Playgrounds to Pizza

We have been getting a little stir crazy during these wet cold almost spring days. So we have been spending lots of time (when there is a break in the rain) at our favorite playgrounds.



The boys seem to finally like to swing on swings.

And Mom doesn't even have to do the work of pushing because they like to push each other on the swings!

Small side story...the other day Dylan was putting together words with these letters and he called Mom over so I could see what word he spelled. He was so proud that he spelled 'Ikea'. I think that must mean that we go there too often!?

In addition to hitting all the playgrounds in town, yesterday we got out with our friend Anders for a bike ride, remote controlled car racing, and a cookie snack...real boy stuff. Here they are parking their bikes to get a treat at the local bakery.

Telling funny stories after cookies...or are they just blowing bubbles in their drinks???

We found some nice red bike bells as an addition to the boys bikes. Cole was so excited about the bell. The day we bought the bells Cole carried his around all day and had a little rag that he kept polishing his bell with. And he kept saying, "Mom, this bell is so cool. I really love it!"
Happy guy with his bell!

After all those great 'boy' activities we headed to Anders house to make some pizza for dinner!

Who knew 3 boys could make such a big mess with just a little (pre-made) pizza dough, cheese, sauce and toppings!? It sure made for some happy 4 year olds!

Snow Day

Yesterday it snowed...almost 5 inches!! That is quite a lot for this part of Oregon. It all almost melted by the afternoon...but boy did we have fun in the morning!

After about 4 hours playing in the snow we decided to make a snowman before heading in for lunch. Mom and the boys worked on rolling and putting together the 3 body parts.

Then the boys were all about decorating the snowman...the placement of the carrot nose was the most important.

After finding the sticks for the arms and all the rocks for the rest it really started to come together...

For the final touches the boys insisted on putting a stick with moss/lichen on the head as the 'hair' and then the straw hat on top of that. They are happy with the look and their vision!

However, being boys of a certain nature...the finished snow man lasted just long enough for Mom to get one picture of them standing with their creation...then they screamed with joy as they knocked it over! Boys!!

All kinds of fun

The boys had a long weekend off of school...so we took advantage and got in some serious fun time.

On Saturday we headed up to Portland to take the boys to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). They sure did get a kick out of posing as an astronaut!

Dylan is so thrilled!

Cole can manage to be goofy even as an astronaut!

On Monday Mom and the boys met up with our friends Nicole and Jonah for a bike ride in the sun! The pack with each one vying for the lead.

Then we said goodbye to our friends and headed up to Salem to the Gilbert House...another science museum for kids.
Mom's favorite activity...the cow you can milk.

One of the boys favorite activities was the bubble room.

And the outdoor play area that included a large array of xylophones.

We all loved the various science experiments to make all sorts of different goo, glow in the dark goo, and expandable snow.We also lucked out and discovered a great park next door that had an indoor carousel.
This park, that also had a large playground, was located along the Willamette River. Docked there was the Willamette Queen stern-wheeler. The boys were so excited about the boat. They grabbed a brochure and saw a picture of people sitting in the boat eating dinner and were practically screaming that they wanted to eat on the boat too! Since Mom gets quite ill on many boats...the thought of having to sit at a table and eat dinner on a boat didn't sound great. So it was suggested that maybe Dad would love to go on that outing sometime with just the 'boys'. They carried the brochure all the way home and showed it to Dad the moment he walked in the door.
To top off the fun filled long weekend we made pizza for dinner. Dylan is the sauce spreader.
And as Dylan put it, "Cole you spread the cheese because you are THE BEST cheese spreader!" And look at that technique!
The finale...strawberry shortcake with my boys!

Eastern Oregon Trip

This weekend we went over to eastern Oregon, Redmond (between Sisters and Bend), with some friends to go skiing. BUT...with all the snow hitting other parts of the country Oregon has be unusually warm and the mountains barely have any snow. So our big ski trip turned into a fun filled hiking, biking, swimming, hanging out with friends trip.

With temperatures hitting the 50's we ventured out for a great hike at Smith Rock to check out the impressive cliffs and to watch rock climbers (and for mom and dad to reminisce about our rock climbing days).

Walking along the Crooked River the boys exclaimed "these are some big rocks!" and "that's like a huge cliff!" and "I think dinosaurs hatched out of these rocks!"

Our family.

Cole was very proud of himself for hiking the trail and for making it back up to the top before mom did.

After the hike we ate pizza for lunch, went on a bike ride and went swimming at an indoor pool at the place we were staying. Then the boys hunkered down with some hot chocolate, popcorn and grapes to watch a show about beavers.

The boys and their friend Leo enjoying banana ice cream together (frozen bananas put through a juicer with yogurt mixed in...who knew it could be so good!).

Stories by all were read, many times, over the weekend.

Since there was no snow we decided to hit a snow park at one of the passes we drive past on the way home to get in a little sledding. We are talking no snow for weeks...hence the dirty snow!!
Our friends getting a boost down the hill!

Dylan and Dad were adrenalin junkies going to the very top to sled down, over and over!

While Dad and Dylan were busy catching air on the slope, Cole and Mom worked on digging a snow cave that turned into a snow tunnel! Cole was occupied for hours!

Dylan was getting braver and braver the longer we were there...and by the end he wanted to go down the hill by himself! Do I need to worry?

x-rays and bat rays

This past week the boys went to the dentist and had their first teeth cleaning. They did so great even though the dentist was running late and we had to wait and wait and wait! They let the dentist take x-rays, clean their teeth, floss and examine their teeth...so why is it that brushing before bed can sometimes be a battle of wills??

They got to use the suction tool in their own mouths.

We also took a trip to the Oregon Aquarium with some friends. They had a fabulous art exhibit created out of trash found on the beach.

Dylan climbed up this sculpture and Mom said "Dylan you climbed to the top of that turtle!", and Dylan said "actually Mom, it's a tortoise."

Favorite spot, as usual, the touching tide pools tanks.

Visitor!

Last weekend Grammy Carol came for a visit!
The boys were very excited and helped me get the guest room ready. When Grammy Carol arrived Cole started to put on his various costumes to surprise (he would prefer to say scare I'm sure!) Carol with and Dylan offered to carry her bag to the guest room. Those are my boys!

We took Grammy Carol on several bike rides on some of our favorite trails!

She also got to see how much we love our library!

And it seems that we take all our out of town visitors to the Wacky Bounce to see if they will get in on the action.

Where is Dylan?
Our two very different boys.

Cole
Dylan
Thanks for the wonderful visit Grammy Carol and we can't wait 'til the next one!!

new year, new bathroom

Last weekend we decided to fix up our small half bath...which we have been intending to do since we moved in our house!!
Here is a shot of the old bathroom...with Rob starting to work on the plumbing.

We decided to replace the sink faucet, the light fixture, the toilet, the back-splash, the floor, the paint on the cabinets, the paint on one wall, the towel rod, and the trim along the floor.
And voila!

This weekend was Rob's birthday and we celebrated with yummy carrot cake! And no we didn't eat cake for breakfast...but the boys didn't change out of their pajamas until late afternoon!!

Mom and Dad got to go out to dinner and a movie while the boys were spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. The boys asked to spend the 'whole' night at Grandma and Grandpa's house...they specifically said "Mom, don't come and get us after we are asleep at Grandma and Grandpa's...we want to spend the whole night there, while you and Dad stay at home!"
So the boys had their first sleep over and Mom and Dad got to sleep in together for the first time since the boys were born!! Best birthday gift EVER!!