Busy, busy May!

May has been a very busy month so far, and it isn't even over yet. I was fortunate enough in the beginning of the month to get away for a week with some really great women. It was my Mother-in-law's 63rd birthday, and Mothers day in the same weekend. What a great way to celebrate. We went to Pella, Iowa. Yes, I said Iowa. I know you are thinking "why Iowa?!" For the Tulips, of course!! We went for the 75th annual Tulip Time festival. Iowa has a huge Dutch heritage, and the Graham's have a profound fondness for all things Dutch. After all they did live in Holland for 8 years.
Now I can't say that everything about this trip was ideal, but we had a great time anyway. First of all it was cold.We had to shop at the local Walmart and find anything long sleeve, thick or warm. Gloves were even purchased. Luckily, all of the winter type clothing was on clearance. One day I even bought a winter ear/head band, because it was so cold.
The second bad part was that the tulips were past their prime. A lot of the gardens had what I call headless flowers. The petals had all fallen off. The tulips that were still there were pretty, but starting to look like these...
Even though we had our trials, we did get to see a lot and experience some great sights, and foods. We all joked that next time we need to bring our "eatin' pants". There were all kinds of great Dutch treats, Dutch pastries, and cheeses. the best were the fresh hot stroopwaffles and pooferjes. Delicious!!
The little town of Pella is really a beautiful place. They have the only working grain windmill in the US, they still grind grain there. They are also the home of Wyatt Earp's birthplace, and the Pella Window corporation.


We had to get our pictures taken in the little Dutch people shapes!
This was our whole group. My MIL, Carol, and SIL Jen, her friend Kim, and her mom Marilyn, and sister Kelly, and Millie Furlin, and friend of the Graham's who lived in Holland at the same time.
Millie and Carol.
Me, Carol and Jen

We visited a museum where the founder of Pella lived. We also saw the parade, and many other things. We watched a klompen maker make wooden shoes.
This was in the gardens of the Scholte Museum.
These were some of the prettier tulips. It was too bad that they weren't at their best while we were there, but they were still beautiful.
And no Dutch experience would be complete without a windmill, or two, or three. This is just one of many.
We stayed in some rustic cabins right at the edge of a lake near Pella. They were very nice, and had a lot of room. The rustic part meant that they had no dishes, utensils, linens, towels or anything. We had a kitchen, but only cooked breakfast once. I am looking forward to my MIL's 65th birthday, we decided we would go somewhere warm!

Unwinding from the long trip...

not the best picture quality, but cute none the less!

Weekend in Steel Town

This past weekend we took a little trip to Pittsburgh. It is about a 3 hour drive from our house. We left in the morning and arrived just in time to have lunch at the famous Primanti Brothers. Primanti Brothers has been featured on many food network programs. They make the best sandwiches! Just look.

The best thing about the Primanti Brothers sandwiches is that they are stuffed with whatever meat you choose, coleslaw and french fries, all on freshly baked delicious bread! I know it sounds weird to have french fries and coleslaw on a sandwich, but they are very tasty.

They are also huge! Just take a look at this half of my sandwich. I had Kielbasa and egg on mine. Yummy! Adding egg to one of their sandwiches is another popular thing to do.
This is the only way to ever see John eat coleslaw!!
Our next stop was the Carnegie Science Center in downtown Pittsburgh. It is located right next door to the Steelers stadium. It is a great children's museum.
There is a submarine docked in the river right out side, where they give tours, and you can see how it is to live aboard.
Tight sleeping quarters.
Small doorways. A real tight fit for a big guy like John!
It also had a lot of tiny eating quarters, and bathrooms. It makes me wonder if you had to be small to join the Navy?The 4th floor of the Science Center was my favorite! It had a huge area geared for ages 3-6 where they could just play and explore. Jackson is only 2, but it was perfect for him! They had a place to make your own garden, build with blocks, play with ABC mats, or just read a book.
They had a big water table area where the kids could float balls, boats, or play with funnels and cups. It was multi leveled so you could start at the tall end and have a boat float all the way to the bottom. You could also go under the table and put your head in a bubble, like Kenzie did.
Th 4th floor also had a section for older kids too, they had their own water table, different activities, and a place where you could complete a circuit and make a lightbulb light up through currents running through your body. It was pretty cool!
The 2nd floor was all about robots and trains. They had a huge section with train tracks and toy trains running. They went through tunnels, hills, mountains, and every season was represented. It was a tiny model of old day Pittsburgh.
The other half of the 2nd floor was Robots. They had all kinds of robots, doing different things, and they showed different types of things that robotics are used for in every day life.
They also have a huge sports complex with the Science Center where you can climb rock walls, become a human yo-yo, jump on a bungee swing, and a ton of other great activities.

That was all great fun, but the real reason for taking us to Pittsburgh was the annual Pittsburgh Comic Convention. I know geek ville right. But it was fun.
John has gone with JT for a few years now, and Kenzie even went too, but this was the first time we made it a family affair. They even wore costumes! We used the Super Mario Brothers theme for everyone. I chose not to wear a costume, to the disappointment of my husband. (I am just not ready to embrace my inner geek) Everyone loved the costumes!
They even participated in a skit for the costume contest. (I'll link the video when I figure it out) They didn't win, but they had fun! This little boy with Jackson won the children's prize He also wore a bumblebee mask (from transformers) and he became "Super Bumble Bat" . It was so cute.
After a trip like that, this is what you end up with! It was a fun filled quick weekend, which I hope we do again. Who knows, maybe next time I can learn to embrace my "inner geek"too!

Mulan Jr.

This weekend our middle school put on the performance of Disney's Mulan Jr. Mackenzie was a part of that. It was fun to see her and all of her friends doing something they really enjoy! It was even more fun to see how proud her thespian father was of his little girl. John is an actor in his own right, and was so happy to see one of his kids follow in his footsteps.

The whole cast did a really great job, and the play was very entertaining! Here are just a few pics.
This is a picture of Mackenzie and her boyfriend Luke. ( I know, it is very frightening that she has a boyfriend!)
There were 6 kids from our ward in the play. That is unheard of to have so many mormons together in PA. It was great to see them all, and even more fun to see the audience full of mormon supporters each night.
The kids from top: Nathanael Lyman, Zoey Kramer, Mackenzie
Sarah Lyman, Hannah Kramer and Audrey Goates.
This little Mushu was so good, he was really funny!
Mackenzie, Hannah, and Natasha!
I am so proud of Kenzie and her friends, they all put in a lot of work, and a lot of time preparing. They all did fantastic!

Cherry Blossom Lovin...

We are fortunate enough to live so close to to many beautiful places here. We took advantage of it over Easter break and spent a glorious day in DC at the National Cherry Blossom Festival. We have been a number of times in the past, but this was the best trip so far. The weather was gorgeous, the company great, and good times were to be had by all.

The blossoms were in their peak bloom, and love was in the air.
We enjoyed our packed lunches in our favorite grove of trees. Plenty of photo ops were available.

We went with our friends, the Dobbs. It was fun for the kids to have other kids to be with. This is Natasha and Alena.
I always love to get a picture like this. Look at what Jackson has to look up to, both physically, and personally for guidance.