Wednesday, March 30, 2011

a little family time

Yesterday while I was getting my hair done (thank you Andrea), Jason called to tell us he would be getting off early. He's not "that person". He doesn't just take time off for no reason, so I was certainly surprised. It was so nice to be able to have a day all together with nothing to do. We decided to take the kids to the Exploration Works since Ethan hasn't been able to go yet (and keeps begging). Of course the kids loved it.
But so did Jason. He was totally into building the best water setup.  
This is one of the exhibits Elliott and I hadn't done yet. It "freezes" your shadow on the wall. This was fun for everyone. So here they are making the shadow....... 
and if you look close (it's much better in person), when the bright light goes out, they move away and the shadow is still on the wall. They stood in all sorts of crazy ways. 
After we were done there, we walked next door to the carousel. None of us had been there yet. 
Elliott didn't want to ride an animal so he chose this. It's like a teacup ride on the carousel (puke).  
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but it meant a lot for us to have some carefree family time.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

trip to arizona

Get ready. I have a lot of pictures for this post.

On the 19th, after we took Tyler to Bozeman, we tricked Ethan into thinking we needed to drive to Missoula. He had no clue what was going on, and to say the least, he was NOT impressed. That is, until we got to the ticket counter and the lady said "Going to Phoenix?" Ethan got so excited. Then he told us that it was cool because the Blackhawks were actually playing IN Phoenix while we were there. Luckily he didn't think we could actually go, but was satisfied knowing it would be shown on t.v.

Ellett and the kids came over to see us, and we got to meet D'Vonte for the first time! They all had so much fun together.
Uncle Jas and his Nook were a big hit, and Kyah has Jason wrapped right around every one of her little fingers. 
The weather wasn't stellar, so there was a lot of this. 
But there was also some of this. Haha. I'm sure he will love this picture in about 8 years. 
Then, we lied to Ethan one more time and convinced him that we all needed to squish into Papa's truck to go into Phoenix to reserve a hotel. Ellett kept Elliott for us, and I am so thankful she did.
We pulled up to the hotel right across from the arena, and Ethan could see all the hockey fans going to the game. Jason gave him his jersey, and we thought for sure he had figured out we were taking him to the game. We went into the hotel to use the restroom, and we were headed to the arena and he said "Are we going to the hockey game?" Hehe. Talk about an excited boy.
When we planned this trip, we didn't know it, but my dad's sister, Sandee, was visiting them at the same time! I have only met her once, 10 years ago. It was so awesome to see her, for her to meet Jason and the boys and for her to come to the game with us. Isn't she the cutest?
My dad was excited to show us around the commons area of the arena. He had already been to a game once.  
Uncle Jas is also Dominik's favorite. :) I love this picture. 
Ethan got to show off his skills. He didn't make it, but he had fun trying. 
The fountain was so cool. It "danced" to music every half hour. Plus, it's great for a photo op. :) 
Ethan won the Coyotes visor and gave it to Dominik so he had some team apparel. By the end of the game Dom was a Blackhawks fan, and I think my dad ended up with the visor.  
My guys heading into the arena.
Waiting for the game to start.  
Unless you were there, or know what you are looking at the game pictures are not that exciting, and since I have plenty of pics for this post, here is just the important ones from the game. The Blackhawks won!

Dominik stayed the night with us, and Elliott stayed with Ellett, so first thing the next morning, Ethan and Dominik were in the pool. It wasn't very nice out, but they made the most of it. 
Later, Jason and I took the boys to see Grandma Mac. She is in a nursing home and doesn't walk anymore, but is very happy there. She plays BINGO and cards, along with other social things. She was excited to see the boys. 
After dinner, we had a little birthday party for D'Vonte. 
The kids all loved it. They all got cake and each one got a gift. 

LeKyah 
Elliott 
Ethan 
Dominik 
D'Vonte (the birthday boy) 
He was so funny when he opened his gifts. Each one was SO exciting!  
The next morning we had to fly home. Our trip was way too short, and we can't wait to go back.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

last week

This post takes us back in time to March 12. Yeah, I'm a little behind, but I have a good excuse. :)

On Saturday the 12th, the boys and I waited anxiously at the airport for Jason to get home from training. The boys were so excited! And this may just be my new favorite picture.
After picking up Jason, we drove to Bozeman to pick up Tyler. He spent his spring break with us. Ethan and Elliott both loved having him here.

On Sunday, Ethan requested "special breakfast" and since I only do "special breakfast" on the weekends, I made St Patrick's Day pancakes. Fun, huh?
Later we took all the boys to the park to run off some energy. It was a gorgeous, sunny day.
For whatever reason, I only took a couple pics at the park. Ethan and Jason played catch for a little while. Ethan cannot get enough of his dad.
Elliott, Tyler and I enjoyed our days together while Jason worked and Ethan was at school. Elliott had so much fun with Tyler. Tyler helped me out a ton by being able to stay with Elliott during nap time for some meetings I had and he even let Jason and I get out of the house a couple times.
On Friday, Tyler and I took Elliott to Gymtrix. It's a gym for toddlers, and on Friday they have open gym time. Elliott was full speed ahead for 2 straight hours. He jumped on the trampoline, jumped into foam blocks, played ball, swung on the rings, and just ran around. He was exhausted by the time we left. TOTALLY worth $5.
After school on Friday, I took the boys to the hangar to visit Jason and see the helicopters.
Even Elliott got to get in this time.
On Saturday, we drove Tyler back to Bozeman, and began our next adventure. That's another post though. :)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

gotta go

We had a great week with Tyler here, and I do have more pictures to post, but we are on our way out the door to return him to Joe. :( 
Have a great weekend!


