Bowling

Owen and Joe's second first of the weekend was none other than their first time bowling.

It doesn't get more exciting than that.  We met up with some of Ryan's family who were

getting together to celebrate birthdays.  Owen had such a great time!

Ryan did his best to teach Owen the correct way to roll the ball...

 

He even gave him a demonstration of the "perfect form"...

 

 But in the end, Owen preferred the overhand throw method above anything else. :)

No matter how he got the ball down the lane, it is safe to say he had a great time doing it.

 

  

Joe took his turn at bowling too,

But decided he was much happier exploring the bowling alley.

I also need to point out this was not what I dressed my son in.  He got sick on the car

ride over and I still haven't learned to keep a change of clothes in the car at all times.

 After all was said and done, Owen had a great time bowling and we were happy to spend

a little time with family we don't get to see very often.

 

Easter Comes Early

Grandpa Joe stopped by today with some Easter baskets for the boys.  He told them that

while he was shopping at Target he ran into the Easter bunny.  The Easter bunny knew they weren't going to be home on Easter so he was hoping Grandpa Joe and Gigi could help him

out and deliver their baskets a little early to make sure they got them.

Thank you Grandpa Joe and Gigi for helping out.  

The baskets were very much appreciated.  The Easter Bunny would be proud. 

Although next time I'm requesting delivery in a fully bunny costume.  ;)

A Visit to the Museum

This weekend Owen and Joe got to experience a few firsts.

To start, on Saturday we met Grandpa Joe and Gigi for their first trip to the Museum of 

Science and Industry.  Truth be told, it was my first time there too.  What an awesome place!

Owen was in stimulation overload.  There was so much to look at and we didn't even make it to see everything.  Full size tractors, cows, cars, airplanes, trains, 

a weather section, a chick hatchery, and perhaps their favorite...

the "Idea Factory" which was the perfect place for both of them.  Not only did they have

water to play with, but water guns to shoot things with.  Owen couldn't have asked for more.

 

What a great day!  I have a feeling we will be making a return trip very soon. 

Spring is here!!

We have an occasional warm day mixed in with a lot of chillier days, but we're doing our best to get outside a little bit every day.  It feels so good to be outside again!! 

I think Joe shares my sentiment.

 

The other day we were out for a walk and stopped by Lucas's house.  Owen was very excited to learn they had acquired a new battery powered car.  It has two seats in it,

so Owen drove and took Joe along for the ride.

  It was so funny to watch because the car had quite a bit of pick up.  Owen would put his

foot on the gas and both kids would shoot back in their seats.

 

Then because he was nervous at how fast he was taking off, he would take his foot off the gas and they would both come flying back forward.

  They eventually got the hang of it, but not before we got a good laugh and a few pictures.

We may be bundled up and willing ourselves to be warm during these transitional 40-50 degree days, but we're outside and that's all that matters.  Yay Spring!!

Wausau Weekend

After our fabulous stay at Wilderness, we made our way to Wausau for an equally fabulous visit.  We hadn't been back since Christmas, so we were very anxious to see everyone.  

Owen and Joe got to spend time with Aiden and Ellie,

I got to work on my art skills at a painting class with my mom and sister,

 

 And Ryan got was he was looking for most....a little R&R.

I think I can speak for both Ryan and myself when I say this weekend was exactly what we needed.  Owen got to burn off lots of energy after being stuck in the house for a few weeks, Joe was finally back to his old self, and Ryan and I were happy just to relax.  

We are all feeling very refreshed and I'm so thankful for this mini vacation.  

The Wilderness Resort

Winter always seems to drag on, but this year it seemed unusually long and depressing.

Maybe it had to do with us being stuck inside more than normal because of Joe being sick, but no matter the reason, one thing was for sure...we were all definitely in need of a

little vacation.  Nothing crazy with a lot of travel, but somewhere close 

where we could all blow off a little steam.

The Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells proved to be the perfect fit.

We were planning on going to Wausau for the weekend anyway, so we figured it would be a
quick and easy getaway.  We could leave for Wausau a night early and spend some time in
the Dells.  It's right on our way and we knew the boys would have a blast at the
indoor waterparks.

We stayed at Wilderness on the Lake which is about 1 mile from the main hotel.  It was
great because we were able to get a 2 bedroom condo which was so much better than
being stuck in a single hotel room.  Plenty of space, and an added bonus...
a hot tub overlooking the lake!!

The other huge advantage was out of the 4 waterparks at the resort, Wilderness on the
Lake has the one that is most geared towards toddlers.  Smaller and a little less intimidating.

It was perfect!  It was big enough to keep Owen entertained, but small enough to let him
go without following behind his every move.

Ryan, Joe and I enjoyed ourselves too.  It felt so good to relax and all have fun together.
 

After we got our feet wet at the smaller waterpark, we chose to brave one of the larger ones.

You can see why the smaller one was much less intimidating.  Not so much for Owen, but for Ryan and I.  Letting Owen roam on his own at this waterpark was not really an option.  He did so well though!  He wasted no time climbing all the way up to the top and flying down the big water slides by himself.

Once Ryan found out it was acceptable for the adults to go down too, he was more than happy to join in the fun.  And Joe and I waited at the bottom of the slide, camera in hand.

 We could not have asked for a more perfect start to our weekend.  I forsee this being an
annual winter getaway for us.  Definitely beats the cold weather blues.