Spring Break

We had a wonderful time in St. Louis for spring break. We went for just two days but it was enough to get away. The first day we went to the Zoo. It was really nice and it was FREE. You can't beat that. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze, the kids were in shorts. We saw a lot of cool animals and the kids got to ride on the carosel(?). Then we went to a park just a little ways off from the zoo and it is called Turtle park. It has giant cement turtles that the kids climbed on and had a wonderful time. We had lunch there and then went to the science center which again was FREE. It was a great day. The next day we went to the Arch, which was really cool. The day was grey and overcast - perfect for being indoors or in this case underground. We went underground to see the museum and to get on the tram that took us up 630 feet to the top of the Arch. It was quite the experience. At the top you could feel it sway ever so slightly, kind of like turbulance in a small airplane. The view was amazing though. Really a sight to see if ever in St. Louis. Ayden was sad to have to come back home. He asked why other people got to live in St. Louis and not us. Meysa wanted to go out of town again. So it was a lot of fun. (Side note: Lauryn is in the picture of us in the arch, she is just in the pack on Ryan's back. You can see her foot, barely!!)

Caught the Kids just before Church. Ayden wanted to wear his new suit. He is starting to look so old (makes his daddy feel old). Meysa is her typical cute self. Lauryn didn't want to stand next to the others, she was too busy playing on the stairs.

Recipe

This one of my favorite crock-pot recipes, simple yet very yummy!!!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice

1 lbs. ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tbs. cornstarch, divided
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. dried chopped onion
1 tbs. oil
3 tbs. vinegar
1 can (15oz)pineapple chunks
1/2 C. sugar
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 Lg. green pepper, sliced
Hot cooked rice

In a bowl, combine ground beef, egg, 1tbs. of cornstarch, salt, pepper, and onion. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. In a large skillet, lightly brown meatballs in oil. Drain fat from skillet, and then transfer meatballs to any size crock-pot.
Stir together in a small bowl, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and remaining 3 tbs. cornstarch. Put sliced green pepper over meatballs and pour sauce over that. Cover and cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High 2-4 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking stir in the can of drained pineapple chunks. Serve over hot cooked rice. Serves 4-5

We are finally having some decent weather. Today the high was 67 degrees. Ryan and I washed and cleaned our cars. We had to get the winter grime off of them. We have run the cars through the auto wash but it has been all winter since we at least vacuumed out the insides. Meysa loved being outside playing in the yard. This winter seemed long and to end it with a blizzard, made us long for Spring that much more. There are still some piles of snow around town, and we are under a flood watch because of all the melting snow. Even with the crazy weather that we have experienced while living here in Iowa, we will sure miss the place. Our move in a few months will be bittersweet. We are excited to be done with school and closer to family, yet we will miss our "family" here. Ryan has two weeks off from rotations before he heads to Idaho for his LAST rotation. Almost two months till graduation, time sure flies.
The pictures of the kids- Ayden loves to draw and create stories. He is practicing on his magna-doodle. He can come up with come crazy stories, but they sure give us a laugh. Meysa got invited to a Princess party, and boy was she in heaven. What three year old girl wouldn't be? Lauryn, I was able to get a little bit of hair up into a spike on the top of her head. It didn't last all day, but it is progress.

This is the kids at Christmas. It is one of my favorite pics, mainly because all the kids are looking at the camera at the same time. I consider it a miracle if I can get Meysa looking at the camera when I need her too. She is always more concerned with Lauryn and what she is doing. They are lot of fun!!

This is my first ever blog page. I am kind of excited to be able to keep in touch with people more often this way. Thanks Sariah for sharing.