Camping trip etc.

So we have had 10.5 snow days this year.  Crazy stuff.  Plus Isaac has been sick three weekends in a row throwing up.  I am so sick of cleaning up gross stuff!  Here are Isaac and James being silly inside during one of our many days indoors.  

Most days it was so cold it was no fun to play in the snow, but we did a few times.  Isaac is ok to brave the cold but James doesn't like it.  

Isaac likes to do projects.  He will go through the recycling and find anything interesting and make it into something.  Here he made a race game out of a cereal box for these little stuffed animals. 

We've been doing a lot of reading too.  Isaac and James can sit on the couch with us for over and hour and just read book after books.  Especially on the day we go to the library.  They also love reading comics with Daddy.  Blake got some Calvin and Hobbes for Christmas and they love them as much as he does.

Every now and then we have a nice day.  A nice Saturday in March we went to the Laumier Sculpture Park.  We had a lot of fun but got super tired by the end because it is a very large park!

Isaac liked the signs because he is starting to read more and more.  And these kids love maps.  Give them a map and they will look at it for a day. 

I don't know what any of these sculptures mean but we still had fun walking around and discovering them!

St. Louis City turns 250 this year so all around the city there are birthday cakes.  

Just figuring out where we are on the map. 

Blake got a week off and we didn't really do anything--we went to the St. Patrick's day parade, something I've always been curious to go to.  We got tons of beads and some candy.  Super exciting.  We went to the zoo and of course went to the doctor, since I am there every week nowadays.  And on Friday it miraculously got really nice so we spent the morning gathering wood from our backyard and some woods down the street and getting some groceries and packing and when Isaac got home from school we went camping at Meremac State Park.  James has been begging to go camping again since we went in September.  This trip did not disappoint.  Everything about camping is fun to boys.  Gathering wood, breaking it up, setting up the tent, making a fire...Plus there was a playground we played at for a little bit.  

Look at our huge stack of wood!

Yay! We are camping!

James loves swinging right now.  He does good holding on and always wants to go faster. 

There was a picture of me too but sorry, Blake, I just can't post it.  I am too enormously pregnant. Here are the boys making a fire.

James was so happy to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.  He was so patient and sat there for over an hour cooking his hot dogs and then marshmallows.  

We let the kids watch Cars on the iPad that night in the tent and Blake and I played some cards.  In the morning it was pretty cold so Blake got another fire going.  Notice James is eating more marshmallows for breakfast and Isaac is eating a donut.  

But even after sitting around the fire the kids were still cold and wanted to go home so we packed up and did a little .75 mile hike--since I think we always have to go for a hike wherever we go camping. But we got cookies after that so it was worth it.  After our marshmallows and donuts for breakfast. 

We were glad we got to go on a little adventure with Blake for his time off.  And I was glad to fit in camping before we have the baby.  Only 17 more days until he is due!  

A couple days ago I turned 30.  Blake and my friends completely spoiled me the whole weekend to celebrate.  On my birthday, Blake surprised me by taking me out to a fancy restaurant.  On the way home we got Ted Drewes frozen custard and ate it with my brother, who had babysat, and played a game and watched a movie.  The only downer to the day was that the kids were so excited for Daddy to come home and make a cake with them but that didn't happen.  I didn't know what was going on or I would have prepared them.  But I did take them for donuts that morning so they did get a birthday treat.  

The day after my birthday I had my second surprise.  My friend Elise arranged with me earlier that she wanted to take me to breakfast for my birthday and insisted that her husband could babysit my kids while we went.  I thought that was very nice so I took the kids over and we went to Crepes, my favorite breakfast place.  (Blake was working.)  When we got there, three other friends popped up and got in line behind us and totally surprised me!  They said it was a combined birthday party/baby shower and they had balloons and a little cake and presents!  Wow, what friends.  I couldn't believe they did that.  Plus we all enjoyed our food at crepes--it is soo good.  When we got back the kids realized I had a party from what we were talking about and they were so sad they didn't get to come.  But they perked up when I told them I got balloons for them and a whole cake just for us!  they insisted on lighting candles and singing to me (without Blake) and then we all had cake.  My boys are so cute and sweet. 

The next day I got my last surprise, which Blake actually told me about the night before because I got a little suspicious when he came home from work with bags of groceries.  So all Sunday Blake made chicken salad and cake and got things ready for the party he planned.  He ended up moving it to the park instead of our house because he invited too many people.  We celebrated with 6 other families and had a good time.  People brought sides to share and we cut the cake super small and barely fed everyone.  Blake was so sweet to pull off a party for me and I felt so overwhelmed by love from him and other people this weekend.  What a way to turn 30, huh, with three days of parties?