Somebody in Red Oak, IA Loves Me!

Jack in his cute "Red Oak" shirt. Cori has a matching one.

Jack and I went to Red Oak on Saturday to celebrate Grammy Shirley's birthday (without her). We sure had fun without her. Steph and Cori got there Friday, but Jack and I got into town just in time for lunch at Pizza Ranch.

Jack was thrilled to be with Steph and Laura.

Cori had no complaints with Pizza Ranch.
She even tried to lick her pudding bowl clean... before she got a green bean up her nose.

Jack and I were so excited to get there.

Bill, Christie, and Caitie with Jack at pizza ranch. I think Caitie had 5 pieces of desert pizza. She even tried to steal a bite of a piece Bill was holding while he was not looking.

I think Natalie may have had the most fun with the babies on Saturday. She had one with her at all times when they were awake. She is such a fun cousin.

After a great lunch we went to the library. Laura picked up the final Harry Potter book (she has read them all in about two months!), and we all played upstairs in the children's area.

Laura dressed Jack up as a pig.

Once we had all of our business at the library taken care of, we came home so the babies could nap, but not before they played in the great tent the kids made before we got there.

Laura and Natalie showing Jack their fort. He had a lot of fun looking around at it.

Jack was so tired after his big trip to the library so he spent some time with Elmo.
(I think it looks like Elmo is tossing him)

While Jack and Cori were napping, Bill boiled 4 or 5 (I forget) dozen eggs for us to color. We had several kinds of dye kits. Caitie had a pretty sparkle one, Natalie had a shiny one, and Laura had the plain dye. It was a lot of fun to help them make such beautiful eggs, but I didn't get a picture of our final product.

The egg dyeing pros.

Bill and Laura working on Jigglers during the egg dyeing. I am glad they didn't mix up the green egg dye and the lime J-ello!

Catie anxiously waiting to get in on the dye action.

We had a wonderful meal with shish kebabs grilled out by Bill, pasta salad by Christie, and deviled eggs by Steph. It was one of the best meals ever, and Bill made Jigglers for desert in Easter and Nascar shapes. While the chefs were busy with dinner, there was lots of play time for the cousins. Laura showed us the dances for her recital, and she is perfect at them. I can't imagine what there is to practice before her recital if her whole group is as good as she is. Caitie entertained us with some dance moves of her own too. She is more of a "freestyle" dancer than Laura.

Jack used this basket as a high chair since Cori was using the real one.
It's amazing, he even looks good on pink!

Jack took a shorter nap, so he is telling Cori about what she missed while she was asleep.

Cori in a parade through the basement.

Cori and Natalie spent the majority of the day together. I think it was nice for Steph to have someone else chase her around for a while, she is always on the move now. It is so fun to hear her say "I dub you" and "Jack"! She is also becoming a pro at blowing kisses.

Jack was wiped out from his big day with his cousins. We had a great time together! I know I can't wait until we can all get together again. He recovered from his exhaustion by the next day. We have been having a great time this week because I am on Spring Break!!!! I am sure we will have lots to write about for next week too.

Jack says, "Keep an eye out for our next post."