Projects

We've been working on some projects around here, trying to spruce up the joint.
Old shutters...
New shutters... Swingset before...

Swingset after...

The patio before...
The patio after...
It's looking better around here, but I've always got more projects on my list. Jeff loves that list.

Bible School

Nolan had bible school last week, Crocodile Dock was the theme this year. He got to be in the same group with his buddy Brooks and they had a great time!

I helped 'shepherd' the kids one day and the energy those boys possessed exhausted me. I tried to get a picture of them together and it was quite the progression through the picture taking process.
Cute, smiley little boys...
Put your arms around and squeeze...

Now pull my friend over to the side...

And TACKLE!!!

Oh the fun of wrestling in church.

Men & remotes

OK ladies, we all know men & remotes don't mix. It gives them too much control, too much power...but we can't keep them apart. Men & remotes are drawn to each other like a bee to a flower, like a dog to a bone, like Amy Winehouse to crazy creepiness...
Well my 4 year old 'man' is no different. The kid can't leave the remote alone. Especially since he figured out some of the DVR features. He is constantly pausing, rewinding and recording shows. This morning as he was watching Sesame Street was no different. During the show, the pledge appeal people came on. You remember them from your childhood don't you? All you wanted to do was watch The Electric Company and they would come on. Interrupting your show, asking for money. You really wanted them to go away but yet you also really wanted to call in and give them money because sometimes they would say the names of the people who had donated. And more than wanting to watch your show you really wanted to have them say your name on TV!
Anyhoo, Nolan didn't want to watch the pledge lady, he was not happy she was on. So he started pushing buttons on the remote trying to get back to his show. Now is his defense, he was asking me for help. I was cleaning out the dishwasher and told him I'd help him in "just a minute." Famous last words. By the time I got to the remote, he was off to the bathroom, the remote was tossed under a chair and there was something new on TV. 'Hmmmm' I thought 'what is this? It looks like a movie. What channel did he turn it to?' Apparently in his Sesame Street fury, he pulled up the On Demand feature, selected Movies, found a New Release he liked, selected it and ordered it. We are now enjoying the feature presentation He's Just Not That Into You.
I'll let you know if it's any good.

They try to copy his swagger

My little man likes to dance. And to tell you the truth, the kids got rhythm. His current favorite song is Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas. He's loved the song for awhile as he hears it a ton while we are in the car. Well, since he saw BEP on American Idol he has discovered a new love for them, Fergie in particular. But seriously, who can blame him...

So here he is, breakin' it down for ya.

Last day of Preschool

Nolan finished his last day of preschool for the year last week. He was quite excited about the prospect of heading off to Kindergarten in the fall until we told him he has another year of preschool. Oh well, that will be fun too!
There was a short ceremony during which the kids sang the Spanish colors song they learned this year. You can see bits and pieces of Nolan, but I didn't have a very good angle on him.

Each child received a certificate and got to tell everyone what they want to be when they grow up. Jeff and I both assumed he would say baseball player or golfer or football player...nope. Nolan wants to be a robot when he grows up. Follow your dreams buddy!

After they got their certificate they went to sit with their parents. Or if you're lucky enough to have your big sister go to school in the same building AND her parents grant her permission to play hooky for awhile, you get to sit with her.

The whole family...

Here is Nolan with his best buddy Hudson. They are very fond of each other.
Nolan with his teacher Ms. Nancy. She will be his teacher next year too and she was also Aidyn's preschool teacher.

Nolan was quite proud of his achievement and as a special treat he got to pick where to go out for lunch. We ate like kings at Taco Bell!
Congrats Nolan, we are so proud of you!!

Aidyn's Musical

Last Sunday, Aiydn finished her church choir year up with the children's musical, It's Cool in the Furnace.

All the kids did a great job, but we were particularly proud of Aidyn. She tried her hardest to remember all the words and actions. It was a tough job, but she did great!

Creeping Phlox

I planted a few small mounds of creeping phlox a few years ago and let me tell you, that stuff has a mind of its own! It has taken off like crazy and taken over the area where I planted it. It's very pretty in the spring, but the blossoms only last a few weeks. Here it is this past week (before the hurricane force winds).

