Good riddance to walnuts! (at least in the front yard)

In between keeping an eye on the "man in the bucket" at home, we also headed to a park to play with their friends Abbey and Sam. After watching them cut down our huge walnut out front I can't believe I was trying to talk Jay into doing it ourselves. With all their fancy equipment it took them most of the day to get it down while carefully dropping all the branches and keeping the trunk intact to mill some lumber for us for new projects!

Don't remember who out of the bunch decided we needed to feed the green dinosaur but they all chipped in to toss him sticks, stones and snow.

Sam and Abbey got reacquainted with their favorite park toys after a much too long winter. Ahh, the days of hanging out at a park without all the layers is hopefully coming soon.

Happy Easter!

Well, we started getting ready for the Easter Bunny's visit last weekend with the coloring of the eggs. Check out the look on Bryn's face as her blue/green? egg emerges from the dye.

Other random faces during the egg project.

Despite the snow storm and true to Wisconsinite form, the annual Egg Hunt on the Capital lawn went on as usual. The foot of snow made the eggs kinda hard to find in some cases. Consequently, the kiddos ended up with a pretty light haul. Luckily they were able to trade in their eggs for a goodie bag full of fun stuff.

Then all of a sudden they got super klingy. We were touched that in the midst of all the chaos they wanted to give us hugs, but we realized their burst of affection was actually complete and total fear of...the Easter Bunny. They still have not found a way to be ok with people in costumes, including Bucky, Bruce the Spartan, or in this case Peter Cottontail. They did, however, make it clear to us that it was still cool for him to come to our house while they were sleeping, as long as it was a "little Easter bunny".

And the celebration culminated with a good old-fashioned egg hunt Easter morning. It was so much fun we might do it every weekend!

Ugh...it's official.

Well, we finally made it. Sometime last night, Madison set a new snowfall record that is more than double the normal annual snowfall...100.4 inches. The warmer temps last week had us actually feeling kinda springy, but we should've known better. The picture below was taken on the first full day of spring, as yet another winter storm dumped on us.

Lake Superior Spring Break

We joined forces with other members of the Hinsa clan (Shannon, Liam and Grandma Georgia) and headed north to Superior to visit my Grandma. Happy to say that they are now at the age that 6 hour car trips can actually be enjoyable. They are no longer dropping things on the floor and screaming every few minutes for someone to pick it up only to watch it fall again.

Now, they sing, color, read books and just chat with each other and us. Of course stuff still falls and they quickly ask for help picking it up, but it isn't the near catastrophe (at least not all the time) that it used to be.

As we pulled up to the hotel, Bryn swore that she saw her "Gramma Grace" sitting in the pool. She didn't get the memo that her great gramma has never gone swimming. But, soon after we arrived my mom brought great gramma to the pool to watch as Henry and Bryn jumped off the pool edge over and over and over and over. Thanks for the bathing beauties pic Shannon!

It was so much fun to hang out with my grandma and watch my kids interact with her. At one point Henry just stood by her side, with his sweet little hand on her leg, looking at his great gramma Grace. Wish I got a pic of that. What made the trip even better was hanging out with Liam, Shannon and Grandma, exchanging Easter goodies and loading up on free food at the continental breakfast!

They had to give Gramma Grace a tutorial in their water painting class. Serious business, as you can see.

Trading Easter stickers with Gramma Grace.

Hold on Liam, Grandma Georgia is at the wheel!!! For some reason we all had to hop aboard my grandma's scooter and fly down the hallways of her apartment building. That thing's got some power!!

We got to hang out with my Uncle Greg and Aunt Sheila later that day after he stopped over at Gramma's house on his lunch break. Henry was a huge fan of Greg's since he played catch with Henry non stop. My uncle is a very talented artist and we were able to see some of his new abstract art that has done. Henry was gazing up at one piece and announced "That looks just like my artwork!" Someday Henry, someday.

Nothing like Springtime on the shores of Lake Superior. The weather was actually in the 40's this day but that darn cold wind off the lake made it rather nippy. This is the only pic I got of my cousin Wendy with one of her twins, Peri. Neve was at home taking a nap.

We didn't deprive our kids of sun and sand on their Spring Break, we've got a little of both, see?

I love this pic of Bryn and Henry waiting to catch their cousin Liam on the slide.

Gramma Grace and her Easter bunnies!!

Henry getting some last loving with Gramma Grace.

It's melting!

It's puddle season again! Henry asked us yesterday if it was Spring yet and I lied and said it was. Close enough, the snow is finally melting and 40 degrees honestly feels like 60. Bryn's new clothing item is a purple vest that we found stuffed in a bin that she wears over anything and everything, even inside the house. Henry loves to pick out a fleece jacket that "matches" something else he is wearing for the day, even if it's a stripe on his pants!

We have been walking over to the duck pond several times this week so we can get rid of our dry bread and Henry and Bryn can practice their aim. There have been plenty of puddles that we get "stuck" in along our route. Another essential is the backpacks which are needed to hold each of their bags of duck food.

Here's what happens if you don't keep your eye on the hummus....

Remember when?

Each time I pass our computer and the screen saver is randomly picking pics to display sometimes it just stops me cold and I sit and stare at the little people they were. Here are two that were taken 2 years ago when they were 8 months old. Bryn was on the move and crawling while Henry was still relatively immobile (if you don't count the rolling) and a drool machine. It's crazy now to see these photos that were taken so long ago that bear identical expressions to what we see today.

