Audley End and bonus train

We had a fantastically fun family day last Saturday.  It started off, as most Saturdays do, with a special breakfast.  The kids were interested in eating, but NOT interested in having Daddy take their picture! 

We hit up a little garage sale thing that was happening on base, then set out for Audley End House and Gardens.  It's a manor dating back to the 1600s set on gorgeous property with horse stables and a large organic garden.  The weather was perfect, the grounds were amazingly beautiful, the kids had great attitudes, and we completely enjoyed our time together.

Pretending to be statues in front of the mansion (which we later walked through on a fast-track tour).  

He loved getting to dress up like one of the stable hands.  

This woman gave an interesting talk and demonstration on riding side-sadle.  

And this little boy was thrilled with the kids' play area.  He made sure to test out everything.

The fruit and vegetable garden included several greenhouses.

Much to our delight (and surprise!), there was a mini train station across the street from the manor!  The train ride included three tunnels and tons of random stuffed animals hidden in the trees and bushes along the track.  The kids thought it was awesome!

Colors

Thanks for all your fun comments about our exciting news!

Someone turned on the coloring switch in our home.  My kids have been going through coloring pages (and therefore printer ink!) like crazy.  It started one day when I offered Rooke a coloring page that went along with our Bible story.  For some reason, he took his time, used more than one color, and attempted at using the lines as a guide instead of just scribbling all over the page.  Rooke loved the positive feedback from his efforts and has asked for more coloring pages every day this week.

Day by Day Surprise

While Ryan was gone, I wanted to email him one picture each day of something from that day.  I didn't quite make it every day, but was successful most of the time.  Here are some of my favorites from those  that I sent . . .

Day One

Day Three

Day Nine

Day Fourteen

Day Eighteen

Day Twenty-One

Day Twenty-Four

Day Twenty-Six

Day Thirty-Seven

Day Forty-Six

Day Fifty-Eight

Day Sixty-Three

Day Sixty-Six

Did you catch the surprise?!  Yay for a family of FIVE!  I started my second trimester just after Ryan got home and am due mid-March.  Rooke keeps me on my toes with all his questions about the growing baby!  We're all excited!

Our Book Bag

The Pig is in the Pantry, the Cat is on the Shelf

Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll

The Giant Jam Sandwich

Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

I Love Tools! - we love all of Philemon Sturges "I Love . . ." books

 When I Grow Up

While Ryan was gone, I did quite a bit of reading myself.  These were my favorites:

Unbroken - one of the best books I've read as an adult.  

Surprised By Joy

The Hunger Games (yes, I admit it.  I really enjoyed a book written for teens)

Jump, Jump, Jump!

One of Ryan's first "Daddy duties" after coming home was to set up our new trampoline!  Yipee!  Thankfully, KayeK and Big Daddy spent the night with us and the guys set everything up.  It would have taken Ryan and I much longer by ourselves.

I had a trampoline growing up and felt like Rooke was finally old enough to really enjoy using one.  He LOVES it!  He asks almost every morning if we can go jump after breakfast is over.  Gretchen loves it too, as long as she gets time by herself without Big Brother bouncing her around.

Yes, we have a safety net that went up the next day, but we couldn't resist letting everyone have a go before the evening was over.