Tee It Up!

Ben practiced his golf with Grandpa this week. Grandma even had a Ben-sized bag for him. He worked on gripping the club properly but we still need to work on keeping our eye on the ball and form. 

A Bright Sunshiny Day

Requires sunglasses

Dirt Relocation Program

Friday the boys and I hopped on a plane and headed for New Orleans. Overall, it wasn't terrible traveling with them by myself. Nick was a little challenging, but overall, not bad. No one got kicked off the plane, so that's a win. 

The first thing the boys did once they got to grandma and grandpa's was help with some dirt relocation in the back yard. There are several little dirt/pine needle piles around the yard now. 

Scrub Dub Dub

The boys washing their hands before dinner last week. Note how Nick's feet aren't exactly touching anything. He practices extreme hand washing.

The Kitchen - Update 2.0

Ta Da! Here is the latest update to the kitchen! Adam and his dad worked on grouting the tile this past weekend. The grout made a huge difference and it looks fabulous now! But of course, nothing is ever truly finished. I found draw pulls for the cupboards and cabinets that Adam is going to work on installing this weekend while the boys and I are gone. 

First Trip To The Zoo 2013

Sunday we took our first trip to the zoo this year. With the aquarium closed, it is more challenging to make the commitment to go when it's cold out. Sunday was nice and warm and we needed to get out of the house while Adam and his dad finished the kitchen. 

The big polar bears were out, but the babies are still in seclusion. They should make their public debut in May sometime. 

But we did get to see both baby giraffes. One is about 2ish and the other was just born recently. 

We spent some time in the aviary. One of the keepers was cleaning an exhibit with this peacock pheasant. When she gave him a peanut, he would take it to his woman and show off his feathers. He was like a mini peacock. The keeper was telling me about the new Walkabout exhibit coming in May. They are going to have a wallaby walkabout, and Great Barrier Reef and some Australia birds. It should be pretty cool!

We can't not see baby Lucas

They had lots of activities set up in Nature's Neighborhood including puppets that Ben had fun with

Big Boy Swim Lessons

Ben is taking 'big boy' swim lessons this session at the Y. No mommy. My whole goal with these swim lessons is not to get him to learn how to swim, but rather get him to interact with the teachers. He is totally weird about any type of teacher person right now. And these are high school girls, not exactly scary people. But this first week we made the progress of him getting into the water (I was sitting on the edge of the pool) and I got to walk away for 30 seconds to take this picture. At the end of class I threw him in for one of the teachers to catch him. Overall, it was not a success, but a small victory. I have 6 more weeks to get him to swim with the teachers. 

I Do'n Know

He's getting better with some of his words, but it's still awful cute!

Me and My Cool Sunglasses

So silly and so cute

Cars and Crayons

Their imaginations are something else. Here Nick took out one side of the coloring stuff so they could use the box for cars. Ben then stood colored pencils on their ends and used them as a course for his cars. Nick knocked them down, and they they fought. 

Working With Mommy

Nick had a stomach bug Sunday and into Monday morning so he stayed home with me while Ben went to Sharon's. After a good nap, he was feeling much better. He joined me at the counter while I worked. He colored pictures for almost 2 hours while I wrote a report. 

Cuddling with Daddy

A sweet little 2 year old

A Napping Buddy

The Kitchen - Part 1.8

I am calling this part 1.8 because it's not quite to stage 2 yet. Adam and his dad worked on putting up the back splash today. There were some last minute changes to our plan. Originally we were not going to go all the way up w/ the back splash, but changed our minds yesterday. It was a good decision. So, the tile is up but still needs to be grouted and face plates installed, thus the not quite stage 2. We are going with stainless face plates and I am shopping around for drawer pulls because the naked cupboards and drawers really need something. You can also note my super awesome sink and faucet that were not installed as of the last update. What you can't see or hear is my quiet as a whisper garbage disposal. 

A close up of the tile. I think the grout is really going to make it look nice.