Picnic and More!

We got a super new hand-me-down yesterday.

I thought today was a great day to use it.

We began with a stop at the McD and

brought it home for an indoor picnic.

Then fingerpaint.

Loved this.

{except I can't get the container to close again, literally, lol.}

#1 boy really went at it

full force

covered the entire page

{and then some}

And this precious boy...

Went with the minimalist look.

Now, several hours later.

One is dry, one is not.

Give you one guess...

As I thumbed thru the mail today,

I thought the sale ads

would be a perfect cut and paste project for Sam.

Since DH and I are going away for an evening this weekend,

I decided to jam pack this day off.

At preschool, Sam studies a letter each week.

We began by practicing his letter k.

Then we found items beginning with k

to cut out and paste on his paper.

For Joe, I asked him to identify items he would recognize.

We cut these and and pasted them.

If only every day were a day off...

So to my dear friend Kia who gave us this table -

muchos gracias.

We love it, can you tell?

Somehow

You make laundry more fun.

And remind me to try new things.

{Like pushing the dryer door shut when mama steps away}

And celebrate when you are successful.

And cheer when you are reunited with your

long lost choo-choo underwear.

Somehow, you make laundry more fun.

Thanks.

Wednesday nights

Wednesday nights, we head to church to spend our time with the youth group for bible study. 

We really enjoy these nights, exploring the Word with the youth,

but it had become harder to include the boys. 

Enter Discovery Club for Sam! 

This is a club for kids while their parents are in small groups...

He loves it and last night I snuck out of youth to see for myself!

I snuck up on him and saw him painting these...

We are the proud owner of the yellow/green/orange fish at the bottom of the screen.

Don't you think it will look nice in my window above the sink?

They are learning the 10 Commandments.

As we did devotions, this was Sam's new answers for the questions we asked...

because the commands, mama.

I am so happy to raise my children to know the Lord. 

To have the opportunity to learn what the Bible commands from an early age. 

Fun nights like this help them to remain interested for life.

And this sweetie, just couldn't stop smiling at me! 

I remember celebrating her birth with her parents just 2 short weeks after we recieved Sam's referral.

It has been fun sharing our milestones for our children together. 

It is funny how God places new people in our life as we move thru different stages.

Happy almost 4th birthday sweetie!

One obstacle that we face when planning for youth group is coordinating the schedules of the kids involved.  It would seem eaisier to all attend the same school, they say.  I am quick to remind them that it is good to know kids from all local schools, private school and home school.  As I grew up, my friend base was mainly from my school and that I also attended church with.  This picture is a group of kids, ranging in ages that will likely attend different schools, but all raised to know the Lord.

Imaginations ahead!

Today we went here...

http://www.cmoekids.org/

Had a lot of fun.  I looked up the address and off we set.  Sometimes its good to test a place for yourself,

form your own opinions.

What do you think?  Did we like this place?

Will we go back?

This giant dinosour called cMoe greeted us outside.

It was empty when we got there, but quickly got busier.

Daddy and the boys found the gears first.

They could all be moved so that they would link

and all run together. Really cool {daddy thought so}

This giant scoop weighed the kids

{we adults didn't try it, what if it broke!?!}

Which of our kiddos carries the load??

We dug for cMoe's bones.

And played with the rice table.

And spent the most time in this house.  Sam's house to be exact.

The doorbell rang, there was lights and blocks that

we used as bread for the toaster.

And where was daddy you ask?

Back over across the room,

still playing with those cool gears.

{by himself, hee.}

We 'ice skated'. 

Really neat concept, slides on carpet.

Perfect for a clutz like me!

Mama's moves.

Spent a long time in the wet deck.

And up above the wet deck.

Crawled in and out of giant body parts.

Like this giant nose

Finally it was time to go.

We grabbed some lunch at Chili's, in and out of one store at the mall and on the road home...

Where shortly Sam fell asleep, but Joe

did not, then proceeded to show us how to put his coat on his feet.

What a fun filled day!

So, we loved it.  We will go back.

I loved the old building renovated to something new

without losing character.

A perfect size for a couple of hours.

And for $6/person - that is a steal!

Go cMoe!

Fav. Foto Friday

Spring 2009 - Oh, how I long for that green grass to return again!

Note to Self...

On the day when you wanted to try skipping naps

to see if bedtime might go a little smoother,

Don't put your 2 boys in the car and drive 30 minutes

after a fun day playing with

Mr. Jason

and his new brother

Mr. Ryan.

Oh, what a great visit I had with my friend and fellow pharmacist Jessica.  We met while working for the same company, and while we don't still work for the same company, we have so much in common.  So much to share when our all to rare visits actually happen!  She is thinking of changing her schedule and I have changed mine, so maybe they will happen more often! 

And Joe's boots are still with us, his pants, on the other hand, didn't quite make it the full day{thanks to an accident...} 

These boots were made

For Joey D.

{thats just all there is to it}

I bought them at a yard sale 4 years ago for Sam but alas several tries later with

2 {chubby for any normal shoe let alone boots} feet, I gave in and packed them away.

Until now, and they are perfect for Joe.

To say that he loves them doesn't do it justice,

he hasn't had them off much since yesterday.

And so Daddy might have his cowboy boot wearing farmboy after all.

PJ Pants

Joe and Sam got some new PJ pants from their awesome babysitters, Kendra and Kaleah.

Pretty sure these gems are handmade.

And made just perfectly to fit these 2 sweeties!

Thanks Mi-mi and Nay-nay for the pants and for all the love you provide our children each day.

Say Cheese!

Sammy got a new Kidizoom camera by Vtech for Christmas.  He I (ahem) love it!  Not only do we get some really fun edited shots but we get some genuine smiles from folks since it is the kids shooting the pictures!  And we haven't even figured out all the features.  Don't be surprised if you see the big orange and yellow camera coming at ya!

We took it on vacation with us and captured these moments thru Sam's eyes.

We played a lot of cards and Hi-Ho Cheerio!

Have I mentioned that my kids LOVE

Tom and Jerry

(like belly laugh, love them).  Need proof?

Someone took a picture of their favorite cartoon.

Our friend Tommy, how fitting, he is always grinning!

I thought ML was trying to put the glasses on my eyes, but maybe it worked out just right???

Mama sure had fun looking thru these pics!