Busy Kids!

Andrew has every Wednesday off. I, usually, have every other Wednesday off. On Wednesday the 6th we both had the day off and we decided to surprise the kids with a day of fun! We didn't tell them where we were going, we just piled in the van and headed north.  First, we found a park in Green Bay and enjoyed a picnic lunch.  We had the nice camera with us and there were these gorgeous stone steps at the park.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a little photo shoot.

This picture would've been fantastic if Nathan wasn't starting a blink!

 Cute kids!

 After we ate our picnic lunch we spent some time playing on the playground equipment. 

Andrew swings a bit while the kids play on the play structure.

 This park has some "old" equipment left.  Most importantly an old wooden teeter totter that doesn't have springs and is actually dependent on the weight of the kids to move up and down.  Mads and Nathan weight the exact same, as proven by this picture!  :)

LOVE these pictures from the teeter totter:!

My little man:

 My gorgeous girl:

 I tried for a second round of pictures on the steps, but Nathan wasn't digging it.  Mads said she wanted me to take more pictures of her.  Not a problem!  :)

Our big surprise for the kids after the picnic was that we went to the NEW Zoo!

We started out in the Petting Zoo area and the kids fed the goats.

 Then we realized that there were only 15 minutes left for giraffe feeding, so we booked it over to the feeding station.  Both kids fed the giraffe some leaves:

 Nathan tried to be the giraffe:

 This giraffe is 15 feet tall!

Video of the kids feeding the giraffe:

We then continued on through the rest of the zoo.  Nathan decided he was too much of a big boy to ride in the wagon, so he pulled it instead.

 In the reptile house the kids were able to pet this snake!!

 They both jumped right in, not really afraid to touch it at all!

Saturday Andrew had to work, and it was a toasty day.  So the kids and I hit up South Park's Splash Pad.  They loved running through the "Kid Wash!"

 Mads squirts some random kid: 

 Nathan was cracking me up, he kept trying to get the water spray in his mouth.

Here's some video of his attempts!

This most recent Wednesday, the 13th, while I was at the gym in the morning they announced that Thomas the Tank Engine was going to be at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay.  I told Andrew about it when I got home and he thought it would be a fun trip!  I was bummed that I had to work, but the three of them headed up for a day of trains.

(Remember, I wasn't there, so I'm going off of the pictures and what I was told about the day!)

When they picked up their tickets the kids were given a sort of "map" that had different stops on it.  At each stop you were given a stamp and once you completed the map you were given a prize.

I believe this picture is from the Imagination Station stop:

While Thomas was the main attraction, the rest of the museum was open too.  The kids look so tiny next to the big trains!

 THOMAS!

 Riding on Thomas, taking a look at all of the other trains in the yard:

They sat on the upper deck of the train car!

 Meeting Sir Topham Hatt..  look at Nathan checking him out! 

Extra pictures from the week...

We were invited to join a book study at the church of our friends, Heather and Shawn.  Friday night was the last night, we had a potluck and a ceremony for the men.  They stood and signed the Resolution that they promise to be doubly accountable to their families and God to be the best men that they can be.  Here's our family with Andrew and his Resolution.

On Sunday we were at a block party put on by some friends of ours.  This was too cute of a moment to pass up.  Mads and her Daddy!

This is by far the funniest thing ever...  When Mads rode her bike earlier this year she happened to get stuck in one of the low spots on our driveway.  Her training wheels were on the ground, but her back tire wasn't touching the ground.  I made a joke that it looked like she was on an exercise bike, spinning her wheel, but going nowhere.  Mads quickly figured out how to position her bike just right so that she can "Exercise bike" anytime she wants to!