Run for Justice 5K

Our church hosted it's annual Run for Justice 5K this past Saturday. The race benefits the International Justice Mission which is a human rights organization focused on ending modern day slavery and human trafficking. We decided to walk the race as a family this year (since I knew it was a long shot for me to successfully run it at 18 weeks pregnant) and invited some friends to join us. There is also a kids dash that Mellany wanted to sign up for and was really excited about. The kids dash was held after the 5K and we actually almost missed it. Thankfully we hustled along quickly and made it for the last heat....Mellany stood at the start line and took off as soon as they said go; she was in last place (I'm sure running the last .25 miles with her mama in the 5K didn't help save up her energy for the kids race), which really upset her because as soon as she saw John standing along the sidewalk, she walked off from the race. After a long conversation about never quitting and always doing your best, we wiped away the tears and headed inside to the awards ceremony and snacks!

It was a beautiful day for a race, all for a great cause!!

Mellany's Kids Dash....Poor girl was so upset about being last. Since the race she has practiced and practiced (for next year) and says she is ready to try again--and finish! Overall we feel it was a really good lesson in life :)

Easter 2016

Easter was really exciting and relaxing for the most part for us this year. Johnny is getting old enough to really understand the idea of gifts and hunting easter eggs and is slowly getting the basic concept of why we celebrate Easter. As with any holiday, Mellany was ecstatic. She went to bed excited for the Easter bunny to come and had talked about hunting eggs for the entire two weeks prior. Mellany and I also went to a Passion Play with some friends on Saturday and she really enjoyed it. On our way home she completely retold the entire story and then told it again to John after we got home.  It was super impressive. We also got to Skype with Nana on Saturday to tell her all about Chicago, say thank you for the gifts and talk about all of our Easter plans. 

After getting ready for church on Sunday, we went to see what the Easter bunny had brought for the kids, played with the toys for a bit, then had breakfast and headed off to church. Mellany and Johnny both love going to church and Mellany said she told her teacher that day why we celebrate Easter....that its because Jesus died for us and its not really about the Easter bunny.....I could have cried I was so proud!! Later that day, after some naps and a late lunch, we had dessert at the Peiper's house...homemade apple and chocolate pies!! We got to visit for a few hours then headed home for baths, FaceTime with Gammy and bedtime!! The day couldn't have been more great and it was the perfect end to an awesome vacation! 

Here are some pictures of our Easter:

When we got home from Chicago we had received a couple of packages from grandparents that our spoiled rotten children were excited to open ;)

Easter Sunday....baskets from the Easter bunny and an Easter egg hunt after church. Mellany was VERY into the hunt. Johnny found one egg and was pretty much finished after that point. He did like opening the eggs to see what was inside though. 

HAPPY EASTER from the Barrett Family! 

Spring Break :: Chicago, IL

We've lived in West Lafayette for 2 years now and have yet to see a majority of the things around us. Having a baby shortly after moving kind of hinders major travel for us if it isn't to KC. So, for spring break this year, we decided to take a short trip to Chicago. Coming off of our trip to Cincinnati, we were super excited! Even though we were pretty exhausted each night it is safe to say that both the kids, John and I had a really great time. We did a pretty good job taking pictures too! Of course, there are always things that you would have liked to have done, but for the amount of time that we were in Chicago, we hit quite a few attractions. 

We are very thankful our kids love to travel in the car!

Chicago skyline (it was cloudy every day we were in Chicago)

Day One

The Bean in Millenium Park

The kids were more enthralled with this pillar than they were the bean.

Shopping in Water Tower Place....American Girl & Lego Shop. We couldn't get the kids out of either store. 

Lego city and Lego man built entirely of legos

John captured this....doesn't this just make your heart melt?!?!

Day Two

Breakfast at American Girl with her new "Dolly" (exact name yet to be determined)

After putting the flower in her dolly's hair as well as her own, Mellany asked if she could take a picture. I proceeded to get the phone ready to take a picture of her with her dolly; once I did she quickly asked for the phone and took a selfie. It was hilarious! 

Giordano's Pizza...the thickest pizza we've ever seen

Willis (Sears) Tower. We were bummed that the visibility was so low but it was still a neat experience and the lines were pretty much non existent (major plus for us!). The kids were done with this activity pretty quickly.

(A little modeling in the tower)

Day Three

Museum of Science and Industry....We spent an entire day at this museum and still didn't see everything. It was INCREDIBLE to say the least. The kids were in heaven, we were in heaven....it was just so fun!!! 

Piano playing in the Circus area

John Deere Tractor

Johnny didn't really care to sit on the cow but Mellany really wanted to

Climbing up in the combine to harvest some corn...after a short modeling show of course

Learning about cows

Chick Hatchery....Mellany was insistent that we bring them home with us

Two story tornado!!! It was so neat. You could control the air flow by pushing buttons, which would make the tornado twist and move.

Learning about colors

John's favorite part....U505 Submarine

Brick by Brick Exhibit

Earthquake building simulator

Testing her strength

Our final stop in Chicago (other than Weber Grill for dinner): Dylan's Candy Bar. Mellany and I are such suckers for a candy shop and this one is hands down the best we've been to. 

After three days in the big city, we were excited to come home and see some grass as well as celebrate Easter. It was a really fun time that we will never forget though!! 

'Till next time Chicago!!