Signs of Spring

It is Spring Break, and though the weather has been less than 'springish', we still were able to hunt out some spring the past few days (think snow, 30 degrees, windy and gray with occasional glimpses of the sun which trick you into thinking it might feel good outside, until you are outside and it is still 30 degrees - chilly!).  First off, Grandpa and Grandma Yorgason got to visit!  Yeah!  It was only for 2 days, but we packed them full and enjoyed every minute.  We've been wanting to visit Chicago for at least a year now, so we rented a car that we could all fit in (with a built in DVD player ... I think I'm sold on one the next time we buy a car) and made our way up to the Shedd Aqaurium. 
www.sheddaquarium.org/
And I left my camera in the car ... so just imagine some great pictures of my kids with their grandparents exploring some incredible fish, beluga whales, dolphins, sharks etc. It was pretty amazing and the kids loved the 4-D movie of Dora and Diego.  I have to say that was probably one of my favorites too.  Even though we waited for almost an hour in line just to get into the building and it was crazy busy, it was worth it!  After, we drove through Chicago for dinner at Giordano's Pizza (thanks for the tip Charlotte and Erin!) - classic deep dish Chicago pizza.  YUM!   

Then we spent the next day closer to home and went to Fountain Square in Indianapolis.  They have a couple of fully restored Duck Pin Bowling Alley's - one from the 30's and another from the 50's.  We did the Atomic bowling from the 50's. 

 
 And we had a lot of fun trying to figure out this game of luck ...

 The balls are a lot smaller than traditional bowling balls, they have no holes for your fingers and the pins are a lot smaller, it makes for an interesting game, especially if you are a pretty good bowler like my dad :)

 Big D LOVED it!  He wasn't totally happy the entire time ... there was some screaming and growling, mostly because he wanted to be the one bowling every. single. time.  What can I say - typical three year old drama.

 This is a picture of the alley - pretty cool place, reasonable prices - next time I want to see the 30's version on the 4th floor - apparently there are windows around the alley so you can see downtown Indy while you bowl -- it was closed because someone had rented it out for a party ...

The kids begged my mom to make bunny buns while she was here ... a Yorgason Easter tradition, which is another sign of spring :)  The recipe is here ... http://lds.org/friend/2011/04/bunny-buns?lang=eng

My mom found the original recipe in The Friend in 1980 and it kind of became a tradition for our family - and she has been making them for Easter every year since.  My kids LOVE them! 

It is hard to see in the pic, but the kids have had their tee-pee-tents out - on the hill.  The perfect spot for pretending you live in the woods.

 A couple of Sundays ago, the kids were actually playing well together ... which usually means a huge mess is involved - when I came upstairs this is what I found. 

 An awesome hot wheels race track ... one that launches cars into the air!  Totally cool!

 You can see the blur of the car as it raced of the track above.

 Big D and Master S thought they were pretty cool too ...

 I made a new spring bag -- it is fabric from the Central Park line.  It was hard to give away, but a good friend had a birthday :)  Hope she likes it as much as I did!

 Another sign of Spring ... Big D determined, despite the cold, to golf ... why do my boys love golf so much?  I'm pretty sure I'll never really understand ...

 And, I started some seeds indoors ...

 probably a little too early!  But, with luck and a few transplants I'm hoping enough will survive that we'll get a good crop of cantaloupe, zucchini, pumpkins and tomatoes this year ... and I may even have some good perennials to plant for a lot cheaper than what I would have to pay at Lowe's for already grown plants.  My room is going to have to double as a greenhouse for a few weeks I'm afraid!

I think the forecast for next week is 60's ... of course when school is back in :)  Oh, well maybe Big D and I can do some outdoor exploring.