Our Big Adventure!

Much of last week was spent doing the usual as well as preparing for our big weekend adventure.  We did not tell the girls where we were going or what we were going to do, only that we were going on an adventure.  They soon got excited about the idea, and Alora declared that they needed adventure hats.  Conveniently, they each had Thomas hats which pleased them both as adventure hats.  The girls also busily packed bags with toys and other miscellaneous stuff they thought they might need for their adventure.

Friday after lunch, we loaded into the van and headed off on our adventure.  The girls were quite excited to get moving!

 We had to make one stop before heading to the East side of the state.  Sadie could not come with us this time, so it was off to Opa and Oma's house.  On that short trip, Alora fell asleep.

 So, Ezri happily cuddled with Sadie, enjoying the warm sun.  As we neared Opa & Oma's, she got quiet.  As we arrived and began to unload Sadie's stuff, I could see that Ezri was fighting tears.  Our sweet little girl was very sad to be leaving her puppy behind, but trying to be so brave.  It nearly broke my heart (and made me have to hide a few tears myself!)

Once we got past the emotion of leaving a family member behind, we settled in for a long drive.  Still secretive about our destination, the girls just rode along anxiously watching to see where we might be going.  After a few hours, we arrived in Dearborn.  Upon pulling in to the hotel parking lot, Ezri immediately piped up from the back, "I know where we are!  Thomas lives here.  This is the place we stay where Thomas is when we ride him!"  Yep, smart kid, she was right :)  We tried to play dumb, but she knew.  Alora might have been a little skeptical yet, but there was no fooling Ezri. 

We spent Friday evening swimming in the hotel pool and then hanging out with Andy and later Jay & Becci when they arrived.  A late night and a long day, the girls were exhausted and went to sleep pretty quickly.

Saturday morning, we got up, ate breakfast, and headed to Greenfield Village to see our favorite blue engine.  Our friends the Sebrights met us there, one surprise the girls did not see coming, and our group grew a little bigger.  

Our ride with Thomas was scheduled for 10:30am, so we hung out for a bit, watched him depart once before our ride, and excitedly waiting for our turn.  It was worth the wait, the kids were all very excited!

After our ride around the village with Thomas, we quickly ran to the picture line to get our photo taken with Thomas before he departed again. We just made it, the last family to get through before they closed the line off until the next departure.

After all of the Thomas excitement, we headed through the village to find Sir Topham Hatt.  

 

Then it was on to tattoos...

And a little time inside to watch a Thomas episode.  It was quite chilly outside, with temperatures in the low 40's and a breeze, so any time inside a building was a welcome break.

While we waited for the guys to gather up our lunches from the cars, the kids burned some energy in the playground.

We spent the afternoon enjoying a picnic lunch together and then walking through the village.  The Roundhouse was a very anticipated stop, as there were more trains to be seen.  While we were in the Roundhouse, Thomas happened to pass by behind the building.  All of the kids were glued to the windows...

 Even little Tierney was interested in all of the activity!

After learning that railroads do not like coins on the track as they can get caught up in brakes, Alex and the guys immediately wanted to put a penny on the track to see what Thomas would do to it. :)  We found a spot along the track and watched as Thomas passed by, penny waiting.  He flattened it, of course, and the girls were very interested to check it out.

Amazingly, though it was getting late in the day and cold, the kids were all holding up exceptionally well.  Such good buddies they are, the kids found ways to entertain themselves (and us) as we walked around.

We headed toward the gate late in the afternoon, in search of baby sheep we had been told about.  As we searched, we got to watch some horses working a field.

We found the farm where the baby lambs were and watched some men sheer a sheep for a while.  When we entered the barn, we found three baby sheep happily playing with their mothers.  Then, we discovered something even more exciting - a brand new baby sheep that had been born just 15 minutes earlier!  It was quite amazing to watch such a new baby and mama.  I thing we were all a but awed by such an exciting find.

We ended the day right a closing time for the village back at the front gate fountain.  We found a duck hanging out enjoying some sun, and it was so tame Alora even pet it several times!

Once we made it back to the hotel, we set about finding some dinner and then headed to the pool together.  Our girls were like fish - all three of them happy to be splashing, jumping, swimming, just being in the water.

 Ezri has become quite the little swimmer, going from her puddle jumper to swimmies and even jumping in with twists and swimming with her head under the water.

She was proud to help teach her friends how to swim too!

 Alora was just happy to be hanging out in the water, floating along :)

Another late night and we had two babies crashed very soon after their heads hit the pillow!

Sunday, we packed up and headed for home.  On our way, we went to Ikea for the first time at the suggestion of our friends Tony and Kathy.  I am still a little shell-shocked a few days later, it was quite overwhelming.  Nearly 6 hours were spent walking through that massive store.  And, while we didn't buy much of anything, we enjoyed the chance to spend time with Aunt Becky and the rest of our friends.

We had such a wonderful time with our girls and our friends on our big adventure!  We were all quite tired, but happy to have had the chance to get away together and experience the excitement of seeing Thomas with the girls.

Joy in the Dirt

I do believe spring has finally settled in here.  One of the sure signs is "Drive Your Tractor to School Day", which occurred this past week.  Each year, this makes me smile when I hear the dozens of tractors fill the park across from my house before school.  It makes me grateful to live in such a small rural town, where little things like this can happen.

We have enjoyed an absolutely beautiful week of warm, sunny weather here this past week, and are so grateful for all of the opportunities we had to be outside together.  Tierney, just like her sisters, is quickly becoming a big fan of the great outdoors.

 This past week, we enjoyed several picnics outside!

 We also got to go to two birthday parties.  Tuesday night, the girls and I went to Chuck E Cheese for Bella's 5th party while Daddy went to a meeting.  Our girls were a little shell shocked at first with all of the sights and sounds.  Once they figured out they could go on rides and play games with the tokens, they were so excited and could hardly stand to sit still for pizza or cake and ice cream.

Mommy had a little fun too!

Chuck E was a bit intense at times, and making appearances more often than some kids were ok with, but overall the girls had a great time.

We also got to go to a party on Saturday at the park for our neighbor girls.  Ezri and Alora experienced their first pinata and really enjoyed the experience!

We put much of the house on hold for the week to be outside as much as possible, soaking up the sun and enjoying the 60+ degree weather.  We even got to fly our kite one afternoon.

 The older girls spent Thursday evening and Friday most of the day at Grandpa and Grandma's due to a TenHaaf family funeral we needed to be at.  While we waited for Grandpa and Grandma on Thursday night, we enjoyed watching the girls play together.  The tractor quickly became the fun thing to ride when they discovered Tierney's seat clipped perfectly into the wagon.

Friday, the girls got to play with Grandpa and Wesley, spending most of the day outside together.  They ended their afternoon with a tractor ride with Grandpa! 

 Between the parties and funeral stuff, we spent a lot of time playing in the front yard, especially with the new sandbox we got from Pamaw's house.  I could not keep Tierney contained, she wanted to get down and play with the girls too!

 Several baths were needed throughout the week, but the girls had so much fun just being outside again!

 We ended our week with a bonfire Friday night and a little car repair for Uncle Andy on Saturday.  Anxious to help under the car, a solution was presented and soon the girls were busy working on their own car.

There is no end to the dirt, it seems, but there is also no end to the joy these girls bring.  We are so blessed!