Spring Break Round 2

Wednesday morning we loaded up and went to Gram & Poppy's house. First on the agenda: Ranger ride in the pasture. Second on the agenda? Call Frank and Poppy to come pull us out of the mud! Yes, the Ranger does have a limit and it's called a muddy creek bed. Geoff got unstuck without any help and made it across the creek to save the family who had to get out, before help arrived. But we played it safe after that! Claire received more presents that day and everyone enjoyed time outside. Thursday, after watching the menacing forecast for snow, we headed to the farm to ride Barney, fish and ride in the Ranger. It seemed to get colder and windier the longer we stayed out, and finally everyone was just too cold to have fun anymore. Friday the snow came, and came and came! Big beautiful flakes started very slowing and then picked up to blizzard-like by the evening. We stayed inside and played Wii, did various crafts, baked and decorated cakes and watched the basketball game that night. Saturday morning brought more snow. Some of the extended family were coming to visit until the weather deemed this impossible. But we made the best of the day, and went out to play. It was bitter cold and windy, so a short Ranger ride and some snow balls later, everyone came in. Gram and Claire made snow ice cream (yum) and we cuddled up for a winter's night snooze. We left KS Sunday morning, and saw snow the whole way home, but arrived to 60 degree weather, and THE SUN! Thanks to Gram and Poppy for a memorable visit!

The Ranger after the "sticky situation", daffodils before snow and a girl and her dog.

Enjoying the snow, a ranger ride and the snow plow in front of Gram and Poppy's (it came by several times).

Spring Break Round 1

Our family piled in the truck with the Ranger in tow on Saturday morning, headed to Nana and Papa's house. The start of spring break was finally here! This was Claire's actual birthday day, so she got cake for breakfast and was pretty much assuming this trip was going to be all about her. We arrived in Wichita safe and sound, and celebrated Claire's birthday that evening with cake and presents. Sunday morning we went to the zoo with the Hooper family, and had lots of fun seeing the komodo dragon and gorillas (I miss that zoo!). Monday we went over to the Hooper house to let the cousins play (including the dogs). Then that night we were all treated to dinner at Papa's new venture: The Genghis Grill. It was yummy, thanks Papa! Tuesday afternoon we went to All Star Sports hoping to ride go-karts, but had to settle for playing video games instead. It was still fun watching the kiddos win tickets and then pick out their prizes! The cousins had lots of fun playing with each other during the down times and they even got a couple Ranger rides through the neighborhood. The adults played some Wii and visited. Despite the crazy KS wind, we all had a great time! Thanks to Nana, Papa and the Hoopers for a wonderful visit!

The cousins enjoy a story from Papa, and birthday cake. Nana rocks it out!

Fun at the zoo!

Hail to the 6 year old

Claire turned 6 last week. We had her party at a place called Kiss A Frog. It's the best concept ever...all inclusive! You'll understand as I tell the story. Claire and 16 of her closest friends showed up Friday night and jumped in a bounce house with a slide, played with a huge doll house, and put on puppet shows. Then a princess appeared and guided them all into the wardrobe room where they were outfitted in about any gown possible, and then were given makeup and glitter to boot. The girls had fun twirling and changing out crowns, while the boys were being very brave and attempting to stay away from the girls. After everyone was decked out, they moved into the tea room, where tables were set with china and tea pots, with fruit and cakes in the middle. Everyone sang happy birthday and then enjoyed lemonade (we decided tea may not be enjoyed by everyone), cake and fruit. This was a hoot...everyone was practicing drinking with their pinkies up and being very proper in their beautiful dresses. After present opening, everyone disrobed and went their separate ways. We had a hard time getting Claire out of the building, as she was in awe of the princess and the wonderful gown she was wearing. She declared more than once that this was "the best day ever"! Mommy thought for the price it was probably the best birthday ever, all I did was walk in and walk out!

Make up by a princess and best friends!

The princesses telling the knight what to do, and making him bow to the queen. Plus some pirates tried to crash the party!

Tea party fit for a princess.

