School's Out!

It is a tradition at our house to have a silly string war on the last day of school.  Trenton is beginning to think he is too mature for such a thing, but was talked into participating.  He quickly remembered why it is our tradition - we love it!

Dallin's 5th Birthday

 Dallin celebrated his 5th birthday with an art party with six of his new friends in Nebraska.  He loves art, so it was the perfect party theme for him.  We were hoping for a sunny day to do most of our projects outside, but it rained until the party was almost over.

 We painted canvases with six different colors of paint.  Many of them started out painting rainbows, but then ended up covering the entire canvas with mixed paint.  They spent 30 minutes painting which was great for me since I was running this party by myself!

This is Dallin's favorite friend, Anna.  He begs me almost everyday to text her mom to see if she can play.  She saves a seat for him every week in Primary at church.

 Cupcake decorating - I had really hoped to do this one outside but the weather didn't agree.  The kids did an amazing job not making a huge mess though.  They had a blast decorating the cupcakes with all the toppings.  It was probably everyone's favorite activity.

 Luckily, the rain stopped just before it was time to eat our cupcakes, so we carried them outside to eat.  It worked perfectly since we had ice cream cones too.  Again, another blessing for me!

Dallin had so much fun with his friends.  He didn't accept that it was birthday until he had his party with his friends.  He was so happy to have them over to play and make art with him.  We kept so busy with all our projects during the 2 hours that we didn't even open presents!

Dallin is growing up so fast!  He loves to play (and talk) non-stop and loves to play with others.  He is very social and looks up to his big brother, Owen.  He has a large vocabulary and thinks about things you wouldn't expect a 5 year old to know about.  He is ready for kindergarten - he writes his name, knows his ABCs and his address, and can count to 29.  He is anxious to learn to read.  His favorite things in life are weapons, fighting bad guys or zombies, and art.  He has recently learned to play on the computer like his siblings, so he is quickly developing a love of Minecraft too.  Happy Birthday, Dallin!  We love you!

Miss Lily

 Lily was our Hava-Tzu puppy for 3 days.  She was 8 weeks old and complete fuzz ball.  The Havanese in her made her incredibly soft and playful.  She was a lot of fun for the short time we had her.

 She was loved so much, but we know she is in the perfect home for her now!

Kindergarten Round-Up

Dallin is officially ready for kindergarten.  He attended a half-day kindergarten round up where he got to see his potential classroom and teacher.  He loved coloring and reading books.  He is excited to go to the same school as Owen!

Twelve Angry Jurors

 Trenton participated in his first theater performance this spring.  He has been interested in theater since starting high school, but had only worked behind the scenes in Ohio.  He had been cast in a play in Ohio, but had to decline the role due to homework demands. Trenton decided to try out for the spring play after having been in Nebraska for only a couple months.  The play had a very small cast because it was based on the 1950s movie, "Twelve Angry Men" which takes place solely in a jury deliberation room.  Trenton was cast as Juror #5 who was impatient and angry.  He had a blast and worked so, so hard to memorize a ton of lines.  The entire cast was on stage the entire 1 1/2 hour play and did awesome!  We were so proud of Trenton and all his hard work!

Owen and Ashleigh thought the play was very entertaining and were super impressed by Trenton's performance.

Soccer Time

Dallin played soccer for the first time this spring.  He enjoyed going to soccer, but we are not sure if grasped what he was supposed to be doing there.  He spent most of his time on the field running behind the giant mass of children up and down the field, often stopping to wave at us or stopping to make sure we were watching him.

Sewing Projects

Ashleigh continues to enjoy sewing.  She made this awesome pillow in sewing class at school.  

She attends a monthly sewing class at a sewing store I found.  We love that the projects are always something new and exciting.  They are always a little challenging, but are teaching her amazing sewing skills.

Easter egg decorating

It's not Easter without some egg dyeing!  Ashleigh decided she was too big for the fun this year, so that meant extra eggs for the boys.  

They were so proud of their eggs.  We like to keep things simple to avoid any disappointment if it doesn't turn out well.

Downtown Omaha

 Omaha has a fun downtown with a couple different spots for family fun.  One of our favorite spots is Old Market, particularly the slides at Old Market.  We cannot travel downtown without stopping for a quick slide.

 Wax paper makes the slide even more fun!

Spring Break, part 2

 We visited a few historical Church sites in Missouri while we in Kansas City for spring break.  The kids enjoyed learning about life in the early days of the establishment of the Church.

Independence Visitor Center

The huge Kansas City Temple!

 On the way home from Kansas City, we visited the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City while Nathan had a webinar.  It is an outdoor playground with trails through trees and many fun stops along the way.

 We had 2 hours to kill so we stopped for lots of pictures!

Boys and their sticks!  We can't go anywhere without collecting sticks.

Spring Break

 We headed to Kansas City for Spring Break this year.  It's a quick drive from Omaha and has so many family friendly activities.  Swimming in the hotel pool is always one of the top favorites on any of our vacations.  In fact, if you ask Dallin where he wants to go on vacation to, he would tell you to "a hotel."  Last year he thought we should move to a hotel.

 Luckily we decided to include the Science Museum on this trip because it turned out to be our favorite attraction.  It is arguably the best science museum we have been too.

 Tornado simulator with winds reaching almost 80 mph.  The family before us took a tiny 3 month old baby inside the simulator with them and we watched in horror as the baby suffered inside.  Once the simulator starts, you cannot get out until it stops.  It was traumatizing to watch and something we won't forget.  It's nice to remember experiences like this though on the days when I feel like a terrible parent.

 Downtown Kansas City - sadly the museum was closed on the day we tried to visit.

 This restaurant was a top recommended restaurant for families so we checked it out for lunch.  Your lunch is delivered to your table by a real train that runs along a track at the ceiling.

 Giant fudge at the a candy store!

 The Hallmark Kaleidoscope children's art museum was also a must-see on our list because of Dallin's love of art.  It was a great experience and the boys loved designing their own cards and puzzles to take home.