History Museum

The boys and I spent the day after Christmas with our friends at the History Museum.  Henry and Walter have been asking to go for months and when I mentioned it to my friend, Kristi, she suggested we all go together.  There were lots of great exhibits to learn from and it was fun, too!

 

Noah, Henry, Parker, Walter, and Ryan

Trying out the school desks in the "Then, Now, Wow" exhibit.

Parker, Henry, Brooke, Kristi and Melanie resting while the others ran through the climbing area set up as a grain elevator.  They enjoyed having a few minutes to get rid of some extra energy.

This was a cool display.  You could take the bison's bones and organs out, scan them and learn how the Native Americans used them in day to day life.  Pretty interesting!

 

Putting everything back together.

 

Henry and Ryan are the oxen and Parker is at the plow.  The sod house was a big hit, but I didn't get any pictures of them checking it out.



Noah driving the streetcar.

 

Next stop:  MN's Greatest Generation Exhibit

Packing ammunition shells on the assembly line.

With Henry and Noah (and a tank)

They also enjoyed the C-47 combat flight recreation.  

Visiting the Soda Fountain.  They thought the rotary wall phone and

cash register were very interesting.

A quick break in the old chairs from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

They had so much fun in the Then, Now, Wow Iron Range mine that we went back again.

   Walter dropping in the last stick of dynamite.  He was trying to get out of there as fast as he could.

"BOOM!"

Melanie and Walter 

 

Back to the Then, Now, Wow and Grain Elevator.  Walter and Henry found the history of MN and the Native Americans very interesting.  They had lots of good questions.  These are Henry's pictures:

I just remember feeling very tired at this point!

 Brooke and Noah being goofy.

 And on last try at a group picture before heading home.

Christmas Twice

We drove to Wisconsin for Christmas Eve.  Grandma Bakkel sold her house recently, so this was the first time we all stayed at a local place to celebrate.  I think the boys had fun seeing their cousin Ella and running up and down between rooms to visit everybody.  The time went so quickly, but we were thankful for the opportunity to get together and see Great-Grandma, too.  To top it all off, we had a beautiful snow on Christmas Day...which made for a dicey drive but we made it back to Grandma and Grandma L's house to celebrate that night.

 

Sitting with Dad before reading Luke 2 and opening presents.

Walter took this picture of Aunt Gayle.

Walter passing out presents - they both thought this part was lots of fun.

Ella with her grandma.

Checking out the Lego set he'd "wanted forever!" (and then decided to return before promptly changing his mind and running upstairs to open and assemble it!)



Ella and her mom

 

Assembling Lego sets with Mimi Megan.

Christmas night at Grandma and Grandpa L's house.

Looks like they were pretty disappointed with these gifts, huh?

It's a frequent event to hear Walter whisper in my ear, "Mom, pretend I'm Indiana Jones, okay?  You're Maria ('Mary-uh,' otherwise known as Marion)..."  He had a homemade whip and bag for his Indiana gig, but he was in need of a belt that fit and a hat.  Look out!

More Lego work with Dad.

Mimi Erin joining in on some Lego assembly time.

Grandma opening her gift.

More Phone Pictures

I found a few pictures on my phone that I forgot about...

 When Nate was hunting in S.D., we stayed overnight at Grandma and Grandpa L's house on Saturday.  The Mimis took Henry and Walter to see a movie and I did some Christmas shopping.  That night the boys had a sleepover and watched "101 Dalmatians" while I meet my friend Mary for dessert (A huge "Thank you" to my family for giving me a some time away!).

Walter took a few pictures of Dottie by the tree.

 

While Henry was at school Dottie, Walter and I got out the sled and played in the snow.

 

Fast-forward to December 20, the boys decided they were ready for their own library cards.  Here they are signing their names. 

Christmas Programs

Our church Christmas Program was last night.  Once again, it's fun to watch the kids...and also a little nerve-wracking as you never know what your child is going to do or say!  No Han Solo and Chewy comments were made this year, although Henry performed a little air guitar during a few numbers.

 

 Walter's class sang "Twinkle, Twinkle God's Great Star," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Away in a Manger."

 Henry sang his little heart out.

 

Walter and Amar after the program.

 A few brother pictures before the night was over.

 

Tonight was Henry's school program - it was so much fun to watch!  It was a wonderful program.  I am really frustrated with these pictures -  Because of where Henry stood onstage, we sat in the front row of the balcony in order to be able to see his face.  There are black railings along the whole balcony so almost every picture I took, the light reflect off the railing!  Ugh - the only one that turned out was the picture I took while leaning over the railing!  But Henry's still visible and adorable.  :)

 

He had been looking for us in the audience and finally found us.  Just a few seconds earlier he gave us a big wave. 

Appropriately for Henry, they sang, "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."  This was his favorite part, he would throw his head back, close his eyes and sing:  "It seems so long since I could say, 'Sister Suzy sitting on a thistle.'"