Out to play and eat with Tom's family

This weekend Tom's brother's family came up to visit. Saturday we were planning to go to the zoo but since it was so cold and rainy, we decided to go to the Pizza Machine instead. What a fun night. This place always fills us up, and wears us out!

Here are Uncle Jonny, Aunt Marlys and cousins Kaleb and Quentin coming down the stairs after driving the race track.
Dominic and Xavier concentrating pretty hard

The boys enjoying their desserts...

And Xavier is finally tall enough to ride the Frog Hopper! He loved it!

Dominic lost his first TOOTH!!

Dominic's first tooth finally popped out on April 13th! We were all in the kitchen together noticing how it looked like it was about to come out when Dominic started wiggling it and out it came!
Here it is before...

...and after

He's not quite ready to part with it just yet but maybe someday he will decide it's time to get some money for it. I think he's watching the market for the price of central incisors to peak.

Happy Easter!

We hope you have a wonderful Easter and enjoy the beginning of this beautiful season of rejoicing!

We celebrated by painting eggs, reading stories, visiting the sick, and lots of church attending throughout Holy Week, including attending the opening of the Easter Vigil with the fire outside, holding candles and being part of the glorious sights, sounds, and smells that the Easter Vigil brings! Actually, it was just Dominic and I who got to go to the vigil. The whole family went again on Easter Sunday. Followed by a fun, delicious, relaxing dinner at Grandma and Nanno's with lots of family.

What a glorious Season! Alleluia!

Blaise was carefully painting half of his eggs one color and the other half another color.

We happened to stop by to visit the Easter Bunny too. Dominic wanted no part of it because it was "just a guy in a suit." He tried hard to convince his little brothers that there was no Easter Bunny until had to take him aside and tell him to let them pretend. Ah, they grow up so fast.
Time for the Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Nanno's! We also had a small one in our backyard before we went to church. I didn't get any pictures though. I just enjoyed :)

Blowing bubbles...



Dominic and Xavier ready to catch the bubbles the Blaise would blow..

Sky diving Zachary

Xavier, Zachary and Blaise

Daddy and his boys...

And here we all are at my parent's. Two years ago we had the same picture taken on the same couch. Looks like this might become another tradition!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."(1Peter1:3)

Great Wolf Lodge and St Joe's

Tuesday night we stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. The was our third time there. We like to work around and go during the week when everyone else is in school and working. Not only are the rates great but there aren't many people there either. We had a great time to say the least.

Every time the bucket was getting ready to dump Dominic and Blaise would get under it. Here is Dominic about to get soaked.Blaise was a little fish and was going under as much as he could in that life jacket. Xavier and Daddy in the pool

For dinner we brought in some pizza

and of course we had to go down for story time with Wally.

On the way back to our room Blaise wanted his picture taken with this particular wolf

The next morning we got to swim and play some more!

Dominic walking over some wiggly tree stumps

Zachary even got his first experience in a swimming pool! He really seemed to enjoy being in the water.

Xavier was happy to be jumping into 5" deep water all by himself

...and we finally got him to go down one of the smaller slides

Hopefully see you next year Great Wolf Lodge!

We also planned our trip so we would be able to visit our godson close to his birthday. We stopped by on the way home to see him on his last day before he turned one.

They even made a cake for the eve of his birthday so we could share in the party.

Not bachelors anymore huh guys? :)

A visit with Jonny and Marlys

January 18th was our nephew's 2nd birthday so we drove to Kansas City. Tom's brother and his family took us to Union Station for dinner that night. We ate at a place where the food is brought to you by a train on the wall! Fun Fun! Here are the engineers:

Here are Tom and Jonny with some of the boys
Aunt Marlys and Xavier
Union Station had a train exhibit and we stopped by. Xavier was thrilled!

and Dominic loved studying it.
Here are the cousins at the hunger awareness display in front of a train made of cans of food.
After that we went on the real train bridge and felt some trains go under the walkway.

The next day we were off to the Great Wolf Lodge...

Sledding etc.

Zachary is now 4 months old! ... and growing as I type.

January 10th was a pretty warm day so we went to the big hill at the neighborhood school. Dominic couldn't get enough. Blaise got cold and tired pretty quick and Xavier enjoyed being pulled around by mom.

Dominic and a neighbor friend

Xavier

Santa brought us a 3D movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth) There are the guys with their glasses. What a novelty!