Cedar Falls Hike...part 1

We decided to head out for a fun hike yesterday. Little did we realize that it would take 3 hours. It was really fun, pretty, and exhausting. But the kids did a terrific job.

There was a lot of rock climbing involved in our little adventure. The kids are totally fearless when it comes to climbing and I have love/hate relationship with their sense of adventure. :)

Climbing to the top of another rock. I LOVE these CRAZY kids!

This picture is my new desktop. I cannot stop laughing at it!

Then Richard wanted a photo shoot once he climbed another rock. This was a great session, he is an imaginative and photogenic model.

This is totally the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Family Day...Museums and Mud

Last Saturday we headed out for a fun-filled family day. We began our journey at the art museum and saw some really neat art. The following pics of the fountain outside.

Chris decided to get creative with his photography...

 ...very creative.

We found these balloons with princess cones in front of the museum. Turns out there was some princess beauty pageant luncheon going on. Pretty funny.

 Next door is a military museum. Outside they were doing a reenactment of the Civil War. We were too late to get any pictures of it, but we certainly hear the cannon booming. It was pretty cool. So we decided to pull over and go through the museum. Richard liked this Jeep.

 After the museums we headed out for...you guessed it...fishing! The kids played at the park near the pond before we went over.

 The kids wanted to make a bridge over a small stream we found. I saw this pallet and thought it would be a perfect bridge for them. Using teamwork and a lot of strength, the kids pulled the pallet over.

 After all the HARD work was finished, Daddy helped put the bridge into place.

 And then he slipped in the mud.

Since we had almost six inches of snow a couple of days before this, there was gooey mud everywhere! All of us got filthy. The kids had so much fun in it.

We walked around the pond and Richard got spooked by an armadillo that jumped across the path. I didn't have my camera ready or I would have had a great photo. But it was funny to see Richard jump a mile and bolt the opposite way. Then we all laughed about it once he realized he was not in danger.

(I have more pics, but Blogger changed formats in the middle of my editing this. I will probably do another post to finish up. Just don't hold your breath about it. lol!)

Valentine's Celebrations

Richard had the day off due to PT conferences. It was a BEAUTIFUL, warm, sunny day. We started off with a mile bike ride. I let the kids spend a few dollars at the dollar store, then we met friends at the park for a couple of hours.

When Chris got off work we went fishing for about an hour, sorry no pics this time.

Then we headed to Cheeburger, Cheeburger for dinner with some friends. It was a lot of fun, especially since all the kids were at one table and the adults we at another.

Tuesday was Richard's class party.

The girls at Richard's table love Hannah. She was a little shy for a few minutes then got right in on the activities.

I am unofficially becoming the class photographer. Ms. Gwin asked me to take pics of the kids with their 100th day of school glasses on since no one took pictures on the real 100th day party. They were all, mostly all, excited to get a picture with these cool glasses.

Richard was excited to show Kylie how he recently learned to tie his shoes. This is a sweet victory and Richard has been telling, and showing, everyone! He is growing up so fast!

Hannah had a Valentine's party yesterday but I was mentally preoccupied and forgot my camera. Maybe next time. We had a lot of fun celebrations this year.

Changing our ways...

Chris and I have been focused on eating healthier and experimenting with yummy food.

I threw together yellow, red, and orange bell peppers; asparagus; spinach; green and red cabbage; and a few mushrooms for Chris. I stir fried them with garlic, sesame seed oil, cumin, and a tiny bit of orange ginger sauce. It was yummy. And oh I love all those colors!

The chicken breast was seasoned with salt, pepper, and Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning. I browned either side in a hot pan then threw it in the oven to cook through.

Chris added a garden salad to his while the kids and I had a bit of rice. It was really good!

As always, my funny kids just had to have their pictures taken. I love 'em! (And yes, Hannah is wearing a cheerleader costume. Costumes are prevalent in the Taggart home.)

As the snow melts...

Since there has not been school for three days the kids and I were getting a little stir crazy. Yesterday was a bit warmer and much of the snow melted. So we headed out for a walk. Luckily we are near a nice walking path along a stream. The kids had fun splashing in the water, throwing rocks and snowballs, and taking their bears for a walk in the sunshine.

Here there are taking a "nap" on the bench.

I love sunny days. The temps are getting warmer and warmer each day this week and I am looking forward to that.