Starting Up Again

Now that Grandma & Grandpa are in Arizona for the winter, time to start up the kid blog again.  Had a nice weekend - relaxed on Friday night, got a facial on Saturday & went to a movie with Jen M. on Saturday night.   Kids back on Sunday AM - spent the day raking leaves (how two trees can make that many leaves astounds me!) and relaxed a bit.


Kids being silly in the leaves.  They were actually very helpful, raking, putting leaves in the bags, etc.

Went trick-or-treating with Eryn in Eagan on Halloween.  Kids had a good time - lots of candy. 

 

From Conner's Halloween Party.



Pinewood Derby

Conner's first year in Cub Scouts and first year making a pinewood derby car.  I had no idea what a big deal it is - apparently they have created a specific contest for adults, because the parents get into it so much.  Another kid's dad told me his neighbor had been going nuts helping his son with his car - his wife heard the treadmill going at 10:30pm and wondered why her husband was exercising so late....nope just checking the car.
I was just proud that I managed to use a power tool without any blood.  I cut off two edges to help give it the "crayon" look.  That was my only contribution, Conner did all the rest.  He didn't do so well in the race, but we didn't understand the importance of "weight", so his car was too light.  Just wait until next year - I have a friend at work who has a woodshop in his garage, I've already put him on notice.

The boys waiting for the race to begin



Here they go - Conner's is the big, red crayon....



Even though he didn't win, still got a ribbon & very proud that he did the majority himself!

Gymnastics

Yeah Collin - up on that high beam!

Eggs

And here are some shots of the boys decorating eggs....we were VERY unimpressed with the "marble" variety.  Not so much marble-ing as just making the eggs oily and spotty-looking.  Stick with the traditional color kits.

Working hard....

I wonder how this will turn out.....I'll just keep stirring.

Amazing - it's BLUE!  I had no idea from the color of the cup...

A masterpiece....

Easter

Some photos of the boys at Easter:

Conner claims he woke up in the night and saw the Easter bunny....luckily he still left eggs behind...

Collin found some eggs in his room - how can that Easter bunny be so quiet?

Action shot of the boys finding eggs on the stairs

The loot from E.B.

The Easter Bunny brought Hotwheels!

Hodge Podge

I was cleaning off the camera in my phone and found some photos that I hadn't posted:

A few weeks ago I went to a rendition of the Nutcracker (the lost chapters) at the Ritz theater with some friends from High School.  It was a combination of various dance and Burlesque.  First half was a little iffy, but the second half was good.  Took my picture with my favorite dancer - he made me smile through the entire show.

Here is Collin in the carwash - he's been afraid of it until now, he insisted on going through.  Although he wasn't so sure about the noise.

 

Conner got a "Meon" for his birthday - this was his first attempt.  It is pretty cool - little light show and sound effects.

Just a photo of the kids playing in the basement - they still like it!

 

On Friday, Conner didn't have school, so I took the day off and we had a Conner/Mom day.  First we went to the History Center, then had lunch and then saw the movie Hugo.  I liked the movie and Conner thought it was okay, it got a little long for him.

These are some photos from the 1968 exhibit:

 

As you can see, Conner was very excited to have his photo taken:

 

Dig the groovy lamp!

Much of the home decor I had seen when I was a kid, but I don't remember seeing anything like this record player.  Conner asked why they made it look like a grill?

I tried explaining to him all the significant things that happened that year - yet what he took away was a burning desire to see the movie Night of the Living Dead, 1968 version. 

Collin's Birthday

Last night my aunt & uncle came over to celebrate Collin's birthday.  This is actually the third celebration.  We had pizza and chocolate cake and presents.  A fun evening overall.

A truly excellent birthday cake!

 Opening his first present....

A cool car ramp!  It took two women with master's degrees to figure out

how to put it together!  I think Conner's Knex are easier!

Second present - new pants!  Hooray! (Well, at least Mom if happy about that)

Holidays

Had a nice holiday - stayed at home on xmas eve and went to my aunt & uncle's on xmas day.  Here are some photos:

Collin's holiday party at daycare - singing some xmas songs and getting his gift from Santa.

Remote controlled monster cars from Daddy

Lots of cool presents!

Making gingerbread cut-outs - I think they'll be ready for lefse-making next year with those rolling skills.

These are from xmas morning:

Weekend

Had a nice mellow weekend - I worked on Friday and Dan hung with the kids.  Saturday we ran lots of errands and Collin has a cold, so he was CRABBY!  Did get him to take a 2 hour nap, which was nice.  Stopped by the McVay's to pick up Dan's laptop and then had a quiet evening at home.

Today Conner had a Science Museum Class about Whales and Dolphins - he said it was good.  He made a huge drawing /painting of a whale - not sure where we will put that!  He also finished his roller coaster - I'm very proud of him, he did well over 80% of himself, I just stepped in when he asked for help.

Conner's Play - Ninjas

Conner completed his latest Steppingstone Theater Class today - their play was "How to be a Ninja".  He played the ninja master:

He did well - we practiced his lines a few times this week and his memory is amazing.  He & his ninja's managed to learn some new kicks & punches; invite a ghost to join their ninja ranks; and defeat the Evil Queen and her fluffy mystical creatures to get their magical leaf back.  Did I mention that they write the story lines themselves?

I should have brought my camera with - only had my phone, so the pics aren't as good, but you get the idea.



Basement - complete!

I think the basement is officially done - or at least the kids' part of it.  A few small purchases and some rearranging of existing stuff.  Looks much better than it did - good play area for the kids.  You can't see that I did staple additional drape panels to the ceiling.  Looks nice!

Got a lamp, a boombox for some music and a table for Conner's roller coaster project.