Kraczek Boy #3

Introducing Kraczek boy #3.

We are so excited to welcome him into our family in November. Now we just need to come up with a name for him.

Road Trip

This year instead of going to visit family in Utah, our family came to to visit us.

In June, Grandma Heather came to play with us.

We decided it would be fun to take her on a road trip through Pennsylvania.
First we went to Gettysburg to tour the battlefield and see all the monuments.

The boys had fun climbing on all the cannons and running around when we let them out of the car.
It was very hot and humid that day, so it was nice to get back in the car between stops.

                                                                                                                                              After a nice lunch we drove to Lancaster to look at the covered bridges before going to an amish style dinner. 

By that time it had started to rain, and it didn't stop raining for the rest of our trip. We stayed the night in Lancaster so we could go to the Lancaster Central Market in the morning. The Lancaster Central Market is the country's oldest farmer's market. It is right in the heart of Amish country and occupies a beautiful 120 year old red brick building.

I bought some delicious red currant jam from this nice gentleman. Bennet and Evan loved the enormous doughnuts we got them for breakfast while Grandma Heather and I had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the fun stuff to buy. I got a fun bag with the Lancaster central market logo on it and Grandma purchased some yummy fresh pasta to take home with her.


When we were all finished at the market, we hurried back through the rain to our car so we could get on the road to Philadelphia. We had not planned on so much rain or it being so cold. No one had jackets and Grandma had to purchase an umbrella for us to use while we were in Philadelphia.



We arrived too late to get tickets to Independence hall and it was raining so hard that we also had to skip some of the outdoor sights. We will definitely have to come back as we just scratched the surface of things to do and see in Philadelphia.






We were, however, able to see the Franklin museum and printing office and couldn't pass up a chance to see the Liberty Bell.

soaking wet but still a happy face

It was pouring rain and everyone got soaked, especially pour Bennet. Evan and Bennet were troupers though and didn't complain very much.

When in Philly, one must get a Philly cheese steak sandwich. They were so yummy and warmed us right up.



We had a great time on our road trip, but next time we will have to go when the weather isn't so extreme.

Preschool Graduation

Evan has loved going to preschool this year. We signed him up for Mclean Munchkins which is put on by McLean High School and taught by the students.

He had a great time being part of a class and learning lots of new things. Our front door has been decorated all year  with his colorful art projects.

We enjoyed attending his graduation ceremony where he and his classmates recited the pledge of allegiance, sang some cute songs, and received their diplomas.

Kindergarten here we come!

Happy Birthday Bennet

My baby turned 2 today and I can't believe how big he has gotten. He is a very happy boy who is always smiling and always very busy. He loves trains, puzzles and most of all his big brother Evan.

Bennet is so glad that it has warmed up outside. He did not like the snow and would cry when I would dress him in snow clothes to take him sledding with Evan. Now that it has warmed up, he begs to go "bu-bye" to the park so he can spend hours going up and down the biggest slide he can find.

Aunt Emily came over to help us celebrate his Birthday. Mommy made this Chocolate Strawberry cake and, after video chatting with both sets of grandparents, he got to open his presents. I don't think he really understood what was going on, but he loved getting new toys and thought the cake was yummy, especially the strawberries.

300 Easter Eggs

Ready....... Set......

Go!

This is our 3rd year hosting our Easter Egg hunt and each year it gets bigger and bigger with more and more eggs. This year we had over 300 plastic eggs filled with candy spread out all over our backyard. 

We started off with an amazing potluck brunch before letting the kids loose in the backyard.  I am always amazed at how many people I can pack into my tiny house, but, even if it is a bit cozy, we always have a lot of fun. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

We love our daddy! To show him how much we appreciate him we celebrated his birthday in style. Dinner at Panda Express then home for presents and cake. This year Paul chose a raspberry coconut cake. It was yummy.

5 Years Old!

I can't believe it, but Evan is 5 years old. He is getting so big, and though he wanted to be 4 forever, we convinced him that tuning 5 would be okay.

This year he chose a Lego theme for his Birthday. We invited a few of his friends over and Everything Was Awesome! 

Evan was so excited for his friends to come to his party. We gave all his friends mini lego race car kits. Once they had all built their cars we raced them across the floor.

After some pizza, lemonade, and cheese puffs in a lego guy head, we played "Honey, Where are My Pants?"(pin the tail on the donkey) The kids thought it was very silly.

yummy cake!

Then it was time to open presents and eat cake. Mommy made a cake that was shaped like a big red lego brick.




The first cake Mommy made got eaten by a possum because she thought it would be a good idea to cool it down outside. The second cake, however, turned out even better than the first and was 100% possum free.















We had a wonderful time celebrating Evan's 5th Birthday.