While Daddy's Away

While Daddy's away...the kids will play! 

This past weekend, Bryan was gone for four days on his annual San Francisco mission trip with the youth group kids.  We lost count, but we think this may have been Bryan's 10th San Francisco trip!  We are so proud of him and the work he's doing to show love to the many homeless people there and to build eternal relationships with some of the teenagers on the trip.  Click here to check out the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) website for more info on their amazing ministry.

The kids and I did lots of fun activities together during the four day weekend.  We went to the library and made crafts and played music.  Kaela and Maezie made princess dolls and Graeson made a football doll (he decorated "GO OSU" on the jersey).  And of course we got books!  Maezie's favorite books are about a mouse named Maisy and we found Maisy Goes to the Library.  Graeson's books were Scooby Doo (yes, this makes Mommy feel quite old!) and Kaela chose books about cats, since we have promised she could get one this summer.

After the library, we went to GG's house to visit.  GG had to read every single book the kids got!  But she loved it, of course!

After books, GG and the kids made cookies.  Meanwhile, Mommy enjoyed some nice quiet time while reading a magazine.

The next day we went to the local Winter Wings Festival which was all about birds.  I thought about my friend Becky and her kids, who live in Portland and are bird lovers, and how much they would enjoy this festival!  (Hint Becky:  Come visit us!)  There were tons of fun activities for the kids.  We watched a show on stage with a bird man who self-proclaimed he'd "been studying birds a little too long".  He was quite eccentric!  Graeson even got to stand on stage for part of a name-that-bird game.  We also made our own bird nests with "eggs" (colored rocks), dissected owl pellets--Kaela and Graeson could have stayed at that table for hours!--made bird masks, saw live birds, and even got to pet a live duck.  They also got face paint and a bird painted on their hands.

On another day, we went looking for some local entertainment and found a church who was having a fun day for kids.  It was only for 1st through 6th grade, so Kaela got to enjoy a VBS-style day of activities.  Since the younger two couldn't go, we went to McDonald's play place and had our own fun!

Oh, and I forgot to mention.....MOMMY COOKED!

We are glad Daddy is home, but now it's back to work and back to school.