The Helicopter - A Daddy Toy

Adam was gifted a remote control helicopter by the neighbors for the one snow storm he was actually around for, for snow blowing their driveway and helping them out. It was a very, very nice gift and probably a bit much, but they insisted that we would get more use and fun out it than their son. So this helicopter has been sitting in the closet for 3 months, which has led to almost daily questions of when can we fly the helicopter. It was finally nice out last Friday, so Adam got it out. And then proceeded to crash it a few times. But it's pretty sturdy and with stood the 'breaking in'. The boys LOVE it! And of course daddy thinks its pretty fun too. I had fun taking pictures of it ;)

No Such Thing As Personal Space Between Brothers

They are like little bunnies all huddled up in a whole. It's not like there isn't a whole big couch and another chair that they could spread out on, but hey, they weren't fitting, and it was pretty cute. 

Going On An Egg Hunt

Cameryn and Avery came over for dinner last Sunday. The kids decorated foam Easter eggs and decided that after dinner, we would have an egg hunt. But in this case, the kids would hide the eggs and the parents had to find them. Their 'hiding' spots are pretty entertaining. 

Teamwork

Must. Use. Teamwork. To. Move. Sand. 

Time to Do Some Serious Digging!

Nick got a digger crane for his birthday and now that the sandbox has defrosted, we put it together. The boys were super excited to use it. Ben, probably a little bit more. They had a good time trying to figure out how to make it work and moving sand around. 

Put some muscle into it!

One, two, third, PULL!

You know they are working hard when the tongue is sticking out.

Meh, I guess he can do it by himself. Not bad, not bad

A Little More Soccer

A little more soccer. Nick actually got out on the field this time. He warmed up a bit, but he wouldn't play. Guess it's not his thing. Ben, on the other hand, has been improving with each game. 

Like Our Own Personal Zoo

It was a cold and cruddy day, but I had told Ben we could go to the zoo a few weeks ago, so we went. And it was a great day to go because we had the whole place to ourselves! There were maybe 6 other groups of people at the zoo. The boys played in Nature's Neighborhood for over an hour! We typically don't spend more than 20 minutes in there because it gets crowded, but they had the whole place to themselves. 

I couldn't figure out what this fluffy chicken was. I stared at it for a long time trying to figure it out. A zookeeper showed up and was crate training the two chickens, so I asked him. It is a Chinese chicken, also called a Silkie, I think. He was crate training them so they could be used in educational programs. They were crazy looking chickens! And they have black skin under all those white feathers. 

So these lemurs are like rabbits. They have had babies every year for the past three years at this time of year and they did not disappoint again this year. The two sisters had babies the week before. We tried to see them, but the mamas had them all bundled up and cozy in a mama cocoon and we didn't get to see them. I expect we should be able to see them this Friday when we go to the zoo again. 

In the meantime, we did get to see this little guy (little brown head, second from the left). He's two months old and pretty darn cute. He's a crazy little thing - hopping and swinging all over the place when not cuddly with is mama. And I swear there is a pregnant gorilla at the zoo (no picture). I'll keep you posted. 

Getting Our Clean On

As I sat at the table eating breakfast one morning, trying to look out the back door, I decided it needed to be cleaned. But I was eating breakfast and Adam was doing the dishes, so who did that leave? Ben and Nick. So I called Ben over, told him to grab the paper towels and windex and get to work! And of course Monkey See, Monkey Do kicked in and Nick joined in. One took the inside and the other the outside. I wouldn't call it a professional job, and there was a height restriction issue, but it was definitely better than before they started. I am planning a Target excursion to find all the 'child friendly' cleaning products. I hear there are some good toilet cleaning products that a responsible 5 year old can master. 

Work It!

It was work out time in the basement this weekend! The boys hit the weights and started doing some chest and shoulder lifts. Nick then did some push ups and I guess we could call it yoga. (Pictures taken with iphone in non-optimal lighting, but you still get the idea)