Vacation 2016: Day 3

This day was our last driving day on our trip to Phoenix. We decided to stop off at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ. This motel was the inspiration for the Cozy Cone in the movie Cars. Very fun!

We drove through the Coconino National Forest and some mountains on our way to Phoenix. I really enjoyed saying Coconino and watching the transition from evergreens to saguaro cacti. The kids really, really enjoyed learning the proper usages of the words cactus and cacti. I love our weirdos!

After we arrived in Phoenix, we met our friends, Nick and Brittany, for lunch. Tyler had a meeting during the afternoon, so the kids and I tried to kill time while we waited for our room at the resort to be ready. As it was miserably hot outside, we thought it would be best to find water so we found a small pool to play in. The kids splashed around and I tried to make sure no one drowned while staying cool.

After we were able to get into our room, we got everything unloaded and squared away and then headed out for dinner with Nick and Brittany and their kiddos. We decided to hit a Chicago classic that has made its way to Arizona (probably due to the snow birds and the Cubs training here in the spring). Mmm...Italian Beef at Portillo's!

The youngest two of our group weren't really feeling the picture but the rest were having a good time!

After dinner, we headed back to our resort to scope things out and prepare for Friday. We thought these lit palm trees were particularly pretty.

Vacation 2016: Day 2

When I posted this day's collage, I stated that this day would be the biggest driving day of our trip. That didn't turn out to be true but it still was a really big day. We traveled through 4 states and spent over 12 hours in the van. We drove through southern Kansas, the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas and through most of New Mexico.

This picture was of our first major stop, at a playground in Liberal, KS. The kids were supposed to use this playground to work out their wiggles, but it was hot! They tried to run around but got too hot really fast.  

After Kansas, we headed through the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, which were the first time in each state for the youngest two (and the first time back in these states in nearly 7 years for the oldest two). They didn't see much of these states but we're going to count them anyway. At a truck stop in Texas, we stopped for drinks; I got a Dr. Pepper slush. It was just like the Dr. Pepper "snoballs" I used to get all the time in college.

For dinner we stopped at a Chipotle in Albuquerque.

Mmm...Chipotle.

We spent most of this day looking for different states' license plates and watching the terrain slowly change from wheat fields to desert. By the end of the day, we were pondering whether Radiator Springs was nearby. We finished our day watching a bit of American Ninja Warrior at a hotel in Gallup, New Mexico. Good times.

Vacation 2016: Day 1

This summer we went on a pretty epic vacation. We traversed the majority of the Western states of the US and had quite an adventure along the way. If you follow me on facebook or instagram, you probably saw my series of daily picture collages. Here I'm going to elaborate on those collages and tell a bit of the stories behind the photos. Enjoy!

Here we are all fresh-faced and well-rested as we set out on our epic adventure!!

Since we knew we were going to be spending a lot of time in our van over the next couple of weeks, we made sure to bring a wide variety of activities. Each kid was given a new set of colored pencils and a fresh notebook to document our adventure (or just color in). Albert was trying it out.

The first day we left from Albert City (we only had to circle back once, about 20 minutes into our trip because we forgot Albert's blankets and monkey) and headed through Iowa, a bit of Nebraska, and northeastern Kansas as we headed to Grandma and Grandpa J's in El Dorado. This was only the first leg of our trip but the kids were still pretty excited to be out of the van once we got to G & G J's. They always enjoy playing a little Wii there. It is so fun to make a plane crash (hopefully none of them decide to become a pilot!).

After dinner, we got some more energy out by heading out on a walk. We headed to the campgrounds.

And a good time was had by all!

Asher's Birthday Interview

Asher: Age 7

What is your favorite color? green

Who is your best friend? that's hard...I'll say Henry but I like them all!

What is your favorite TV show/movie? Wild Kratts and Big Hero 6

What is your favorite thing to do outdoors? ride my new bike and play baseball with my new bat and ball

What is your favorite thing to do indoors? build Legos and play in the new box (the bike box)

What is your favorite game? Cops and Robbers

What is your favorite thing to wear? my 7 shirt!

Where would you want to go on vacation? when I'm 15 I'll go to Kansas City to ride the biggest waterslide ever!

What do you like most about your siblings? Addilyn - that she's a good artist; Elias and Albert - hmmm...I can't think of anything.

Now that you are seven, what would you like to learn/know? nothing...but I want to do science

What do you want to be when you grow up? train engineer and a building engineer and a racercar driver

What is your favorite toy? my new bike

What do you sleep with at night? the ladybug blanket

What is your favorite thing to do as a family? go to Kings Pointe...especially the outdoors part

What is your favorite art project? making snowmen with Mrs. Bean

What is your favorite subject in school? science

What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Life

What is your favorite lunch? burgers at school

What is your favorite dinner? Asher meatballs...and burgers

What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks

What is your favorite dessert? the cookies I brought to school (chocolate and marshmallow) and ice cream

What is your favorite drink? milkshakes...and lemonade...water...milk...I like drinks!

What is your favorite animal? my sick bear and Batty

What is your favorite song? Yellow Flickerbeat (by Lorde)

What is your favorite book? The Little Red Caboose

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

If you'd like to compare his answers to previous years, here are the links:
6th birthday
5th birthday
4th birthday

Asher's 7th Birthday!!

