Easter in pictures

Happy Birthday!

Yep, another birthday! Happy birthday to one of the most helpful and generous people I know! Happy birthday to Joann, my mom-in-law!

This woman can accomplish so much in one day! She rarely sits! She is always doing something fun!

Happy Birthday Joann!

Vibrant

My mom sent me a bouquet of flowers. The flowers were so beautiful I had to take a picture of them. The pictures probably don't do the colors justice. The oranges and yellows were so shockingly vibrant. They were gorgeous. Thanks Mom!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Dad!
Yep, it's that time again! I am saying Happy Birthday to someone.

Just so everyone knows, I have a gagillion (yes, I stole that word from Ben Stiller) family members and couldn't possibly post a birthday message to each one on my blog on his/her respective special day. I would need to create a birthday blog, in and of itself, and hire a professional blogger to do that. So, I do what I can, when I can and hope that no one is offended.



My Dad is celebrating a birthday today! Happy Birthday to a man who works very hard. Dad, I hope you have a great day! Do something for yourself. Like--don't lift anything! Maybe sit and watch a movie or buy a CD!

Chuck E Cheese with Papa and Mammie!

I am not sure why we chose to hit Chuck E Cheese the night before Easter Sunday. However, here are the pictures to prove it!

Savor Photography

You might want to check it out:

My bloggy friend, Rachel, took some great photos of my cousin Kyle and my sister and her boyfriend. You may enjoy checking them out on her photography blog. Just click here for Kyle's senior pictures or click here for Sara and Shannon.

The end

Well, our staycation is over and it is now time to get back to reality. Maybe you'll get a post card!

Spring Break Staycation Day # 6

Today we headed to the MN Zoo (thanks to Aunt Leigh for the membership!). Today again we met up with the G's! Walking through the zoo with them allowed us to see things we might not have noticed on our own. We went to an indoor bird show. The girls loved it. It was a bit nerve wrecking to be right in the fly zone though. One particular bird knew around 100 human sounds (small words, car sounds, cell phone noises, etc...). McKenna and Ella really were amazed by that.

Spring Break Staycation Day #5

Today we ventured out to the Mall of America and went to Underwater Adventures. This past Christmas the girls received (from their grandparents) a gift certificate here. So, we put it to good use today. Daddy was able to join us for part of this outing, which was a pleasant surprise. We also met up with another family (you'll see them in a few pictures) from church. So, the girls were able to visit with friends a bit.

The aquarium is small compared to the Chattanooga or Atlanta aquariums, but you would be amazed at the size of it considering it's location (lowest level of the Mall of America).

The girls liked this guy!

I explained it this way to the girls, "They're like hallways made of glass and we will be able to look all around and see fish swimming."

This guy was swimming right above our heads.

There were some aquariums with smaller sea life. Here's a seahorse. McKenna was fascinated by these. Notice they cling to the plant life.

This seahorse was in a different aquarium, but I thought the shot was great! You'll notice a few brightly colored Easter eggs in a few of these pictures. Remember, Easter is a week away.

YUK! This is probably the most grotesque creature I saw there. What is it? Who can tell me? Come on, leave your guess in the comment section!

Shark's Cove was the preferred "hallway" by all. McKenna was very interested in reading about the fish and finding each one in the aquarium.

Here are some of the kids in the life size shark cage. I explained that divers stay in the cage under the water to study the sharks. Ella couldn't wrap her brain around that. "Why?" she kept asking.


Levi is touching a starfish! McKenna decided only to watch.


The "G" family!

The girls managed to find some sunken treasure while we were there. Ella liked this.

Ella didn't know what to think of this guy. I was a bit unsure myself. McKenna was happy to pose for the camera, though.

We also visited the American Girl store. Here are a few of the girls favorites.

This one is Ella's favorite.


After the mall we headed over to IKEA to check out some furniture that we are thinking about acquiring. Ikea is a fairly "kid friendly" furniture store. But, it isn't as "wallet friendly" as I remember it being. I was a little disappointed.

The girls liked this little chair. The canopy came down and it swiveled.

We thought this round bed was fun. We were looking at for 2 pieces of furniture. The shelving unit you saw above and day beds for Ella. The shelving unit might be doable. But, we will find a bed at a different store. Ella wants this gigantic round bed! I told her it wouldn't fit.