Christmas 2013

The whole Dieter family got to go home to Ames Iowa this Christmas to be with our family and friends. (Jered worked Thanksgiving - so got Christmas off! Yippee!) Since there was enough snow this year the boys got outside and sled the hill in the back yard. I was thankful that there wasn't too much white stuff so we were able to go visiting and see both Grandparents and our friends - Nick and Jenny. The boys were very good this year, of course, and they got way too many presents from Santa. The cutest gift was from my parents - matching fleeces. We had to pose them for that picture. Max and Riley also got quite a bit of Minecraft toys. (Can't believe they still like that game after more than a year.) Thank you to all our family for the gifts and time spent over this holiday. We are blessed.

Snow Snow Snow!

Last night we had a blizzard! Insta-Christmas over night. It's still coming down - but we don't care. Time to find the snow pants and sleds.....

Riley Turns Three

 

On Friday Riley turned 3 and on Saturday we had a party for him. He loves Super Mario Bros. and I was happy to get such a great theme for the party. We had cupcakes frosted like one up mushrooms and fun Mario Bros characters. I was inspired by his cousin Maisie's birthday and so I made a coin block pinata. It was super easy to make with a box and crepe paper. (and a lot of glue!) It was a "pull" pinata so all you did is pull the tassle and all the chocolate coins fell out. Rowan and Riley tryed to hit it with their heads first, like Mario dose, but  went for the tassle eventually. It was adorable. Riley is a great three year old, kind and gentle. He loves to make people laugh. He is a joy to have in our family.

Maisie's 6th Birthday

 

Saturday was Maisie's 6th birthday and we all headed to Ames to celebrate with her. The cousins had a great time playing and hangin out with each other. It's nice they are getting old enough to actually play games. Maisie had a pinata at her party so all the kids got to take a wack at it. (it was pretty tough and the adults had to help in the end) After all the candy and cake they ran around the back yard and jumped in leaves to burn off all the sugar. 

Spirits in the Garden

This weekend my mom, the boys, and I went to Reiman Garden's Spirits in the Garden. The boys wore last years costumes (since we aren't quite ready with this years!) and got to pre-trick-or-treat some candy. The weather was nice and cool this time and it was fun to do some Halloween type activity before it's actually the night.

Lego at Reiman Gardens

#50things

They are holding a Lego art exhibit at Reiman Gardens in Ames. Max and Riley loved all of the flowers and Lego creatures.

Humming Bird

First one we went to see was a giant humming bird in the front garden. The stands were also made of Legos.

Tropical Room

 In the tropical plant area there was a large ball machine that was running a ball around continually.

Art

Lego Rose

 In the rose garden there was a huge rose from Legos. It was probably about 12 feet tall.

Lilly and Koi

 The pond had Lego Lilly pads complete with a frog and a leaping Koi.

Resting with Grandma

 After all that walking we needed a rest and some cool water. It was 95 degrees after all! We decided to skip to the butterfly house since it was so hot. They have over 800 butterflies and 80 different species.

Being Still for butterflies

Black Butterfyl

 The butterfly house was actually cooler than outside, so it felt great to hang out with them.

White Butterfly

Riley Being Gentle

Riley and Max were both so still and gentle in the butterfly house. They loved all the colors and having them land on their hands and clothes. I would say it might have been the favorite part of the gardens.

Max and Monarch

Getting Close Up

Beautiful

Lego Butterfly