Spring Break 2011

We had Spring Break a few weeks ago, and as most people head for the beach, we went somewhere a little chillier...good ole Kansas City. The week before our official Spring Break, I drove out to Kansas City with Adelaide and Avery. I was a bit nervous about a 9 hour drive with the 2 little girls, but they handled it quite well (thank goodness!!). I'm normally so spoiled when I travel to have Alicia helping Addi and Tristan helping Avery, and all I have to worry about is driving. We had to get more creative this trip, but the girls traveled well, and we still made it in time for dinner! The girls and I spent that first week at Martin and Mari's. Kate had a treatment that week, so we stayed at home with Ryan so Mari and Seth could be at the hospital with Kate, and Martin could still go to work during the day. We had a pretty low-key and uneventful week. Addi and Ryan played beautifully together. They had a hard time incorporating Avery into their play since all she wanted to do was tear everything apart...not really ideal for playing trains! The first morning we awoke to SNOW, and it depressed me the rest of the day. We did not go anywhere that day. Martin and Mari live just a short walking distance from a grocery store, a 7-11, and my favorite sandwich shop, Mr. Goodcents. So everyday we went for a little walk. Sometimes we hit the grocery store if I needed to pick something up for dinner. Sometimes we'd hit 7-11 and the kids would get a slurpee and a bag of gummy bears to share. But everyday we went to the sandwich shop so I could get my beloved turkey on wheat with cheddar cheese. We also made a few trips to the park. I had intended to do more field trip type things, but Avery naps right in the middle of the day, and the kids were really getting along so well, that I figured, "why ruin a good thing?"

The kids came to me and asked me to build them a train track since Avery had demolished the old one. I was a bit intimidated since I'd never built a track before. I had the kids help me sort out all the pieces so I knew what I had to work with and then I built a sweet track (if I do say so myself). It was a continuous track with out any dead ends (not an easy task if you've ever built a train track)!

One night Martin and I took the kids to the mall to get an anniversary gift for Mari, and to let the kids run around. There was a fire truck there that the kids could climb around on...Avery especially thought it was great fun.

At the end of the week Daniel flew out with Tristan and Alicia. I switched from staying at Martin and Mari's to staying with my parents. My family is just so big lately, and Kate was just getting home from the hospital (which can sometimes take some adjusting), so we thought it would be best to evacuate! Luckily Kate had a good week at the hospital, and adjusted very well to being home, so we were able to have a few dinners together so the cousins could all spend time together.

That Sunday, we drove 2 hours south to Chanute, Kansas to visit Daniel's maternal grandparents and extended family. We call it "going to the farm," and it was exactly that. We saw lots of farm animals and I think it really got Daniel itching to get more land and especially some chickens. I'm still adjusting to the dog, so I think he'll just need to be patient!! It was a wonderful visit, and I think we saw just about everyone there is to see down there! We saw both of Daniel's uncles and also his aunt and numerous cousins. We feel it important for the kids to know their great-grandparents, and we sure wish we could see them more often.

The Soap House: Aunt Patsy (in the purple shirt) makes homemade soap in the soap house on Grandma Mary's property and sells it at her soap shop on her property, Summit Hill Gardens. Aunt Patsy took the kids out to the soap house to help her "turn out" some soap that had cured.

A little taste of the inside of the soap shop. There are SO many soaps to choose from. Patsy always lets the kids pick out a soap when they come to visit.

Avery sitting on a tractor tire trying to decide what she thinks of Boomer (Grandma and Grandpa's farm dog). She's probably thinking, "that dog is so small...and hairy."

Aunt Patsy also has chickens. Addi and Daniel got to collect the eggs out of the nests in the chicken coop.

Aunt Patsy also has sheep...and a baby calf. Avery really liked the calf. He would come to her and lick her hands.

Adelaide with Grandma Mary. We plumb wore her out!! She made us a fabulous lunch, but we could tell she'd out-done herself, so Daniel and I took on KP duty.

Alicia and Grandpa Wendell. He is recovering from a recent knee replacement, and we were amazed at how well he was doing!

All the kids with Grandpa Wendell

For some reason Avery really liked to crawl and climb all over Grandpa....it was really cute.

On Monday, we drove up to Omaha, Nebraska to watch BYU baseball play Creighton...and to see WES of course!! We got a super nice hotel for only $60/night. Since we now need 2 hotel rooms, we were glad priceline was able to help us out! We were able to get up there with enough time to take a little swim in the indoor swimming pool, and then head to the game. Unfortunately, Wes was not catching that game, but we did get to see him hit once since he game in as a pinch hitter in the last inning. You'd have thought Mark McGwire was up to the plate with the way we all went wild! Unfortunately, BYU lost 5-6, but it was a good game. My parents and Martin and Ryan were also at the game. Tristan was asked to participate in the dizzy bat race. He had to put is forhead on the end of the bat and make 10 turns and run around 3 cones in less than 30 seconds to get a Creighton prize pack (a t-shirt and jump rope). He started having trouble around turn 7, and then got off to a great start weaving around the first cone, but on the second he fell flat. It was great! And we all went crazy cheering for him! He still made it back to the line with about 5 seconds to spare! We were able to go out to dinner together afterwards before Martin and Ryan had to make the 3 hour drive home. The next day was much more exciting as Wes got to catch. We all went wild for him again! This time BYU pulled the win at 11-4. GO COUGS!! Sadly, Wes had to go straight to the airport after the game, so there wasn't much time to socialize. It was nice to see him, and exciting to see him play.

The dizzy bat contest. This is about at turn 7 when Tristan started getting a little wobbly.

After Tristan hopped around this cone, he totally fell flat. He was a little more dizzy than he thought!

Wes at bat as the pinch hitter during the first game.

Before the game on Tuesday, Wes invited us to come to batting practice (Wes is hitting in this photo). I was amazed at how quickly and smoothly it ran. There was literally no pausing for anyone or anything...it just kept going, and no one seemed to skip a beat.

Four bats in one hand...no big deal.

The guys started playing this game after batting practice. They stood in a circle and tossed 2 baseballs around. It looked like fun.

A bunt. I am always amazed at how quickly Wes moves. He makes it look so easy...which it totally can't be easy sitting in a squatting position ALL game long.

Wes at bat. You can see where the ball hit the ground and the ball on the left side of the photo.

Caught ya swingin'!!!

Series of 3 photos:

#1 the pitch

#2 Contact

#3 Wes got to the ball (again...SO FAST), and threw the batter out at first.

ROCK ON!

STRIIIIIKE!!!! Wes always leaves his glove out for the ump to see exactly where the pitch ended up so that we get the calls on the pitches that we want.

Grandpa Ralph kept Addi bundled up most of the game.

REALLY not a huge fan of how I look in this photo, but oh well! Me and my bro...

We went back to my parents house Tuesday afternoon, and we went straight to the park after we got there. We all felt so heavy from sitting in a car and at baseball games. It felt good to get our blood moving. Wednesday was spent packing up and getting ready to go, and we left for home on Thursday morning. We spent the last few days of Spring Break recovering and relaxing. It was a nice Spring Break.