Mothers Day

We had a very fun Mothers Day yesterday at our house. It all started with a party in Aidyn's room to celebrate the day. Aidyn and Jeff made a Mothers Day cake (note how the candles spell 'MOM'). :-) This is what it looks like when a 4 year old boy gets chocolate cake at 10:00 am.

After lunch we headed to one of my favorite places, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Aidyn was really excited to go as she has been learning about Monet at school and the MIA has a few Monets in their permanent collection. Well, it turned out the most exciting thing the kids came across was while they were looking out the window someone was walking by with a beagle! Amazing!

Here is Aidyn with a Monet painting.

Not to be out done, Nolan wanted his picture with the 'Smoking Guy'.

After the museum we checked out the park across the street which was just beautiful right now with all the trees in bloom.

Nolan even got to chase a few pigeons. Here he is trying to sneak up on one. Quite funny to watch...

Nolan in the car on the way home...a very exhausted little boy. Side note...we are sitting in the Costco parking lot here. We stopped to get ice cream on the way home and you can't beat getting ice cream for all of us for less than $5...man I love Costco!

Jeff's folks came around dinner time and we all went out to eat. So it was a fabulous day...I had a party, I didn't have to cook, I went to one of my favorite places and I got to spend the day with my sweet kiddos and my awesome husband. It doesn't get much better!

Spring!!

Last fall I planted a bunch of tulip bulbs and hoped for the best. Well, they are finally blooming and they are awesome! I love seeing these colors in my yard.

And remember the apples trees we planted last fall? No? Well, never mind...I remember. Anyway, here is one of them full of beautiful buds. They survived the winter - YES!

Random Cuteness

Cinco de Mayo

We held our annual Cinco de Mayo party last Saturday night and like an idiot, I forgot to take 1 single picture!!! Not happy with myself.
We had about 30 people here enjoying the festivities. There was much laughing, drinking and eating of guacamole. I think everyone had a fun time, I know I did!
So even though I forgot to take pictures of the party, I did take a picture the next day. We asked everyone to bring something for our local food shelf and boy did people deliver. We had 5 grocery bags stuffed with food & personal care items to take the food shelf! The lady at the food shelf said we must have really great, generous friends. I couldn't agree more!

Easter

We celebrated Easter at home. I have very few pictures from Easter Sunday because my camera battery was dead! I know, you just can't believe it! Anyway, we had a nice day which started by finding eggs from the E.B. Then we were off to church where Aidyn's choir sang. For brunch we headed out to eat at the casino. Yeah baby, nothing says Easter like slot machines and people gorging themselves on buffet food.

The afternoon was spent playing Wii, relaxing and I may have slipped in a bit of a nap. It was a nice relaxing Easter for us!

The Works

We visited The Works one afternoon. Here is the description according to their website...'The Works is a "hands-on, minds-on" museum that makes learning about engineering, science and technology interesting, understandable and fun.' I have to say, it was interesting, understandable and fun.

This was my favorite thing, the Light Harp. There aren't actual strings, but instead there are laser lights that allow you to play the notes. Very cool!

Everyones favorite 'Carnival' mirrors. No pictures of me in these things!

They had several exhibits on gears & gizmos, Nolan enjoyed trying all of those out.

There was also a building area where the kids spent a ton of time building cars to race and using foam blocks to build houses. It was a really neat place to visit, totally geared towards kids with stuff to interest the adults too.

Easter eggs

So we've been a bot slow at updating the blog over the last month...sorry. Let's do a quick catch-up.

The kids decorated Easter eggs...

Aidyn helped me make a Jello cake...yep, that is five different flavors of Jello layered together, covered in Cool Whip (with a dirty little boy finger in it). A dream from my childhood.

She's growing up...

Aidyn has been asking for a while to get her ears pierced. I told her that she could get it done whenever she wanted as long as she was sure she was ready. We discussed the procedure (at length...) and she has gone back & forth about doing it because she was afraid of the pain. She recently decided that she was old enough to handle it and was ready to get them pierced. Well, today was the day!
Here she is getting ready...'Mom! I'm not so sure!!!'

And just like that, it was done. She is so proud of her new earrings and of how brave she was. No tears at all, just a little nervousness.
My little girl is growing up...