Good Friday At The Zoo

Dave's company gives him Good Friday off so we try to do something fun as a family. This year we headed to the zoo, played at a new playground, and did some clothes shopping. It was a great family day. The boys had lion shirts on, so when we got to the lion exhibit we had to get a picture. The lion was so cute and didn't look much like a beast at all, just a sweetie.....he was laying down with his head propped on a log like it was a pillow, just looking all around.

Checking out the rhinos...

Eva looked really cute in her jacket and enjoyed taking in all of the sights.

 They have an exhibit where the kids can run as fast as a cheetah. It was cute watching them try to go as fast as possible. *Benjamin was getting over a cold and he has issues with asthma when he's sick, so he skipped running this time, but we'll be sure to try it out again for him.*

Dave asked Collin to show his muscles while he was waiting for his turn.

After racing like cheetahs, they got to see real cheetahs. It was weird seeing them laying next to snow. They were really sweet looking.

Here's my Collin-Ollin. He's very sweet and fairly defiant. He keeps us on our toes for sure. This weekend he got out of the car at a gas station and started pulling the gas pump out of the pump that was across from us (I had turned from watching him for about 2 seconds to get Eva a pacifier), then the next day he got lost during our church Easter egg hunt and gave me a huge scare and when someone finally found him I told him, "Collin you scared me!" to which he responded, "No, I didn't." and ran off again, and finally that night he got a hold of Dave's hammer while we were moving furniture and did a decorative hammer job to our door. I tell ya, this boy is busy, busy and doesn't have a care or worry in the world!

We had fun watching this little baby elephant. He was so animated and ran all over the place!

We did a little shopping, had some dinner and then tried out a new playground. It was a lot of fun and Eva got to enjoy her first swing ride.

She LOVED it!!!!

Dave was loading the other kids in the car while Collin was having a little fit, so I had a few minutes alone with my sweet five year old.

Anna is getting pretty darn good at making silly faces!

She is such a sweet girl!

Here's what Mr. Collin was doing. In case you're wondering, he did not appreciate me taking his picture. ;)

Benjamin and Anna had their yearly check-ups and are both doing great! Here are their stats:

Benjamin - 53 pounds (50th %), 49 inches (75th %)

Anna - 42 pounds (50th %), 45 inches (90th %)

Spring Break Snow Storm

A crazy thing happened, we had a snow storm during spring break! It was a beautiful snow and disappeared almost as quick as it came. It wasn't very cold, so the kids had a fantastic time playing....

Our spring gardening...

Snow angels!

Watch out, Collin's sneaky!

Getting ready for their snowball fight.

These boys even wrestle in the snow! Collin can take Benjamin down quicker than you can imagine and they both love it!

Eva played inside during the snow fun.

She didn't appreciate when I went back to taking pictures of the kids outside!

Anna loves to swing, even in the snow!

When Collin came in, his hair style made me laugh....he looked so different!

Eva eventually calmed down and went back to playing. This is her absolute favorite toy and has been for months. She takes the toys in and out of her mirror over and over and over again!

Her eyes are so beautiful!

And they get very happy when she spots her Daddy coming in the door and gets to see him for the first time that day. It's a long wait for a little one!

Daddy's other little girl was super happy to see him that evening too. They were playing on the couch and I just had to grab the camera when I saw how adoringly she was looking up at him!

Abraham, Snow, Clapping, Sports VBS, & Basement Family Fun

Benjamin and I are doing a new bible study and we are studying Genesis for this year. That means we have spent quite a bit of weeks learning all about Abraham. The History Channel did a Bible series recently and when we came home on the first night it aired I had forgotten to set it up to record. While I was doing it, Benjamin came in from the car and even though we had just gone to a toy store to let the kids spend their birthday/Christmas money and they all had new things to play with, Benjamin came right in and saw that they were talking about Abraham and laid down like this and watched with so much enjoyment. We only let him see that part as the series was rather violent, but got so much joy from his love for Abraham and his bible study that he works hard on and enjoys so very much!

Random snow day fun in March. Anna was sick with an upset tummy this day, but the boys had a good time...

Miss Eva just keeps learning new tricks! She surprised us with clapping this day....

She LOVED how excited we all got!

Benjamin did a sports VBS camp during spring break and loved it! He got to pick which sport he did and chose basketball, his current love. On the last day each sport got to go on stage and do a chant. (Benjamin is right in the middle)

Our happy basketball guy.

Hi Eva!

Game night.....one of our favorites around here....Princess Monopoly

Cute little Collin who needs a haircut.

Pretty Anna who is getting into singing and putting on shows for us.

Peak-a-boo!

Smiling at her silly Collin.

Fun with blocks.

After the game we did some team work and built our new bookcase to hold the ever-growing game collection in our house (Benjamin is obsessed with games).

Except Eva and I, who just kept playing.

Benjamin and Anna got a hold of the camera and kept trying to capture their dad making funny faces. I think they succeeded.....

Collin was willing to give them funny faces.....

Benjamin did pretend basketball moves when Anna had the camera....

and I'm not sure what Anna was doing, but it was definitely silly...

Eva and I checked out the boys' handy work.

One more silly shot....

and a sweet one!

Very fun family night in our basement!

*I've been playing catch up, so keep scrolling down...there's more posts. ;) *