A Couple Of Monkeys At The Zoo

To celebrate Alexis’ birthday, we used our membership to the Great Plains Zoo to see some other monkeys! 

We tried to get there a little earlier in the morning so the animals would still be active, but as the day got warmer, things slowed down a bit.  The local grocery store hosted a free lunch for Memorial Day.  So we got hotdogs, watermelon and cookies!

The petting zoo area is the best! But they didn’t have food out this weekend because the animals had been fed too much food the day before.  But Noah still loved sticking his hand through the cutouts to pet them.  Alexis – not so much.

We also found a cow, which the kids love to see on our walks and as we drive to day care.  It was up close and personal, but maybe a little too close for Punky.

      

Did I mention Alexis also loves the “rhinosaurs?”  They’re a hit every visit!

Green Thumb?

We decided to give my green thumb a test and start a garden on the back side of our garage.  Last fall, Bill built a tiered area for two decent sized gardens.  Our landscaper said it was a great area for a garden but our neighbor warned that the deer were going to love it.  I plan to put up a fence.  That should keep them out, right?

This is what we started with… 16 tomato plants in the lower tier with marigolds around the edge to keep out any rabbits we may have.

The higher tier has 8 more tomato plants, green, white and red onions, jalapenos, and 4 green peppers, 4 red peppers and 4 yellow banana pepper plants. 

To prep, we tilled in a couple bags of manure on each level as well as a large cube of peat moss.  The dirt used around the house is actually a pretty good mixture of manure and dirt to begin with so, it should be pretty hearty for the plants!

Alexis Is 3!

Alexis’ birthday weekend was full of excitement and visitors. It started with Daddy coming home from Alaska. He got home just in time for all the fun. He got in late Friday night, so the kids didn’t get to see him until Saturday morning and boy were they excited he was finally home!

Grandpa Knaeble and Maria came for a visit on Saturday to hang out with the kids. We played in the back yard after Bill installed an extra set of rungs on the ladder and they brought gifts for Alexis.

She got a book and some fun stuff for the sandbox!

We went for dinner at Applebees (which we’ve decided makes the kids act especially naughty for some reason) and beat the storm home. Maria read a couple books to Alexis and Noah before the kids went to bed for the night.

Sunday: Then it was the party day! We had everyone over for Alexis’ big bash after nap time, but the Birthday Girl decided she didn’t want to wear her birthday outfit… so we just went with it and she wore what she wanted: A t-shit and jeans. That works too!

Alexis’ favorite movie these days is the Disney movie, Tangled. We watch it over and over and she can recite lines and tell you what’s going to happen next. It was only fitting that I was able to find a cake! Grandpa Kanabee and Maria stopped by before the party after spending all day Saturday with us. And it wasn’t long before Alexis was ripping into her presents… with the help of her brother, of course. Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Big breath and out went the candles!

Of course, Alexis got her special dairy-free chocolate cake!

Uncles Christopher and Brent! Lookin’ good, guys!Grandma Rose & Grandpa Tom with the rugrats!

Alexis showed off her new camera to Great Dzia Dzia and Busha and Great Grandma Yinda (Linda), the photographers in the family!

Above: Great Grandpa Art & Great Grandma Linda
Below: Great Dzia Dzia & Great Busha

Uncle Chris, Aunt Laura & Cousin Tristan; Busha & Dzia Dzia with the birthday girl, Alexis!

Above: Aunt Carissa & Ryan
Below: Uncle Brent!

While The Husband’s Away, The Wife Will Play

Work sent Bill back to Alaska for a full two weeks again.  At least this time is was in the spring instead of the dead of winter.  But that mean being gone for Carissa’s 23rd birthday.  And this year, she really wanted to party.  We all chipped in to rent a party bus so everyone could get around safely.  We planned a route with a stops at four bars through the night and started out at our house.  That way, if anyone needed to crash instead of drive home, I had plenty of floor space.  The kids got to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  We had fun.  I’ll leave it at that.  Happy Birthday Peeps!  We started at Bracco where I bought her a pineapple drink and relaxed with a Grey Goose dirty martini.  AHHH!

We picked up some people along the way like Chris & Laura, Mike & Jen and Theresa & Carlos.

Then it was off to McNally’s for a quick shot stop.  The Irish pub was celebrating its birthday too and had special “birthday cake” flavored shots.  I got to order 20! And there was one extra, so I got to enjoy it. But that’s where we parted ways with Theresa and Carlos.

Next stop: The Attic.  That’s where we happened to run into a co-worker of mine whose family was pretty close with ours growing up.  Kevin was there with Daniel Seddiqui.  He did 50 jobs in 50 states and KELO was the first news station to do a story on him.  He was back in Sioux Falls for a book signing and had a couple on him.  So I bought one and had it signed!  Was a great guy to chat with for a little while. 

Movin on… the next stop: Wiley’s Bar.  Not a huge fan but that’s where Carissa and her friends tend to frequent.  Jen was impressed she made a family photo we took with all the girls (think Mom has that one).  So I thought I’d post a pic of her and fiance Mike. 

Me, Mom, Carissa & Laura

Noah’s First Haircut

The Monday after Mother’s Day, Bill’s work took him back to Alaska for the next two weeks.  That’s why we had the goal of getting the swing set done before he left.  While the weather there was warmer than his visit in February, the sun was out nearly 24 hours!  We missed him tremendously.

Brent and Carissa helped me out a ton with my new schedule.  They stayed the night so I could go to work at 5 a.m. while the kids slept and I would come grab them for day care around 7:30 a.m.  It worked!

But Bill also missed out on a couple things.  Noah needed a haircut BAD!  It is spring now, so the kids have had some pretty bad runny noses. And well, his bangs were getting so long (never been cut!) that his hair was getting stuck in his nose.  Gross, I know!  So, I got him in for a trim but told the lady I wanted to keep his curls.  He did a great job sitting on my lap, but since I was the only one there, I didn’t get a picture of it.  So here’s his new do – post clip.  You’d think it gave him some personality too… but nope – that’s just my Noah!

New Swingset!

The seven or so boxes, LARGE boxes, and large pieces of plastic that have been sitting in the front of our garage for the past eight or so months are now empty.  And their contents are now arranged to resemble a child’s swingset in our back yard, which is now full of thick, green grass.  We decided to put off the construction of the swing set to avoid a winter’s worth of weathering.  So over a week’s time, Bill spent his nights putting together sections in the garage.  And on Saturday, we recruited family help to pull it all together and station it in the back yard.  The kids played their parts as mini foremen. 

Noah made sure all the guys stayed hydrated and they both kept a close eye on Uncle Brent’s handiwork with the picnic table. 

 

 

 

 

The tube slide made them think a little though.  The instructions can only take you so far, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swings work?Check!

Ladder work?  Check!

However, the ladder rungs were just a little too far apart for Noah.  He kept putting his foot through the gap as he climbed.  I was a little worried he was going to fall through so Bill later added a second set of rungs between each one.  It worked out great and now he’s a pro at getting up to the fort and slide!

 

 

 

The next day was Mother’s Day.  We had the family over for dinner an had hoped the kids could play on the new swingset.  It was a bit icky out, so that didn’t happen.  But Alexis & cousin Tristan hung out just the same.