Springtime fun in the Midwest

So yesterday evening, we decided to go up to the lake up the road from our house and see if we could catch any fish. I almost didn't go because how could I pass up a little bit of time by myself! Chris would have taken both kids, but then I decided - either I can sit at home by myself, or sit and watch them. I am glad I did because I got some cute pictures, plus it was fun just being all together (Chris was away most of the week)! Zach is getting pretty good at casting out his line. Maybe he will end up a fisherman like his old man!
Chloe wanted to be right down with Chris (I was too boring, plus she was sick of me taking pictures of her).

We were having a great time when all the sudden the tornado sirens went off! They went off right as Chris caught the first and only fish of the night! They were just going off to warn that their was a thunderstorm blowing in. We didn't even notice it creaping up behind us while we fished. So we took a few more pictures, and then headed on home.

Shortly after we got home, this is how the sky looked! It was awesome!!! I love a good thunderstorm! It reminds me of growing up in good old Missouri and standing under the eaves of the house watching and smelling the rain. Love it! Luckily now, we have a covered porch, so we can sit outside in the pouring rain and enjoy it.....as long as the wind is not blowing the rain horizontal. The clouds soon calmed down and we didn't get much rain from this little batch of clouds. As the clouds moved out about sunset time, we got to enjoy an absolutely beautiful sunset! These are the kind of sunsets I remember ALL the time in MO. So pretty! That is one highlight of being back here in the midwest. I love the storms (as long as they are not tornadic, love the sunsets, and LOVE all the trees and green!).

I don't know if you can see it, but a faint rainbow came out. Zach wanted to go see if there was a pot of gold at the other end.This morning after a long night of thunderstorms, we got even more rain. The lightning and thunder were intense. Now a big area of the state, including where we are at is flooding - and having flash floods. So - the downside of a good thunderstorm. Hopefully the rain will slow down and the rivers won't flood too much more. The river in town was spilling over its banks today onto the bike trail that is next to it. Chris thinks it has probably risen about 8-9 ft. to be able to spill over the onto the trail. Crazy! This is what the drainage easement looked like at the back of our yard this morning!Here is a little video of the storm blowing in when we got home last night.
Hope all of you Midwesterners that don't live here anymore enjoyed reminising about the fun weather out here!

"A Dream Come True!"

This old (extremely loud) tractor was given to Chris a month or so ago. He fixed it up and got it working again. Zach has been so excited and said, "I have always dreamed of having a rider and I never thought it would come true! This is a dream come true!!" Yes, if you haven't figured out by his stories and things he says - pretty much all he thinks about are cars or anything with motors. Anyway - this is just a little video clip of him cutting the grass all by himself for the very first time! He was quite excited!!! You can hear Chloe in the background asking to drive it too! (my neighbors grass is lovely, don'tcha think!)

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!

(I started this post a week or so ago, and forgot to finish it! Sorry!) Well - I don't really have any pictures of the lions, tigers and bears we saw.....just thought the name was catchy for this post. Anyway - Thursday, the 29th, my good friend TJ and I took our kids plus 2 friends to the Indianapolis Zoo. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work chasing after 5 kids, but great to get out and do something we haven't done in a while. The kids got pretty worn out, but did a great job trekking through the zoo. About lunchtime, TJ's hubby showed up and helped carry those with weary legs on his shoulders! That was a great help!

TJ and Evan with Chloe and I. Chloe and Evan have a pre-arranged marriage!! Hopefully they won't mind!!!

We had a blast watching the dolphin show! I have always enjoyed them. I am amazed how smart they are!
Chloe got a kick out of this cute monkey hanging right in front of us. He just sat there letting us check out his pits for a bit! Chloe talked about this monkey for a few days after the zoo.
Just love this picture of Evan so I had to include it!
Chloe woke up with a slight fever the day of our zoo trip. She was pretty laid back the entire time at the zoo, but stuck it out. I still don't know what her fever was from, but she had it off and on for 3 days or so. It even got up to 103.0! Then all the sudden, she was better. Whatever it was got fixed from the fever.

One of the highlights for the kids was petting the sharks. They would swim by you and then you reach over the short wall and pet them. This was Zach's favorite thing to see.