Amtrak Field Trip

On Ava's very last day of preschool (May 20), her preschool class and the two 4-year-old pre-Kindergarten classes went on a cool field trip. We rode the Amtrak train from Washington to Hermann. The trip lasted about 30 minutes, and we passed through the towns of New Haven, Etlah, and Berger. Then we rode a school bus back to Washington.

Here's a group picture of all the kids and their teachers. That's the Missouri River in the background:
We didn't get the memo about wearing red shirts. Oops.Good-bye, Washington train station!We had snack on the way. Ava thought the flip-down tray was cool. The train was much roomier and more comfortable than I expected.Ava's favorite kitty, Jo-Jo, came along, too.We passed by the wreckage left over from a coal train derailment the week before.Hello, New Haven!Good-bye, New Haven!Hello, Etlah!Good-bye, Etlah!
(Pretend you see pictures of Berger here. It looks a lot like Etlah. I wasn't quick enough with the camera!)

Destination: Hermann!Our train -- the Missouri River Runner: After we arrived in Hermann, the kids were treated to smoothies from a little shop near the train station, then we headed over to the Hermann city park for a little playtime before the ride back to Washington.

This was Ava's first ride on a school bus, and she thought it was great. I think school buses have shrunk since I was in school!What a fun trip! Dane would have come along, too, but he's not old enough to ride on a school bus yet. As it was, I really enjoyed the one-on-one time with Ava, and I think she did, too!

Snacktime at the Window

Last week, when the weather was nice, and we had all the windows open, the kids took advantage and used the dining room windowsills for a snack counter:

They were watching my uncles chop silage in the field across the road:

Mmmm, juice box . . .

Mmmm, chocolate pudding . . .

Last Day of Preschool

Actually, her very last day was a special field trip (post to come soon!), but this was the last day in her classroom. Here's Ava and her princess backpack on the way out the door:

Ava has grown in so many ways since the beginning of the school year. Here she is on the first day of school last August:

Not only has Ava grown in stature, she's also learned so much, made so many friends, and has really come out of her shell. I know some people are opposed to sending kids to "school" so early, but I'm so glad we decided to send Ava -- it was definitely right for her!

Photos by Daddy

I'm usually the person behind the camera, but Russ took a couple while he was here a couple weekends ago. I thought I'd share.

Ava likes to sit on this little spot in our yard. She says it's her special seat. Just wait until those lilies start to bloom!This is the reason Russ came in to grab the camera . . . the kids decided to sit down in the grass to look across the road at the farm: P.S. The weird exposure on these pictures is because the camera was still set on the "night scene" setting from the pictures I took for the last post!

Eerie Scene

The night before the last full moon, I happened to look out the front windows and saw this eerie scene:

I know the picture is dark, but that's the valley across the road from our house, just to the south of the dairy farm's silos (you can see the silos on the very left hand edge of the picture. The thick fog made it look like a giant bowl filled with cotton candy, and the light from the full moon shining down made it look especially weird.

For an idea of what the landscape looks like in daylight, here is a photo I took last spring. The valley in the photo above is too the right of the silos:

Strange, huh?

Dairy Farm Field Trip

Earlier this month, Ava's preschool class went on a tour of a dairy farm . . . not ours, but close! So close, in fact, that we loaded up the double stroller and walked there. We visited Scheer's Dairy, located just over the hill from my family's dairy. They milk about 160 Holsteins.

The tour included a hayride around the farm:Our first stop was to see the milking parlor and big milk tanks. However, I don't have any pictures because the parlor noise scared Ava, and her arms were glued around my neck the whole time.

Then the kids got to take turns feeding this two-day-old calf. I thought he was enormous, but then again, I'm used to the tiny Jersey calves that we raise -- they only weigh about 40 lbs at birth vs. 80+ for a newborn Holstein.Daddy and Dane came along, too. Dane, of course, was totally at home! The noise didn't faze him one bit.Back on the hayride to go see what the mama cows eat and where the barn where they sleep . . .Another difference between Holsteins and Jerseys, besides size, milk volume, butterfat, and all that stuff . . . our Jerseys would have all been coming up to see what the kids were doing. They are so extremely curious, they wouldn't be able to help themselves. These Holsteins, however, were a little more standoffish:They even had to catch one in the headlocks for the kids to pet. And she wasn't thrilled . . . she seemed to be just barely tolerating it.Ava had so much fun!After our tour, we were treated to cartons of Prairie Farms chocolate milk -- mmm, yummy! We had a great time visiting our neighbors' dairy farm!

Born to be a Runner

The weekend after my half-marathon, the kids and I participated in a 5K run/walk in Washington benefitting the March of Dimes. I had intended to run the 5K pushing the kids in our jogging stroller -- after all, I DID just run 13.1 miles! But I pulled a muscle in my back at work earlier in the week, so we opted to walk the 5K instead. After the 5K, the kids ran in the 200-meter baby dash for the 5-and-under crowd. Well, Ava ran like a champ, but Dane preferred to amble, just like his first race. Oh, well, it was still fun!

Ava brought her camera along, too!Awwww!The kids were actually more interested in this nearby playground than the race!

Dane's Big Boy Bed

Hey! I'm finished with the Easter posts! Now we're gettin' somewhere . . .

Last month, we decided to go ahead and get Dane his own big boy bed. He's only escaped from his crib once, and I think it was a complete accident, but we thought it was time. Unfortunately for the blog, I didn't get it on camera like I did with Ava. So, when Russ was home with his truck one weekend (actually the weekend of my half-marathon), we headed over to Smilin' Sam's, our favorite local furniture store, and picked up a new twin size mattress set for Dane. Like Ava's, we just set the mattress and box springs directly on the floor. It's not so far to fall if they happen to roll out of bed!

Daddy and Dane enjoying a story and a cuddle on the comfy new bed:Nigh-night, Dane!Pretending to be asleep for the camera (See his cheeks? He's smiling!):Ava requested that her picture be taken also. Do you think she's asleep? No? I wasn't fooled either. :)

Easter Dinner, Kyle's First Birthday, and Another Egg Hunt!

After church, we headed over to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Karen's house. We had a yummy dinner, including a first birthday cake for Kyle (his birthday was March 29th), then Kyle opened his birthday gifts. One of his gifts was a huge bag of mega blocks, and Dane and Ava were only too happy to show him how they worked.

Dane showed him how to play Jenga:And Ava showed him how to build a really tall tower:But Kyle was content to taste-test the blocks:Hey! That sweatshirt looks familiar! Dane, January 2008:While the kids were busy checking out all the fun birthday gifts, the Easter bunny hopped by and hid some eggs in the yard.

I followed Ava around to the front yard, but she's getting pretty good at hunting Easter eggs all by herself. She's had a lot of practice!Kyle got a little help from his Daddy:While Grandma assisted Dane in the backyard:

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!