ARRRRGH, Matey!! What's a Lake vacation without a round of miniature golf? Yes, Jason won the round in our foursome, but just ask him who had the most holes-in-one....(the answer would be me with 3, count 'em 3!) It was also nice putting practice for the big couples tourney the following day.
During our vacation at the Lake we spent an afternoon at Miner Mike's, and boy did we have a good time. Ellie climbed in the maze, played in the balls, and flew down slides. To our surprise, she loved the miniature mine train roller coaster (it actually goes pretty fast). When it came to the games, ski ball was probably her favorite, and since she wasn't quite strong enough to get the balls up to the targets, it was a never ending game. But her absolute favorite part was driving the Muppet car with Fozzy Bear in the backseat....we had a minor meltdown when we forced her to get out of the car.
For Father's Day, we spent the afternoon at Busch Wildlife Area, enjoying one of the many lakes. We had a nice picnic lunch, then Papi gave Ellie her first fishing lesson, and apparently she's a natural, catching 3 fish her first time out. Although she seemed to have just as much fun throwing rocks in the water, or splashing with the big stick.
Ellie loved the cozy coupe car. She found it sitting out in the middle of the yard and climbed right in. She was all alone, sitting out in the hot sun, but she refused to let anyone push her nearer to the group...I think she thought someone may try to make her get out of it or let another child have a turn. As she progresses closer to the 2-year-old mark, she's becoming more and more strong-willed.
Sweet Miss Paige...always so relaxed and laid back, chilling in the lawn chair.
The party was complete with a bounce house (above) and water balloons (below). Look out Pawpaw! Ellie's got quite an arm.
What a goof ball... Mommy's little helper decided to assist in unloading the dishwasher, by modeling the lovely, silver mixing bowl hat. A "must have" for summer!
Jason and Valerie ran the half-marathon on April 6! This was Jason's second time to run the half, and he says it will be his last. Although I'm pretty sure he said that after last year's race, but somehow his memory of the misery diminished during the year, so he decided to run it again. Valerie was really pushing Jason to beat his time from last year, and set a goal for herself of running it in under 2 hours. Unfortunately, they were forced to take a bathroom break during the race, which took 2 1/2 minutes due to the lines, so she ended up finishing at 2 hours, 53 seconds! But that's still pretty awesome, as far as I'm concerned!Congrats to the runners!!!
Ellie and Kameron also had a good time on the carousel. Paige, not as much.
We had to wait in line for a while to ride. Then, of course, as soon as we got to the front of the line and were the next people to climb aboard, they closed the gates and said they were full. Our kids then had to stand in line some more and watch all the other children riding, which is torturous to excited 1 and 3-year-olds.
The children's zoo is also a cool place. Ellie had little fear around any of the animals in the petting zoo, so our next trip may have to be to Grant's Farm. But we should probably start taking the video camera, because it seems like those places are hotbeds for America's Funniest Home Video moments.
Oh, my goodness! Look at that beautiful Easter dress. You should see how it spins when she twirls around, which was Ellie's favorite activity after getting dressed. She'd sway back and forth, saying "Ooooouu, Ooooouu." Then she'd spin and spin till she was dizzy.
And what outfit is complete without a coordinated purse, perfect for keeping all her important things. 
And don't forget to cheese--I mean say "cheese" -- for the camera.
Boy, what fun we had with the easter egg hunts this year! We had our doubts whether Ellie would catch on to the objective of the egg hunt, but we worried for nothing. After pointing out the first egg to her, and showing her that it goes in the basket, there was no stopping her. She wandered all over the yard, picking up every egg. As soon as her little fingers grasped one, her eyes immediately started darting around looking for the next.
I finally took Ellie to get her hair cut, or should I say get her mullet cut off. Granted the sides had grown out a fair amount already, so the mullet wasn't that extreme, but she was definitely in need of cut. We had tried once before to have it cut, but she was crabby having been woken up from a nap, so that attempt failed miserably.
As soon as we got a little warm weather, we were out the door headed for the park. Ellie loves to play on all the equipment, and is getting braver with each visit. She'll even go down the big kid slide now, which relieves Jason of having to go down the kiddie slides with her.
Do you want to know how to wake up a sleepy 18-month-old? Offer her a chocolate donut for breakfast!!
She had a little trouble walking in the suit, or putting her arms down for that matter. Rather reminiscent of Randy on A Christmas Story.
Her favorite part was definitely eating the snow. Since this was nice, newly fallen, fresh snow, we didn't stop her. However, next year we'll have to warn her about yellow snow.
I love this picture....A Grandpa and Granddaughter heading out for a sled ride.
It may be cold outside, but that doesn't stop a 1-year-old when she sees other kids playing ball outside. Ellie had some rosy cheeks and a cold nose when she finally came back inside, but as soon as she was warmed up she wanted to go right back out again.
