Photo Journal March 8-14

Whoa. I am finally blogging about something that happened during the same month that I am typing this up! Applause please.

We had a Hawaiian Party at our church to help satisfy our yearning for warm weather. It was really fun and I led some dancing activities with the kids/youth.

Dallin is eating more and more. He got really messy from this meal, but I can't remember what it was, probly chicken devan.

We get packages from amazon almost every day. This one was our big diaper/wipes order. It kept the boys entertained for a day.

We have gotten some warm days, so I've taken advantage of them. One morning, we woke up to gorgious sunshine and squirrels and DEER outside chilling in the sunlight. I didn't waste any time. After Dallin's morning nap, I popped the boys in the car and went straight to the Nature Center because I knew we would see some fun creatures there.

We saw tons of birds and this funny squirrel that clung to the side of the building and shimmied his way to the bird feeders. Also, the deer in our backyard stayed in the little tree grove literally from dawn until dusk. Never seen that before! I guess when the deer stay out all day to enjoy the warmth, that just goes to show how harsh of a winter it's been.

The warmth was short lived. Next day was super cold again and I think it snowed. So we rode our bikes in the kitchen (too messy in the garage from all the melting mud and snow). Dallin loves sitting on the tricycle and stays on really well while we push him around. Unfortunately, the little baby bike doesn't interest Dallin. So the boys have to take turns and neither of them like that.

We made a bunch of St Patrick's Day crafts. On this day, I asked Tanner what we should do for project time, and he said, "make a shirt and hat!" So we made leprechaun clothes for him to wear.

He only wore it long enough for me to take these pictures. You can tell from his facial expressions that paper-bag clothing was NOT what he had in mind.

Dallin loves his little pusher toy and is getting really good at it- and anything else he can push around the house.

This live plant was a bad idea. Dallin kept eating the dirt. We finally got rid of it yesterday.

We started a babysitting swap with the Taylor family. Tanner goes to their house for a couple hours one week, then their little one comes to our house the next. At our house, the boys got very entertained by the toy for Catch Phrase (a game for youth and adults). Tanner thinks its a CD player- notice he put on his headphones? They all danced to the beeping as though it were music and giggled everytime it stopped with the buzz.

During another project time, we made faces in our notebooks with the cut-outs that we found in the Arby's kid's meal bag.

Reading Time in our home library.

This scene makes me happy.

Dallin loves his chair.

The boys have been wearing long sleeves and pants for months (obviously). And we only bath a couple times a week cuz of the cold. So I easily forget how cute they look when you can see their baby fat and rolls. I think Dallin put on some weight during this time.

BIG BOY BED! I forgot to post that Tanner got his big boy bed in mid-end of January! He was SO excited, jumping up and down on it chanting, "I love my big boy bed! I love my big boy bed!" It's a twin bed mattress directly on the ground. We plan to get a bunk bed when Dallin is also big enough for a big boy bed. 

Tanner stays in it every time we put him to sleep! And now instead of coming into our room at 2:00am every night, he only comes to our bed 50% of the time.

We did dinner and shopping in Rochester. We ate at an Indian Restaurant, which was a nice change from our limited selection in Austin. Everyone, including baby, loved the food! Then we did a bunch of errands at Costco and other places that aren't in our town. It was a fun afternoon and evening.

Tanner was really excited when he saw this high chair. When we said it was for Dallin, Tanner insisted that it was for him. I guess he was right.

I can't wait to eat here again!!

Is it over yet?

On March 4 (almost sure that was the date), we got 9 inches of snow during the night. 

That pretty much pushed us to our limit with snow!

Tanner is dwarfed by the snow piles. Keep in mind this is the product of snow storms over the course of 3+ months.

Getting the mail. Can you see the top of that car driving by? Can you see Jeremy's head? But wait, where's the mailbox? Jeremy had to un-burry it. Our friends actually canceled their mail for a week because they couldn't find their mailbox.

