SHOWS!

More shows please, Nathan loves "Little Einsteins", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", and "Elmo"...aka..."Sesame Street".  And Grammy gave Nathan the royal treatment with shows this night.  His own thrown, popcorn and drink right up front and center.  What a life.

We all had a wonderful time on our expedition to the zoo.  Nathan's favorite animals were the monkeys, and luckily they put on a show for us as we arrived.  The fish were pretty fun too, but they got boring after they swam around for a little while.  Another favorite for Nathan was the petting zoo in the "farm" area.  Nathan got up and close with the goats. "Meh".  And finally, Alexis was so tuckered out that she had to catch some z's as we finished with a lunch at the zoo.

Treats at Grammy and Grampa's

Happily Spoiled Grandchildren.....

MORE COOKIES!!!

With all the treats Nathan and at times even Lexi know they can get at Grammy and Grampa's house, mom gets the challenge of convincing them that they should eat dinner and other at least semi health items.

The Move!

Well, last time we moved from Georgia to Idaho our car broke down twice in Iowa.  This was right after our stop in Illinois at Seth's parents.  This time, we were headed back to Illinois and our car broke down an hour into our trip.  We hadn't even made it out of the wonderful potatoe state and we were thwarted in our attempts to leave.  Luckily, Percy and family took us in for a day as our radiator reserve tank was overnighted in.  As we attempted to leave a second time though, the radiator cap blew and we were again stranded.  We decided not to chance it even though we were supposedly "fixed".  So we again stayed with the Anderson's.  After two days of sitting in the car and not going anywhere, Nathan and Alexis were fed up with their parents.  So on day three, after much prayer and much heartfelt searching, we again put our trust in good ol' Lara the Landrover.  It wasn't too bad as we started out, after all, we turned the heater on and the day and night was cool enough to compensate.  We reached Nebraska after a night of driving and climbing those dang mountains at 35 mph.  One humorous moment was when Katrina woke up on probably the longest climb of the night and we were crawling along at 30 mph up a steep grade and she said, "Are you hitting the brakes right now?"  Seth's reply, "No, we are going up a mountain."  In bewilderment, Katrina stated, "Well, it looks like we are going down."  After a couple of cars passed us on the opposite side of the highway, she still insisted that we were going down the hill and didn't understand why we were so slow.  Nebraska ended our humor and the day heated up, as did the inside of our car.  With the heater on and the kids in the back screaming, we had to make ice cream stops just to cool everyones jets.  So, after 34 hours and two days of worrying in Idaho, we made the supposed 25 hour trip to Illinois.  Our new addition to the family, Mia, our navigator worked like a charm, though she wasn't ever happy when we made our unscheduled stops.  So we are in Minnesota now after stopping at Seth's parents in Illinois and are visiting the Lash's.  What a blessing it has been again to know our Savior and to realize the tender mercies that He has given to us.

No picture for this one...

Mom (taken ill with cabin fever) needed to get the kids out of the house. And some place other than the grocery store. So with the snow melting away we found ourselves at the park. As we passed large puddles and muddy spots walking from the car to the playground, mom made sure to survey the area before letting Nathan run around. All clear, Nathan got back in the groove of the slide and swings instantaneously. He loved it but mom decided it might be easier to keep up with him if he was playing on the smaller play area so she didn't have to climb up after him as much. After less than a minute Nathan had tripped/face planted in an enormous puddle of ice cold water. After a long gasp, Nathan was quickly swooped up by mom who was also carrying Lexi in her car seat and all were in a mad dash for the car. Shivering and saying "Cody, cody...cody" (translation: Cold) Nathan was quickly stripped down and re-dressed in dry clothing and a warm blanket. Mom was never more grateful for the Emergency Preparedness Family Home Evening held about a month ago where we packed the car to be ready for anything. Thank heavens we were.

Papa with the Kids

Dancing with Papa...Lexi sure gets her fare share of "brotherly love," but Papa doesn't think he'll ever get enough lovin' from his grand babes.

Cuddly Little Nathan

Nathan loves animals. Visiting Nana and Papa's you could always find Nathan either chasing the cat or cuddling with the dog. This only makes it harder on dad who's been dreaming of getting a family puppy for ages.