Gators and Dinos...

We've had a very busy May. Hard to believe that today ends the month already! It goes by so fast and apparently I keep up so slow! An age thing, a mommy thing, or both? Anyway, I will do my best to catch up!

My sister and her husband, along with their plethora of reptilian wildlife, are fostering a young alligator. They brought it over earlier this month for the kids to have a look at. Before banding it they showed the kids it's little teeth. A mouth full of tiny razors. Yikes! Nathan and Beth were thrilled! Katie wasn't afraid but every time it moved she would immediately let go. A neat experience for them. Not everyone can say they've held a live alligator!

Also this month we visited the Science Museum of Minnesota. This is the event my son had been counting down daily for about a month prior. We have gone the past few years and it has been one of his favorite spots.

Each year the museum holds special exhibits. This year it was King Tut and the Golden Kings of Egypt. It was fascinating! Something I have been wanting to see since I was a child! Amazing how the climate of Egypt can preserve things, such as wood and reeds, so well over thousands of years. The artifacts we saw were between 3000 and 5000 years old! Absolutely amazing! The stone works were close enough to touch but we weren't allowed. I felt like a kid trying to restrain myself from reaching out and running my fingers over them. I admit, I was tempted to say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see the sign." Haha! But I didn't. I was good.

The kids didn't appreciate the Tut exhibit near so much as the other parts of the museum. There were so many neat things to spark the imagination. But the favorite spot for them all was the prehistoric area.

 At many of the stations there were telephones, which you pick up and are able to listen to the history of the particular exhibit. The photograph above shows the kids at the first one, the apatosaurus. However, I should have been taking a video. I wish I had captured Katie's response! After adjusting her phone (as you can see she is listening to the wrong end) she looked very confused and said, "no, no. This is Katewyn! Kaaaatewyyyyn! No, KATEWYN!" Haha!! It was too funny!

As you can see, the apatosaurus was huge. I was unable to get much of it in the photo. Nathan was so proud of these dinosaurs. We spend a long time in this area, which also has a little miniature prehistoric site they could climb over and puppets to play with.

Another favorite stop inside the museum, especially for the girls, was the little newsroom where you got to be on TV! Every little girls dream, right? :)

It was a fun trip, but, also a long one, and we had three tuckered out kids on the way home. Needless to say, we had a peaceful end to the day.

The next day wasn't near as much fun as we had multiple tornadoes touch down near us. One in Lacrosse, one in Sparta, and one about 2-3 miles north of where we are. Thankfully, God was watching out for us and kept us safe. He was also watching out for all those affected as not one person was killed in any of those three tornadoes. So very grateful! It has been a bad year all throughout the Midwest. The deadliest tornado year in over 50 years. Yikes! Praying for calmer days ahead!

And last, but definitely not least, we celebrated two birthdays this past weekend! "Grandma in Texas" (aka Mom, Melodee) and Daddy Mark's! Only two things would have made it better. One: If I hadn't had to work. Two: If we could have had Grandma Melodee with us to celebrate her birthday in person.

Here is a pic of the birthday girl and a pic of the birthday boy! I don't have access to a baby pic of Mom but this one is close enough and sure is cute!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Hunny!

Blessings to all!! Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Enter May...

We have had such a beautiful start to the month. A few showers here and there and some overcast skies but some really beautiful days mixed in. Don't worry, we have taken full advantage of them! And with rain being a possibility for, at least, the next few days, I am so glad we did!

But, there has been a down side to all our outdoor time. Ticks, ticks, and more ticks. I do believe we are farming them here. On average I pull two ticks off of each kid, each day we enjoy outside time (sometimes more, sometimes less). On the up side (if you want to call it that), I have become a professional tick puller.

 During some of this great weather, the kids and I built an awesome fort, complete with roof. I had to teach them the art of a stick fort. It's really like a mix between the game of pick-up-sticks and Janga. Everything is woven together so it holds, but if you take one out, you might make the whole think fall. Lol! No need to worry though, it is perfectly safe! :)

I am a little embarrassed over this next fact. Alysabeth is almost 9-years-old and I still have not taught her how to ride a bike! How could this have happened? As a kid I rode bike everywhere! Unfortunately, the bike I have been working with her on this year is a bit on the small side. It is taking some time, and she gets plenty frustrated but I am convinced she will learn. :)

Overall the kids have been in good health and enjoying a great spring! However, days like today (rain), do happen. But, even though it puts a damper on things (literally), it has been great for our grass, and I am looking forward to watching everything bloom!

Last Friday, we headed up to Great-Grandmother's house for her birthday. Ninty-two years old and still getting around the house without any assistive devices. Wonderful to see. I can only hope to be in such good condition should I ever reach her age. We took pictures and ate ice cream and a wonderful time! Such a wonderful, loving woman, and the kids adore her.

The day after I noticed that Katie was spending a lot of time looking in the mirror. Back and forth she would go each time getting really upset, so I had to ask her about it. It turned out that our dear little girl had her hopes up. She wanted white hair, just like Great-Grandma, and she kept hoping that her hair would change. When it was time for bed and she had checked one more time she said, with much desperation, "My hair is going to be brown to-ever!"

I just love the little things our kids say!

God Bless!