week with my loves

i am beyond happy when i get to see my sis and the kids.  and this last week was the best ever, because they decided to spend their spring vacation with me!!  i'm so lucky!

i'm super sad to say that i didn't get many pictures :(  along with this being one of the most stressful times ever (which is a totally different story), i was just trying to soak up every second i had with them.

they got here on wed and stayed until sat.  wed night the kids stayed at doms (aka grams; their favorite thing to do!).  we had some take-out chinese before they headed to doms.

thurs morning, we made a stop at the new Hobby Lobby.  then, we had lunch at Panera and made a stop at Trader Joe's.  my sister doesn't have a trader's by her so we try to stop there if we can.  it worked out well because i desperately needed to go grocery shopping anyways.

my mom asked us to go to "Art in Bloom" at the milwaukee art museum thurs night.  i have gone for the past 2 years, but sara had never been.  i thought it was a GREAT idea to go because you don't truly appreciate the designs unless you see them in person.  she completely agreed and we really enjoyed it.  we even made a stop for ice cream on the way home.

basically the idea behind "art in bloom" is the designers are given an art piece at the museum that they sort of interpret and replicate in flower form.  here's mom's...

mom's design (which was also featured on the news!)

friday we headed to woodman's for more grocery shopping and a stop at target.  can you tell what me and my sister like to do when we are together?!  shopping is our favorite pastime.  haha.

she went to visit a friend in the evening, so it was game night for us and the kids!  we played monopoly, which was kind of a dud.  then we got to see the kid's favorite movie "Frozen"!  it was really cute.

saturday morning, mark made everyone breakfast and then it was game time again.  this time we played "heads up" and "spot it".  such a fun morning!

and before they headed out, i requested that the kids put a new design on my chalkboard!  wyatt drew a "love tornado" and adalai drew a flower with a message that said she loves me.  they fill my heart with so much joy!  i love those kids so much!

it was an amazing time to spend with my family, and i'm so bummed that they had to leave!  i wish they lived here so we could spend even more time together.  so happy that they will be coming back in just two weeks!!

Adalai and Wyatt's visit

After Christmas, my niece and nephew, Adalai and Wyatt, got to stay with us a few days.  I wanted to make sure they had a fun time at our house so we planned a lot of fun stuff to do.  It also helped that they had a ton of Christmas presents here to play with.

On Thursday, the day after Christmas, we decided to hit up Discovery World in Milwaukee because I had never been there before and they love it!  I've always wanted to take the kids there and they were finally old enough (6 and 8) where they could really appreciate it.

on a submarine

looking out the 'scope

on a pirate ship

lifting 300 lbs!

laying on a bed of nails!

just hanging out

 After we were all exhausted from playing at Discovery World, we headed home.  Adalai took a nap in the car to recharge for Grandpa Jeff and MaryLu stopping by for dinner and opening presents!  We decided after having to make dinner on Christmas, we would take the easy way out and get take out.  The kids asked for Buffalo Wild Wings so that's what we had and it was SO good, like always!  We opened presents after dinner, and played some of the games they received.  We had a blast!  Haven't laughed that hard in awhile!

Headbanz

duck face

fibber

 We played "Headbanz" first.  This is where you put a picture on your headband and have to ask questions to figure out what the picture is.  Even though this game is for kids, it is NOT easy!!  Although it is in our house when you are surrounded by glass.  Kids figured out really quickly to check their reflections, which the adults couldn't see as easily.  So after some cheating... we decided to try "Fibber", which is exactly what it sounds like.  If you are caught fibbing you have to add a nose to your glasses, kind of like Pinocchio.  It was hilarious!  The kids really enjoyed it!

Friday morning, Adalai asked if we could all go to Zumba!  I, of course, loved this idea.  Wyatt wasn't so sure it was for boys, but there ended up being a lot of kids at the class.  Adalai made it through the whole hour, like a champ, and Wyatt joined in a bit at the end.  Adalai got applauded and told she is the Zumba Champion!  She was so excited!  After Zumba, we hung around the house until the Soos's came over for dinner.  We have a tradition of decorating gingerbread houses every year, so this time Adalai and Wyatt got to join in on the fun!

they turned out great!

After dinner, we played some games with Hanna and Lilien.  The kids had a lot of fun!   And then after they left, it was time to Zumba again.  Grandpa Jeff and MaryLu got them the Zumba kids WII game.  Uncle Mark even got in on the action.

 On Saturday, we headed to Kenosha to the Jelly Belly Factory.  It's a free tour, where you take a train around their warehouse and learn about how the candy is made.  It was OK, but the kids really enjoyed it, and that's what really matters.  Plus, at the end of the tour, you get a free sample pack!  We let the kids each make a bag of their favorite flavors to take home with them. 

Saturday night, we took the kids to church with us.  They went to play with kids their age, and seemed to really enjoy it!  When we got home, we just hung out and let them watch a movie in bed.  Sunday morning they headed to Doms!

We had so much fun with them, and I missed them so much when they left!  Can't wait for their next visit!