Also, I learned that for streets and parking lots that don't have enough room to shovel the snow they get a giant truck that sucks up the snow and dumps it into another truck driving alongside it. Then they haul the snow to a discrete part of town. I saw the pile. It was massive, my guess is five stories high.

Our Backyard

 In this shot, I tried showing how over by the shed our garden and fence is completely buried. The garden fence is 3 feet tall and completely gone. That seemingly tiny brown gate next to the shed is on a 12 inch platform. Also notice the snow through the pillars of the patio deck. The deck is 1.5 feet off the ground. The bunnies that live under there had to dig tunnels to get out.

 Turns out, icicles are a sign of warmth, not cold. This is our first set of icicles for the winter. They formed because it got warm enough for the snow to start melting. The little ornament thing is a homemade bird-feeder. We've made lots of those. The birds kept devouring them so fast that I started just throwing bird seed all over the patio and driveway. The poor birds are so hungry!

Luckily, after this 9 inch dump hit, we've had really warm temps (35-45 degrees) during the days. The snow has been melting like crazy. All the roads were slushy, then puddly and now they are completely dry--first time since before Christmas! On Friday, in the car Tanner yelled out, "Mom! I can see the ground!!" It's kind of weird, we've gotten so much snow, but hardly any chance to really play in it because of the extreme cold. Jeremy and I wanted to go cross country skiing yesterday, but there is hardly any snow left to do it!

The hope of spring is in the air!

Day Trip to the National Eagle Center

On Saturday, March 1, we took a day trip north to a town called Wabasha, MN where they have the National Eagle Center. On the way, we stayed bundled up in the car. The drive took a little longer than anticipated due to a storm a couple days earlier, (ended up being 2 hours), but we were safe and the boys did great!

We first ate lunch in Rochester at a Greek restaurant. This brought back memories of all the great restaurants in So Cal. Then, we stopped at a place called Lark Toys. It's a really cool toy store with pretty much any toy you could think of, including the trademark handmade wooden toys that Lark Toys is famous for. We could have easily spent the whole day here!

They also had display cases of toys through the ages.

There was also a fudge shop, candystore, mini golf course and a handmade merry-go-round. Tanner is riding on what he thinks is a dragon. We went along with it and said "Oh ya, a brown dragon" even though it was actually an otter. When he got off, he took one last look at it and realized it wasn't a dragon. "Wait a minute. That's not a jwagon!" We just had to cover our laughs, and remind him how much fun he had on the ride.

Can you see me in the background?

Here's the view outside from the merry-go-round area. No sun, but it was a nice day since there wasn't too much wind.

After the toy store, we made it to the main attraction, the National Eagle Center. The place was beautiful!

Everywhere that we stood in the museum we could see the view of the river. This is close to the beginning of the Mississippi River, and since there is so much movement in the water, it doesn't freeze, even during all this cold we've had. The eagles know this, so hundreds of them migrate here every winter to hunt for fish and stay alive. 

We really enjoyed watching the eagles circle in the air, swoop down and grab stuff. We saw dozens  of them!

 Project station

Exhibits

There are four injured eagles that live at the center. We got to meet them face to face and watch them eat! 

Tanner is a smart kid. He obviously understood how dangerous these creatures are. The first thing he asked when we stepped in the room to meet the eagles was "Do they have arms to grab me?" And "Will they fly away?" Once we assured him that they can't hurt us, he was much more comfortable watching them.

Pretty awesome how these birds were almost extinct and now they are thriving! Pretty awesome how we got to enjoy watching them so close! Tanner especially loved it. For the past 2 weeks, he has been looking for eagles with his "noculars," and swears that every big bird we see outside is an "EEEEAGLE!!"

After the museum and eagle presentation/show, we went to a restaurant nearby. We sat by a cozy fireplace, eating yummy food while enjoying another awesome view of the river and eagles. It was a perfect way to end a perfect day!!