Category Archives: family

Driving, Toys and Eagles

Last Friday day care was closed for annual training, so rather than sitting around the house, I thought it would be fun to get out and do something. The weather was supposed to be nice, so I figured we should go for a drive and hopefully see some wildlife. The National Eagle Center is around 2 hours away, and then I realized that Lark Toys was just 10 minutes away from that, so we had our plan! We popped a movie on for the kiddos to watch and we were golden! Phoebe managed to take a quick nap in the van and by the time we arrived at Lark, both of them were more than ready to get out some energy. Also, they were hungry. Why is it that whenever we’re at home they pick at their food, but the second they get in the van they (okay, mostly Enzo) become famished and want all of their snacks in the first 5 minutes.

The kids were overcome with joy looking at all the toys, and thankfully there were a lot of toys that are actually okay for kids to play with while they look. Phoebe did not want to leave behind “her” baby that she had found and it took some coaxing to get them to move on to other things. They have been playing with their own kitchen and toys a lot more since we went, so I call that a win since it reminded them how much they actually enjoy playing “house.”

Besides all of the great toy displays, the highlight of Lark Toys was the carousel. I wish I had gotten more pictures of it, but the kids were antsy and had so much pent up energy still. We went on one ride, got some lunch and then decided to head to our next stop.

I think we were both a little surprised at how busy the National Eagle Center was on a Friday. It was a lot later in the day than I had originally planned on arriving, but with kids that’s not exactly unusual. It was chilly, but the kids enjoyed some fresh air while we looked for eagles. Alas, they were all pretty far off and despite being zoomed in as far as I could, it just wasn’t far enough. Inside, however, the kids got to see them up close and without glass or anything in the way.

(Enzo took this picture of the barge – time to get him his own camera!)

We tried to stay as long as possible, but both kids were acting rather unruly and at this point could not hold their wiggles in and were running around and yelling and the last thing I wanted was for them to get underfoot of other people who were there trying to enjoy their day as well. We went ahead and called it and headed home so the kids could run around like maniacs in the comfort of their own home. We did get to see more eagles flying around and some in nests, but one of these days I’ll just have to drive around on my own… or wait until next season to do so.

Ice Castles and frosty toes

For someone who is without a doubt, an introvert, I get stir-crazy very easily. It is for that reason I tend to drag my family out of the house – Phoebe comes more than willingly, but sometimes I have to convince Josh and Enzo to come too. Something about the phrase “Ice Castle” had Enzo even more excited than Phoebe.

We decided to go opening weekend since it was the first weekend where the temps were at least in the 20’s. In hindsight, we should have probably waited until it was a tad warmer out. Enzo doesn’t mind getting bundled up, but Phoebe is really not a fan of layers and gets very unhappy when it’s time to put her big coat on. I don’t blame her; I really am not a big fan of bulky layers either – I get claustrophobic and uncomfortable.

Anyhoo, it was cold, but the kids thought it was neat for about the first 5-10 minutes. One big draw was an ice slide, which Enzo obviously wanted to do, but Phoebe was cold and just wanted to be held, so Enzo and I rode down the slide together. While my hips are padded, they sure could have used extra on the way down. Totally worth it to hear Enzo’s excitement on the way up and then down. Alas, due to a faulty battery and Josh’s phone dying, we didn’t get a lot of pictures and none of us coming out of the slide. Thank goodness for smart phones! We walked around a bit, but the kids got cold fast and wanted to head out, so to dinner and home we went!

Yummy yummy, fruit salad!

So, my mom (Hi, Mom!) bought the kids a Wiggles DVD. I have heard of the Wiggles, but never actually watched them. The kids… weren’t huge fans. There was some dancing, but ultimately they wanted to watch Paw Patrol instead. However, the next day out of the blue, Enzo asked for the Fruit Salad song and I had to wrack my brain to figure out what he was talking about. For whatever reason, it is the only song that stuck out to him on this DVD and he has found enormous pleasure in getting it stuck in my head. Out of the blue he’ll suddenly start singing “Yummy yummy, fruit salad” and he’ll look at me and crack that smile with the adorable dimple and giggle while repeating it over and over until he has it stuck in my brain. Now we go back and forth with it. Sometimes I’ll sit down next to him on the couch and sing it in his ear to get him to smile, and this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised if he wakes me up by singing it.

We’re supposed to get a nice storm early next week, and while the weather won’t be terrible this weekend, I think we’ll stay in and maybe do some more painting. Enzo asked to paint something besides paper, so I picked up a little project for them (obviously I can’t spoil the surprise). Otherwise Phoebe has really been into Barbie and princesses lately, so I imagine there will be a lot of that as well.

Oh, and for the curious… (Sorry) Oh, and my bad… it’s “Fruit salad, yummy yummy” not vice versa. 😉

Day in the Life – Your Average Sunday

Maybe one of these days I’ll do a DITL post of a week day, but for now it just makes more sense to capture moments with the kids before they no longer want me to. This particular Sunday started out fairly well considering the kids let us sleep in.

I also decided it was a good day to have french toast, and gave the kiddos a little pre-breakfast so they wouldn’t starve while they waited.

A very good day to stay inside.

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Let there be snow!

I’ve never actually wanted snow as much as I do now. I’m not a fan of cold rain and would take snow over sleet any day. Plus, everything is just dreary and mucky right now. Where’s the snow, Minnesota?? I’m crossing my fingers that we get some before 2016, ideally over our 4 day weekend. We’ll be spending lots of time with family and hopefully hanging out playing games, relaxing and attempting de-stressing before the year comes to an end. I’m going to try and get as many snuggles as possible from my two munchkins this weekend. While it’s great that Phoebe loves her new big girl bed, I’m not gonna lie… I kind of miss waking up in the middle of the night with her snuggled up next to me. Enzo will sometimes come snuggle, but he’s super squirmy. Ha ha.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures