A Day for Adventure

Justin doesn't have much travel involved in his job and we are quite thankful for that.  In fact, I can count on one finger the number of times Justin has traveled overnight for work.  But, last week he had to attend a meeting in Dubuque.  When he first shared he would be going there for the day, a light bulb went on in my head.  Our really great friends, Heather and Ryan, live in Dubuque!  There is a fun river museum in Dubuque!  Aria and I are hitching a ride and coming to Dubuque with you!  What turned out to be even more special was that Justin's meeting in Dubuque just so happened to fall on our dear friend, Heather's birthday.  So we got to enjoy the museum and take Heather out for lunch.  She picked a fabulous place where we got to eat outside right next to the river.  Ironically, Justin was at the same restaurant and we didn't even know it!

It was such a fun day to travel to Dubuque as a family in the middle of the week and have a fun adventure.  Aria and I had a great time at the museum.  My absolute favorite is always the otters.  They are just so adorable.  Aria says her favorite was the alligator.  We also enjoyed their new turtle exhibit and the eagles.  We tend to like animals, in case you couldn't tell.  Except snakes.  We explored the old riverboat, drove the little remote control boats, played in the water tables, and learned a little along they way.  The fact of the day was that girl turtles are bigger than boy turtles.  And even though Daddy didn't get to enjoy the museum with us, we did get to find a yummy ice cream shop for a special treat after he was done!  This is certainly a great stage of life we are in!

Air Fx

We have a new trampoline park in town!  And it is super fun!  One morning about a month ago, Aria and I were trying to come up with a plan for our day.  Then I saw a friend post on Facebook that they were going to try out the new trampoline park, did anyone want to join them?  It was just what we wanted to do!  They have a special time for kids 6 and under Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 am that is half the regular price.  We had a blast!

It truly is wall to wall trampolines.  There are also block pits to jump in, an area with a basketball hoop, a 48 inches and under area, and a place with balls to play with.  It was so. much. fun.  For both of us.  I do think the price is a little steep.  Regular price is $10 per hour.  You can pay $7 for the 48 inch and under area only, but that would not be near as fun.  The one hour time for kids 6 and under was perfect.  I'm sure we will be back.  Aria has been itching to go again ever since we were there.  And she wants to bring Daddy.

A Great Family Day

On Memorial Day, we decided to do something special as a family.  We needed a time to just be the three of us and make a memory.  So, we headed to Pinicon Ridge Park.  We rented a paddle boat and had a great time putzing around exploring nature.  We were treated to spying an eagle, an eagle's nest, and three baby eagles peering out of the nest.  We saw numerous geese with their goslings toting close behind.  We saw turtles and frogs and fish.  Aria pedaled.  Mommy pedaled.  Daddy pedaled.  We stuck our hands and feet in the water.  It was relaxing and refreshing and just plain fun!

Then we had a picnic and played at the playground until it started raining.  We drove around the park for awhile in hopes it would quit.  It was light enough for us to take a quick walking trip across a cool bridge that had fun lights on it.

It was a fabulous family day!  Just what we needed with our three day weekend!

Children's Museum

One of the perks of being a stay at home mom is doing random fun days with Aria.  I'm so glad we can just pick up and go to the Children's Museum for a fun outing, just the two of us.  I think we skipped rest time on the day we went and just explored.  I didn't bring my big camera so I could play and have fun with Aria.  But I did have to snap a few shots with my phone.

The first time we went to this museum, Aria was just over one year old.  I remember her doing these very same things, but on a whole different level.  It is crazy how fast she grows up!  I am thankful for the time to make memories and learn and grow together.  There is nothing better than being her Mom!

Exploring with Grandma

About a month ago Aria was headed to spend the weekend with Grandma and Papa, but before she went we decided to do a little adventure with Grandma.  We headed out to the Raptor Center near Lake MacBride.  What a cool place!  Basically the Raptor Center is a home for raptors that have been injured and can no longer survive in the wild.  We had a great time visiting eagles, owls, hawks, falcons, vultures, and more.  It was a beautiful day so we had a picnic and threw rocks in the lake, too.  Aria really enjoys birds, so she loved talking to and seeing the birds.  At first when walking on the path to the lake, Aria didn't want to get to close, for fear of falling in.  However, with a little coaxing from Mom and Grandma, she was soon throwing rocks in and climbing all over.  Here are some pictures from our day.

Swimming With Sophia

Aria's good friend Sophia invited our family to go swimming with her family to celebrate her 4th birthday.  We went to a local hotel that allows people to pay a $4 fee and swim in their pool.  What a clever idea!  We basically had the pool to ourselves the whole morning and had an absolute blast! We were thoroughly worn out afterwards.  Thanks for letting us celebrate with you, Sophia!

Omaha

No this post has nothing to do with Peyton Manning...

On the Saturday after Christmas we got to go to Omaha for the wedding of a family friend and childhood neighbor of Justin's.  We left relatively early in the morning and made the surprisingly easy drive out there.  We arrived a little after noon and it was 60 degrees...weird!

It was a super fancy wedding, so we got all dressed up!

Seriously, it was probably the fanciest wedding I've been to.  It was in a humongous cathedral in downtown Omaha and the reception was at a fancy art gallery.  Aria got her own kid's plate of food that included mac and cheese plus a cool kid package of fun things to do.  It was assigned seating with fancy name tags and beautiful decorations.  It was quite the occasion and was fun to be around a lot of Justin's childhood friends!

We decided to stay an extra day because how can a family go to Omaha and not go to the zoo?  Even if Sunday, the day after the 60 degree weather, was a lovely -5.  We ran from building to building and took our time inside enjoying the animals.  There was still a lot to see.  Our favorites of the day were the 5 lion cubs who turned one year old that day

the awesome giraffes

a silly orangutan

and of course, the penguins!  Especially this one that just hung out by us in this bubble.

We also stayed an extra day because our hotel had a mini waterpark in it, but it was soooooooo cold!  Of course the play structure had one of those ridiculous buckets that Aria won't go near, so we spent our time in the frigid pool.

But the main reason we stayed an extra day was to see these people.

I wish I would have taken a better picture, but I was too busy catching up with my very dear friend, Gina.  She brought her family over to swim with us and we let the dads swim while we chatted and stayed where it was warmer with her one month old baby.  Then we got to go out for lunch with them, too.  It was so fun to connect with them!  It never matters how much time passes or what is going on in our life, we are always able to pick up right where we left off in college.  It does still seem a bit weird that we are all grown up with kids and stuff.  :)

So glad we got to have a fun little trip during Christmas vacation!

Cinderella

I'm not sure who came up with the idea for Playtime Poppy.  I do know it was more than 60 years ago.  And I know that it is a fabulous thing!  We took Aria to the production of Cinderella last week and it was fabulous!  I'm not real big on princesses, but Aria has picked up a love for them somewhere so she was thrilled to watch live princess action. 

What I love about Playtime Poppy in general is the chance for high school students to put on fun shows for young audiences.  I think a lot of the shows give opportunities to underclassmen for these shows, which is great.  They work so hard and practice long hours and then become stars to all the young people who come to watch.  I love that for those kids.

I also love the chance for my kid to see live productions at such a low cost.  They are also usually a good length and we always get to meet the characters when the show is over.  I think that is Aria's favorite part.

Back to Cinderella.  The show had wonderful music and dancing.  It had funny characters and polished performers.  Of course Aria's favorite was Cinderella.  I liked the mice and the funny dancer guys who were basically entertaining the audience while Cinderella changed clothes.  That would be another reason I love the shows; they usually have something that is entertaining for adults, too.

Usually I have a rule that our princess dress up dresses don't leave the house, but we made an exception for Cinderella and dressed like a princess for the show.  Aria was thrilled to get comments about her dress from all the high school girls in princess dresses from the show.  I guess she is a pretty cute princess!

 

Airport Visit

Back on October 2 (yes I am behind) we took a visit to a local, small airport.  Small as in non-commercial.  One of our preschool friends has her pilot's license and has flown airplanes there, so we had the inside connection!  When I said we were visiting an airport, Aria instantly wanted to know if we would get to ride in an airplane.  She definitely didn't inherit her mom's fear of flying.  While I had to squash that hope, she was excited to get to climb in the airplane.  I wasn't sure how much learning would happen for 3 year olds at an airport and I can't say there was a whole lot, but the experience was sure fun and memorable.  I learned quite a bit from the lady who gave us the tour.  And Aria was excited about seeing the different flaps move on the wings when you turned the steering wheel.  It was a win.  It's great to have friends with connections!

Curious George

Last Saturday the library had a Curious George story time complete with Curious George himself.  It was crowded and crazy, but well worth it to get a picture with this guy!

It definitely made Aria's day.  There was a story, Curious George fruit snacks, and a Curious George mask craft.  I'm glad we made the trip and that it was on a Saturday so Daddy got to experience it too!

Grasshopper

A couple weeks ago Aria and I went to Wickiup Hill for their Toddler Toadstools program.  Basically the program is designed for kids to come out and explore their new building, which has some great hands on things for kids to check out.  One of the activities on that beautiful fall morning was to go out into the field with nets and attempt to catch insects. 

After many unsuccessful attempts, Aria was beyond excited to have captured this little guy in her net!

My excitement ended when a couple of the kids said, "Look a snake!"  Of course Aria wanted to follow it, but I stayed back.  Despite the slithery creature, it was a fun morning and a great reminder to enjoy and appreciate all of God's creation!

Apple Orchard

I wrote about Aria's first official day of preschool that happened last week, but actually the week before was our kick off field trip at an apple orchard.  It was a super fun morning!  For most of her life, Aria has clung to me and we've had difficulties dropping her off in the nursery at church or leaving her with babysitters, but apparently she is growing out of it!  I was so amazed at how she followed the "teacher" at the apple orchard and participated in the field trip without much care as to where I was.  It was great to see her listening, answering questions, and obeying the teacher's instructions.

They started with a lesson about apples and what helps them grow.

Then proceeded on a tour of the orchard visiting goats and picking their very own apple.

Next was the barn to see what they do with the apples after they pick them.  I enjoyed watching the apples go through their "shower."

And finally, (no picture available) a visit to the store, an apple story time, and a special bumblebee finger puppet prize.  We had a great conversation about what she learned and what she enjoyed in the car on our way out.  I'm looking forward to more and more of these opportunities in the coming year!