Grammy's Birthday

Grammy is officially a card-carrying senior citizen!  But along with all the perks and discounts she'll now get to enjoy, she also got a house full of kids and grandkids to help her celebrate. We did a little coconut cream pie with her candles and then enjoyed several different flavors of cupcakes.

Or does this picture do better justice to all the candles?  Just eleven (6+5) because 65 seemed like a fire hazard.

It was a great treat getting to see the French family because they had been in town for the A&M-LSU game and we all got to go to church and spend Sunday afternoon together.  The boys made some beautiful loud music together.

We tried our best to get a cute picture of the three of them, but the combination of an energetic 2-year old, a 4-year old with a huge repertoire of faces, and a 6-year old coming down with a fever didn't add up to a single great shot.

 

We at least got Grammy and Grumpy with all their adorable grandsons.  Not that we're partial or anything.

Half of the group (with Ben sneaking into the background)

 

Other half of the group...we needed one more person to take a whole group shot!

 

 Afterwards, we let the kids play outside on a beautiful late summer day.

Ben hitched a ride on Alex's trike after his tractor had an unfortunate accident, but he wasn't too happy about standing.

This worked out much better!  And luckily Alex was excited to pedal Ben all the way to the park and back because Ben wasn't feeling well and needed the rest.  Poor guy came down with a virus but luckily didn't get really sick until that evening when we were back at home.

 

Always have to feed the ducks.  I love Alex's face in the background posing for his own picture!

 

 Such a fun afternoon!

Happy birthday, Grammy!  We're so happy we got to celebrate with you and we're so thankful for you.

Stories with Grandma

The 3-year old and 4-year old classes at Alex's school were treated to a story time last week with Captain Book (aka Grandma!)

 

 The kids were so happy to hear some stories and despite some distractions (like the sanctuary getting set up for the fall festival and workmen installing lights) they were enthralled.

Crowd participation was encouraged!

Look at the smile on Alex's face :)

The puppet show was a hit as well. The kids were talking about the "pumpkin thief" all afternoon in Alex's class.

Thanks, Grandma, for such a great time!

Little Inventors

I am constantly amazed at the things these kids come up with day to day.  Some are clever, some are funny, some are downright ridiculous, but I love the imaginations on my boys.  Ben has run a pretend school in his closet for months now and he loves office supplies or "classroom equipment".  Even that gets put to new and better uses regularly.  Last week he made his own folders with paper and paper clips.  

Outside:

 

Inside with a handy pocket:

After Alex went in his room looking for a playmate before 6am both Saturday and Sunday, Ben made a sign for the door.

 

In case that wasn't clear enough, there were further directions behind the stop sign. (Loose translation:  Alex do not come in here.  Mom and Dad come in here)

 

Ben has moved his desk light into his classroom to use as an overhead projector.  The sheet on the board has the kids' homework listed.  I also noticed a bathroom pass and a library pass off to the side.  This kid is serious!

 

Alex, meanwhile, has been running a restaurant.  Not sure exactly how the gun factors in but I pity the person that complains about his cooking!

The kids asked to sleep outside in their tent and I opted for an easier, air-conditioned option.  Playing in the blanket-tent for a while seemed to fill the void.  One day we'll camp out in the backyard but I like my sleep too much to give into that just yet.

The kids got these bendy tubes at Toys R Us and have used them for all kinds of things.  Weapons (naturally), megaphones to talk to pedestrians when we're in the car, and more recently, as mega straws.

 

 

 

 Watch the effort that goes into sucking water through that thing!

Naturally, this game led to water all over the floor.  Which led me to push them outside.  Which led them to use the hose to fill up their cups.  Which led to very wet clothes.  Which finally led to two naked boys on the trampoline with bendy tube belts. (keep in mind we haven't met the neighbors in that house behind us....I'm sure they think we're awesome)

In the great quest for frogs, the boys decided that leaving frog food, a snare, and a net out would somehow trap one.  Much to their disappointment, no frog has fallen into their trap yet.

 

 The boys taking a break from trapping with their other frog lovers, Presley and Sariah.

Ben finally realized he can scale the door frames.  The first time he got the top and looked down he said, "How did I do that?"  And Alex is just a photo crasher.

 

 

This is a most beautiful sight to a mom - a little boy who decided he was sleepy during the mandated rest hour.  He rarely sleeps anywhere but in bed or in the car, so I was surprised to find that his quiet play had turned into a lovely nap.  What a great idea!

 

Dewberry Farm

Columbus Day was a school holiday for Ben and we found out Dewberry Farm, which is normally open to families on the weekends, would be open to the public. Ben loved it last year for his field trip and Alex has been asking for a chance to visit, so the kids and I spent a great day there together.

 

 By chance, we ran into our friends Jack and Emma and enjoyed visiting the animals together.

All of the boys loved the baby chicks.  Alex promised me he'd take care of one if we could just bring it home.

Next, we were off to the pumpkin patch.  Ben and Alex loved it but you wouldn't know by their faces....happy faces would have made it too easy to get a great picture!

(time out to discuss how Mom is taking too many pictures)

 Potty break!  Not sure if they really needed to go or if it was just the excitement of a porta-potty.  Boys!

Finally, a cute picture so we could move along!  We hopped on the hayride back to the other rides.

I think this cow train was their favorite.

This is about the 8th time they drove past me and waved.  Lucky for them, there was no line so they could ride over and over.

They were dying to do the corn maze.  I like mazes on paper but I'm not a huge fan of wandering through mazes with two young boys.

 

 "Come on, Mom!"

It was only a matter of time before this happened....their giggles gave them away!

The morning started out chilly but it warmed up quickly once the sun came out.  Time for a snow cone break.

All those spigots behind Alex were different flavors so kids could mix as they pleased.  It's a great idea but not necessarily the best day to be wearing a white shirt.  In the end, the boys didn't even want the ice, they would have been happy with a cup full of syrupy flavor.

Next, they did some climbing in a big castle and obstacle course.

They had to make several trips down the big roller slides.

And they loved the black mamba.  Kudos to the owners there for thinking of turning a big plastic pipe into a huge swing and tunnel for the kids.

Every great day should end with sunburned cheeks and blue lips!