Grandpa Neils, Bring It!

water party

Last Friday we went over to Jack's friend Nyah's and had a backyard party. They had just gotten a trampoline and a little pool and the kids had a blast! The weather was awesome and us girls just sat outside and chatted while we soaked up the sun. It was wonderful. We can't wait for summer so we can do this everyday! Thanks Shayna for having us over!

asparagus picking and fun in the mud......

Last Thursday we went and picked asparagus. This is one of my favorite activities. It is so beautiful out there on the farm, and I love the fresh asparagus. It is too die for. We had a lot of asparagus that had been snapped in a few places, because Jack would get to excited and snap the tops off before I could stop him.

Of course we had to snack on the raw asparagus, so yummy!

Carrying our basket, the asparagus had to be as tall as the basket to be able to pick.

It rained the night before so the ground was pretty wet. Jack fell and got his hands dirty.

And then this happened, he fell on his bum right in the middle of a mud puddle.

So he decided what the heck, and his is what happened next...........

Oh my did we have a muddy mess! But it was oh so fun. I think I am re-living my childhood through Jack, it was so fun to watch him stomp around and splash in the mud. Another little boy, Addison, joined him and Jack thought he was hilarious. Addison would dive on his belly right into the mud, and Jack would laugh and laugh. Addison was completely covered with mud. When the boys had had enough the farmer came out and hooked up the hose. Jack was not a fan of getting sprayed off with cold hose water. It was pretty funny he kept running around me in circles trying to dodge the hose. I finally just stripped him down so he could get in the car. It was so fun to watch him be a little boy. I love having a little boy.
4/22/09

close call

This afternoon Jack and I went out with some friends to an outlet mall. We had a great time, and then we went to eat. We got done eating and I noticed that I had 8 missed calls, most of them were from Luke and a few from friends in Lawrence that weren't with us. I called Luke and he told me that Lawrence was under a tornado watch. So he was stuck in the basement of the school for a while. He told me that we should just stay put. I then talked to some friends that told us the same thing, don't come home. We walked around for awhile debating how long we should stay out there. We then decided we should get in our car so we could here the warnings on the radio. We got kind of nervous when they said the tornado warnings were on our side of Lawrence right by our homes. It soon passed but we were about 30 miles from Lawrence so we still didn't know if it was heading our way. We decided to go to the parking lot of a nearby furniture store, it is the largest furniture store you will ever see so we thought it would be the safest place if there was a tornado. Luke sent me a text message saying it was safe to come home right when the tornado sirens started out by us. So it was definetly NOT safe to leave. It was Jack and I, our pregnant friend Natalie, and Laura and her 2 boys, Aaron & David. So we grabbed our babies and ran into the store. We walked around for a minute and then soon they told us it was time to go to the tornado tunnels. You either had to leave the store and they were locking the doors or you had to go in the tunnel. We chose the tunnel. It was amazing how many people left the store! We waited out the storm feeling pretty safe. When they told us it was safe to leave we started to head home. That is when we saw all the damage, right on the road we would have been on if we would have just gone home. There were houses and barns that were destroyed. Pretty crazy. Later as Luke and I watched the news we realized how close of a call it really was. We would have been RIGHT where the tornado was if we would have headed home. On the news they said that the people that were driving had to pull over and go hide in the ditches nearby. Could you imagine Jack and I and our pregnant friend Natalie trying to hide in a ditch! How awful. The news reporters were on the road and the tornado made a turn and they even had to go get in a ditch it got so close. It was a very close call. We are very grateful to all be home with our husbands and we feel blessed that we weren't driving and that everyone was okay! The things we have to do in Kansas!!
(and tornado season is just beginning so we will see what else is in store for us!)

tulip time

Yesterday we went to tulip time in Topeka. This year it was out by Lake Shawnee and it was very pretty. The lake was beautiful. It felt so good to just sit in the sun. We applied sunscreen for the first time! I am very proud that Jack and I are starting to get a farmer's tan! We have loved being outside lately, I can't get myself to stay home and clean the house anymore. The kids found a little stream and splashed around. After Jack fell on his bum I stripped him down to his onsie and let him splash in the water. I know I am one of those moms that lets their kids run around in a onsie! But hey he had fun!

