Little Quack

How cute is this baby gosling? Pretty cute if you ask me!! Monday, we took the boys to a park in town to feed the baby ducks and geese. Like any kid, they loved it! Hunter couldn't get close enough and we had to remind him countless times to back up to the parents wouldn't get upset. Brody liked to watch. I gave him a piece of bread to toss to the ducks and geese, but instead he put it in his mouth. Typical. We showed him how to throw it to the birds and he got the hang of it and threw the bread a whopping 6 inches. I'm sure they picked it up once we left. He loved watching though and "quacked" most of the time we were there.
Both of the boys loved having their daddy home for the long weekend. They are so lucky to have a dad who loves them so much! And I'm really glad they coordinated their outfits. Made for a great picture.
And here is Super Brody looking as cute as ever! He loved playing in the little house at the park and running around it. Craig and I guarded each side so he wouldn't run towards the water. If he would have had a chance, I'm sure he would have been in it splashing around.

Adios Training Wheels

It was a big weekend in the Zappe Household this weekend. We were super busy, but one of the big highlights was taking the training wheels off Hunter's bike. It didn't take him long and he was off zooming around like the training wheels never existed. However there were a few spills and he now has a couple of scraped knees.
He is so proud and loves riding up and down the driveway on two wheels. To me it's just another reminder that he is growing up so fast.

The gorillas are out!!

For those of you familiar with the Alexandria area, you know that every summer at the corner of 3rd and Nokomis you will find two gorillas waving at you-a male and female. It has been like this as long as I can remember. I even remember my parents driving around the block so we could look at them one more time.
To me, the gorillas mean that summer is right around the corner (yay!). I remember the first time I saw them I wondered if they were real, but quickly concluded that no, they were just mechanical. Now I get to see the joy on Hunter's face every time we pass the gorillas and he will wave back at them. The other day we were at the stop light for a couple minutes and Hunter was glued to watching the gorilla wave back and forth. They are kind of ugly and their teeth are really scary, but yet they are friendly looking. I know, a strange combo.
But, I'm excited to see them out because I know that the days will warm up and summer will be here before we know it.

Lasting Imprint Walk

This past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for the first ever Lasting Imprint walk in Minnesota. A dear friend of mine started the organization after losing her daughter to a congenital heart defect and wanted to do something to help people with children still struggling with a CHD or those who have lost children due to a CHD. She also wants part of the proceeds to go towards research to help figure out why this is happening to 1 in every 100 children born.

The day started out damp. We got to the park around 8:00 AM to start setting up. It was cloudy, gray and looked like rain. And you could feel the humidity in the air. I quickly realized it was pointless to straighten my hair that morning. Oh well. About 15 minutes into setting up, the rain began. The question came up many times, do we move the walk inside or wait it out? Will people even come? After checking radars and hourly forecasts, the decision was made that we would continue to set up outdoors and the walk would go on as planned outdoors. After the decision was made it became wet. Very wet. The rain was coming down harder and there was a cool breeze coming off the lake. Walking between the two park shelters where stations were being set up, I tried to take a short cut by going through the grass vs. staying on the path. Bad idea. My shoes instantly filled with water and my socks were soaked. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Around 11 o'clock, people started to show up for registration. They were decked out in rain gear and umbrellas. Many kids had their cute rain boots on and loved splashing around in all the puddles. They were ready rain or shine!! Our fears were calmed as the registrants continued to roll in. Around 11:45, the time the walk was to begin, the rain quit and the sun pushed through the clouds and it quickly warmed out. How perfect! The walk began with just a few rain drops and was a huge success with roughly 200 participants.

The walk consisted of two laps around the lake. The first lap was in honor of the survivors and those still fighting the battle of a CHD. The second lap was in honor of those who are no longer with us. Posters of children were set up around the path and on the ones who have lost a life, there was a white balloon attached. During the second lap, a balloon was released at each poster for those no longer with us. Very sweet and touching.

The day continued with children's activities such as face painting, obstacle course, hair color station, bean bag toss, bouncy house, and a children run called David's Dash in honor of a little boy who lost his life who would have turned one that day. Every kid who ran the race received a medal and they were very excited and proud.

We finished cleaning up around 4:00 that afternoon and just as we finished up it clouded over and it began to rain again. The timing couldn't be more perfect and it was so obvious that God was watching out for us in order to have a successful event.

I am so excited that Lasting Imprint will be hosting another walk this September in Alexandria. I hope that the weather cooperates and that the support will be just as amazing if not more.

Sad day on Seventh Street

Today for us, it was a sad day on Seventh Street. Our neighbors across the street moved out of their house. While we are excited to see who will be moving in and for them to enjoy a new home, we are more sad to see the people we have gotten to know so well and become friends with move out. Thankfully they will still be in the area, but it is still hard.
They have a 5 year old boy who Hunter has gotten along with so well and they have developed such a great friendship. He also loved playing with their older daughter who is 8, and I think if you caught Hunter on the right moment, he will admit he liked playing with their 2.5 year old daughter even though they didn't always see eye to eye. Last summer, there was hardly a day when the two boys didn't play together. They were inseparable. They were the kind of neighbors that you could borrow a cup of sugar from, you could trust to send your kids over to their home without having to worry, someone you know would help if you got in a pinch. And the funny thing is, it's not just a saying. We made all of those examples come true.
We have known for over a month that they were moving, but it doesn't sink in until you watch your son hang his head and shed a few tears as he watches the moving truck pull away from the driveway with all of their belongings. I must admit, tears have been shed on my end too. But he has assured me that even though his friend is moving, he knows that they will be friends forever. I really do hope that this is true and that over the years, we continue to get the kids together-their two daughters and son and our two boys. It will be weird not having them around almost everyday. And to see someone else enter their home this weekend. I will miss the chats with their older daughter and the random doorbell rings from their youngest.
Today, Hunter was watching out the window and the new owners were there for the final walk through. He came running to me and said "Mom! Someone is at ***'s house! I think it's robbers! We better go get them!" I explained to him that no, they're not robbers. They are our new neighbors.
As I post, they are arriving and starting to unload their trailer. I know they cannot replace the friendship we have made with the previous family who has lived there, but I do hope they have a kid that Hunter and Brody can be friends with. I hope that they are nice.
Even though it is exciting, it is still a sad day on Seventh Street.

Did you miss me??

Wow, hard to believe that it's been over a month since my last post. But, it's not because I've been ignoring you or haven't had anything exciting going on. For the past month I have been without a computer. That's right. A whole month.
There were days when I went crazy and felt so disconnected, but at the same time it was kind of nice, I must admit. Instead of blogging or facebook creeping...yep, I'm guilty...I spent time reading at night. So much that I finished to book I had been reading and read three more after that. Not bad for a month, huh?
Well the new computer was supposed to arrive on May 18th, but it tried to make an appearance a day earlier. On the 17th after school, we went to a park with a friend of Hunter's from school. We got home and I saw a note on my door. We had missed the Fed-Ex guy by 20 minutes!! GRRR! But on the 18th, it arrived. My sister-in-law was over and she helped me get things set up and was helping me connect to the Internet. However, we couldn't figure it out. So frustrating.
Thursday, my sister came home and was sooo helpful! She is to begin with. But she took the time to call our Internet provider and modem company (I don't know the proper terminology, but you get the point) but both were unable to help her. Had this been me, I would have been super frustrated, mumble a few things under my breath and would have given up. But not Andrea. She always pushes for more. She took it upon herself to somehow reset our modem, get a new password because we had no clue what ours was and got it all figured out. So here we are, back in business!
I can't wait to get back to posting and give you little glimpses as to what is happening in our life.