First Bellin Run

The kids participated in their first Bellin Run this past weekend. Bryn especially has been asking me when she can "race" for the longest time as they are usually on the cheering squad for me. This time I was the one hauling their water bottles, extra clothes and my cameras as I cheered for them both.

The above pic was taken right after they crossed the finish line. They were SO proud of themselves!

Showing off their hardware.

Goodbye to preschool!

Then.............................

................and now.

We had a week full of lasts...... the biggest was their last day of preschool. The first pic was on their very first day of preschool just before they turned 3 when their lunch boxes look huge and they look so little. Although it took Henry some time to adjust to the new digs on Tuesdays and Thursdays (holding on tight to Jay's legs as he attempted to drop them off in the morning) , they both have loved the entire experience that this preschool has given them from their energetic and loving teachers to the nature lessons, gardening and playing with friends. I keep telling myself that they need to enter the real world where things are not as perfect as they are at preschool, but it's been fun while it lasted!

Bryn with Miss Jenna and Miss McKenzie having fun on the beach.

Kiddos with Miss Mara and Mr. Brian.

Beach day a couple weeks ago . They brought their beach towels, sunglasses, practiced their surfing technique and rode in a pretend plane down to Florida for a day in the sand.

The day before their last day we stopped at school to shop at Miss Georgine's farmers market. We saw Miss McKenzie who whispered to Henry and Bryn that she would wear her cowboy boots on the last day if they would.

Our little babies are on their way to kindergarten, get the kleenex please.

cousin lovin

H and B have 3 awesome cousins and would be in heaven if we all lived within shouting distance of each other. They cooled off with Mia and Alli and a couple brave adults in the chilly pool. Above is Mia and Grandma hanging out on the back porch.

Bryn having some fun with Alli.

Abbey and Sam joined in on the fun too and helped the kids soak Aunt Jen!

The next weekend we drove south to celebrate Liam's 4th birthday a week early since we couldn't make his party. Lucky for us we arrived in time for the annual Kite festival and watched the 3 of them make their own and then fly them as well. Of course it was windy in Grinnell, isn't it always?

I didn't believe Henry when he told me that he put cherries in one of Liam's birthday cards that he made for him.

The older they get, the harder it is to say good bye. Happy Birthday Liam!

Henry's apology

This is now the second official apology I have received in writing from Henry. It was made after we came home from a short shopping trip to the dollar store in search of some last minute things for our upcoming 4th of July festivities. Henry found a notebook he wanted and I told him no. Yes, I know, it was only a dollar but rules are rules.

He loves trying to spell stuff so now he uses that to send his apologies to me. I love the placement of the exclamation point and the drawing of himself reaching for the notepad...... a keeper for sure.

Circus World

Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt planned a surprise trip to Baraboo to hang out at Circus World for the day last week. They got there early and hit every show their was with time for a picnic lunch along the river.

Henry's favorite was the monkey in the circus show "who acted just like a person" and Bryn loved volunteering to play the part of a dog in the Kid's circus show. They dressed up and did dog tricks for the audience. And from what I hear Jessi Wonderfool is quite a hoot.

Henry came home with even more clown attire to add to his mix, including rainbow hair so watch out people a clown is on the loose.

Thanks to Norb and Karyl for a perfect day at the circus!!

Gardening time

Along with helping me get our plants and seeds in our garden out back, they also decided to plant their own secret garden. The secret garden is full of brussel sprouts and broccoli plants with plenty of native worms!

Simon's birthday

Henry and Bryn's friend Simon had his 5th birthday at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center which was perfect since Simon LOVES animals, habitats and nature in general. The kiddos were about 50/50 on touching the snake and other "pets" on display. After a scavenger hunt through the prairie they reconvened in the Nature Center for cake, ice cream and a little balloon volleyball with the neighbor kids. An awesome way to turn 5!

It actually resembles swimming!

The Starfish class, Miss Sue and Ted E. Bear from preschool who came to cheer them on.

Happy Mother's Day

I awoke this morning to find two videos made for me. The below is a Mother's Day dance choreographed by none other than Jay. The serious looks that they managed to hold for awhile were part of the routine..........

The second video had me crying in seconds. Jay made a 13 minute video full of pictures of me with the kids from when they were babies until now and it's absolutely beautiful. We won't bore you with it, but I think I will be pressing play over and over today.

I am so thankful for my sweet, spunky, thoughtful and silly kids that make me laugh every single day, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Happy Mother's Day to every woman who has loved a child.

