Back to the Zoo

I said that once it hits 50 degrees, I was taking the kids to the zoo.  Well, 50 degrees doesn't feel too warm when it is cloudy and windy, but it was nice getting out any way.  

My monkey

Sydney, Connor, and Chase

Ready to Give Up Winter

But I guess my kids aren't yet.  We went to the park and they found broken pieces of sled and went sledding.

I guess I better introduce the to ice blocking this year.

They did enjoy the sand though.

More Big News and a Vacation

So, I guess I haven't mentioned this yet, but not only are we having a baby girl this summer, we are going to have a baby business.  John has decided to open up his own dental practice in Riverton and we are hoping that it will be up and running by June (I'm still thinking they won't be done building until July, probably the week I have my baby!)  We found a medical building that is just finishing being built and John will be one of the first tenants.  All this is overwhelming for me, but John is supper excited and ready for this new adventure.  During this whole process of how to build it and what type of equipment to put in it, we were invited by Adec ( a dental equipment company) to come out to Oregon and check out their company, manufacturing processes and all.  So, they offered to pay for our flights, our hotel, and our food while we were there with them and of course we said yes.  Oh, and I got to fly first class on the way home.  Kind of nice, especially since I need a little extra room right now!  The first night we were there, they took us to a Peruvian restaurant.  Being the picky eater that I am, I was a little nervous, but it was so good!  Probably our favorite on the whole trip. This is the view from our hotel balcony

The next day we had to be up and ready to go by 6:45!  Ya, I'm not a morning person, so I struggled a little, but I made it alive.  That day we went on a tour of the how they make their equipment (dental chairs, cabinets, small tiny tubes that go in the chairs that no one ever sees, but for some reason we should be interested in seeing how they were made...)  Needless to say, I was a little bored.  Here are a few things I found fascinating on the tour:

They bonzied (new word?) all their pine trees!

We had a good laugh about that one.

Seriously that bottle is huge!  Found in the woman's bathroom

Did you ever see the movie I, Robot with Will Smith?

Since all of the really expensive parts of the trip were paid for, we decided to stay longer than the rest, rent a car and go visit the coast and John's brother. On the way to the coast, we stopped by the Tillamook Cheese factory, just a little reminder of our time in Milwaukee.

  Those are massive hunks of cheese!

It was very cloudy and rainy, so not the best picture of us

This is a picture of 4 random ladies that decided to get in their swim suits and run into the ocean.  Did I mention that it was cold?  I thought they were crazy!

One thing I found very interesting was the moss that grew on everything, including the trees.  It was almost a little creepy in parts with the moss covered trees and the moss hanging down over it.  Very cool though.

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling so great by the time we got to John's brother's house, so I didn't take any pictures of Amy's (sister-in-law) birthday or their cute kids, but it was so good to see them! We brought Connor back an Oregon hat and ever since then he has been begging us to take him there.  Hopefully soon! 

Boy or Girl?

Can you tell? (These kind of nudy pictures are okay right?)

Feet

Face (or as John said, "our Skeletor baby")

Profile, looking down

Have you figured it out yet? ('cause that feet picture really gives it away:)

Off Track

I'm not sure yet if I am a fan of this off track business.  Honestly, I think I would rather have a longer summer.  It is just easier to entertain your kids in the summer ("go outside and play" being my favorite form of entertainment).  I feel like my kids mostly watched TV, so I have to post the few things that we did do so that I feel a little better about all the TV watching.  Did I mention this third baby is wiping me out!

We did a painting craft, Connor a snake and Sydney a butterfly:

We went to Classic and tried out their rollerskating rink and their "jungle"

She actually jumped right back up and didn't even cry.  Connor made it once around the track and he was done and went back to his scooter.  I think Sydney made 2 or 3 times around before she went back to the scooter.   Now that she has roller skated, Sydney is ready to move on to ice skating.  Thank you Olympics.
This was the "jungle"

We even got up the courage and asked some neighbors to go to a bouncy house with us.  Why is it so much harder to find friends once you get in a house?  Is it the area?  or is the fact that we are not forced outside by horrible living conditions?  I guess we just have to work a little harder.

Oh, and I can't forget the "picnic".  Sydney has discovered the joy of her princess tea set.  I should mention that they did this a few times and on the last time Connor decided that he was a dog and needed to lap up his "tea" (water) which ended up all over the kitchen floor.  Hence the "last time".

I will have to say that I am so happy when I hear these two laughing and playing together.  For the most part, they are really good friends and I hope that it will last throughout their lives.

Happy V-day

John and I are not big fans of V-day.  I do like flowers and chocolates, but they are way to expensive for this holiday and the restaurants are so packed that it 's not worth doing that either.  But, I think we have found a tradition that we really like.

 Candle light dinner with the kids (we had Salmon, which is out of the norm for us, so I thought they would think it was fancy, but when I told the kids what we were having, Connor said, "Aw, I want crab!"  What kid says that?)

 and Chocolate Fondue with the kids.

Super Bowl Sunday

I love having reasons to get together with family.  Not great pictures, but good food, good company, good conversation (was it a good game?) and just plain fun to have some of our family over.  Now we just need a bigger space so we can fit everyone.