Not up to much

We haven't been doing much in particular lately. We had last weekend off, one of the very few until summer, so we just took advantage of hanging out, getting things done around the house and being a family. Claire is counting down the days to her birthday, and spring break, and Landon is anxiously awaiting our trip to Kansas for spring break week. Geoff is coming with us, along with the Ranger, so this should be a very busy trip! Along with prepping for that, Mommy is prepping for birthday party time! Although I don't have to do much, the place where we are going is all-inclusive! Other things to note:

Landon had another accident today, this one at school. The reason I mention it is that these are becoming less often, but each time it is MASSIVE amounts of liquid! The teacher would not put his shoes back on him; that's how bad! But better yet is that Landon has finally started writing his name. After lots of trying and showing, he just decided the other day to write it, and did it without much help! I'm so excited!

Claire got her dance costumes tonight for recital. These girls were in heaven trying on new outfits and dancing around with even more attitude than usual. Claire will have three dances this year, and is super excited about them...now that we have the attire! The drama queen reared her ugly head later when she broke a nail, never underestimate the power of a wanna be princess!

Is there such a thing?

I remember asking this question sometimes: "Is there such a thing?". Landon had an accident yesterday while sitting on the couch playing Wii Monster Trucks. And not just a little, there had to be a gallon of liquid come out of that boy! Mommy tried to stay calm as we cleaned up the mess. We've had lots of discussions about the difference between an accident and him just not getting up to go. (Do you see where this is going?) As we are talking about this again, Landon says to me "Is there really such a thing?". And I say "Such a thing as what, honey?". "An accident, Mommy, because I really needed to go, but didn't want to leave my game. So I couldn't get up in time but didn't want to...so this is an accident? I don't un'erstand." He walks away shaking his head, and I was trying to conceal my giggles!

Weekend in the Woods

A friend of ours has a cabin in the Ozark Forest. And when I say "in", I mean in the middle of nowhere, afraid my truck won't make it, in. On Friday afternoon, Geoff hooked up the trailer with the Ranger in tow and we all headed a couple hours south to meet our friends and their family for some muddin' and sight seeing. The cabin is right on a ridge with a super view of the Ozark Mountains, and is feet from trails leading in all directions. Trails to walk or ride, your pick. We took the ranger out on a day trip Saturday. We went through streams, over rocks, and through (deep) mud puddles. We saw three different waterfalls, had a picnic, did some rock climbing (haha) and lots of exploring. The kids had a ball! Landon was in his element...dirty! Claire wasn't always so sure about it, but still enjoyed the picnic and exploring. We also roasted marshmallows, took several hikes and just sat and enjoyed the view while the kids played. It was a great time!

Pizza Pie

The kiddos helped me make pizza last night. They tossed the dough, pressed it in the pan, smoothed on the sauce and sprinkled on the cheese (mommy put the meat on, 'cause it was hot). They had so much fun, they were calling each other "Chef Claire and Chef Landon". They even told Daddy he couldn't look in the oven when he got home because "they had baked him a surprise". (Daddy was a little worried!) Anyway, it turned out yummy and I think they ate more than if I had just put it on their plates...because it was WAY better than mine!

Landon and I had a "date" today. We went to Jumpzone, then to Target (ours just opened!) and then to the mall for a carousel ride and lunch. We played outside a little bit at the mall until he came up to me and said "Mommy, I'm pooped! Let's go home." He had a little rest and was ready to go again when Claire got home. My little guy is growing up so fast, I wish I could just press 'pause' and relish for a while!

Boy's Lunch

Today in celebration of one of my friend's son's birthday, the boys headed out for a nice lunch! It is never too young to teach them where the best chicken wings come from! It was fun to get out with just Landon and I, and he loved all the attention, as the pictures show!

Chugga, Chugga!

Our family went to a model train show yesterday morning. It was lots of fun to see these "enthusiasts" with their trains set up and in full swing. Landon was in awe...there were little people and houses and bridges, etc. He even got to drive a couple of them. We all enjoyed and appreciated the time and effort put into the presentation. Geoff so much so that he came home with another train! Landon was beside himself and showed our new "26 train" off to the Symons' that evening.

We went to the train show in the snow. It was beautiful, big flakes that did not stick to the road until nightfall. It snowed during the night and then all day; we had probably just over an inch! It was too dry to play with, and too darn cold to go out and try! I mention this only because it was nearly 80 degrees on Thursday and in the 60's on Friday. And I thought Kansas weather was crazy!