Spring Break Trip to Texas Part 1

Before another little person joins our family in July, we wanted to go on a fun family vacation, so during spring break we drove to Texas. I was worried about how the kids would handle being in the car for 20 hours, but they were FABULOUS! It ended up being a great trip and it was so nice to see my brother and his family and Mark's sister and her family.
We went to Dinosaur Park where we got to see real dinosaur footprints. They were underwater, so my pictures of the actual footprints didn't turn out very good, but Gavin and Cailyn (my neice) had a fun time crossing the river to get to them.

Megan loved digging for her own fossils in the sand.

We went on a short walk that had several life sized replicas of dinosaurs.

Gavin is fascinated with dinosaurs right now, so he especially loved this part of the trip. He tells me, "Mom, I know everything about dinosaurs."

T-rex got hungry when the kids got too close!

Mark fighting for his life.

Gavin and cousin Jessica.

It was so nice to enjoy 80 degree weather and shorts. We came home to snow!

We spent a day the the Fort Worth Zoo. Here Uncle Jason, Aunt Mindi, and Megan are watching the penguins.

My little Megan is getting so big! Her shirt says, "I didn't ask to be a princess, but if the crown fits..."

The flamingos were beautiful!

When we first got to the lion he was asleep and there was an elementary school class trying very hard to wake him up. After the class left the lion woke up and we got to hear him roar. It was very powerful!

This bird's wing span was huge and he was kind enough to pose for a few pictures.

Gavin and Cailyn played so well together.

We got to pet this nice armadillo. Now Gavin's favorite super hero power is "Armadillo power with super strong armour." Stay tuned for more pictures of our trip.

It's a.....

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and found out we are having a BOY! Gavin and Megan have been pretty sure that the baby is a boy, but it was nice to have a doctor's confirmation. A few weeks ago Gavin grabbed an ultrasound photo from a previous appointment and said, "Mom, Teeny Tine (baby's name for now) is a boy. Look! (pointing to the head) He has short hair." We are very excited and can't wait to pull out baby clothes and get his room ready.

Floating High in the Sky

Every year our town has a Winter Carnival and as part of it the city offers free tethered hot air balloon ride. We did it last year and loved it, well everyone but Megan loved it.
We got out of the car and Megan covered her eyes and said, "No! I don't want to see the hot air balloon." Needless to say, she stayed with a friend on the ground while the rest of us went for a ride.

We learned last year that it is very loud, so we borrowed these shooting earmuffs. Gavin thought they were great!

We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes, but it wasn't bad for a free ride.

I LOVE my camera! A friend took this while we were in the air.

Afterwards we walked downtown to see the ice sculptures local community members were carving. This sombrero wearing cowboy was our favorite!

Sledding

Today we went sledding with a group of friends. Our friends rented a small cabin with a fireplace called the Warming Hut. It has a sledding hill nearby, so we spent the day sledding and playing. It was great!

Gavin had a blast! He got quite the workout running up and down the hill. He'll sleep really well tonight!
Megan is not a fan of sledding yet, but we're hoping she'll become one over time. She did enjoy watching others and making snow angels though.

I wish you could see Meg's face in this picture. She is absolutely terrified, so needless to say, this was her last time down the hill.

Gavin and daddy.

Gavin is sandwiched between 2 girls. It was a very fun day with family and friends!

Birthday Boy

We recently celebrated Gavin's fifth birthday. I cannot believe he is 5! He is such a joy to have in our family and we love him so much!

We had a party at the swimming pool. It was very easy, conveinient, and the kids had a lot of fun.

For Gavin's birthday Mark bought a new TV! It's a 46 inch, Sony, LCD and it's a big improvement from what we had.

He requested a dragon cake, so here it is! I am so grateful there are creative people in the world who share their ideas online. I was really excited with how cute it turned out!

Gavin and his buddy Varin playing in the pool.

Megan was a trooper and loved celebrating too.

Potty Training

This beautiful little girl is working on potty training and although it makes me slightly crazy, I think we're making progress. I'd love to be diaper free for a few months before BABY #3 joins our family in July!

Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas break and we're now back in the swing of things and playing catch up. On Christmas Eve we headed to Idaho to visit my (Cassie's) parents and sister.
The kids were so much fun this year! They'd been looking forward to Christmas and counting down days the entire month. Megan got a kitchen and a tea set that she loves and plays with daily.

Megan took her time carefully unwrapping each present.

My siblings and I all pitched in to buy our dad this 4 burner gas grill. He LOVED it!

Gavin got this cool remote controlled car. He's pretty good at driving it, and Megan is terrified of it and screams when in comes near her, so that makes it extra fun for Gavin to play with.

On Christmas Eve we acted out the Christmas story. The kids were very attentive and mostly reverent.

Megan played the role of Mary.

Mary riding the donkey.

My parents have a cardboard gingerbread house that we colored and set up. The kids loved it!

I'm part of a group of moms that writes and performs plays at our local library. We performed "The Elf Who Stole Christmas" for elementary schools, storytime groups, and the public a week before Christmas. It was busy, but a lot of fun!