Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Reagan Library

Over Christmas break we made the trek to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The drive there and back was long and the library was very busy, but it was a fun, informative day (that Paul and I enjoyed more than the boys ;-). Thanks to a fellow teacher who gave us a couple museum passes, we only had to pay the entry fee for the boys making for a cheap outing.

At the start of the tour...still interested
Looking at the teleprompters and showing us how he would look if he had to give a speech
In front of Air Force One before going inside it 
Stopping for a little snack
In front of the pub 

In front of President Reagan's burial place
There was also a Disney exhibit on display so we got to check out a few Disney artifacts including princess dresses, Tron, Ironman, and Pirates of the Caribbean things. Unfortunately, I cannot find those pictures. 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Christmas Fun

Celebrating Christmas at the Leonards' home was a fun change for this year's Christmas. We had a fun-filled extended weekend with cousins baking, eating, opening gifts, playing games and with toys, watching movies, and checking out Christmas lights.  Here's a snapshot of some of the fun we had:


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Gma N.'s Visit

We were very spoiled this fall in that we not only got a visit from Gma B. but also got a visit from Gma N right before Christmas.  Gma N. is not going to come out during December anymore since it seems to rain like crazy every time she comes, but despite the rain we had a super time with her.  She came out specifically for Isaac's school Christmas program in which he sang in a small group for one of the songs, but we were able to fit in a few other things while she was here like:

Baking Christmas cookies:


And decorating them:


Celebrating Paul's birthday:

Making doughnuts. (Of course, it started sprinkling right as we started frying them!)

 Opening presents. The boys spent most of her visit in the Santa hats she bought with them at the start of her visit.

Hanging the 2013 ornaments:
A football guy for Caleb
A remote for Isaac
Caleb loved staying home with Grandma for a couple days and going out for a doughnut one of those days. The boys also spent time with Grandma outside on their scooters when it wasn't raining. And we played a few games over the few days that she was visiting.  Thanks for the fun visit!  We can't wait for your next one--be sure to bring Grandpa with you. :-)

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Overheard, Part VIII

In order to be able to document the fun things the boys say and remember them much later when they are all grown, I started a document on our computer to which I add little tidbits as they say them. As a result of this fine-tuned system, I have forgotten to periodically post them here.  Since it has been a while since our last overheard entry, be prepared for a wide variety especially since some of these are from over half a year ago.

January, 2013:
Caleb (while eating his salad at dinner): Mom, did they have lettuce when you were little?
{Nothing like making me feel old...Paul thought it was really funny!}

November, 2013:
Caleb telling us what he said when he was the listener of the day at preschool (the person who solves problems so the teachers don't have to hear everyone tattling on each other during recess):
Caleb: One kid was blocking the slide so I said, "Here's the deal..." (and proceeded to solve the problem)

July, 2012:
On the boat with Gma N. when Caleb honked the horn:
Isaac: Caleb, you’d better not do that when the birds are flying over us or they might poop on us. [little pause…] But they could poop on Grandma’s head because her hair is already white.


Playing Angry Birds on our trip across country:
Isaac: Oh, I beat this world!
Caleb: Isaac, that is good because I was really struggling with that one.


May, 2012:
Isaac (at the zoo looking at the fossils): Look, there’s a bone. I’m a boner.


April, 2012:
Caleb: I’m having some issues with Angry Birds. Could you play it?


Using the bath paints in the bathtub with Caleb
Isaac: Look, my nipples are purple!


While playing baseball on the Wii:
Caleb: I got a hoom run!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Creativity

I am daily amazed at the boys' creativity and the joy that they have in creating different things.

Both of them love anything Angry Birds. Isaac made his own angry birds and a big pig out of Play-doh.

 Caleb brings home fantastic artwork from preschool. We take pictures of the glitter artwork as a memory since the glitter falls off when we hang the pictures.

Isaac spent many painstaking minutes stacking his colored pencils.

Caleb is now a big fan of getting painted at preschool. This candy cane was compliments of Looney Dooney, one of his favorite preschool visitors!  (Not sure what is going on with his shirt...)

Who needs gifts when the box in which they come is perfect to use as a fort, hiding place, and a canvas for their drawings.

They are both really into Legos and spent a lot of time after Christmas putting together one of their Lego sets with each other.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to you!


The pictures above are some of our favorite moments from 2012 which included our summer vacation with family, the first day of school for all of us, and a wonderful trip to Martha's Vineyard to be part of Brad and Kara's wedding.  

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Fun with Grandma B

Grandma B came for a visit for a few weeks in to watch the boys while we had teacher meetings and to also spend Thanksgiving with us and the Leonards.  It is always a joy to have a visit from Grandma, and this visit was no exception.

Below are some pictures from our little weekend getaway to a local hotel. Unfortunately, the pool was closed for maintenance so we came up with our own alternative activities.
Enjoying the snacks during happy hour
Playing Skip-bo
A little silliness before bedtime
We also made some time to bake and frost cutout cookies. The boys thought they should do it shirt-less.
 
The boys got to open presents from Grandma while she was here.
 
Thanks for a fun visit, Grandma! Visit again soon!