Hiking, Zoo, and Play time

 We spent part of last weekend in Delafield before Chris got home from China.  We stayed busy with hiking, playing outside, and going to the Milwaukee Zoo.  
Silly cute picture of Jack!

 

The boys got really dizzy on the tire swing!

 One tired out Emily

Hiking at Lapham Peak State Park

 Emily got some new running shorts that made her really fast :)

 Jack on the hike.  Andy and Jack had run 1.3 miles earlier that day at Andy's school fun run.  They both ran the whole thing while I jogged with them with Emily in the stroller. They are both super tough and fast!

Jack and I at the Zoo on Saturday morning

 We got to pet stingrays at the new exhibit!

 Jack and I touched one.  (They felt pretty smooth and slippery) But Andy and Emily just wanted to watch them swim.

 Emily giving her new monkey a hug

 Andy being silly with his new stuffed stingray

 Emily liked this little statue of a puppy.

 Emily and her cousin Jude being silly

 Holding hands so nicely

 Climbing up an elephant

 Getting so big!

 Feeding the goats!

 And my brave almost 3 year old decided she wanted to ride the camel!  She didn't even want to sit in my lap - she said she could do it all by herself!  It was bumpy and fun;  she was asking to ride Charlie again right when the ride was over.

 Jack and I on the zoo train - we sat across from Grandma and Andy, while Emily and Grandpa did the carousel.

Emily has been getting more into taking care of her dolls.  Here she is taking a nap with her "babies"

Chris got home on Sunday afternoon.  It is so nice to have him back from China!   We're ready for summer now!

End of the School Year Fun

 I can't believe the school year is almost over!  Andy especially is very ready for summer vacation.  Last week, I went with his class on their field trip to the Children's Museum.  It was a fun trip!  For the first hour they did some really cool experiments dealing with different types of matter.  Andy loved it.  Then, for the second part of the visit, he and two of his classmates stayed in a group with me and got free play at the museum.

Andy is listening to the instructions on what to do at each lab station (in the grey t-shirt)

Here is Andy at my station.  He mixed baking soda and vinegar in a bottle.  The gas produced filled up the balloon and made the liquid cold.  Very cool science!

 Here is his group in the jeep :)

 At the water play area.  He had two boys that he gets along with very well in his group.

 After Jack's last day of school this week, his class met at the park nearby for a fun park playdate.  They had cookies and juice, and then just had fun running around with each other.  Luckily, Emily had lots of little kids to play with too!

Here is Emily in the tunnel - there is another little girl in there who wasn't quite 2.  She was having fun leading her around and helping her. 

 Jack in a rare hug with Emily!

 Happy to be finished with preschool!

Random Pictures

 Just a few pictures from last week!  The weather is looking up, and the kids are loving being outside.  Here's a picture of Emily at the sand table.

And Jack eating a popsicle - he LOVES them and would eat 5 a day if I let him!  (at least I get the ones that have real fruit in them!)

 Here's Emily enjoying some jumping time on the bed.  Silly girl :)  Her outfit matched the quilt that day.

 We went to Funset last week for a fundraiser for Andy's school.  Here's Emily on the carousel.  She was really nervous this time around.  I had to hold onto her after I took this picture.  But slowly she got more comfortable.  After her 7th ride on it, she had me stand outside the gate and just wave to her as she went around.  She found a kitty that she liked riding on and named her MeowMeow.

 Andy and Jack must have done the bumper cars about 10 times together.  In this picture, Andy is in the red car.

 Jack is in the white t-shirt in the blue car!  He did awesome!

Happy 5th Birthday to Jack!!

 Jack turned 5 on May 11th, and he definitely knew it was his birthday weekend.  (He wouldn't let anyone forget -"I don't have to clean up my toys, it's my birthday today!"  In fact, he tried that line even after his birthday was done... after the weekend, though, it no longer worked!)  We had a nice time on his birthday on Saturday.  The kids just played with toys all day and we had Thai food (Jack's choice) and cookie cake for dessert. 

Here's Jack right after waking up, ready to open up some presents!

 And here he is, ready to blow out his candles on his cake.  (ignore the toys in the background and the kool-aid mustache!)

 Yum!  Our family can finish off one of these big cookie cakes in about a day and a half. 

 And, here was Emily - not too hungry after eating lots of Pad Thai, so she decided to use the chocolate frosting as more of a moisturizer for her hands?  What a mess!

 Fun day - Here's Jack at 9:00 at night on his birthday.  He had fallen asleep on the couch while he and Andy were watching a Batman cartoon.

I can't believe Jack is 5.  He is such a goofy, sweet, smart boy.   He wants to be a ninja when he grows up and he loves playing with legos, playmobil guys, and other action figures.  His favorite tv show is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (he got a new shirt and ninja turtle toys for his birthday)  He loves to play at the park and ride his scooter.  Jack's a very good eater - loves peanut butter sandwiches, red peppers, yogurt drinks, meatballs, and pad thai noodles.  Oh, and ice cream :)  He did great at his doctor appointment this week!  He got his 2 shots that he needs before entering kindergarten.  He was very brave during the shots, but was sad about how sore his leg was afterwards.  He was very goofy during his check-up with the doctor, but he made it through his ear and eye exam great!  Here are his stats!
Height: 44.75 inches  (84%)
Weight: 47 pounds (85%)
He is a wonderful boy and we love him SO much!

Warm Weather - Finally!

We've been getting outside a lot in the last couple of weeks.  In fact, once we are inside for an hour or two, I feel like we have to get back out so that we don't waste this much-improved weather.  It makes for a messier house than normal, but the kids and I are sure loving it. 

Jack and his friend Tyler played Ninja Turtles outside!

 Emily being silly by her swing.

 



Andy, looking handsome for his spring pictures at school





 Emily has been saying she needed a big-girl bike (because her brothers look so cool on their bikes) so she got a very early birthday present!

Trying it out in the house!

 Doing such a great job outside!

 

 

Jack loves to scooter!

 With all of these busy days outside, last week, Emily actually fell asleep and took a nap on the couch.  She often falls asleep in the car in the afternoon, but it had been a very long time since a real nap happened!

 And today, we played at the park again :)  Emily loves being brave and trying new things...

 Jack is such a monkey, he likes to climb up high

 And Jack mastered the fireman's pole, totally on his own!

And, because today was one of the first days over 70, we played outside in the water for the first time of the season.  The boys got a slip n slide for their birthday and we tried it out :)

Andy read the box and it said it was "just like body-surfing on a big wave" (with a very cool picture showing a kid using it).  He was a little disappointed at first that it didn't feel like a real wave, like the wave pool at the dells, but he ended up having a really good time with it, along with Jack and Emily.  The weather looks great tomorrow!  We'll certainly be enjoying it.