4/23/09

park day

I forgot to post our day at the park. After library time last week we walked over to the park. One of the highlights of the park was chasing the birds. There was a bird and Jack went to chase after it but the bird wouldn't fly away. So Jack would get pretty close to it and then stop because it made him nervous that the bird wasn't flying away. I thought maybe the bird was hurt but eventually he flew away fine. He got pretty close to the bird it was fun! Oh and he found a mud puddle. This started his obsession with stomping in the mud, thank goodness he was in his crocs!
4/13/09

art day

Since the Easter Bunny brought Jack art supplies, I decided we should put them to use. We pulled out the paints and the brushes and went to work. Isn't Jack cute in his art apron!

This is his new "cheese" face

Oh no paint on the hands!

The finished painting!

4/17/09

cul-de-sac bike party

Last Friday after music class we invited a few friends over for bike rides and popsicles. It was such a nice day and we were so excited to pull all of Jack's outdoor toys out. The kids had a blast. They rode bikes, ran around, blew bubbles, and ate popsicles. It is so fun Jack has such great friends!
4/16/09

prairie park nature center

This is one of those things I took Jack to just to be a good mom. We had gone there once before and it was kind of gross. They have Kansas"animals" there, which means a bunch of rodents. Of course Jack thought it was pretty cool. He loved the snakes and the alligator(that they found on the streets of Lawrence). They have a parrot that talks too. It will say hello, which Jack thinks is very cool. He also will squawk really loud and scare the children. Jack didn't seem to mind when he did it, but the parrot did make another little girl burst into tears, so he had to go to time out.

(the video is of the parrot saying hello, the video is pretty boring but the parrot does finally say it around the minute mark)


4/15/09

quote of the day

Today I decided I was going to try be a really good mom and plan a picnic at the park with some of Jack's friends after story-time. I spent all last night making cookies to bring, I got up and packed a sack lunches, and packed the blankets and bubbles. It sounded like a perfect way to spend the morning. It turned out to be not so perfect. Jack spent the majority of the time crying and fighting with his friends. Very frustrating!!! I finally decided I had had enough and I had to tear Jack away while he was screaming and throwing a tantrum. I had another mom that I didn't know be very overbearing and very motherly to Jack, because I obviously don't know how to take care of him. All I can say is that is turned out to be a train wreck. I came home and put Jack down for a much needed nap. I then checked my email and a couple blogs I like to frequent. It was quite a coincidence that this quote was on more than 1 of the blogs I like to look at.

"Your toddler will do what they need to do, and not necessarily what you say. If you're patient, then they will be patient. If you speak gently, then they will be gentle. Whatever you want them to be, you have to start becoming."

-Helen Hunt

So maybe Jack and I can learn to be more patient and gentle together. There are definitely challenging times being a mom, but the good times definitely outweigh them!

another quote that I love is:
"keep calm and carry on"

easter fun

(warning: major picture overload- our families love this!)

our little bunny

easter sunday

Jack looked very handsome in his easter outfit. We had stake conference, and it was a broadcast for the midwest states so we were able to hear from Pres. Monson. What a great way to spend Easter Sunday. We are very thankful for the real meaning of Easter and for our Savior Jesus Christ.

the easter bunny came

The easter bunny brought Jack some fun things this year! He got an art box full of art supplies, an art apron, fun paint brushes, paints, and crayons. He also got the movie Wall E and some more treats!

He was pretty excited when he woke up

He also got a fun chick balloon punching bag!

coloring eggs

We had a great time coloring eggs this year. It is so fun now that Jack is old enough to really participate. He made some awesome eggs!

easter surprises

Jack was spoiled again by the grandparents, they are always so sweet to think of him.
My mom sent him some surprises with Avery and Summer. Jack loved his treats, and he looks very handsome in his shirts. (I will have to post pictures of the shirts, the colors are adorable.) Thanks mom, love ya!

I must have taken his treats to try to get a picture with his shirts, he doesn't look very happy.

Then Easter week he recieved a package from Gma & Gpa P. A McQueen bucket full of treats , and a cute outfit and sunglasses. They keep him styling! Thanks for the package, we love ya!A little after he opened his package, he was being a little to quiet, Luke and I walked in to find this. He wanted his chocolate sports balls so bad, he gnawed at the bag. It was pretty gross. The things we do for chocolate....

our second easter egg hunt

We had another easter egg hunt at music class at the church. It was raining so we had to have it inside but the kids had a lot of fun.

Jack with his full basketenjoying the treats with friends
our first easter egg hunt

When Av's was in town, aunt summer put together a cute easter egg hunt for the kids. They had a lot of fun. They collected treats, bubbles, windmills, and a special Mcqueen car. The only time we had to squeeze an easter egg hunt when they were here was right before bed one night. They looked pretty cute in their jammies out hunting for their eggs! (again Summer has all the pictures, these are the only 2 I had on my camera)