No more corners

Way back when the kids were 6 months old a friend told me to get rid of the pacifiers, and since I trusted this well- read and researched pal, we did just that. Neither one was really hooked at that point and they didn't seem to mind. We then moved on to other worries. Apparently Bryn had other ideas, and months later when she found her own special blankie, the corners always seemed to end up in her mouth. Since blankies were only for their crib or a long car ride, they were eyed up and grabbed as soon as we would enter their room. Henry is a blankie snuggler while his sis would invariably have a corner soaking in her mouth within seconds. What evolved was that we would find her sleeping with those nasty wet corners hanging from her mouth. I think I do laundry just to wash that blankie. The corners actually turned a different color over all this time.

We have been talking about how we were either going to have to send their blankies on to Mia and Allison or try to figure out a way to get her blankie out of her mouth. I really hated to take their soft comfy blankies away. I just got so disgusted with the look and smell (sorry) of Bryn's, so here is what we (she) did.....

Our first night with the de-cornered blankie was a rough one. I would like to blame part of it on this year's super early Daylight Savings time but I think she really misses those corners. As I type this poor B girl is crying so Jay peeked in to find her trying to suck on a non-corner. Wish us luck!!

They're baaaaack!

Kids are back and our house is not so dull. I still can't believe they were gone for a week and did just fine, considering they are only 2 1/2. As soon as we were back in the groove of things they were already talking about their next trip to Green Bay(Henry wanted to leave today) and have requested that Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt hurry up and get back from their Jamaican holiday. Bryn and Henry are so lucky to be blessed with two grandpas and grandmas that love them to pieces.





Finally...... dress up time. I've commented to friends how strange it was that neither one was really into dressing up with all their fun clothes, especially the pieces that Shannon sewed up. Henry got the itch to put some fashion sense in this house (since I have none) and before I knew it they had tried on every piece. The heels were a part of each outfit, even with the camo pants, and we couldn't help but plug our ears as the clickety clack of those darn plastic shoes times two paraded around the house!!








Thanks to Jan who loaded H and B up with gifts when she came for a visit at my parents. The stuffed animals are adorable complete with an Asian flair. Bryn's cat holds a piece of sushi in it's mouth and Henry's panda munches on a fortune cookie. How did Jan know we are sushi junkies? (well, at least mom and dad are) Thank you so much, they love their gifts and the bracelets!

Bryn and Henry's Green Bay get away

It's been 3 days since I drove home from Green Bay, leaving my kids with my mom and dad and it feels like it's been weeks. I had been both dreading the drop off and looking forward to it all at once and now that we are about half way through I thought I should post some pics. My mom has been looking forward to this week for a while which shows in her preparation. She signed them up for a music class, set up visits with teachers at my old grade school, had all the ingredients for a banana split breakfast and filled up the closet with several project ideas!

I have lost track of how many times we have chatted with them on the phone since I came back, it's got to be close to 20 times by now. The first night home they knew we were going out for dinner but they still don't have a clear idea of time yet. The following morning when I talked to them on the phone, one of them asked me .."Have the people brought out the food yet?" How patient do we look?

I am so happy they are having so much fun and letting Grandma and Grandpa have a glimpse into their wild and crazy imagination and play. My mom commented on the fact that they don't even need toys, since they can take any household object and turn it into something silly. Like the wicker doll chair that Henry uses as a trumpet, or the hallway that they turn into a track complete with a dirt pit that they fall into! My mom has been "worked up" by her team of mini docs with stethoscopes, hammers and even a pair of pliers, thanks to Henry.

Here is video I took before I left town..... I was asking them what they were planning to do on vacation and here is what they said.... Don't ask me what they were doing with the baseball bat and golf club.

Henry making his pine cone bird feeder filled with peanut butter and bird seed!

Bryn cleaning up the floor after the project. She is such a little mommy

Henry and Bryn were somehow pretending that the wood stove was a computer and their calculators were the keyboards.


Bryn, and her cheesy grin showing off the banana split breakfast!!! Nummy.

I have not sat around moping (at least not for too long), as we really wanted to make use of all this extra time so Jay and I are actually going out to restaurants, watching movies in a movie theater, and taking Finn for walks at night! But, it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO quiet around here. The constant chatter, laughter, yells, and the non-stop singing that is typically bouncing off the walls is gone and we are pretty darn lonely. Friday night can't come soon enough!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

We may as well enjoy it.....

As I type this, it is snowing AGAIN. I seem to have a very irrational fear that Spring is never going to come this year and we will be chipping ice and heaving snow from our driveway forever. Jay was out cold from the flu this past week so my computer access was at a bare minimum as I tried desperately to dodge every sneeze and cough that he sputtered laying in our spare bedroom. Bryn, Henry and I spent a good portion of our time outside and managed to build some snow horses in the front of the house. Who knows if they will ever see snowbanks again like this in their lifetime.

Happy travels to Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt as they leave these beautiful surroundings for some Jamaican sun!! You guys deserve all the R & R they dole out on the island as well as some zip line adventures.

Political disagreements at 2!

A warm start to the weekend.

No, we didn't hit the road and drive south for the weekend as the threat of yet another snowstorm approached us. We drove across the isthmus to Olbrich Gardens with Kim, Chad and Neve to see some Peruvian dancers and meander through the steamy, warm, tropical smelling botanical gardens. Neve was the brave one who tried her moves on the dance floor while Bryn and Henry hung back. I think they were all mesmerized by the bare legs and colorful outfits. So were we!

Back at home, Neve loved the horse in the playroom and showed off her tongue twisting...

.....and belly.

Henry had to get in on the tongue sticking too.

We tried to put them all down for a nap so we could chill out and chat but the kiddos had other plans, mainly talking, jumping, laughing and just not sleeping. It was so fun to see my childhood "best friend" and her family. Kim and I were pretty much joined at the hip since we were born 9 days apart and lived kitty corner from each other so it was fun to see our children chat and play together too. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were picking raspberries in her backyard and building forts in mine.