Spring flowers

It has been freezing here the past few days. In fact, we are expecting two inches of snow tonight! But at least it's starting to LOOK like spring!

Body fat experiment

Our Iditarod class is coming to an end with only one more class after today. Today, we did a "body fat experiment" to learn how animals stay warm in Alaska.

First, each of the boys put their hand inside a ziplock bag and stuck their hand in a pitcher full of ice water. They each tried to stay underwater for one minute. Only a couple of the boys could make it the whole time.

Next, they put their hand in a ziplock bag full of shortening and then put it in the icy water. This time, they could easily keep their hand underwater for 2 minutes!

Sundae surprise!

Spring break also included an afternoon of miniature golf. However, it was so windy and chilly that we needed to get a break indoors. We headed over to Steak N Shake for their "Happy Hour." Only during Happy Hour do we get the full-size shakes!

Dirt track and zip line

We have been waiting for a week of nice weather to officially take our spring break. This was it!

Today, we headed over to one of our favorite spots, the BMX dirt track.

On the other side of this huge park is a zip line. What fun!

In her carriage

Jayda is a BIG fan of the warmer weather. Her favorite activity is to be pulled around in the wagon. And believe me... she knows how to get what she wants! She is both vocal AND cute — a combination that no one can refuse!

Bike track

Seriously. I never know what is going to happen in our back yard. I heard lots of activity out there today and when I looked out, they had used some old boards to build a bike track!

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Finally! Not only was it a nice warm spring day this weekend, it was actually HOT! The kids were complaining about the sudden switch to 80-degree temps!

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Sled building

We had a lot of fun at our home-school co-op today. It was team spirit day, so Andrew dressed in St. Louis Cardinals colors and Matthew dressed in the colors of his baseball team, the Toledo Mud Hens. This is a real minor league team, and his little league team is named after them.

Today in our Iditarod class, the boys built their own sleds out of popsicle sticks. They also colored them to represent their "sponsors." Andrew's sponsor was Angry Birds. Jonah chose Nintendo DS. Matthew was sponsored by Nerf. And Sumner, being a HUGE Cardinals fan, chose the anti sponsor, "Boo Cubs."

Soccer starting

We also started soccer practice this week. Alayna's team is called the Firestars and Andrew's team is the Bombers. They are both excited to be playing soccer again!

Learning to slide

We went to home school swim today and Jayda tried out the slide at our indoor pool. After several attempts, she figured out how to get herself turned around at the top of the slide so she could go down. After that, she was unstoppable!

Baseball blues

Matthew started baseball practice a few weeks ago, but he has YET to have a nice day for practice. It is painful to try to hit a baseball when it's 30 degrees and you have to wear a coat, hat and gloves! Regardless of the weather, he is super excited about playing on a baseball team for the first time.

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This week's photo is at the hotel swimming pool. 

3-2-1, JUMP!

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25th birthday (x2)

My whole family got together this weekend for my oldest sister's 25th birthday... That's 25 x 2, which is twice the fun!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I decorated everything with a butterfly theme.

We gave my sister a book of "blessings." Each person wrote her a special birthday message.

Our family includes 14 grandchildren, me and my three siblings, plus husbands and my parents.

We had lots of fun playing Blockus!

I wish I would have taken more photos! Here I am with the birthday girl.

Jazz singer

The three big kids and I took off Friday afternoon for Indiana to celebrate my sister's birthday. We decided to go a day early so we could see my oldest nephew perform with the Purdue University Jazz band. He is very talented and a great performer! 

He was recognized during the performance by his conductor because he has received several awards for his singing. I guess it's quite uncommon for a singer to be recognized as one of the top musicians with a jazz band. Way to go, Joel!