Friday, March 11, 2011

i miss this

This time of year it makes me really sad that my kids are city slickers. I loved going to my Granddad and Grandma's when all the babies were being born. I remember the box of chicks in the garage, the way they smell, the sound of their feet scratching around, and how cute they all look huddled together. I remember watching the lambs being born, and how it would make me giggle when they would tickle my hand with their mouth as they sucked on their bottle. There were always kittens it seemed, and we even raised some of the piglets in our house. They were so cute, and my favorite thing was that every animal had a name (well most of them). I HATED the geese though. Haha. :) I feel really lucky to have experienced all those things, and it makes me sad that my kids are missing out. So I heard on the radio this morning that one of the local farm and ranch stores had baby chicks and rabbits in, and I knew I had to take the boys to see them.

Elliott was so excited. They only had 5 chicks, but Elliott could not stop watching them. I only told him one time that he couldn't hold them, and he never tried, but he did tell me everything they were doing. "Mom, chick eat eat." "Mom drink wa-wa." "Mom, TUTE (cute)."
Aren't they just sweet?
Ethan liked watching the bunnies.
When I finally pulled them away from the animals, we found the toy aisle. Ranch kids have way better toys. :)
Elliott wouldn't wear the hat. "No tail mom!" He was a little freaked out by it. I really want to go back and get the "All Terrain Tricycle" It was awesome! They both got a wooden rubber band gun and we left. They were so excited, it made my whole day.

catchin' up

The past two weeks haven't been anything exciting. In fact I just looked through my pictures to see if I had one I could add to this post (because every post should have at least one right?) and I have one! ONE Picture....... and it's not even good, but here it is. *sigh

Ethan "fixed" their hair while they were taking a bath, and this was the first full sentence with more than 3 or 4 words Elliott has ever said. "Hurry up and see my hair mom!" I'm sure Ethan would die if he knew I was posting this picture.
This week started with an FRG (Family Readiness Group) Meeting. I volunteered to be the leader of our FRG for Jason's unit. It is a HUGE job, but I have great people in the group who are ready and willing to help. I'm hoping this will keep me busy while he is gone. I am already having a much harder time with this deployment than the last one and he hasn't even left yet.

On Wednesday morning, Elliott and I ventured out to the library for story time. There were a ton of kids there, and I was so proud of him for being good. He even waited patiently in line to get a stamp on his hand. Then he picked out a few books, and we went to check out. It was taking a little longer while I registered for a library card, and the lady said Elliott could pick out a puppet. I had no idea what the purpose of that was, but he picked out an owl, and she gave him the bag. As it turns out, you get to check out a kids book, and a puppet to go along with it. The book is really cute and fun, and Elliott loves the "Baby Owl". I'm interested to see what he picks next time. In the evening, Ethan wanted to go to drop-in hockey, and I must say, I was more than willing to take him. He had a great time.

The weather is getting nicer, and the boys are excited to be able to play outside. Elliott is a pro on his scooter, and loves to hang out with Ethan and the older kids that live around us.

We have all been waiting for tomorrow to get here. We miss Jason like crazy! And, to make it even more fun, we are going to Bozeman after Jason gets home to pick up Tyler! He is going to spend his Spring Break with us. We haven't seen him in a while, so it will be great having him here.

I'm sure there will be more pictures next week.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

free day and a trap

Today was free admission day to the Exploration Works, and Elliott and I needed to get out of the house. We spent a couple hours there, and he had even more fun this time than last time. He went directly for the water display, rolled up his sleeves, and went to work.
He had the most fun upstairs. There was some of the same things, and some new. I think he just likes this because he gets to bang on it and it's loud. Very boy. 
He definitely has mixed feelings toward the bee exhibit. He looked at them from a distance, then left, then came back to look a little closer and told me how they stung his ear, then he left them and came back again. It was funny to watch him get a little more brave each time.  
I didn't let Elliott try this last time, but he was very interested in it this time. So we both strapped the thing on or head. The point is to make the ball move with your mind. The person with the most relaxed mind will move the ball toward the other person and "win". I won every time with almost completely relaxed brain waves, but Elliott's brain was going CRAZY so the ball kept going toward him and he thought he was winning. He loved it. 
This was a new one. He really liked watching the stuff fly up into the tube. 
We both had fun putting these blocks together. The blocks are made to be placed side-by-side to make a track of sorts, then you roll the marble through. They are awesome, and I wanna get some. 
Then, Ethan came home from school, and after his homework was done, we started on his school project for March. A Leprechaun Trap! This was our first school project we have had to do. So we googled "how to catch a Leprechaun", and Ethan picked out his favorite trap idea, and we got to work
He did the hard work, like cutting out the rainbow.  
And the coloring. 
Then we had to make the gold..........yummy. I was going to use the whole candy, but Ethan thought we should just use the wrappers which meant we had to eat the candy. I love the way he thinks.  :) 
So, here's how it works. The gold on the path will lead the Leprechaun to the pot of gold. The cloud is actually a box turned upside down covered in cotton and attached to a string and held up by the pot keeping the string down. When the pot is moved the cloud will fall and catch the Leprechaun.  
What a fun day with my boys.

Happy March!