Girls Day Out

Maybe once every 3 weeks or so the boys go on a "Boys Day Out!"  They are adamant that there are no girls allowed!

It's pretty cute to see both Michael and Scott get excited about boys day out.  Typically it consists of lunch followed by some kind of activity.  Today Scott took Mikey out for lunch and then they went to see Paddington Bear in the theater.  Katie took notice of them leaving and wanted to go out for a Girls Day Out.  I couldn't resist so off we went to the mall to do a little shopping, stop for a sweet treat and sit on every piece of furniture in Pottery Barn.

Katie enjoying her sweet treat.  We also purchased some V Day chocolates for a special someone.

She's pretty happy!

 I also received a text from Scott that day saying "Mikey: I really love boys day out....I am so proud of you working hard to buy stuff."

Papa's 61st birthday

We celebrated my Dad's 61st birthday on Sunday.  Most of the family members were able to come including all his brothers and sisters.  Everyone showed up with food and a ham and turkey dinner was enjoyed by all!  It was an all day affair, concluding with watching the Seattle Seahawks pull out a win to gain entry into the Super Bowl.

My dad with his siblings.  L to R: Beverly, Scott, Janice, Colleen, my Dad and Chuck.

Cake and Wine - what more do you need for a party?!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Eating all the food.  They loved the broccoli salad.

The kitchen was filled all the time.

Piling on the veggies before the stuffing and meat.

Jen, Katie and Amanda.

Silly faces.

Lots of cool cards to open.

Lighting the candles for the birthday boy.

Jamie, Amanda and I.

My brother in law Danny had back surgery and is still recovering.  The kids loved his balloon.

Teaching them the classic, Othello.

With the help of my mom, Katie beat me!

Okay, she whopped me.  Look at all the white markers she had at the end.  The trick to winning is to get the corners!

My Grandma watching the Seahawks celebrate their win.  It looked like a run-a-way but the Seahawks pulled out a win.  It turned out to be a great win and my Grandma who lived in Washington most of my life was ecstatic they won!  I was rooting for the underdogs.

She is taking a little break under the electric blanket.  We all fought over this.

3 minutes later and she was out for the night.

I forgot to get a pic. with him during the party so lucky I got one before we all left.

PA Farm Show 2015

The kids had off for Martin Luther King Day, so I took the kids down to PA for the 3 day weekend.  We had a busy time while we were there.  For the 3 or maybe 4th year in a row the kids went to the PA Farm Show.  A highlight for them!  It's so fun seeing what interests them and how it changes from year to year.

The kids checking out live bees building honey comb.

About 50 different varieties of maple syrup.

The butter sculpture this year.

Facts about the butter sculpture.

Haha.  You all know I haven't met a butternut squash I didn't like.  Would love to dig into this huge one!

Checking out the award winning pumpkins.

This won the entire show.  A whopping 386 lb. pumpkin!

Weee.  This jungle gym was crawling with kids.

An entry into the gingerbread house competition.

Another entry.  They are all so detailed.

Lots of cages of chickens.

Puffing up his feathers.

Baby chicks starting to hatch!

She thoroughly enjoyed her hot dog by eating it all!

Double fisting the fresh french fries.

These were calling my name but I was good and passed this year.

I passed on the mozzarella cubes so I could enjoy a milkshake. I try to stay away from straight up dairy when possible but every once in a while I make a conscious decision that something is worth it.  This was definitely worth it!  It was super delicious despite Mikey's face. 

Katie wanted a chocolate one.  She split one with Mikey.

You have to walk through the food court to get to the tractor section. The kids sat on lots and lots and lots, even though there were lots they didn't sit on too!

I told him to wave but he was sort of busy pushing all the buttons.

Papa and Michael enjoying their milkshakes and tractors.

The baby pig born earlier in the week are now so big!  We went to the farm show on day 6 of 7.  I'm glad little human babies don't grow that fast!

Feeling the differences between cow feed.

Time to hop on the 4X4s.

Ready to go ATVing!

They strapped in this off road ride!

Learning more about bees.

We rested our feet for a bit by watching them judge cows.

The kids watched the cows while enjoying a potato donut.

She had powered sugar everywhere!

It was impressive watching them line up the cows!

In another arena we watched the tractor square dancing.

It was really entertaining to watch and they are so creative. 

This sheep looked so proud standing their getting primed.

Papa teaching them about sheep.

Petting ensured too.

We always have such a great time at the Farm Show.  It was a little embarrassing to admit the sheer quantity of food we ate that day.  What you didn't see was the 20+ samples we received/tasted; pickles, mustard, pretzels, ice cream, root beer, iced tea, apple mint tea, popcorn, fudge, BBQ sauce, sausage, ham, 6 different potato chips, hummus, dips, gelato, and I forget all the others.  Yikes.  I'm glad that is only once a year.  The PA Farm Show seems to be growing in popularity.  This year they had record crowds every day!