Winter Quarters Temple Trip

Our Ward had a family temple trip to the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha Nebraska. It was a day for families to come down, spouses to go to the temple and children to play at a park. I volunteered to watch the kids at the park since I was going to have Daddy and my brother-in-law Jeremy go in to help with the Youth.

My sister's family had arrived the night before so we were able to catch up while watching the kids. Hopefully they weren't too put out =) Everyone seemed to have fun!

I love going to the temple because there is so much peace there to be found and while inside nothing else really seems to matter.

The bishop had me sing "I Love to See the Temple" with the primary kids. It brought tears to my eyes. They are such cute kids! Aren't you jealous that you don't get to work with them each week?!?!

We also wanted to give the kids a chance to touch the temple!

Picnic after going to the temple.

#3 and her cousin Madison who is exactly 2 weeks younger. It was HOT!! But, they had fun swinging!

At the visitors center the kids got to dress up like pioneers and learn about some of the things that took place near Winter Quarters in the 1800s.

The kids showing how reverent they can be at the temple! What a cute bunch of kids we have!!

Mall of America

The Mall of America is one of those places that is great to visit even if you don't plan on doing any shopping. It is the largest Mall in the United States and has TONS to do! We spent the afternoon at the amusement park, and the kids had a blast! (Big and little kids).

Walking through Lego Land Kayla met the man of her dreams!! Hubba Hubba!!

It was nice to have enough adults to go with the kiddos and luckily we only had to pay for the kids on the kiddy rides! That was nice!

This ride made #1 bawl and #2 laugh hysterically. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it. . . Bummer!

Our kids LOVE Dora and Diego. They were pretty excited to see them.

#1 LOVED the swings!

Kayla enjoyed bringing the kids on the rides, but sometimes they weren't all that exciting!

Don't you just love his eyes!?!? He is such a looker!

Fourth of July and some Crazy Dress Up

#1 has started liking dress up. She will find whatever suits her fancy and will put it on to "dress up". On this night, she was sporting the uber attractive brother plastic pant look. One on the head and one on the behind. She thought it was absolutely awesome and funny, and well as you can see. . . so did we!

My awesome niece, Kayla, came out to spend two weeks with us. It was great to have her around. The kids LOVED her! Even little #3 who only took a week to give her the time of day.

#1 posing in her attractive outfit

Unfortunately, the only personal fireworks allowed in Iowa are sparklers (which seem really little) and snakes. #2 fell asleep early, but #1 enjoyed playing with the sparklers and #3 enjoyed watching.

She was a little worried about her hair catching on fire when I told her to keep it away from her head.

We even got Kayla in on the action!

#3 loving the lights!

I love my cute girls!!

Trip to Des Moines Zoo

The excitement is in the air as we prepare for a fun filled day at the Des Moines Zoo. Our Kiddos LOVE zoos and all of their stinky glory! The Des Moines zoo is definitely small (no elephants or bears) but the kids still had fun. Their favorite animals were the goats because they were able to touch them.

#1 also tried to milk the cow, but the milk was all gone!

We had to pay extra to feed the giraffe, and when we realized that we were paying $1 per lettuce leaf we felt a bit ripped off, but the kids did enjoy it.

Daddy and the Kids being Beavers

#3 enjoyed the trip too! She LOVES being outside!

Nightly Routines and Night Time Fun

When it comes to night time routines. . . We have finally come to agree with the idea that simpler is better and less is more. When we aren't watching. . . things like this happen:

Luckily this was the food dish because I had already picked up the water dish, but the water is dumped on a daily basis now. That spot of flooring must be the cleanest spot in the house!

When the kids don't want to put on their pajamas, Daddy decides that maybe the cat deserves them instead.

But, most of all, our kids LOVE "crazy hugs!" Crazy hugs started with Daddy hugging the kids and then tossing them onto the bean bag, they evolved to Daddy throwing them on the bean bag with his feet, and have since turned into the art of touching the ceiling and then plummeting down or being thrown from 4 feet away. The kids LOVE it! Mommy isn't quite so strong so they are lucky if Mommy can toss them on when Daddy is gone.

This is the smile that I adore!! Pure delight!