Welcome Snickers!

A couple days ago we went down to the Lake to return an outfit for my sister and we decided to go ahead and eat at Outbacks, since it's been awhile. After dinner we went to Petco to look at fish, but ended up leaving with a Guinea Pig. The kids love her to death and make sure they say "Good night" every night, but they could not decide on a name. So after everyone taking the night and sleeping on it, we all listed a name, put them in a bowl and drew one name. We now have a Guinea Pig named Snickers, which is perfect when you figure in her coloring.

The Magic House!

The Magic House was last on our list of things to do and probably the thing I have looked forward to the most! There was so much stuff to see and do and if I tell you it all, we'd be here all day, but here is the jist of it!




After getting settled and taking a quick bathroom break, we decided to start at the ground floor and work our way up, so the kids crawled via Jacks Beanstalk up and down floors as we walked closly by using the stairs. The kids played in with the air tunnels and in the construction zone for about 30-45 minutes before being forced to move on to the bubble room where they got to be inside a bubble and blow huge bubbles as well as other stuff. I will have to admit, the kids are much better at creating bubbles than I was. We also touched a electric generator making our hair stand up tall (girls basically) and slid down a three story slide. After spending a little time in each area, we were able to go back to our favorite areas and play some more. I took the girls to the toddler area, while James took the boys to the construction zone. After meeting back up with the boys and the Silvers' family, we played in the bubbles some more, bought some gifts, and made the two hour ride back to New Bloomfeild.

We all had a blast and can't wait to do it all again some time! Thanks to the Silvers' for joining in our fun!

Grants Farm!

Day two of our many vacation started off with a big breakfast from the hotel. We stayed at the Drury Inn and to say the least it was nice! We got there around 4:30p after a long day of fun at the Museum/Aquarium and they treated us to three free achoholic beverages. James and I both drank one, not sure what Brandi and Dan had, but I know it wasn't much if any. They also treated us and the kids to free soda and popcorn (other snack foods) throughout the night. After getting settled in and eating supper we took the kids down to swim in the indoor/outdoor pool where Quentin enjoyed swimming back and forth under the wall. They all played in the pool, but my kids seem to enjoy the hot tub more than the swimming pool :) The kids took their baths and hit the sack around 9:00 pm. Kierstynfell asleep first and Quentin shortly followed. Zachery went to bed easily, but was up throughout the rest of the night and Kariana decide she would play and make noises till about 11:30 pm.

The next day we ate our yummy breakfast filled with scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, biscuits and gravy, sausage, ect. You name it they probably had it! They even had some make your own Belgian waffles with all the trimmings! We packed up and headed out for Grant's Farm about 9:30 am for the start of another fun filled day!

At Grant's Farm we got the Fun Pass that allowed the kids to ride the carosel, feed the goats (2 bottles each), a free snow cone, and 10% off at the gift shop. After riding the tram through the tour we started off with feeding the goats. All the kids really loved this part! Kariana was a little skiddish after being head butted by a goat in the side, but she soon got over it and was back to feeding and brushing them.

We decided to see the elephant show before leaving for lunch, but I ended up missing it due to the long lines at the snow cone stand, but I heard it was nice and the kids enjoyed it. They finished their snow cones, done some shopping at the gift shop, and headed out for a nice picnic before heading to the Magic House!

City Museum and World Aquarium

We left early this morning in route to St Louis, MO for a mini vacation with mine and my sister's families. James and I woke up at around 6:00 a.m. and woke the kids up around 6:15 a.m. After getting dressed and eating some breakfast, we headed out for about a 35 minute trip to my sisters house. From there we took the two hour drive to St. Louis and actually did okay other than some mild road work and my sister and I having two different maps. FYI: Yahoo Maps and MapQuest are totally different :)

Our first stop on our trip was the St.Louis City Museum and World Aquarium. The Museum was really cool making the experience educational as well as fun. There were rolly slides, tunnels, skate park (slide area), Arts and Crafts area, and so much more. There is a whole roof top full of more adventures, but the only way we seen to get up was through three plus storries of tunnels. Needless to say we opted not to push the little ones through the narrow wire tunnels. My kids favorite part was a tie between the Arts and Crafts and the skate park area. The only complaint I had was that the tunnels are kids sized and the kids are not allowed to through by themselves, so...needless to say they didn't do to many tunnels. They did go through some with their older cousins, but not to much (Thanks Amanda and Emilee:)). I also thought that the food was a little expensive, but it's to be expected from places like this!

