Easter with Friends

Spring Break week we also hosted friends for some Easter fun.  We dyed/decorated eggs together.  This Egg-mazing machine/decorator was a HIT (thank you $10 Aldi Finds aisle). 

Between the dying and the decorating machine, the kids had plenty of creative options to make their eggs colorful.  

The finished eggs turned out beautifully!  

After decorating we headed outside for an egg hunt.  

I put a little twist on the egg hunt.  Some of the eggs had candy and coins inside but other eggs had a slip of paper with a letter on it.  They had to use the 8 letters/slips of paper and unscramble them to make a word.  The word revealed the location of a $5 gift card they received.  Starbucks, Smokey Row, Chipotle, Culvers and Caseys were the gift cards I selected for the kids.  

Hudson baked an Easter poke cake, which we got Peeps to put on top.  Ivy and Greta didn't even know what they were.  Ha!  

Our sweet friend Hailee from Tennessee surprised Stephanie with a quick visit.   

A group picture before everyone parted ways.  

 

Spring Break 2024

After arriving home from my parents we geared up for some out of town guests.  We hadn't seen the Tetschner Family in over 4 years so it was sweet to introduce them to Ivy and for the kids to reconnect.  They played so well together.  

Their 24 hour stay was short, yet sweet!  

Dinner with the Talijaard Family is always a treat.  Ivy especially loved the Mouse Trap game.  

Corrie and Greta are two peas in a pod.  

A day spent with the Powers girls included playtime at Triumph Park, Mexican for lunch, and a round of mini golfing. 

On Thursday we met cousins at the Iowa Historical Museum.  

On our walk over to the capitol building we stopped at the state counties and grabbed a picture on the Dallas Country square.  Home.  

We spotted Governor Reynolds giving a speech in the rotunda.  

A stop in the State Law Library is always fascinating.  

We grabbed lunch at Manhattan Deli after our Iowa adventures.  

On Sunday afternoon we took in an Iowa Wolves (a NBA G League team) at Wells Fargo Arena.  

Ivy met Alpha, the team mascot, after the game.  

It was Faith and Family Night so we took in a concert by Jordan St. Cyr after the game.  

Spring Break wouldn't be complete without a trip to Culvers.  The flavor of the day was Mint Chip, our family favorite!  

 

Sioux Center Weekend

We kicked off our Spring Break with a trip to Sioux Center to visit my parents.  

We went swimming, as we often do when we are in town.  

After much begging, we promised the girls we would go ice skating.  Because of the mild temps this winter we never got to the outdoor rink in Des Moines.  So, ice skating indoors while in Sioux Center was on the Sunday afternoon agenda.  

Ivy was kind of a lot of work, which is understandable.  

Greta loved it and was counting her laps.  

It was a lot harder than she expected.  

Greta was taking portraits of everyone.  She got some funny ones with silly poses. 

We always play games when we are together.  

Ivy loves her Bapa Rog.  

 

State Swim Meet

Hudson qualified for the State YMCA swim meet in Marshalltown on Saturday, March 2nd.  This was a big milestone he was hoping to accomplish this season and he not only qualified for one event, but two, the 50M Backstroke and the 100M Backstroke.  

The theme for the meet was Heroes vs Villains and they had a parade of champions where the swimmers could dress up.  As expected, Hudson was thrilled with the idea of gettin dressed up and parading around.  Just kidding.  :)   

Heading to his event...

Waiting for his turn to dive in.  

Cousins Milly and Mylo came to cheer him on!  

He had a long break between events so we grabbed BBQ for lunch with cousins, Auntie Lynn and Nana and Papa.

  

Heading back to the pool for the afternoon.  

Hanging with a fellow swim mom and swim sister.

Hudson with Coach Damon

So proud of this kid and all his hard work in and outside of the pool.  

It was fun to swim someplace new and witness all the fast swims.  

Most of Hudson's swim friends didn't qualify for State but his buddy Andrew James did.  They were thankful to be able to hang out together.   

Celebratory ice cream at Culvers following the meet.