Easter Bunny

We headed to the Mall of America to meet the Easter Bunny this morning.  I had absolutely no expectation that Henry was actually going to go near this guy at all, but when we were in line, he was sooooo excited and was saying things like "Let's hurry, I want to give the Easter Bunny a biiiiiig hug" and "I'm going make her laugh like this, hahahahahaha!"  Even up until the person right in front of us was up there, he was still pretty pumped.  Then it came our turn.....

 .....I had to drag him off the floor because he just dropped straight down and started bawling!  There was no way he was going to look at the lady who was taking our picture, either.  So,  here I am with the Easter Bunny :)

As soon as we were 2 steps away, Henry was as happy as a clam again and ready to partake in some more of the festivities....."Let's go find candy, Mommy!"

Here he's hunting for the perfect egg, as part of the scavenger hunt. 

On our drive home, out of the blue he said, "I cry, Mommy, and you have to take the picture for me."  Then he must have had a really good dream about that Easter Bunny during his nap, because afterwards I asked him again if he had fun at the mall and this was his response - "Yes, I do.  I make the Easter Bunny laugh like this, hahahahaha.  I sing her a really nice song too!"  Not sure where I was for this laughing and singing :)  Too funny! 

heading home now

Here's the big news I was waiting to spill when we got to California - see Henry's shirt?!  Yep, he's going to be a Big Brother - due October 14th.  Let's hope this "feeling like absolute garbage" passes soon, ugh :(

Riley, Henry, and her cousin, Austin, having lawn mower races.  It kinda looks like Henry and Austin are sizing each other up, doesn't it?  Haha!

It was time to go home now, and back to below-zero-wind-chills for the first day of Spring (yuck).  Thanks for a great vacation! 

still in Cali

The highs were in the 90s (yes, 97* the day we left) everyday we were there, so sprinklers were definitely in order in the afternoons.  

We took a day trip to Yuma, AZ to visit the Sahati Camel Farm, complete with lots of goats, a big turtle, some ducks, and tons of other creatures (I couldn't even tell you what half of them were).  The kids got to feed the animals these huge dates.  Don't think Henry or Riley were getting close enough to let them eat out of their hands, they much preferred to throw the dates over the fence and see who gets it!

Don't we all look so happy?  

One morning, we went to Storytime at the El Centro Library, complete with a good St. Paddy's Day project!  

more to come.....

to Cali we went

Last week, Grandma & Grandpa Olin took Henry & I to California to celebrate Riley's 3rd birthday!  

I seriously couldn't have asked for a better traveler, he was sooooo good for a 3+ hour flight.  Thank God for iPads and headphones, huh?!      

Heading over the Grand Canyon here :)

We needed some lunch as soon as we got to San Diego.....In-N-Out.....burger (hold the salad aka lettuce and tomato) and fries please!  He was so in love with this place (just like his daddy is) that he couldn't waste a single bit of food, even wanting to drink the ketchup after the fries were all gone!  

After a 1.5 hour drive to their house in Imperial, we started the vaca off right with Riley's "Minnie Mouse" birthday party.  She got to go to DisneyLand the week before and loved it!

more to come soon.....