Spring Break--Part 3

Although we stayed home for spring break...we were busy!!!!  To finish the week we made trips to the library for Lauren to get her new obsession, the "Magic Tree House" series, meeting Dad for lunch and hung out around the house on Tuesday. Then Lauren and I had a day just the two of us (while Meredith was at school) filled with shopping, eating at her favorite place (On the Border) and going to the mall for Build-A-Bear. Meet her new dog (to add to her dog collection)...Lulu!

We spent another day playing with the Bardwell boys at the Playground for kids...aka a ton of inflatables and playground equipment for the kids to completely exhaust themselves! Lauren does such a good job as a responsible older sister/cousin. She is always watching out for everyone else. (I didn't get very many pictures..sorry...too many kids running around)

Meredith cracks me up!!! This girl has NO FEAR! She would flip upside down, smack her face...she doesn't care. She always ends up with a smile!

Eli is so smart and figured out how to adjust his sliding speed.

Then Lauren's BFF Hayden came and they giggled, played dress-up, giggled, played school, colored, went swimming, giggled, played outside for hours and apparently made videos on the iPad that we just found...HILARIOUS!!!  These two truly are the best of friends. Since they don't get to see each other very much any more (they go to different schools now) they had to get as much as time as possible together. She was here for 2 days and we all loved every minute of it! I love to listen to their conversations...they crack me up!

We also spent the weekend hanging out the our friends/neighbors enjoying the wonderful weather!  I spent the last 4 days attempting to potty train Meredith! EXHAUSTING!!! But...I think we're getting there. Today, Day 4 was finally a success. We'll see what happens now that she goes back to school tomorrow! Back to school..back to work..back to the normal busy! Love it!

Spring Break--Part 2

The girls enjoyed having an overnight "Girl Party" with their cousin, Jillian. They wore themselves out playing at our house and outside. On Monday morning I took them to the zoo. They  had a blast looking at all the animals! I attempted several times to get a picture of all 3 of them. A failure on my part...but enjoy the attempts.

Jillian and Meredith looking at the baby wallaby nearby.

The petting zoo is a favorite at our house. I had to include this picture of Meredith. She refused to wear socks all winter. She will now wear them, but she has to pick them out. Look at the huge yellow socks she is sporting!  Too funny! I love your courageous personality Mer!

Spring Break--part 1

Our original plans for spring break were to include a trip out to the cabin to get Lauren to ski...but the wonderful weather changed our plans a bit. Work has been crazy for Clay, but we started the week out on Sunday at a nearby arboretum. The girls loved jumping (well, Lauren loved jumping..Meredith loved attempting to jump) from stump to stump. Who knew that stumps could be dancing platforms??? That's what these two dancing fools that they were!

Lauren's favorite part...jumping from hay bale to hay bale.

Taking a rest on the long walk.

After a picnic lunch, we though we would take advantage of the breeze and fly some kites.

A Quick Catch Up

A quick catch up from our life. Lauren had a family fun night earlier this month at her school. I thought these pictures of the girls were way too funny! I had to post them.

You have to love that messy pudding face!

We just took Lauren's training wheels off her bike. A very frusturating 1st night, but here we are on day 3. We are still working on  our balance and the stop without running into something. A whole new world for Lauren.

Costa Rica, My Friend

We traveled to Guanacaste, Costa Rica last week through Clay's work. What an amazing place. Absolutely beautiful! It was windy, but was a nice relief from the 95 degree weather. We would love to go back again (especially during the rainy season...since it was the dry season several of the trees were dormant, so we would love to see Costa Rica in all it's beauty).

Pictures of the resort.

There were several iguanas, lizards and monkeys on our resort! Clay compared them to deer running across the road in Iowa. They would dart in front of you while walking along the paths.

The pools were frequented by our group.

We spent one day on a tour throughout the region. This was at a coffee mill we visited.

Then we had an authentic Costa Rican lunch at this beautiful reservation.

We saw acres and acres of sugar cane while at the reservation and watched as they were harvesting some.

From there we went on a boat tour. The river we were on...

was filled with HUNDREDS of crocodiles....

birds, iguanas, lizards, monkeys....

On the last night were were lucky to watch baby turtles released into the ocean after sunset.