Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sunny Days

Today feels like March. In a slightly warm, cloudy way. The rest of the month has not been March-like. In a really warm, sunny way. Our apricot trees have already bloomed and dropped their blooms. My lilacs are about to start blooming! It's so weird, and makes me a little nervous for the summer. However, we have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and spent many hours outside.








Last weekend, we spent the morning at the park with Grandpa and Grandma Dirks and the afternoon in our yard. We had two picnics in one day! It was amazing, and the kids were EXHAUSTED!

I am thankful for this weirdly warm weather (alliteration!!!) and the special people I get to enjoy it with.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Just Another Manic Monday

Have you noticed how many songs about Monday there are? Most of them are about how bad Mondays are, but I have started looking forward to Mondays. Weekends are busy, not that the weeks aren't, but we have a better routine during the week. That makes the weekdays feel more manageable.

This weekend we had some visitors! Grandma Deb visited and helped the peas do a little cooking in the kitchen.


They baked some Easter cookies and made PB&J sandwiches.




















Everyone was satisfied with the results. 





















Hannah just got to gnaw on a cell phone though. It's tough being the baby.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Big Brother


Hannah and Titus get special bonding time on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when Selah is in preschool. Right now, Hannah is figuring out how to play with Titus, and Titus is trying to protect his play from Hannah. 


Hannah crawls as fast as she can to get to where he is playing. Titus immediately starts growling and pushing his toys behind him. If he pushes her out of the way, her cry is broken-hearted. She loves her big brother!


The other day, Titus was trying to put together a puzzle on the floor. Of course Hannah wanted in on the action. After some squabbling, Hannah gave up and crawled away. A few minutes later, I was helping Titus put his shoes on so we could play outside. Hannah seized the moment and crawled over to a puzzle piece and put it in her mouth. As she did so, she turned and looked right at Titus! Titus started squealing in frustration, and Hannah happily chewed on his puzzle piece, keeping an eye on Titus, as he looked on helplessly.


Today I asked him to tell her a story. He eagerly told her a lengthy story, most of which was unintelligible. The gist of it was something about cow poop, bears and apple trees.


Hannah was as confused as I was, but we were both entertained.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Rainy Days and Mondays


Last week was summer around here, which is fine, but I really like spring. So yesterday's clouds and rain felt more appropriate to me.


Selah and Titus asked to play in the rain. Why is my initial reaction to say no? After stopping to think of how much the benefits outweighed the negatives (they would be OUTSIDE), we got the jackets, shoes and umbrellas.


In retrospect, I should have taken the time to find the rain boots. Oh, well. They didn't seem to mind the soaking wet socks and shoes!


Hannah and I played inside. She is having so much fun exploring her world. She can get wherever she needs to now that she can crawl.


Her favorite things are to chase Daisy and to follow Titus. Hannah loves to play with whatever Titus is doing at the time. This does not always make big brother happy.


Rainy days and Mondays DON'T always get me down!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Opryland


Part of the reason I was able to convince Robbie that it was a good idea to drive to Nashville was because of the Commodity Classic. The Commodity Classic is an education event/trade show for corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum farmers. This year it was held in Nashville at Opryland. Robbie spent Thursday and Friday there attending informational and educational seminars. We had been there once before, but I thought the kids would enjoy seeing it, so we ventured over there as well.

The best pose I could get out of the 3 of them

All three peas loved exploring the waterfalls, plants, and pathways. Selah and Titus were always running ahead, which caused me some mild anxiety.

There was a wedding there that evening, and Selah was quite excited to see a live princess!


Opryland is great free entertainment. Just don't get hungry! The only thing our visit cost us was a few pennies to throw in a fountain.


Selah gave two thumbs up to the remains of the Commodity Classic.


We stayed long enough to see one of the evening fountain shows, which somewhat impressed the peas.


This was our first visit to Opryland in 2008:



My, how things have changed!

Hannibal (not Lecter)

On our way to Nashville, we stayed at an eclectic little bed and breakfast in Hannibal, Missouri. I wish we could have spent a little more time in Hannibal in daylight exploring. I'm not sure how much of a town it would be without Mark Twain though. EVERYTHING seemed to relate to Mark Twain.

We stayed at the Garden House Bed and Breakfast was decorated, ummm, let's say "uniquely".
Transoms and light switch covers
This piece is movie-poster size!
Contrast

Knick Knacks

Cool old penny bank


The iris room
The couple who ran Garden House were really nice and made us all feel welcome and comfortable. However, I was a little uncomfortable during the night. The B&B is reportedly haunted. We stayed in the room with the rose transoms, and let me tell you, those roses look really freaky at 3 o'clock in the morning. I didn't sleep much thanks to Titus' head stuck in my back and Hannah's frequent waking, so I spent my waking moments wondering if each creak was the ghost coming to visit.

We did walk through downtown Hannibal in the rain looking for a place to eat supper. I'm sure people thought we were crazy, but it was wonderful for the kids to run around after a day spent in the swagger wagon. I found an unexpected welcome there as well!



Oh, and all pictures on this trip were taken on our iPhones. Sadly, I did not have the time or motivation to pull out my nice camera. I will just blame it on trying to keep track of the three peas.

If you ever travel through Hannibal, I recommend staying at a bed and breakfast. It will be an experience not to be forgotten!

Where I've been

Whew! I am not going to update everything we've done in the past month and a half, but I will give a brief synopsis. :) We planned a road trip to Nashville for the beginning of March. In preparation, I spent a couple of weeks before making quiet books for Selah and Titus. This meant a lot of hours during naps and after the kids went to bed spent at the crafting table! It was so fun and therapeutic though.


The pages, minus the accessories.

Completed Books!

Hannah even enjoyed them.
I was so happy that the kids loved playing with them in the car! They definitely served their purpose, and the sleep deprivation was worth it.

Centennial Park with Uncle

Titus wanted to pose, and Selah joined in

If he was a girl, I would call him a diva...what is this? Ha!

It took only 16 hours in Nashville until Titus fell in here

At the top of the Adventure Science Center (not sure who had more fun there, Caleb and Kelli or the kids)

Santa Fe Cornmeal Pancakes at Pancake Pantry are worth the drive to Nashville

Kelli's iPhone is boring :)
Visiting Caleb and Kelli in Nashville is one of my favorite things to do! I am so thankful that I can truly call each of my brothers my friend.