Visit to Gma & Gpa's

We spent the week after Easter at Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Jerry's house. Of course the wind was blowing while we were they (as it always is in ND). Here is a picture from right outside mom & dad's house. That is dirt blowing across the prairie.
Thursday night was Ladies Night Out! The local Soil Conservation Service hosted dinner and entertainment for the local women. Our party consisted of my Grandma Lucille, my mom Sharon, myself and my great-aunt Elaine. Apparently when the height genes were handed out, a few generations were skipped and they all landed with me...

Aidyn spent every possible moment outside with Gpa. She helped feed cows, check cows, drive tractor and cruise around the countryside. There were a few baby calves born that week so she wanted some pictures taken to show her friends when she got home. She also helped her cousin Justin feed his pet cow Midnite. She turned into quite a farm girl while we were there! Neither kid wanted to leave yesterday when it was time to go so I think it's safe to say they had fun!

By the way, Aidyn & Nolan want to say thank you to Uncle Ty for the cans of Coke & the Reese's PB cups while they were visiting. He's always looking out for them!

Easter

We spent Easter weekend at Troy, Shirley, Kaitlyn & Sean's house. They had all sorts of fun activities planned. The kids decorated an Easter Bunny cake. I think Nolan ate half of the decorations before they were done, but that's OK, they gave him chocolate milk to wash it down.

We went to Troy's work and climbed around the equipment they had in the shop. The kids had a blast exploring everything. Afterwards we went to see Horton Hears a Who, it was very cute. I think all 8 of us enjoyed it!


The kids also decorated Easter eggs. Kaitlyn & Sean showed them the fine art of mixing colors and making multi-colored eggs. Then they decided to stick their hands in the egg dye. Sean looked like the incredible hulk and Aidyn's hands were green for several days.Of course Troy & Shirley went all out for Easter dinner. Jeff didn't have to eat for days after this feast.
The Easter Bunny also visited their house. Based on the amount of goodies he left for the kids I think it's safe to assume he robbed Target. It took them a long time to find everything that was hidden. But they were so excited and had so much fun! We all enjoyed our weekend, thanks Troy, Shirley, Kaitlyn & Sean!!

Catching Up

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I'll try and get caught up within the next day or two. First, a brief recap of the week before Easter...
Brodie came to visit Monday evening while his mommy & daddy went out to dinner and a movie. We all had a fun time playing with him and watching him. He is getting so big!
The next night we went to the Bon Jovi concert (which was AWESOME!, but that's a post for another time.)
Wednesday was Bailey's birthday. She turned 9 and is just about ready for Social Security. The kids helped make her a cake of dog food & peanut butter and candles made from bones. They also picked out a gift for her. I think they were more excited than she was.


Thursday, Kya came over to play for the afternoon. The kids had so much fun! Bailey didn't enjoy it as much since she was put on a leash and the kids took turns pulling her around the house. Nolan even took Kya for a ride on his horsey.


We left for Easter on Friday. That post will be coming soon....

Puerto Vallarta

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Mexico with our friends Corey & Ana. We left on Friday and came back on Monday so it was pretty short, but it was a few days of bliss! It was around 80 degrees, clear skies and not a care in the world. Saturday night we went to eat at an awesome rooftop restaurant overlooking the city and the bay. Just as we got into our seats we noticed a whale and her calf playing out in the ocean. They jumped and splashed and had a grand time. It was so awesome to watch them!
We enjoyed a great meal, great company and a beautiful sunset.

Sunday night we enjoyed another great meal at the steakhouse at the hotel. There was no crazy taxi ride home afterwards so it wasn't quite as eventful, but that was OK with us! Ask me about the taxi ride sometime, it was something else! (It still makes me laugh just thinking about it. I'm guessing Ana will be having nightmares for awhile yet.)

We headed home Monday and back to the reality of snow and cold temps, but oh well, we had a little taste of paradise.

Easter Eggs

We colored Easter Eggs tonight. The kids even let Jeff & I color 1 egg each. Now we have lots of hard-boiled eggs to eat!

Rug Burn Rug Rat

I picked up Nolan from childcare after my Pilates class yesterday and I noticed a huge red mark on his nose. When I asked what happened he said "I was running and running and running and then I fell and my face hit the floor." Rug Burn...OUCH!

Nemo on Ice

Last Thursday night we took the kids to see Disney's Finding Nemo on Ice. They were beside themselves with excitement. Every time a commercial came on Aidyn would scream "Nemo!" and Nolan would yell "You can get your tickets at TicketMaster!" We went out for dinner first and then headed to the show.
Nolan enjoying his cotton candy...




I didn't get any pictures during the show but I can tell you it was very cute and a lot of fun. My favorite part was watching the kids watch the show. They were on the edge of their seats, eyes wide and mouths open. So cute!

In Response

Jill recently blogged about an "easy" dessert she made. Her sister Tammy in turn tried the recipe with not so pretty results. (Sorry Tammy.) So Jill presented a baking challenge for others to try out this recipe. I am not one to shy away from a challenge so I had to put my hat in the ring. I made the dessert tonight and I have to say it turned out pretty well. However I do have a few comments to share concerning the feud over the recipe...

1. Meringue IS NOT easy to work with. I was not originally planning on trying this recipe for that fact alone. It is messy and sticky and tough to get just right.
2.Wax paper does work. I had no parchment paper and no intention of buying any so I used wax paper and it worked fine.
3. The whole flipping the meringue back and forth between sheets of paper is too much for me. I used a spatula to loosen the meringue around the edges, smeared on the whipped cream and rolled it up on the original piece of paper.
4. I love blueberries & I LOVE chocolate, but they don't really go together...Maybe raspberries & chocolate? I ate mine without the chocolate tonight.
5. Those things being said in Tammy's favor, I do have to say that the recipe itself IS really pretty easy. Very few ingredients, fairly simple instructions and tasty results.

So that being said, I have to side with....both Jill and Tammy on this one. You both have valid points. I think I'd make a great politician!