Misc. March Happenings

Willem now has 3 real trains--this is the one in our neighbors yard, one is at school that he and Pravash drive and then the playset is the 3rd. His imagination is running wild these days. On the tree train, Ellie serves as the conductor and the branches are his gears and whistle.

An impromptu Sunday night dinner with friends. We don't get to see the Baldwins that often these days, so we made the most of this afternoon together.

Willem's school had a Spring Carnival. Willem had never been to anything like it before but he quickly caught on. He identified a ride he really wanted to do --the Human Gerbil and saved the 8 tickets needed. Unfortunately it was broken most of the day but just as we were leaving it started working again. He sat in line for over an hour, studying how it worked and waiting patiently for his turn. Most of the other kids were 8yrs old+ but he had no fear and loved every minute of being in the gerbil ball. Jason pushed the ball around the gym and Willem was happy. (I can't find a pic right now but when I do, I'll post one.)

How did that fish get in the pool?

When we returned from LA, Paw Paw went fishing with Kayla and brought a live one home for Willem to practice with. Willem's been practicing his cast inside the house but it was time to step it up a notch to get him ready for his first fishing trip with Paw Paw.

Yes, that's a fish in Paw Paw's pool.

Digging for the worms was a lot of fun. Today Willem was fine getting his hands dirty, he was on a mission.

A lot of fun was had but that fish was not biting. Guess he learned his lesson from earlier this morning. Even Paw Paw couldn't get it to bite and sadly the next morning the fish was no more.

A day with the cousins

Irvine Railroad Park

Opa had read about a railroad park not too far from Cerritos so we decided to check it out. We ended up being one of the only families there that day and had the place to ourselves. In such a busy city, it was definitely a quiet oasis away from the hustle and bustle of LA.

One of the highlights... getting to meet a real conductor.

Willem's 1st pony ride. He is eager to try new things more and more each day. Ellie loved the horses as well but from afar.

Poor Ellie became very ill this day. She had a high fever and literally would sleep anywhere. Lasted for about a week after we got home as well but was nice that she had lots of family around to cuddle with until she felt better.

Our 1st full day at Disneyland

Thanks to Tante Linda and Jim we were able to go to Disneyland while in California. Willem was really excited as he has been reading a book about Disneyland with Jason and is now a Mickey Mouse addict. Still hasn't seen many of the movies so some parts don't have a lot of meaning to him yet but right now Disneyland spells lots of T-R-A-I-N-S to Willem.

We spent most of our time in California adventure and did all of Bugs Land before heading over to visit Tante Linda in Paradise Pier.

Willem getting to drive was a highlight as he is already asking for his own car and phone.

Ellie and I didn't feel too hot this day but we made the most of it. She really enjoyed just snuggling in the Ergo most of the time but enjoyed the people watching and being on the rides with her brother.

We met up with Opa, Lita and Oom Rik at Downtown Disney for lunch before heading over to Disneyland.

Our 1st monorail ride.

Our 1st 8 hour adventure at Disneyland. We were all ready for a nap but full of fun memories.

That nice Jason and I were able to go back and see World of Color. What a fantastic show!! I'm excited for future trips as the kids get older and we can check out more of the big shows, but for now 5 train rides in 1 day--can't top that.

Spring Break with Opa and Lita

As has become a tradition of sorts, for the 3rd year in a row we spent Spring Break in Los Angeles with Opa and Lita. Willem had been counting the days for our trip and packed his bag a week ahead of time to make sure he remembered teddy and his favorite toys (definitely takes after Mom's packing style unlike Jason's last minute packing). On our drive there we pretended to be on a train and gave Willem an envelope full of tickets. Each half hour our timer would go off and he would give us a ticket. Made the trip more fun and we heard fewer how much further once he realized that when the last ticket was gone we would be at Opa and Lita's. Ellie was great on the ride, neither watched any videos and they seemed pretty entertained with the music and books we brought. Having Oom Rik along definitely helped in making the ride fun for the kids.

When we arrived we were all needing to stretch our legs so we went to Willem's favorite park in Cerritos, Heritage Park. They kids fed the ducks and we were amazed by how many turtles were there this time.

Willem always helps Opa with his garden, so they went straight to work with Mickey in tow.

That night we caught up with our good friends the Nespers. We couldn't believe how much the kids had grown. They all played really nicely together and gave us time to catch up.

Ellie's New Favorite Food

Family Day at Encanto

To kick off spring break we went to Encanto Park's Enchanted Island. We had been to the park but only ridden on the train before. What a wonderful park for the kids!! Ellie could ride most every ride with Willem and they just had a blast.

Ellie loves being with her big brother. She wanted to go down the slide over and over again on his lap and he is fantastic with her. Very grateful they get along so nicely.