Family Field Trip

Today we took a mini road trip up to Yakima (about an hour away) to see the live show "Walking with Dinosaurs".
Michael was really hoping his best friend Cannon would be there, since Michael knew how much Cannon likes dinosaurs. :)




The kids were pretty excited about the show, especially when there was popcorn and "nummies" involved.

I tried to get pictures, but it was just too dark and everything turned out blurry. I did take a few video's with the camera, so you can kind of see what it was like. I don't think I was supposed to record it, so the excerpts are pretty short.




The show lasted about an hour and a half. The narrator was a Paleontologist who started gave us a brief history lesson as he went through each era of the dinosaur age, explaining the changes that happened on the earth, and consequently, how those changes affected the dinosaurs.

It was pretty impressive to see these "life size" dinosaurs look so real. The smaller dinosaurs were mainly moved by man as you could see the man's legs, but the head, eyes, mouth, and tail looked like it was mechanical, but in a very realistic way. The larger dinosaurs were driven by these guys in little cars underneath the dinosaurs. You can see an example of this in the T-rex video.


Chelsea and Michael were completely captivated. Chelsea's favorite part was when the plant life and flowers bloomed.


Here are some fun facts I found on the web about the show: (found here)
65:The number of people on the Walking With Dinosaurs staff.

17: The number of animatronic dinos, including two eggs.

90-2000: In pounds, the range of how much each dinosaur weighs.

60: In feet, the length of the longest dinosaur, the brachiosauraus, from nose to tail.

38: In feet, the brachiosauraus' height.

30: In centimeters, the height of one of the eggs.

24: In hours, how long the crew needs to set up the stage for the show.

26: The number of trucks needed to drive the shows dinosaurs, equipment, and crew from venue to venue.

3: The number of crew members it takes to control each animatronic dinosaur.

Over 1,00,000: How many people have seen the show in North America.

It was an awesome experience and if it ever comes near your city, I highly recommend it!

T-ball season begins!

I've been wanting to get Chelsea into sports for a while now, but couldn't find any programs. In Portland, they had TONS of classes offered by the Parks and Recreation department, but there aren't so many out here. When I got a flyer for T-ball, I jumped on the chance. My family was never too into sports, so I've never been to a t-ball game or basically any sport where I knew the players. I am thoroughly looking to many years of being a sports mom!

Tonight was the first practice. It was the most entertaining thing I've seen in a LONG time. :)



She started out in outfield, with basically everybody else. I was impressed at how she would go after the ball. I thought she would be too timid and shy, especially with all the boys on the team, but she went after that ball! She wasn't sure what to do with it once she got it though...







Waiting patiently for her turn at bat.


Finally her turn!



check out all those boys! There are three girls on the team and probably 10-12 boys. She doesn't seem to care one bit, and is actually excited a boy from her class is on her team.
Dan volunteered to help with some of the "drills". They called and asked him to be the coach, but he couldn't be sure he would be done with work in time each week, so he had to decline. Maybe next year!

Michael would watch for about 30 seconds, then race off to play on the playground. Practices are held at Chelsea's elementary school, with her Kindergarten teacher's husband as the coach.


Her first GAME is on Tuesday, so plan on even MORE pictures!

32 weeks.

I haven't been feeling well this week (just a sore throat, achy stuff, chills, etc...plus the sore feet, aching back, stretching belly, heart burn,etc.)

so Michael volunteered to sep up and take my place for the 32 week picture.



The only difference is, I'm not sure you will see me with such a wide smile. He looks great though, doesn't he? Michael, you're almost done! June is right around the corner! She will be here in no time! And wow, you really popped out this month!

....at least that's what they keep telling me!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter this year. On Saturday we scoped out some community Easter egg hunts and decided on one at the Columbia Basin Raquet Club.


Before the hunt, they had various activities set up, like frosting cookies..


making bunny-ear hats,


games in the gym,


and finally the hunt. They were pretty proud of their stash!


After naps, Dan took the kids to hike up Badger Mountain. The kids love the gusts of wind at the top, but best of all, they LOVE to lick their suckers when they reach the top.



Every year I want to get pictures taken of the kids in their Easter clothes, but can never manage to get ready early enough to take them. After church, hair is messed up, kids are hungry and tired, and pictures are just not going to happen. I snapped these while Dan loaded up the car before church, so at least I'd have something! We're going to pretend this sunday is Easter Sunday again, and really get ready early for pictures! :)

Chelsea looked so beautiful and grown up in her new dress. She doesn't like the fluffy tuille stuff under dresses, but this one only had a thin strip at the bottom, so I was able to convince her to wear it. :) It will be nice to have a baby I can dress frilly again.




And this is how Chelsea being completely lady-like in her dress. Apparently getting an easter egg is more important than being a lady.



Here is my handsome boy finding his eggs. I love how enthusiastic this kid gets over everything. He makes holidays twice as fun!


And what did we eat for our festive Easter dinner? COLD CEREAL! :) Let's just say I was feeling more lazy than usual. Maybe next year....

WHAT?!

Oh my gosh! I just looked at my baby ticker countdown thing....

65 days?! are you serious?! AHHH! It seems like it was stuck in the 70's FOREVER.

I have my 31 week checkup tomorrow. I am really starting to get excited for her arrival. Remember this list?

Erin's boy
Kimberly's girl
Jeni's girl
Alicia's girl
Katie's girl
Emilee's girl

Well, it's down to this now:
Kimberly's girl (over due now)
Alicia's girl (could come any day)
Katie's girl
Emilee's girl

I'm almost up! Many have been asking about names. We've got a post-it list going and once we narrow it down to about 4 names, we might open it up to voting, to help us narrow it down even more and just for kicks. Chelsea and Michael really like Caroline and Carla (these names haven't made it to the official list yet...:))

It's amazing how time flies when you find little projects and things to occupy your mind. We've been having some serious project fun over here...I guess it's my "nesting". Since we're renting, I can't really paint or decorate the way I want, so I've found other ways to entertain myself. I'll post them as I finish.

chelsea and Michael are getting excited too. Every day they ask me if the baby is coming out. Michael is still a little confused about how exactly how she will be getting here...which I'm not intending to clear up anytime soon. He wants to know when she will go back in my tummy after she gets here. I told him once she's out, she's out to stay. He simply replied...

"No, I'll go back in with her." Yeah, um....NO.

Just for laughs...

...and because I seem to not have anything to post...

I found this on a friend's blog. Made me laugh. :)