Business as Usual

So much for my plan to blog more frequently. I can't quite figure out where the time goes. Some days it seems like it will never be nap time, then the next time I look up, it's 4:30 and I feel like I accomplished nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. I do keep 2 boys from strangling each other and occasionally I feed and clothe them. We celebrated Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary last Sunday. That was very exciting. The date kind of snuck up on us, so the sister and I pulled together a little impromptu event. We brought the food, they supplied the location. Unfortunately, it was quite chilly. We sat outside wrapped in blankets with our coffee cups while the kids ran around with Uncle Steve. I don't think they were cold, but I was freezing just watching them. Grammie came along, too, but she was not interested in sitting in the cold. At least it wasn't raining. I promised to take some pictures but didn't take a single one. Duh.
I realized today that Luke has less than a month of preschool left. Yikes! Next week we go over to the "big school" for kindergarten round-up. I'm nervous just thinking about it and we probably won't even do much. Maybe we'll get to ride the bus, that would be fun. I started scouring the internet for summer activities appropriate for an inquisitive 5 year old. How many soccer camps and vacation Bible schools can one kid take, I wonder?

Spring at Last!

Grandma made this awesome racecar quilt and pillow for Luke. Per family tradition, the recipient and his/her sibling must be photographed with the quilt. The boys cooperated nicely.

Luke's first tractor ride of the season. He's big enough to "drive" this year. Hooray!

Andy's inaugural ride on the tractor. Last year he cried, this year he has it all figured out.

We were thrilled to see the sun this week after a long, rainy spell. Luke battled a wicked fever all weekend and finally felt well enough to get up off the couch. We (I) decided to load up the car and head for Grandma and Papa's house. The drive was beautiful, I am always amazed by snow-covered Mt. Rainier, shining in all its glory. Unfortunately, I didn't stop to take a picture. Grandma and Papa were glad to have us. We soaked up some rays and galavanted around their giant yard. We were thrilled to ride the tractor and take home a new quilt.

A Little T-Ball, A Little Easter Fun

Happy Easter! Steve managed to wrangle the boys onto the couch in their church clothes for a quick pic.

Running to first base

Stepping up to the plate

Luke played his first t-ball game yesterday. After practice on Thursday night, Steve said, "boy, some of those boys on his team can hit the ball really well."

Luke fired back, "yeah, well, I'm gooder than all those boys. I'm the best t-ball hitter in the world. I'm a legend."
Alrighty then. The boy has spoken. I doubt he's the best hitter in the world, but he wasn't kidding about being 'gooder'. He hit the ball well and ran the bases like he knew what was going on. He eagerly fielded the ball every time the other team had a hit, often slide-tackling a team mate to get the ball in his own mit. He would throw his arm in the air and yell, "Mom! I caught the ball again!"

So fun. We were a little concerned about how this would all shake out. He isn't usually so confident about trying something new. A very entertaining way to spend a soggy Saturday afternoon.

Today we celebrated Easter at our house with the whole clan. Well, almost. Great Grammie wanted to stay warm and cozy at her place. Can't say that I blame her, it was raining cats and dogs around here. Heather and I hid almost 200 chocolate-stuffed eggs in the upstairs of our house. Andy didn't want to participate in the great egg chase, so Luke and his cousins had a grand time gathering the loot.

Spring Break Adventure

Andy was in heaven. A fireman's hat and a giant slide shaped like a fire truck. Perfect!

Luke had a great time pretending to answer the fire calls. I can't believe he posed for a pic.

I was feeling especially energetic and decided to haul the boys to the childrens' museum in Everett. Approximately 150 of our peers had the exact same idea. Ah, the joys of a rainy spring break. It was very crowded, but I thought the boys did an excellent job of waiting their turn or else choosing another activity when their first choice wasn't available. (Luke was dying to sit in the driver's seat on the bus and also the pilot's seat on the airplane. Of course!)

We had the best time in the fire station area; the whole fire truck is for climbing and sliding. Every kid gets to wear their own fire hat. Andy was soaking wet in about 5 seconds when we went to the water play area. He was thrilled and kept going back for more. Luke was fastidious about his shirt sleeves and managed to leave without a drop of water anywhere on him. Could these two be any different?

I was exhausted after about two hours and declared it was time to go home. Andy was stumbling around, he was so tired. Luke did not want to go until he sat in the airplane or the bus. At last, the crowds parted and he was able to be the pilot for a few minutes. Hooray!

I think Andy's favorite options were the fire truck slide and the water play area. It was dry enough to go upstairs on the roof. That was our first time ever. So awesome! The play structure totally rocked, you could play lots of musical instruments, dig for dinosaur bones, see a full-size dinosaur skeleton...the list goes on.

Legos, Legos, Everywhere

I don't usually post on the blog twice in one day, but this was just too fun. If I wait until tomorrow, I might forget. Luke decided he wanted to spend his birthday fundage on more Legos. What a surprise. He selected the Lego city fire station. We spent several hours this afternoon assembling the vehicles and the garage. It was a lot of work, but worth the effort. I had second thoughts when Andy arrived on the scene and insisted the whole thing was his. He's so good at being two. We spent several minutes extracting pieces from his hands and watching him run screaming through the house when we wouldn't let him touch anything else. He was finally content to hold on to one fire engine and drive it in and out of the garage...only the nice people at Lego would think to design a fire station with actual working garage doors. Amazing.
Thank you, Great Grammie and Grandparents for contributing to our Lego mania. What a treat!

The Celebration Continues

We invited a few of Luke's preschool friends (and their parents) over to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. Because one party just isn't enough for us, I suppose. Luke seemed a little concerned about the onslaught of guests, but he handled it all very well. Everyone was very well behaved and surprisingly calm. They came right in and started playing with all of the toys. Kids are funny about playing with each other's stuff. It's like they have never seen it before and everything must be carefully examined and evaluated. We pulled them away from the toy room to play "pin the Lego on the poster". This involved a blindfold, which caused much anxiety for the birthday boy. The youngest children got a kick out of it and wanted to play again and again. Luke's friends were very generous and gave him lots of wonderful gifts. Steve and I spent the rest of the afternoon helping him assemble his new Lego creations. All in all, I'd say the party was a success.

Five Years Old

I think he blew them out all by himself this year!
A new digger for our new sandbox. Andy was eyeing this one.

Posing with the poster

How did that happen? It feels like we just brought him home last week. We celebrated his birthday with cousins, auntie, uncle, grandparents and great grammie this afternoon. He wanted a desert racer cake, like Andy had last year. Grandma complied and delivered a yummy cake, complete with hot wheels cars on top. That child has a memory like an elephant. I could not figure out what he was talking about. What's a desert racer cake? Apparently one of the hot wheels cars on Andy's cake last September was called a desert racer. Who can recall such detail? Luke can.

It continues to pour buckets of rain around here, so we had to entertain the cherubs indoors. This involved much weeping and gnashing of teeth on Andy's part. He decided to skip his nap in favor of celebrating his brother's birthday. Luke was kind enough to share his new Wii Nascar game with the cousins. A good time was had by all.