Heritage Hill

We just happened to be at my parents when the annual Spring celebration at Heritage Hill was going on. Since the kids have acquired my love of Little House in the Prairie books, they were more than thrilled to go check out this park set back in the times of Laura, Mary and Carrie. We were able to watch them shear sheep with scissors, try our hand at milking goats and making butter and stepped back in time to a one room school house.

The quotes of the day as we headed back to my parents house from Henry: "Brynie, what did the goat's teat feel like?" and also "Hey guys where was Pa?". Bryn determined that he was most likely out in the fields working.








After the haircut, they let the sheep run into the pasture and Bryn ran over to watch.

Lessons with the teacher in the one room school house and trying to write on the slate boards.

For those Little House fans, remember this hoop game they would always play? I was so excited to join them but not sure anything more than beat upon the hoop with the stick as it careened down the hill.


And it wouldn't be a springtime party without a Maypole to dance around.

We were up at my parents so Jay could help my dad and friends re-canvas a canoe and here he is showing off his reupholstering skills.


While the boys were hard at work my mom and the the rest of us took off for garage sales. Henry found this truck and once we were home, convinced my mom into various racing games down the front driveway with Bowser in hot pursuit.

The below pics are a typical Tug-o-War between H and B on my parents front yard. She just reels him in......







You may remember this stick teepee that we built last summer. Not sure how, but the structure survived the winter and windy spring and is still standing. They decorated it with flowers and wood drawings with my mom.

Thanks for a fun weekend!

Shin guards.

Well, the kiddos kicked off their soccer careers two Sundays ago. As expected, when a tiny herd of four year-olds assemble on the field it isn't exactly pretty just yet, but it certainly is fun to watch. Check this out...



I especially like the skipping after the goal.

Here they are working on their cheering skills. They were so pumped about getting shin guards that they wore them to preschool for a day, and despite being offered multiple pairs of soccer shorts to choose from for her first game, B Bop of course opted for a skirt instead. Kids will be kids, or rather, it seems our kids will be exactly who they are at all times.

No training wheels!

After getting the kiddos bigger bikes with training wheels, just for fun we took the training wheels off their little bikes as an experiment. They saw their neighbor buddy Simon rolling without training wheels last week and it was obvious they wanted to do it too. After a couple hours of non-stop practice on the driveway (Henry in his cowboy boots dangling from either side and Bryn coasting from foot to foot), they both taught themselves how to do it. We never once had to run behind them holding the seat but rather sat on the stump and watched their determined little selves figure it out. The next day they had the Mallot pharmacy parking lot to themselves and since then they race each other to their bikes to do laps on the driveway. Mr. Sam even made them a course with chalk.

What made this even sweeter was the fact that for the first time in their lives, they learned something at exactly the same time! Bryn didn't beat him to the punch on this one. Maybe it was his lucky cowboy boots.

Anyone who gets within 50 feet of our driveway has heard.... "Hey Miss Kathy (insert Mr. Frank, Mr. Bob, Miss Bridget.......)guess what we can do ? " And without a pause.... "We can ride on two wheels!!"

April run down

As the days of April fly by I need to recap the last couple weeks. The kids did enjoy an Easter Egg hunt (all 56 eggs strategically placed by Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt) and then had fun hanging out with their cousins Alli and Mia. Bryn still wants to "mother" them as much as she can get away with and Henry enjoyed dunking the basketball with the future all stars.

Below is Mia trying out her soon to be new bike.

The kids had to goof around with Mr. Sam and the last dirty patch of snow from the infamous Snowwoman. A neighbor snuck over and planted a bunch of daffodils right where she had held court.

Henry and Bryn hard at work cleaning out the chicken coop! They are the perfect size for the job!!

Last week on Friday, Jay's parents took our two adventurers to Cave of the Mounds, where they learned about stalactites and stalagmites, followed with a lunch at the Grumpy Troll restaurant which was a repeat performance to a field trip with their grandparents 2 years ago!! I found this pics from their initial trip to the cave when they were a mere 2 1/2 years old!!!


Fast forward two years and look at them now...........

Oh, and I can't forget about the french toast breakfast Bryn made for us the other weekend. From cracking the eggs to dipping the bread and carefully placing it on the griddle, she did it ALL herself, while up on her little tip toes!

This past weekend will be posted soon since they have HUGE news to share. Well, most of you already know since they can't keep it to themselves.....