June Utah Trip Part 2

Here Neil, Kaden and Breille are riding the Trolley at the Old Spaghetti Factory where we had the Wedding Rehearsal Dinner. Kaden felt all grown up. He got a salad like everyone else and his plate of spaghetti was massive and he enjoyed eating it like a grown up to. We didn’t cut up any of the noodles! He just slurped it all down and the first thing he asked for when we got home was to eat more of his leftover spaghetti!

After the Old Spaghetti Factory the guys headed over to the Nicklecade for Eric’s Bachelor Party.

Poor Eric was given no mercy, even at his party!

But he did en u p with a lot of good loot!

I arrived just as they were finishing up at the Nicklecade, when they decided the night was still young and they needed an additional thrill of go-kart racing! So lucky me, I got to join in! Unfortunately my choice of dress (i.e. skirt and open-toed shoes) hindered my performance and I got lapped multiple times!

Finally, the reason for the trip to Utah. The cute and happy couple! Married! Yay!

At the reception the kids got to dress up in adorable outfits in the wedding colors! Here is cute Alexis!

        

The cake, food, decorations were all fabulous! At the end, there was a lot of dancing! Kaden and Brielle had fun joining in!

Congrats Eric and Natalie! We were so happy to be apart of your special day!

June Utah Trip Part 1

In June we flew to Utah again to see family and to go to Eric’s Wedding!

We packed in a lot of fun activities with family and friends.

We went to the Living Aquarium and saw lots of fish! One particular fish we got to watch would spit to catch its prey!

We met Rachel and rode the Frontrunner train from North Salt Lake to Ogden to go to the Treehouse museum and then rode it back. Kaden loved riding the train!

Here we are at the Treehouse museum. My sister-in-law Charlotte and most of her kids joined us at the museum too! It was a lot of fun!

        

One area of the museum, you could experience things from different countries all over the world. Here is Kaden in Japan fishing, then in China trying out chopsticks. Other countries you could experience were Mongolia, Mexico, Germany, Peru, and Great Britain. We especially liked trying out the marionette show of the “Little Red Hen” in Germany.

In each themed area you could dress up, play and read books related to the topic! The teacher in me loved that!

In the farm area, you could play with toy barns, ride in a rodeo, milk a cow, plant a garden and get eggs from the chickens!

Upstairs, in the medieval area, Neil and Madelaine battle at chess.

And here is our royal family!

Kaden also got to act out many other professions like President and doctor! Lexi like watching Kaden take care of the babies at the hospital!

One of Neil’s highlights of the trip was going to the USA vs. Honduras Soccer game! We were glad Neil’s parents, Marin and Rachel could join us! We had great 3rd row seats!

USA won! Yay!

Another highlight of the trip was going to the zoo! It was great spending time with Grandma and Grandpa P as well as Jennie and Brett. McKGrandma was also there and we met up with Brett’s grandparents, Matt and Peggy for lunch. Peggy works at the zoo and treated us to free admission and a carousal ride! Thanks Peggy!

        

We saw a great elephant show. We learned a lot about elephants and got to see the elephants do cool tricks! The giraffes were also a favorite!

Just a little monkeying around!

Look for more on our trip to Utah in June Utah Trip part 2! Next up is all the wedding fun!

Happy Birthday Kaden!

Kaden turned 3! Getting ready for his birthday, was a little like getting ready for Christmas. The same excitement, energy and to do list!

Decorations: check! Presents: check! Cake: check!

We celebrated by opening presents in the morning.

Then later in the evening, we had family and friends over to help us sing “Happy Birthday” and eat cake and ice cream!

Birthday #3 was a success and now Kaden is already to celebrate #4!

Memorial Day at Mint Springs!

Since we moved to Charlottesville, we have made it a tradition to go to Mint Springs with our friends on Memorial Day. This year it was a little chilly, but it didn’t keep us away!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game and the Enchanted Strawberry Garden!

Last year we attended a UVA baseball game with Kaden, and since then, every time we pass the baseball field where they hold the games he has been asking to go! So we finally went! Brandon and Brielle were able to join us too!

After watching the game, Kaden has not been satisfied playing baseball using his tee. He has now graduation to mommy pitching and is does a great job!

Another thing Kaden is fascinated with is the show “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” In one recent episode, Daniel Tiger and his family go to the enchanted garden to pick strawberries to put in their pancakes. Kaden wanted to go too! Finally, our enchanted garden’s strawberries were ripe for picking!

Here we are at Chile’s Orchard picking enchanted strawberries! Kaden was great at picking red strawberries and every time Neil bent over Lexi tried to pick some of her own from our bucket!

Enjoying out enchanted strawberry ice-cream and shakes! Yum! Yum!