Snow!

Last night it snowed!! The boys were jumping on Mom and Dad's bed this morning at 6.30am shouting that it snowed. They were ready to go outside right then...we managed to hold them off for a few minutes. But you will notice the sky in the photo below is dark...yes it is still dark at 6.50am!

One of the first things Cole said when they went outside was 'why is it so quiet?'. Answer: It tends to be quiet that early in the morning since many people aren't even awake by then!!

We finally got them to come in for breakfast about 3 hours later, but they ate breakfast with their jackets on so they could run right back outside when they finished eating.

While tucking the boys into bed tonight, Mom asked what was their favorite activity in the snow was and Cole said "cleaning the snow off everything in the neighborhood!" We walked the entire block while they swept the sidewalk. They cleaned off our driveway, our cars, the deck, their slides, our front walk and all our bushes.
Hopefully it snows again this season!

Happy 4th Birthday Dylan & Cole!!

Today Dylan and Cole turned the big 4. I truly can not believe they are already 4 years old...my babies are growing up so fast!!

We had a party for the boys on Sunday at a local toy store that has a playroom and birthday room. And of course Grandma made the boys cakes to order...Cole wanted a T-Rex with 'ferocious teeth' and Dylan wanted a yellow bulldozer with crawler tracks and black and red writing. The cakes were a huge hit with the kids (and parents too!)!

I made capes with all the kids names on them (12 kids!!) and crowns...

...that the kids got to decorate with shiny and sparkly shapes.

Then it was playtime in the playroom. The boys stuck close to their gal pals from their school. Actually they were fairly inseparable! Very cute.

When it was cake time the boys started chanting 'cake time' in the playroom and then all the kids ran into the party room screaming 'CAKE TIME'!

Cole wanted to eat the 'ferocious teeth'.
And Dylan wanted to eat the bulldozer blade and dirt!
I don't think you would be able to get 12 3-and-4 year olds to sit at a table so quietly without cake.
Then it was back to the playroom until they kicked us out!
Today as a Birthday surprise we took the boys and their friend Jonah to the Wacky Bounce House after school. They ran and bounced so hard they could hardly keep their eyes open this evening!
We ended the fabulous 4th birthday celebrations with remnant cake pieces and a final Happy Birthday song. It was a memorable celebration!!

Halloween and much more

We had a great Halloween this year. The boys were very into getting dressed up...I think they wore about 4 different costumes each!

We carved our giant pumpkin...and LOVED using pumpkin carving knives!

But the slip and slide action on the pumpkin guts was definitely the highlight of this particular activity.

We did cookie decorating at a friends house, a library party with lots of scary games, and on Halloween the boys practiced their scary faces and roars all day...in preparation for trick or treating.

They LOVED their first trick or treating experience and wanted to go to more and more houses. They would roar at the person answering the door and then say 'trick or treat'! And 'yes' these costumes might look familiar to some of you who saw pictures of the boys past Halloweens...I think this is the 3rd year they have worn these two costumes (I kept telling them that they could be something different...but they insisted! At least they still fit!)

This week we have also been enjoying a few dry fall days (generally not so common). One day on the way home from school we HAD to stop at this park and play in the leaves!
The boys were also on leaf duty in the neighborhood...with their new purple rakes and blue gloves. Every year we help out one of our neighbors by raking up leaves from a gigantic tree in their front yard.
Today we decided to try our luck and headed out to the coast...to luckily find a fabulous day at the beach!!
It was pleasantly warmish with NO wind! The sun was shining for most of the time except for a short rain and hail storm.
The boys were prepared for the sand with their boots and shovels!
Dylan said that I could take that seaweed home to eat with fish. What a nice boy.
After the beach and a FABULOUS piece of pizza at our favorite coffee/bread/pizza place we spent the rest of the afternoon at the local aquarium before heading home to end a wonderful weekend.