Spring Break

Holden is off this week for Spring Break and Rylan was off two weeks .  Which makes plans a little tricky but we have managed.  Monday we all went biking on the Loveland Trail.  Kevin and I have done this together and let the boys ride in the carrier but this time Holden wanted to ride his bike.  The plan was to ride to Loveland or as far as we could get for lunch and then bike back.  Well, Holden loved the trail that he just kept peddling.  We ended up making it to Loveland, which is 6.5 miles.  We rested and had lunch then biked back!  Not once did Holden complain he was tired.  We did stop a couple of times for water but other than that he just kept biking along.  Yes, for a total of a 13 miles!  I did not exactly think we would get ride that far, especially since we had swimming and baseball practice later that afternoon but the little trooper kept going.  I told him before he went to bed on Monday that we should enter him into a triathlon since he basically did one that day.  However, when his head hit his pillow that night, he was out!  I know this will come as a shock but I did not take a picture.  Yes, not a single one:( 

Tuesday, Rylan had preschool and Holden said he did not want to do much except his one request was to go get donuts after we dropped Rylan off.  His request was granted and we basically just played at home most of the day.  Again, no pictures!

However, Wednesday, we were off and adventuring.  This time to Indianapolis, Indiana.  Indianapolis is a little less than 2 hours from our house and such an easy drive.  We were off to see the largest Children's Museum.  We planned to get there when they opened at 10:00 but after stopping for a bathroom break it was a little closer to 10:30 before we got there.  And when we drove up, the boys were screaming with excitement.  Just look at the building! 

There are dinosaurs climbing into the museum.  We knew then we were in for a great day.

While we were buying tickets we heard someone yelling, "HOLDEN, HOLDEN"  We started looking around and all of a sudden a little girl comes running up.  It is his friend Lainey from school.  What are the chance!  They were both excited and ready to see the museum.  First stop...LEGO'S! 

I am sure the boys could have stayed here all day but we had 4 floors to explore.  Next, we took a flight to Egypt.  While in Egypt we experience some of their customs.

Next up before lunch, Mr. Potato Head. There was so much to do here, you could build,

go to outer space,

there were slides, and lots and lots of potato heads displayed.  I am sure you can guess their favorite...

Star Wars.

After lunch, we saw the Dinosaurs! 

The boys were able to dig for fossils too.

Besides the Lego's exhibit, I think their next favorite exhibit was the Science Works.  There was construction, digging, water, and did I mention construction? 

They loved being "Worker Men" as they like to call them.

There were other exhibits like the mirrors, the carousel, the Indy car, Bubble Bee, and the Chihuly glass going through the center of the building. 

But our next favorite and final stop for the day was the Treasures of the Lost World.  Just from the name I knew the boys were going to spend alot of time in here!  They looked at mummies,

scuba dove for cannons,

pretended they were kings,

and helped with an archaeological dig.   

Whew, what a busy day!  Yes, we stayed until they closed!  To say it was worth the drive is an understatement. 

Just look at these kids laughing!  The boys had a blast and are already asking when can we go again!  We have one last outing tomorrow before our Spring Break comes to an end.  To think there are only 7 weeks left of school, I think I need to start planning our summer activities and outings ASAP!

Easter 2012

After our overnight excursion to Lexington, it was time to get back home and most of all, get ready for Easter Sunday.  All week long the boys have been excited about Easter, the baskets, the eggs, and oh yes, the candy.  On Saturday, after a busy day of horse rides, traveling and playing outside, I could tell it was time to call it a night.  But before we came inside for the night, I had "magic" jelly beans for the boys to plant. 

With these "magic" jelly beans you plant them in the dirt and the Easter Bunny's sprinkles his magic over them and they grow into something special the next morning.  Both boys were going on and on about what they thought grow from jelly beans all during bath time.  It was quite funny. 

We set out our baskets and carrots for the Easter Bunny before bed. 

You might be wondering where Rylan is in this picture?  Well, the poor thing was so exhausted that he actually fell asleep while brushing his teeth!  It was pitiful!  So Holden did everything for the two of them.

Sunday morning, Holden was up bright and early while Rylan was still asleep.  I went ahead and let Holden look at his basket since Rylan was in need of sleep we did not need to wake him.

Soon after Rylan woke up and found his basket too. 

And some Easter table surprises from me too. 

Then we went to see just what grew from those "magic" jelly beans....

flower lollipops!  The boys were screaming with excitement and shock!  Their reactions were great.

There was just too much excitement before church to take pictures and to make it on time.  So these are the only pictures of the boys we got when we came home. 

Oh, well!  There is always next year for a family picture, I guess!

We had some friends over for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt. 

Nothing like finding a treat in an Easter egg.  As Holden and Rylan see it, the more eggs, the more treats.

After dinner, I made dirt in clay pots with carrots growing for the kids desserts. 

In other words, chocolate pudding, oreos, and the carrot is orange icing.  Sweet, sweet and even more sweeter, what could the kids not love.

Our Easter was a little busy this year but indeed a very happy one.  Happy Easter!

An Overnight Excursion

Since both boys were off for Good Friday we decided to make a trip down to Lexington for Opening Day of Keenland.  You may remember from our trip last Spring break to Keenland, the boys had a blast watching the horses races.

After a late and sad going away party Thursday night,(my good friend Sarah and her family are moving to Minnesota and we sure are going to miss them.  Especially me!) we were up and on the road at 8:00.  Our first stop was to Pin Oaks Farm.  This farm is a private Stud Farm nestled on 480 acres.  Some of their famous horses include "Broken Val", "Cowboy Cal", and "Bob & John". 

Since we were the only family on the tour, we were given the "royal" treat.  From the moment we walked in, they gave both boys hats and took us around to see all of the horses including their new foals.  We even stopped to feed a couple of horses some clover. 

I think this was the highlight for the boys.  Once we made our way back to the main barn after the tour they again gave the boys one last surprise, books.  Yes, the owner of the farm is a children's book author too.  You might can guess what the books are about...horses!

Our next stop, Keenland to see the races.  Since it was opening day, it was packed!  But not to the point of being uncomfortable.  I just love the scene at Keenland, it reminds me of the Grove at Ole Miss.  The ladies are done up to the nines and the men are wearing seersucker pants! Ahh, now that is the South I miss! 

As always, we let the boys pick a horse for each race and bet the minimum $2.00 bets.  I know we are such big spenders.  Now the boys have two very different ways of betting, Holden goes by the name he likes best where Rylan makes his picks by the color of the jockeys shirts or the horse color.  Neither way is perfect but somehow it seems works and they always come out as winners.  And now, how that works is beyond me! 

While we were at Pin Oaks Farm they told us that they had a horse named "Let's Get Married" racing in the 7th race. We decided that would be our last race of the day.  We placed our bet on, you guessed it, "Let's Get Married" for that race.  On a side note from last years Kentucky Derby Race, "Animal Kingdom" won that race.  The jockey for "Animal Kingdom" was Johnny Velazquez and the trainer was Graham Motion who just happened to be "Let's Get Married" jockey and trainer too.  How could we go wrong? 

Well, WE WON!!!  We all thought that was pretty neat.

After a long day at the races the boys wanted to go to the hotel and swim.  Go figure!  Saturday morning we had one last surprise before heading back home.  Horse back riding!  Kevin found a farm that offered riding for kids.  Rylan was so excited.  He is our little animal lover. 

Holden was a little more cautious but warmed up when his horse started to trot.

Both boys were able to get on together at the end for one last final ride.

A perfect ending to our overnight excursion to Lexington.