Zach's Friend Birthday

April 9, 2015

Oh my sweet boy is 7, I can hardly believe it. What a year it has been! Zach decided early this year that he really want a party at the ARL. He loves loves loves animals and it was perfect. He also really surprised me when I gave him the option of receiving gifts from his friends, or asking them to bring donations of food and beds for the animals in lieu of his gifts. He didn't even hesitate saying the animals needed presents more than he did. Was a proud momma moment for sure!

The party room had lots of fun decorations before we even arrived, but we got there and had about 5 minutes to set up. The best part about the day were the 5 little kittens that played in the room the whole time we were there - who wouldn't want a party with a bunch of kittens? The kids got to color a name badge and pet carrier, received a tour of the facility meeting animals along the way, then we had cupcakes and opened presents. They also got to "adopt" their own stuffed animal to bring home.

Zeeshan - one of Zach's first friends

Lucy - Andersen's youngest daughter - glad that we can be close with their family as all the kids play so well together!

Bella L. - we see her everywhere as her brother was in soccer the same time as kenna, is in karate, and she is in gymnastics. I got a chance to work with her this year in reading each week and she is the sweetest young lady.

Joe is in Zach's boy scout troop. He really loved the kitties.

Victoria has been in Zach's class both years. She was his first crush in kindergarten, he told her he was in love with her on the playground last year...hopefully her mom didn't hear!

Ethan - lives a few houses away and the boys have a great time playing pokemon

Taylor - lives down the street and has twin siblings that will be in kindergarten with grayson next year!

Kenna was in heaven with all these kitties to play with...all my kids just love little critters!

Tale of my two sons

Tale of my two sons: one dressed in a tshirt this morning because LAST week he was told they may have a lesson on Wednesday - how to properly do dishes and he didn't want to get his sleeves wet (I knew nothing of this he just remembered and planned.) The other one somehow lost his bearded dragon between walking downstairs to get his legos and walking back up again - love them dearly, genetics make me laugh.

Ledges Hike

April 3, 2015

The weather is so nice daddy decided to take the monkeys to Ledges for an impromptu hike - love that they are little adventurers!

Pinwood Derby

April 2, 2105

Today I eat crow, I eat it because there was a time when I doubted Zach's first pinewood derby car. When we got news that it was coming up I immediately turned to pinterest and saw all the creative ideas: a piece of cheese with a mouse on it, a batman car, star wars, etc etc. Josh and Zach spent an afternoon crafting the perfect car and while it was streamlined and aerodynamic, it was plain. Just stained with no creative paintjob. But, they made it together and both were excited so I was happy.

The day of the race came and all the dads were lined up painstakingly adding micrograms of weight to make it the perfect size. Using powdered lubricant so the wheels would be perfect - meanwhile all the scouts were running around being crazy and Josh was manning the computer. He mistakenly volunteered himself for official computer guy in charge of the lazer timekeeping program. From the looks of it the software was designed right around the time Josh was born - but he did it with a smile on his face :)

After many races and lots of bracketing that I didn't really understand we found out Zach was the winner of the tiger group! I should have never doubted my engineer - who knowingly placed the weight on top of the car versus the back like most of the other dads. The smile on Zach's face was awesome - he had never received a trophy or medal before so he was pumped!!

Easter Bunny Visits

March 29, 2105

Imagine my surprise when I am digging up a very large, very frustrating hugantic hydrangea in our front yard and I hear a scream. This was not a person scream, but a scared-out-of-their mind small animal scream. I immediately jump back and scream myself, shovel still lodged in the soil. As I inspect the spot I was digging, I see lots of wiggling and am slightly grossed out. Upon closer inspection and with two very interested dogs pawing at the ground, I discover I have struck a bunny nest. I immediately scold the dogs and put them away, and attempt to dispose of the one that I obviously killed with my shoveling (sorry little bunny.) McKenna came out to see what was going on and saw that there were two baby bunnies now sort of wiggling in this small hole. This is the day McKenna fell deeply in love with these baby bunnies. I made her wear gloves because I had no idea what diseases they had, or if our scent would scare momma bunny away forever. 

In our research we discovered that bunnies stay in this little hole until their eyes open and they are able to move on their own, just a few weeks. It looked as if our little guys were pretty close to that time. It also said, much to my relief, that wild bunnies rarely survive living in captivity. So, I put them back in their den and tried to recover them with the remnants of fluff that the momma bunny had so carefully collected. I have to question her choices, however, as she put her nest in the highest traffic dog area in our entire yard...cmon momma bunny, what were you thinking?

That night I saw the momma return to the site and the next morning the babies were gone. There were many tears from Ms. Kenna as she proclaimed her love for the small animals and hoped they were safe. I hope her heart is always this big!

Easter

Headed to Gona and Baca's for easter this year. Each adult had a certain color of egg that was designated for a certain child. Really helped the fighting over who got which egg! Inside were candies and coins. The kids had a great time searching. The carrot picture was inspired by a snack for the horses and will forever be in our families "odd photos album" :) We also celebrated Tali's birthday!

Grayson's First Horse Riding Experience

March 29, 2015

We went to Jester Park's Easter celebration. While Kenna and Zach sort of gafawed at the idea of riding a pony around the track lead by an adult, Grayson jumped at the chance. He was all grins the whole way around. The other kids enjoyed coloring and cookies. Was pretty chilly in the horse barn!

Daddy's New Office

So apparently I have forgotten to blog in like 4 months - today begins my catch up :)

March 28th, 2016

Fridays we try and call our "family fun night." Josh has been burning the midnight oil for what feels like months at his job - and transitioning to a new building hasn't helped! We decided to grab some sandwiches and meet him there! The office is in a turn of the century tractor warehouse. All of the architecture has been preserved right down to the freight elevator turned stairwell. He had a lot to do with the design and implementation of the new office in the trendy East Village of des moines. Eventually it will be across the street from the new federal building and farmers market. The developers did a great job of blending old and new incorporating lots of green technology. The kids especially enjoyed the rooftop deck with view of the capitol!

Char's 40th

Its been a big year for birthdays. A few weeks ago Heidi turned 40 and we surprised her with a limo that took us to dinner and then a comedy show. When I found out that Jamie wasn't doing anything too big for Char's 40th I decided to get to work! I reached out to all of her friends and family and asked them to create a short 1 minute video of why they love/appreciate char. Then I compiled it with imovie and we sent out an invite for a surprise party! A great group showed up and we all watched the movie together. I think there were some tears and everything came together splendidly! Heidi and I make a great party-planning team and I know Char loved it :)

Seedlets

My sweet helper getting some seeds started since it is still getting below freezing at night - hurry up summer!

Zoo - Spring Break

More spring break fun - we headed to the zoo. While most of the main attraction things were closed, we did enjoy a low key day of just being in the sun, learning about tortoises and playing on the great playground they have there. Was nice to have no agenda and no where to be!