Easter

We participated in not one, not two, but THREE egg hunts this year. The first was held indoors due to rain and wind, at St. Francis Church. Then we went to one at a park near my parents' farm. Then we had an egg hunt on the farm on Easter morning. Drew really got a kick out of it this year!

Minneapolis trip

It's been a while since I updated my blog, so I'm going to catch up a bit with some older photos. Over spring break this year we went to Minneapolis. Drew stayed home with Grandma and Papa. We went to the Mall of America, including the American Girl store. Lauren had saved her money to buy Chrissa, the Girl of the Year, and Claire had saved for a Bitty Baby. They were running a deal where you could get free wristbands to the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park in the mall with purchase, so we spent a day at the park too. Lauren and Trent rode on the big roller coasters that suspend you upside down and everything! Our other day was at an indoor water park hotel. Very fun!!

Ballet recital

Yesterday was the girls' ballet recital. Their studio holds a noon, 3 PM, and 6 PM show to manage the length. We lucked out this year and they both were in the same one!

Drew is pouting in the bottom shot because he wanted to be in the picture and we told him to sit down.

We have a new cousin!

We are all thrilled to welcome our new cousin, Caroline Gilbert to our family. She was born yesterday, March 11, in New Jersey. Congratulations to her parents, Andy and Dana Gilbert, and big siblings Molly and Peter.

Trent wins regional spelling bee!

Trent competed in the regional spelling bee on Sunday. The top two finishers from each of the local bees competed from the region, which included Des Moines, Ames, and Boone. It was held by the Knights of Columbus, but was open to students from all the area schools, both public and private. The bee went 105 rounds, and advanced from the 4th grade word list to the 5th grade word list, and ended with the 6th grade list when they were down to two competitors. Trent finished first! Trent's classmate Kara, who beat him at our local bee, finished 4th. Trent studied for the bee, but didn't end up getting any of the words we practiced. The state bee will be March 22 in Ames. Kudos to Trent!

Claire is 5!

Claire celebrated her birthday first with a party with her preschool friends. We invited all the girls in her class. Unfortunately, it was during a snowstorm and only half of them could come. Still a very fun time! It was at the Raccoon River Nature Lodge in West Des Moines. The theme was "Amazing Animals" and the girls got to pet some guinea pigs and bunnies.

The day before Claire's birthday, we met Uncle Paul in Marshalltown to eat pizza. Paul got Claire a cool dressup set with sunglasses and a wig.

Then on Claire's actual birthday (February 19th), Grandma got an ice cream cake from Culvers. Yum!

Not Quite Spring

Our beautiful weather these past few days has melted all the snow. This morning, the kids thought it was raining, and raced to get out the umbrellas. They didn't last long, as the rain turned to sleet, then snow. Guess it's still winter!