Saturday was Asher's 7th birthday!! It started off as any good birthday should, with some delicious birthday cereal. This year it was Reese's Puffs.

Then it was time to open his present.

It was a new bike!  He was pretty excited about said bike.

The kids were also pretty enthralled with the box in which the bike came. It was perfectly Asher's length.

It was also big enough for two.

He was super happy to be able to put the bike together. (He was trying to put on the pedals within seconds of opening the box!)

The box was played with, on and off, for the entire day...sometimes by the entire crew at once.

After the bike was all put together, it was time to take it out for his first ride. Unfortunately, it was a bit chilly on Saturday but that didn't stop him. He just bundled up and headed out.

Birthday pictures (in a post to follow) and a traditional picture with Momma. That tongue!

Per his request, we celebrated by going swimming at King's Pointe.

The kids all enjoyed the slides. Here the two older boys were taking a tube up the three flights of stairs to head down a slide together. They earned that super-fun ride!

I love how he still comes up smiling!

After swimming, it was time for Asher meatballs. This recipe has changed drastically in the past few years (we've been able to add milk, cheese, wheat (at least for a little bit there), and egg) but they are still called Asher meatballs if they are served over rice.

And after dinner it was time for cake!

This year Asher requested an ice cream cake like Addilyn had on her birthday, only with chocolate. This cake had triple chocolate (chocolate ice cream, Cocoa Pebbles coated in semi-sweet chocolate, and mini chocolate chips).
After dessert, we drove a couple miles north of town and laid, all bundled up, in a field to watch the International Space Station fly over. It took six minutes and was super bright. It was really fun!
I asked Asher at the end of the night if he had a good birthday and he said it was his best one yet. I'm so glad, Asherman!

Addilyn's Birthday Interview

 Addilyn: Age 9

What is your favorite color? light blue
Who is your best friend? Leah
What is your favorite TV show/movie? America Ninja Warrior/ Star Wars: Episode VI
What is your favorite thing to do outdoors? swim
What is your favorite thing to do indoors? marble run
What is your favorite game? Jenga
What is your favorite thing to wear? tank top and shorts
Where would you want to go on vacation? Florida
What do you like most about your brothers? that they respect my birthday (they're really nice to me)
Now that you're nine, what would like to learn/know? how electricity flows through circuits (and all that)
What do you what to be when you grow up? an engineer who designs living enclosures at the zoo
What is your favorite toy? my stuffed animals: Paul, Diddy, Goldie, Cornelius, and Brownie
What do you sleep with at night? my favorite blankie and my stuffies
What is your favorite things to do as a family? go on vacations...camping and all that
What is your favorite art project? painting with acrylic paints
What is your favorite subject in school? Math or Art
What is your favorite cereal? Fruity Pebbles
What is your favorite lunch? apples and peanut butter
What is your favorite dinner? Korean beef
What is your favorite snack? granola
What is your favorite dessert? ice cream cake 
What is your favorite drink? peanut butter chocolate chip milkshake
What is your favorite animal? giraffe
What is your favorite song? Deep Blue (it's from their Sunday School curriculum)
What is your favorite book? The Tale of Despereaux
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

If you'd like to compare her answers to previous years, here are the links:
8th birthday
7th birthday
6th birthday

Addilyn's 9th birthday!

Yesterday was Addilyn's 9th birthday. It was her golden birthday too. Woohoo!

She started her day off right with special birthday cereal (Fruity Pebbles) and phone calls from the grandparents.

After that, she headed off to a full day of school (it's parent/teacher conferences this week so only Monday and Wednesday were normal days). For lunch, Daddy came and ate with her at school. He ate the chicken patty sandwich but Addilyn requested her favorite lunch, apples with peanut butter and a side of applesauce(???). Since it was her birthday I threw in a few mini chocolate chips with the peanut butter because that's how I roll.
For her class treat, she requested monster cookie dough bites. They were a hit with all who tried them. Yay!

After school, we did some birthday things like taking her birthday pictures (to follow) and doing her birthday interview (also to follow). We finished our picture session with a bunch of selfies as a duo. Normal one.

 Kissy face one.

 Uber happy face one. This one is my favorite.

As we were taking our selfies, a neighbor boy came by and asked to be in a picture with us. His rabbit joined us as well.

After that it was time for the birthday meal. Addilyn requested BBQ meatballs (or Korean beef but we had that last week). I threw in some fried apples and cheesy bacon ranch potatoes to complete our very healthy meal. She seemed excited.

Now for dessert, we were planning on making her an ice cream cake. We made our plan on Saturday and even ordered a special pan just for such a purpose. It was supposed to get here on Tuesday. As of 2:00 on Thursday, that pan still hasn't gotten here. So instead, Tyler made some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Milkshakes.

While not a cake, these milkshakes are pretty delicious!!

Time for presents!!

Smiley face.

Trying on her new duds from Mom and Dad.

One final selfie with Mom and Dad (and Frederick the giraffe).

The celebration doesn't stop there. Tonight she is having a friend over for a sleepover. I borrowed a pan so we will have the ice cream cake tonight. Then tomorrow we will play all day and finish with a trip to King's Pointe waterpark in Storm Lake. It should be a good time.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!!