Zoo Day

 

Back in January I started potty training Ben.  I asked him what he would want his big prize to be when he was all finished potty training.  He said he wanted to go on an adventure as a family.  Something with animals.  I told him we should do the zoo.  He ecstatically said yes and that he wanted to ride an elephant.  We had to wait a couple months until it was a bit warmer but we finally made his wish come true.  It might not have been a real elephant, but I think the carousel was close enough ha ha!

Will was very much looking forward to riding on the carousel and it did not disappoint.  It is hard to tell through the mask, but he was all smiles the whole time.

We went with cousins, so that made seeing the animals even more fun.

They of course loved playing around on all of the statues.

The last time we went to the zoo, Ben was pretty young so this time with him was just so magical.  He was so enthralled to see all the animals in real life instead of just in pictures.  I loved his enthusiasm.

Of course we had to get a picture of all of the cousins in this iconic spot.  I remember doing this when I was a kid.  It is so fun to share with our kids the fun things I remember doing when I was young.

We finished our day at the zoo with a ride on the train.  It was fun to see the African animals up close.  In fact we had a very close encounter to a giraffe.  He had come right up to the train.  I we had reached out we probably could have patted him on the head.  The boys were so pumped that they got to see him so close.  It was a memorable experience for sure.  I love quality time with family.  Family time is the best time!

Easter

 

Like I've said in the past, I love holidays, so we had a lot going on for Easter!

We had fun coloring Easter eggs at home with the boys.

Afterwards, we had an Easter egg hunt, just our little family.  These times are so special and magical I like to make sure I get to have a moment to celebrate with just us so I can really enjoy the smiles on their faces with no distractions.

The day before Easter we headed up to my parents.  The boys always love getting to drive Grandpa's tractor.

We also made my family's traditional Easter Surprise Cookies.  The surprise is the jelly beans in the middle.  The kids love putting the jelly beans in, and then dipping them in glaze and putting on the sprinkles when they are finished baking.

Time with cousins is the best and they looked adorable in the bunny hats that they made.

Then we had an Easter egg hunt which is always a highlight for the kids.

We spent the night at my parents so we got to have the fun of Easter morning at their house.

The night before, we planted jelly beans in the yard, and sure enough the Easter bunny used his magic to grow them into lollipops.

Later we had fun playing with Grandpa's bottle rockets.

After lunch, we headed over to Dave's sister's house to spend time with his family.

We had another Easter egg hunt with more eggs than you would believe.  Our boys are set on candy until Halloween I think ha ha.

Afterwards, I introduced them to our Easter Surprise cookies, and the kids had fun dipping and decorating them.  I was a very busy holiday with so much family and fun, just the way we like it!

April Fools

 

I also have fun playing an April Fool's joke on the boys every year.  This year, I told the boys that we were going to try a new restaurant for lunch, one that only served vegetables.  Ben's face was classic.  Their reaction was totally worth it ha ha!

Instead of going to get vegetables, we got Chick-fil-a instead.  They were pretty happy for the surprise and I love making them smile.

Doctor Master Dave

 

Dave had a very big accomplishment this month.  He finished his MBA.  We decided to get a babysitter and go out to celebrate.  We always seem to head to Magleby's when we are in a celebratory mood so we decided to keep up tradition.  We went to Magleby's when Dave got his Ph.D so it just made sense to do the same for his MBA.  His family was teasing him if they should start calling him Master Doctor Dave or if it was Doctor Master Dave.  Either way I am so proud of him for all of his hard work!

St. Patrick's Day

 

I LOVE holidays! Like really really love them.  And they are so much more fun now that we have kids.  St. Patrick's Day has never been a super exciting holiday for me, but now it is so much fun!  They day before St. Patrick's Day we made a trap for our leprechaun, Charmy McGold.  He comes every year to cause mischief.  We also make him some hats out of Styrofoam cups.

St. Patrick's Day morning did not disappoint.  The boys find it hilarious that our leprechaun pees in our potty.  That is always a hit. 

He also always leaves them a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

He left footprints on our counter and escaped our trap, but at least he left a note for the boys congratulating them on their efforts.

He also shrunk the hats that the boys made him and turned our bread dough green.  He is such a sneaky leprechaun ha ha!  Maybe they will get him next year!

Sick Day

 

A few weeks before Easter, the boys came down with colds.  After being stuck at home for what felt like forever I decided we needed to have some fun even if it was a sick day.  We had a family movie night and got the boys kids meals from Arctic Circle.  They were so excited about the bunnies that came with their meals.  When I was little I remember getting bunny stuffed animals from Arctic Circle around Easter time so I wanted our boys to experience that.  I always loved it when I was a kid.

We also played a game where I hid alphabet letters inside of Easter eggs.  After I hid the Easter eggs, the boys had to find them and then match the letter to the right spot on the puzzle.

We also made our own little bunnies out of the boys hand prints.

Last, I put a bunch of Easter eggs in a "trap" and the boys had to get them out with out breaking any of the streamers.  We ended up having a really fun day together even though we were stuck and home sick.  I love making memories like these with my little guys.  Even sick days can be magical.

Kite Flying

 

We love taking our boys to fly kites.  We make a point of doing it every year.  This year the boys got fish kites and they flew really well. It was the perfect day to fly kites, warm but just a right amount of a breeze to keep them in the air.

I could not believe how well Ben did with his kite.  He held onto it all by himself and did totally amazing!

Will had a great time and even got all of his string out.  He had his kite as high as it could go!  I love our family traditions and making memories with my favorite boys.