Day smoothie?  

Hudson and I always do his reading lesson/work after I put Greta down for her nap.  

Its been so exciting to witness Hudson's writing skills progress this year.  Seeing him connect what he is learning in his reading into his writing makes this teacher/mom super proud.  

Playing on the scooters with a new friend he met at Daddy's basketball game.  

This boy loves to build and rebuild his LEGO sets again and again.  

Working on his new puzzle of the 50 states with Daddy while discussing our upcoming travel route.  

Greta has really gotten into this Elmo I Spy book.  To our surprise she can locate all of the hidden pictures on every page.  

We made a 100 Museum with 100 Kix, 100 heart erasers, 100 noodles, 100 jelly beans, 100 pennies.    

Hudson and I made a batch of Mimi's Monster Cookies and put in all green M&M's (green for Pioneer).  Hudson wrote a note to Daddy's coworkers and Daddy delivered them for us.  

A playdate at Chick-fil-a with Hudson's buddy Hudson.  

Daddy thankful for the help from his sweetest snow shoveler.  

Every month Hudson "plans and prepares" a meal for our family.  This month he made garlic ham and cheese sliders, green beans, orange slices and chips.  

Concentrating on coloring the continents.  Or is that the Pacific Ocean?  

 Power washing the house on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.   

The girls basketball team from my hometown made it to the 3A state championship game at Wells Fargo Arena downtown Des Moines.  It was a late afternoon game so we grabbed some snacks and took the kids to the game to cheer on the Warriors. 

The outcome wasn't as we had hoped, but we still had a grand time.  

We met some friends for a building rain gauges at the Kids Workshop at Home Depot.

Greta's favorite part of the project was the painting.  Daddy helped with the assembling.   

The crew showing off their finished projects.  

After all that building it was time to grab some Krispy Kreme donuts with friends.