This sucks. Why isn't it spring?

Chicago

Jim and I had our first solo vacation together this weekend in almost 4 years! I haven't actually spent a weekend away from the boys since Owen was born! We went to Chicago to see Jim's best friend Greg and his wife, Jessica. We stayed with them at their apartment which is only two blocks from Harpo studios. The weather was decent, but we didn't walk much. Taxis and the train were our main form of transportation. Neil's cousin Marda showed us how to drive Chicago style when she and Ken were kind enough to take us to the airport after we met for brunch on Sunday.

Greg and Jessica's apartment is so neat. I wish I had taken more pictures of it. Greg's art is hanging everywhere! And not just at the apartment, but at the bar we went to, too. Bucktown Pub. He has also become quite the musician and serenaded us with his own songs one night.


We did do the tourist thing one day and ventured over to Millenium Park and the Art Institute. I fell in love with "The Bean" and was obsessively taking pictures of it.


Jim made a new "discovery" at the art institute and we both couldn't believe we never noticed it before. While we were looking at Picasso's "Old Guitarist," Jim noticed an image of a woman's face. After we saw it in this painting, we began to notice it in others. What an adventure we had looking at all the art. I haven't had this much art & culture in years! I am so glad to get my fix.

One of my favorite thing to do when I'm away from home is people watch. I love studying them and wondering what they are thinking, where they are from... These kids were skate boarding outside Greg & Jessica's apartment and said I could take their picture. Reminded me of my old students.

Yee Ha! Ride 'em Cowboys!

Trot, Trot to Grandma's House

Jim and I absolutely LOVE watching the boys play together. They are so different, but so close. Here are some of their favorite games to play together.


Owen taught Evan how to ride a "horse," say "YEE HA!" and toss his hat in the air. This game can go on for hours.
Another great game is hiding in Mommy or Daddy's closet. For some reason this is hilarious.

Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

This is by far the best entertainment in our house. Evan has loved this his whole life. When he was a baby, he would just lay there and giggle as Owen jumped. As he got older, he would roll around and then, eventually, sit on his knees and slap the bed laughing. Now, he is able to stay standing, but his jumping consists of stomping one foot. Their favorite part of this game is falling down.
This one is from when Evan was only 6 months old.

Playdate at Dawn's

Owen, Evan & I were invited to Dawn & Alex's house this week. Owen couldn't believe all the cars he had. He's STILL talking about them. It took him several hours to tear himself away from them and be social.

Evan had the most fun sliding down Alex's slide and playing with his car ramp. But Dawn and I had the most fun dressing him up like a pirate.

When Owen finally came out of his shell, he wanted to be a pirate, not a princess. To each his own.

After a wonderful lunch in which Evan actually ate peas (JustPeas, which I can't find ANYWHERE!), the boys got some energy. Despite the wonderful weather, they decided to burn it off by leaping off the couch onto the pillows below. Now Owen REALLY loves Alex's house!

After all that jumping, Owen and Alex had reservations for two at Alex's personal table where they sipped water from glass cups with NO LIDS! What big boys!

Easter Brunch

After finding all the Easter Eggs and all of having our share of chocolate, we had Easter Brunch, Stewart style, at the Whitetail Inn outside of Minocqua. Owen and Evan enjoyed the scenery of award winning deer racks. The variety of food was amazing: waffles, omelets, ham, chicken, stuffing, angel food cake, tuna salad shells, muffins, mashed red potatoes, coffee cakes, etc. THANKS MOM AND DAD!

Sharing Chocolate

Easter Baskets

Both the boys woke up early Easter morning. I think they were more stunned than excited...

that is, of course, until the sugar took hold of their brains!

Evan Does a Little Light Reading

Owen Goes CRAZY From Too Much Sugar

Getting Ready for Easter

We decided to go to have Easter up in the Northwoods this year. We kicked off our weekend making cookies and dying Easter eggs in various manners.

Evan helps Ya-ya roll out the dough for our bunny cookies.

Owen samples the cookies. Some were frosted and some were colored with special markers.

Owen puts the hard-boiled eggs into cups with dye & vinegar.

Then he added decals.... CARS of course.

Evan dyed eggs using this contraption. You just put drops of dye inside and press the button on top. It spins the egg and makes really neat patterns. A great no-mess way to dye Easter eggs, especially for little kids.
We also celebrated Jim's birthday. My mom bought a beautiful Easter Egg cake. There was so much sugar to be eat!

Snowshoeing Up North

We have had such a wonderful time snowsheoing up north this winter. We have gone three times while visiting Ya-ya & Bumpa in Minocqua. Owen LOVES being in the woods and really took to snowshoeing right away. We pulled Evan in a sled. He only tipped over a few times! Rick seems to especially enjoy this time as he gets to teach his grandsons about his area of expertise.
Here is Bumpa giving Owen a lesson on why a black feather would make a dent in the snow.

Snowshoeing Video

Chuck E. Cheese Dance Video

Happy Birthday Owen Yeager!

Owen's lifelong friend Owen Yeager (AKA Chief) had his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. We went straight from pre-school, so Jim had to come, too. The kids LOVED him. Owen's other lifelong buddy, Connor, kicked Jim's butt in Air Hockey!

Evan, who competes with Jim for the biggest sweet tooth, literally inhaled his cupcake. He actually smashed the cupcake to his face and breathed it in.
There was a lot of fun had on the various rides. Evan loved the vet in particular and his buddy, Kylie, thought seh was too cool riding next to Chuck E. Cheese himself.

But the highlight of the event, was the video production of the CEC dancers. Owen, Evan, and Alex did most of the dancing, while Connor filmed them.

Making Maple Syrup

Today we visited Owen's pre-school for next year to take a class on how to make maple syrup. Owen learned how to identify trees, put in the tap, and cranked it.

He also learned how the syrup was made, saw a puppet show about Ground Hogs Day, and tasted some homemade maple syrup.

At the end of the class, the kids colored on a slice of maple wood and strung it on a necklace. What a GREAT experience.

Lorentz Cousins Video

Meeting Grant

Jim's cousin Kim recently became engaged to a wonderful guy named Grant. Kim, Grant, and Kim's mother Rose came to Mankato to introduce Grant to the whole family. We all met in Rose's suite at the new Hilton in Mankato. It was great to get most of the cousins together, but even more fun to watch all the kids together!

Owen finally gave Kim the cuddles she was waiting for.

Alexandra slept peacefully through all the chaos.

The Grandmas thoroughly enjoyed the fun.

Then we had dinner downstairs. Considering we had 8 kids under the age of 6 and a few kid-like adult, it was very nice.

Jim's Grandma Verna and Gina are two of a kind!

Evan seemed to need a lot of attention at dinner, so we read quite a few books.

Owen & Ellie can't miss a good story told by Bumpa.

Before we could head back to St. Paul, Grant had to introduce Evan to basketball: NC-style.