Aunt Lindsay Came to Visit!

My sister came to visit and check out our new digs! We always love having Lindsay around, and we had a great week playing! Highlights include our two trips to the zoo, a visit each to the Children's Museum and the Mormon Trail Center, lots of fun cooking, and very special menus (aka Harry Potter Week!).

Lindsay with the girls

Lindsay with the boy

A Little Tired?

After a week of staying up late every night, getting up early with the kids, and our always-on-the-move fun, I think this is how we all felt!

Just let me sleep, already!

Come visit us again soon, Linds! We miss you already!

Harry Potter Week Part One

Probably the most fun thing we did while Lindsay visited was our "Harry Potter Week!" Ever since the Star Wars week Jason and I had back in February 2006 we've been wanting to do another theme week. So with Lindsay's help we brainstormed ideas for our awesome menu and enjoyed watching each coinciding movie! Harry Potter fans, you must try this out - it was so much fun!

p.s. Try coming up with fun, catchy menu ideas that actually work with kids - it's a challenge!

-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone-

Hermione hair with Weasley red sauce, magic carrot wands, Milk Dudleys, Sorcerer's Scones, and Harry Potter water

I haven't made scones in probably at least two years, and these were so good!

-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets-

Quaffle waffles, phoenix eggs, basilisk bacon, and pumpkin juice

Emily was a big fan of Polyjuice pudding!

Harry Potter Week Part Two

-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban-

Buckbeak burgers, Hippogriff hotdogs, Shrieking Shack sticks, Sirius Black-bean salsa, and butterbeer

Someone's enjoying her Severus Shake!

-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-

Cho Chang chicken, Ced'rice' Diggory, Tri-Wizard triangles, and our own Goblet of Fire

-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-

Toad-in-a-roll, Department of Mysteries prophecy orbs, Forbidden Forest trees, Harry + Cho Valentine cookies, and Veritaserum

Fun Times With Lindsay

Making snickerdoodles in memory of Grandpa Hymas' birthday

Emily was extremely scared but pulled a cute face for the camera

65 nails, all painted red

(That's right. I only painted one hand and decided I didn't like the color...)

Sliding at McDonald's

Who knew that you now need socks to play in the playland (what, like it could get any dirtier?!)? I definitely didn't need any more girl socks, so I bought some socks for Ryan and squeezed the girls into them - heehee!

Gotta love the stripey socks!

Mormon Trail Center and Kanesville Tabernacle

A fun place that tells the history of the Mormon pioneers

Enjoying our picnic behind the Trail Center (cold leftover pizza and CapriSun - "Mom, this is the best picnic ever!")

Winter Quarters Temple - Florence, NE

Kanesville Tabernacle - Council Bluffs, IA

(This is where Brigham Young was sustained the second president of our church.)

Lindsay pointing at our ancestor's name on the Mormon Battalion list

Free Tickets to the Omaha Royals Game

Part of "Wild About Omaha" weekend included a free baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium. We'd been promising the girls a baseball game forever, and this turned out to be the perfect chance! We all had a blast hanging out with the Wilsons, eating our fun treats, and enjoying the fireworks at the end.

Brenda, Cody, and Jason (Ryan in the back)

Emily, Ellie, and Chelsey

(I'm pretty sure that by this point Payton was making friends with the creepy guy sitting next to us. When the guy started whispering in Payton's ear, this seating chart was quickly rearranged!)

Look At Him Boogie!

We think Ryan was far more entertaining than those cheerleaders in the background...