The World Aquarium was our next stop and what Quentin had waited for all summer long. It was smaller than I expected, but it had a lot of touch stations that was great for education, interactions, and keeping the kids entertained. I even managed to touch most of those slimy critters and wasn't grossed out to much. Touch stations included; a variety of turtles, doctor fish, guinea pigs, rabbit, sharks, starfish, stingrays, farrets, and more. They also had turtle races, which Zach and Kierstyn won the bet, and a station to feed the fish. I think that we all equally enjoyed the doctor fish nibbling our hands and my kids couldn't get enough. We all also enjoyed the stingrays (except Quentin). Kierstyn loved the snake that she was able to pet and Quentin really enjoyed crawling through the tunnel that went through the sharks tank! Although, Quentin liked it all and it was hard for him to choose a favorite, I think he really enjoyed watching the jellyfish and octopus. Zachery basically just looked at everything, but he fell in love with the stingrays and Kariana seemed to light up more when she pet the rabbit.

I don't have many pictures (due to having to hold kids up to see and juggling the camera) but I hope that you enjoy what I managed to snap!

Art in the Driveway???

A few weeks ago the girls got a sidewalk paint kit from my sister for their birthday. Last night we decided to paint up the drive way and the kids learned that pink and yellow make orange and blue and green make yellow. Quentin even figured out that blue and red make purple, so light blue and pink make light purple. Huh, learning while having fun...what a thought! Here are a few pics!

Preschool Screening!

Today, the girls went in for preschool screening. James and I debated for awhile about waiting (since they are barely three), but since they went back to back to back half days, rather than full days, we decided to give it a shot. The girls really need the social interaction with people other than mom. They did this so that they were able to serve more of the community with all the layoffs our poor town has faced lately. Anyway, at preschool screening the check each childs Eyes, ears and teeth to see if there are any concerns and the girls were just fine, which we knew because they have already been to the dentist and eye doctor.

After they check their eyes, ears, and teeth; each kid is given a Dial-3 test. This test is just for the teachers to see where your child is developmentally and to see what areas they might need some assistance in. This test checks their motor skills, language skills, concept skills, as well as basic behavior skills.

Of course my angels did great in the behavior section, other than being a little shy. I had to keep reminding myself that they only turned three about two weeks ago. I kept looking at this test (I've given them before) and thinking, "Oh, my they are really behind." This is a test that is used on ages 3-5, but geared more for ages 4-5.

In motor skills they check things like touching fingers to thumb, hopping on both feet and a single foot, and cutting. For their age group they did well. Kierstyn was able to catch a bean bag twice with both hands, do what they call a hop-skip, build structures with three blocks, and touch one hand fingers to thumb in order. Kariana was able to do everything Kierstyn can do (little more outgoing) plus catch the bean bag 3 times, do a full skip, twiddle thumbs and cut a straight line. This was really good for their age level!

Language was a little harder for them being that it is geared for ages four and up, but they did well. Kierstyn knew her first name, her age, and that she was a girl. She was able to articulate 18 out 0f 26 letters and indentify the objects and actions of an apple, plane, car, and pencil. She told them what to do if your thirsty and sang the alphabet to the letter "D" before getting bored and saying "I'm done now." Kariana seemed to forget what she was doing at this booth, because she forgot her name, age, and sex and could only sing the alphabet to the letter "B." She was able to identify the objects and actions of an apple, plane, and car but was unable to tell someone wht to do if they are thirsty.

Concepts was a little harder, because most of it is timed, but they did very good for their age! Both of them were able to name their body parts, colors (not the timed part though), count to 10, and were able to display understandings of positional words such as in front of or beside.

Overall they did great! Now, due to the abundance of kids and not so many positions, we have to wait till next Tuesday to see if they get in. The school trys to offer the services to 4-5 year olds (getting ready for Kindergarten) and lower scores on the Dial-3 first, because they feel like they need it more. They do fill in any extra spots with higher scores and three year olds if possible or place you on a wait list if all else fails. They really try to help as many as possible without hurting the kids in the process. We'll cross our fingers, But won't worry to much if they don't make it. They are only 3!

Boys Teachers!

We got to find out who the boys got for teachers today. In our school, they post a list of teachers and students on the windows of the school and it's the parents job to come up and check who they got. So I usually take the boys up and we look together. Quentin is in second grade this year and Zachery is going into kindergarten, so he got to check for his teacher first.


This year, Quentin got Mrs. Mattern and Zachery got Mrs. McCarger. Both these teachers have been around for along time, but I have not previous experience with either of them. I have heard that they are more strict than others, but depending on how strict, it may be a good thing :) Hope this year goes as well as years past!