kidcity

Because we had not done enough yet, we went to the KidCity children's museum one day. Gage was excited to get the crystal cave all to himself -- he calls this "superman's fortress of solitude"

 He picked some carrots

Both kids walked the plank over sharks!

 

 we played on the seesaw that rattles like a rainstick as it goes up and down

 they played on the rope bridge

 and they spent a lot of time making a blanket for in the new "lake house" room there. What a brilliant idea -- they had hooks all over the walls so the kids could loop the quilts to the hooks. So fun!

getting ready for easter

We dyed Easter eggs, which was a bit challenging until Gage decided that he was done and went sneaking off to watch tv. It's my turn...I want that color...etc etc etc. When it was just Savannah my big girl, things went more smoothly.

 

 

playing at the firehouse

One day we met up at the firehouse to play on the trucks.  This is one of the perks of having a family that makes up a good part of the volunteer fire department in town! 

  Uncle Bob drove them around the parking lot with the lights and sirens going. They were just a little excited about that!!!

They played hide and seek in the garage, tried on fire hats and coats, played freeze tag, pretended to march, and were just crazy kids...

 Savannah tried to drive by herself, and tried her hand at ringing the fire truck's bell. It's funny - my cousins (Kristine included) and I used to do this when we were kids and our moms were at the Ladies Auxiliary meetings.  The firehouse looks (and smells) like time stood still :-)

dump truck driving

One morning, Gage and Grandpa snuck out together to go get hay for the cows, and Grandpa let Gage drive the little dumptruck. But...Gage had his sights set on bigger dumptrucks.So, another day we went to visit Great Gram Barbara and talked Grandpa into letting the kids drive. I don't know who had more fun - the kids or Grandpa!

Here, we were checking to see if they were taller than the tires - Savannah made it!

 Barney - Grammy's new dog - had fun playing with the kids in the giant rock piles

visiting here & there

We stopped by to see Grandpa & Grandma Woods.  Gage got some tickle torture. Savannah hoped to see their cats - they have 4 but we have never seen them. They hide - very well. While there, Savannah suddenly felt sick and ended up throwing up.  Ah..the joys of little pukers.

I snuck away from the kids one night and went out for dinner with Aunt Karen & Uncle Brooks at the White Horse Pub.  The owner bought "the Nanny car" -- this is the real car from Nanny 911 :-)

And...we stopped by the pewter shop where we saw Aunt Karen (she's not related to me at all, is she?!). She had easter basket goodies for the kiddos, and Uncle Brooks made sure to mark how tall they are on the doorway again. Amazing to see how much they have grown since summer!

pajama party at Gram Rooney's

One night we met Kristine & Elizabeth at Gram Rooney's house.  They played house and legos, dollhouse, made crafts, etc. When it was getting late, we put their jammies on, and they got silly when we said they were having a pajama party.   These are officially the FIRST and I'm sure LAST kids to jump off Gram's couch. I don't think she was very happy with me egging the kids on to do this! It's a miracle we haven't had to take Gage to the ER yet. THis is standard for him!

 

Grammy's house

We spent a day (oh -- who am I kidding, it was part of a day!) hanging out at Grammys house.  They stayed in their pjs for a while and snuggled in Grandpa's old chair...

 and we took a walk out to the cows.  Gage, of course, ate the bread that we brought to the cows

 They filled up the cow water.  Rosie is drinking there - that is the kids' favorite cow.

 They played on the "giant marshmallows" (round hay bales)

 And perhaps against my better judgment, I let them go under the half-stacked bale.!

They said hi to Al, who graces my parents' foyer.

 And we were excited to find pussy willows growing by the little pond.

 

Easter Bunny Fun

All in one day, we went to a breakfast with the Easter Bunny AND to a egg hunt!  First up was the breakfast with Gram Rooney and Grammy. While we waited for our pancakes, we got to meet EB! They also had their faces painted, entered some raffles,  and colored pictures.

 Next we were off to meet Elizabeth and Kristine for an egg hunt.  This was the kids running toward each other to give each other big hugs when they saw each other :-) 

 We got them all to stand together,but getting them all to look at the camera is near impossible!

 Elizabeth & Gage are ready for the hunt!

 Savannah and Gram Rooney are hiding behind a big pillar at the church trying to stay warm!

 They held the hunt for little kids inside the church where it was warmer. So...inside..it was an egg hunting frenzy. It lasted 5 minutes, but they had fun and gathered big baskets of goodie-filled eggs.

Sugar Shack

While in CT, we noticed all of the buckets hanging from the maple trees and decided to see if they sugar shack was cooking syrup. So, we drove to Ragland Sugar Shack in Southbury.  As you turn into their driveway, they have a sign out front that says "sugar shack - house not on fire"!  Gage fell asleep, so he stayed in the car with Grammy.  We got to go check out the shack, see how they cook the syrup, taste some fresh warm syrup, AND the owner took us to a tree to taste the sap (which is actually mostly water, that just tastes sweet) straight from a bucket on a tapped tree!

 

We - of course - bought some syrup to take home with us!

Heading to CT

Our flight was delayed a few times, but we finally ended up at the airport, where we were excited to find this play area in the renovated terminal!

 And...we met Grammy and Gram Rooney at the airport, where we took a picture with Flat Stanley who is the little paper guy that our cousins in WI sent to Gram Rooney for a school project.

Savannah's field trip

Before spring break, Savannah had a field trip to the Barnyard. I was able to go with her class.  We found this beautiful peacock showing off for his girlfriend,!

 Took a picture of Savannah's whole class :-)

She had a great time with her classmates

 She was able to hold, pet, and feed a lot of animals - chicks...

 shaggy miniature horses..

 baby ducks and bunnies

 she got to check for eggs, and found a bunch of eggs...and chicken poop!

And then we were surprised that her teacher let everyone sign out early, so we went to the nail salon! Her first time, but she loved it!