Cousins in KC

The Missouri Rashmans were in town for a couple of days so we visited them in their hotel near the Plaza.  The kids (minus Hannah) went swimming and then we all relaxed in the hotel room.  Well, the adults relaxed and the kids had a monster pillow fight.  It was really great to see them and I wish we could have had more visits with them while we lived within driving distance.  Something about having six kids ages five and under makes traveling just a little more challenging!

Olympics, Gymnastics, and McDonald's

No rest for the weary around here!  Hannah is a real trouper and just goes along for the ride, being ferried from place to place in her car seat.  Thank goodness she likes her seat and will sleep pretty much anywhere.

This morning, Zach didn't have to be at school until 10:30, so he stayed home with Ben and Hannah while I watched Dan at the Rainbow Olympics at school.  It was supposed to be outdoors but it was pretty overcast and chilly, so it was in the gym.  Lots of fun stations were set up--a bouncy house, an obstacle course, an area for tricycle riding, etc.  I got to see Dan do three events before I had to leave for gymnastics.  He had a fun time hitting a balloon with a fly swatter, building a tower of cookies, and riding trikes.  I wish I could have stayed to see him pick up marbles with his toes!

Zach, Hannah, Ben and I then headed onto base for gymnastics.  Zach was able to run around with Ben for the first half of class and then I took over when he had to go to school.  Ben loves gymnastics, but he's not the best listener.  Or line-waiter.  Or rule-follower.  But he has fun and works out some energy, so I guess I can't complain too much.

After gymnastics, we came home for half an hour so I could feed and change Hannah.  Then we picked Dan up from school and headed to McDonald's for lunch with a friend from his class.  The McD's in Leavenworth has a giant indoor playground so the boys hit that pretty hard.  And now everyone's napping, so our busy morning was a success!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Our friends, the Tuzels, invited us over for a Cinco de Mayo get-together yesterday.  They have two little girls who are 5 and 2 (Eva and Elizabeth) and Dan and Ben love playing with them.  Somebody else's toys are always more fun that your own!  The weather has been terrible lately (snow on May 2nd?!?) and all of us were suffering from a case of cabin fever.  The kids played a little bit in the backyard, even though it was 50 degrees and overcast.  Zach and Hannah and I stayed inside and ate our body weight in chips and guacamole (Hannah stuck to milk).  We had a great time and will miss our Air Force friends when they move to Virginia and we head to California!

Jake's Birthday Party

Yesterday we loaded up the Explorer and headed to Topeka for my cousin Julie's son's first birthday party.  Baby Jake (as Dan and Ben call him) is now Big Boy Jake!  My parents and sister Layne drove up from Wichita, so Layne got to meet Hannah for the first time.  

The party was at the Goodyear Shelter House, a nice place with a playground that's available to Goodyear employees (my uncle Anthony and my cousin David work at the plant).  Dan and Ben loved the playground and the giant field out back.  They had a great time running around like maniacs with their second cousins, Taryn and Baylee and Jake.  Hannah also had a great time being passed around from relative to relative.  The weather was a little cool and overcast, but the rain held off so we were able to be outside a lot.  

After the party, we switched cars with my parents and they took the boys back to Wichita for a couple of days.  It's amazing how quiet it is at our house with just the baby.  (And why did I ever think that newborns were difficult?  She eats, sleeps, and poops; she can't go anywhere if I set her down; she doesn't make a mess of toys and puzzles and books; she's easily portable.  Easiest baby ever!)  

A big thanks to Layne for taking such great pictures of Dan and Ben and Hannah at the party!