Wildlife Preserve

There's a place not too far from our house called the Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve that has trails, walking paths, and a welcome center with different exhibits.  We've been here several times before and this day we just went for a walk on the path.  At the end is a nice pavilion/view of the water.  We saw about 6 deer across the way grazing, a few ducks, geese and several kinds of birds.  The weather was great, but a bit windy.  The pics of the whole family we took using the timer. (Poor Cole didn't make it in the pics due to the wind!)

Easter festivities

Both Reya and Jamey were off on Good Friday, so we had a wonderful family day full of activities.  We made some crafts, painted eggs, had an egg hunt for our morning snack.  

On a normal day when Reya doesn't have school, she will usually come down in some sort of Dress up after breakfast, and this was today's outfit just before we started our craft.

Here they are showing off one of the crafts we made!

Here we are coloring eggs...

Our finished products and Jamey was super proud of his egg!

 

 And we decided to try and get some pictures before Church. I put the best one of the fam on the top of the blog, but here are some of the kids.  We used the timer on the camera for the family ones and it was crazy trying to get everyone to look at the camera. 

Here are the boys in their suits...so cute!

And Reya in her dress...

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. After church we went over for lunch to our friends the Roth's house.  There was great food, an egg hunt, and Eileen made her awesome carrot cake...yum!  I also made an apple pie, so it was perfect!  They are a family that has become our family away from home and we love them dearly.  I forgot the camera, so I don't have pictures of the afternoon, but we had a great time!

Kade's 4th Birthday Party

We decided to let Kade invite some friends over for his birthday this year.  I was nervous about what to do with seven 4 &  5 year olds, but it was fun.  He wanted a Spider Man themed party so that's what we went with. Here's some pics from the party:

Our decorations upstairs

We played a few rounds of Hullabaloo

They are awaiting their cupcakes.  I thought it would be fun to let them decorate their own cupcakes, and it was a hit!

Opening gifts was crazy...so I have no idea who gave what!  

And the Pinata...well it was a good plan, but unfortunately I forgot to factor in Zane, who pulled the strings well before it was time.  We taped it up hoping it would last until we were ready, but alas...it broke open while we were opening gifts.  Oh well, they at least enjoyed getting the candy!

Overall we had a great time, and I still can't believe that he is 4!  Kade is my sensitive kid. He cries very easily and you'd think he broken a bone when he only barely scratched himself.  But he's also very loving and loves to cuddle.  He's very inquisitive  and will keep asking questions about something until he fully understands it.  And he is also VERY absent minded.  I don't know how many times he'll be getting ready for bed and put his pj's on top of the clothes he was wearing for the day!  Kade currently goes to a two day preschool at our church and loves it.  It's amazing to see all the things he is learning.  We also signed him up to play soccer with a 4 and under league, however it has rained every Saturday so far and he hasn't been able to  play yet.  Hopefully this next weekend there will be nice weather so he can play and I can get some pictures to put up!

Big Boy Zane

We took Zane in to get his 2yr pics and he did really well.  I have a hard time not ordering more than the basic package because they do such a good job, but this time I stuck to it and only ordered one picture.  They're running a deal where you get the picture you ordered on a disc. It's not all of them, but it's better than nothing, so here you go! I"m planning on getting the rest of the kids in as I can so I'll let you know if I get more pics to put up!

I thought I'd also give you an update on Zane and what it's like having him around.  He is such a little entertainer, and his vast array of facial expressions keep us laughing all the time.  He loves to read books, play with cars and trucks and to "pretend play". He has such a great imagination!  He's also very very stubborn and it's been a little tough getting him to understand his boundaries.  Of course I wouldn't trade him for the world!

1/2 Marathon

I took Reya and Kade with me to watch my cousin Hannah run a 1/2 marathon.  And although we missed the start of the race, we were able to see the halfway point and the finish. I didn't know until we got there that two of Hannah's brothers also ran, so it was a great treat.  The kids got cold and I wasn't prepared, but it was fun.  We brought our umbrellas but it never did rain.  The next couple pics are of the kids waiting to see our cousins reach the halfway point.

Here's Hannah just after she turned around to head back.

And here she is after it was all over.  I was so impressed and inspired.