Summer is Here!

Our Summer List is made!

We've already crossed two things off the list including
HIKING!

Cameron has figured out how to make pretty much
any ride-on toy in the garage move.

The boat is ready to go.
Caleb is spending quality time on his bike.
We can officially say Summer is Here!!!

The Joy That Easter IS!

I love Easter. Dressing up. Singing loud. Candy. Family. Watching the kids' excitement. Resurrection eggs. Focusing on Jesus' resurrection. Brunch at Grandma and Grandpa's House. Spring. Hope.

Chloe looks for eggs with her name at the annual hunt at Great Grandma's.

The annual Easter Picture.

I love how he held onto his basket in the strong wind!!!

Caleb struggled a little with finding his name.
There are too many names that start with "C"!!

Racing towards more eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Showing off their Easter goodies!

Cameron didn't know quite what to do with his Easter goodies...

Opening the treats.

Caleb is looking handsome in his tie!

100 Days of Homeschool

The first thing we did was make necklaces with 100 fruit loops.

Chloe celebrated her 100th day of school this week! We had been counting the days of school since school started in August. It has been a great activity to learn counting and PATIENCE!!! She has been very excited to get to this day so I knew that it needed to be extra special. Here are some pictures from our day!

We also made 100 day glasses. Here is Caleb sporting his 100 day glasses.

Chloe's glasses.

Chloe was pretty proud to mark off the 100th day of school!

100 pieces of monkey bread for breakfast!

We had lots of sugar. This is a picture of Chloe making her very own "100 Snack" from 10 different snack foods.

THANK YOU to everyone who gave Chloe 100 of something. That was her favorite part of the day!!!

Counting pom poms and making sure Grandma Judy sent exactly 100. She did!!

Counting 100 Animals. The kids got 45 animals without any help from me!
Thanks for all the great ideas Angie VP!!! 

Chloe showing off her "100 Snack"

Daddy gave Chloe 100 Lego pieces (his old ones) and she had to make something with exactly 100 pieces.

Chloe made a house.

One of Chloe's assignments. She didn't finish  the $100 part.

Another assignment for the day.

We had a really fun day and even had time to read some 100th day of school books from the library. I would highly recommend "100th Day Worries" by Margery Cuyler and "Emily's First 100 Days of School" by Rosemary Wells. Thanks to all of you who helped make Chloe's 100th day of kindergarten special. Now I guess I just need to start preparing for the LAST day of kindergarten!!! Crazy!

At nap time yesterday Caleb picked out a princess story (a Princess Gigi book) for his story of choice. It is a VERY girly book. Chloe scoffed at his choice. Making fun of him she said, "Boys DO NOT read books about princesses." Caleb calmly replied, "Well, boys marry Princesses someday so I might as well know something about them." Well said Caleb.

The weather outside is frightful...

The weather outside is frightful...

But the snow in the tub is delightful!!!

Recipe for fun in the tub:
1. Laundry basket full of fresh snow (filled 3 times with snow from the deck!)
2. Random Toys. The possibilities are endless. We included dinosaurs (that were buried of course), excavators to dig them out, and spoons for digging for buried treasure.
Voila! Instant Fun!

Caleb Turns 4!!

We started out his big day with a present at breakfast. He was thrilled with his new monster truck!

Caleb had requested monkey bread for breakfast. Birthday wish granted!

Caleb was so excited that Grandpa Rog and Grandma Judy came to help celebrate his birthday!

He had requested a cake with monster trucks on top of it. Daddy even helped with the cause by smashing some of his old matchbox cars!!!

Here he is...my 4 year old!!!

When my kids have a birthday I always like to make a little list of their favorites and what they are really into right now. Here is a glimpse into Caleb's life...

Favorite Birthday Activity: The Pinata. I wish I would have shot a video of him going after that pinata. I never knew he could swing a bat like that!!!
Favorite Foods: Mac and Cheese, Corn on the Cob (he requests this all the time), HAM, and all kinds of fruit.
Favorite Video: The monster truck video from the library that we just watched about Big Foot. He says he never wants it to go back to the library.
Favorite Toys: Trucks of all kinds...monster trucks, construction trucks, farm equipment...
Favorite Things to do Outside: Dig in the sandbox, ride his bicycle, help Daddy work in the dirt.
Favorite TV Show: Curious George
Favorite "School" Activities: Putting together puzzles and making artwork. He absolutely loves stickers, paint, markers, and glue!
Favorite Sledding Partner: Chloe. He absolutely adores his older sister!
Favorite Bedtime Stalling Technique: "Mommy, Daddy, let me give you a back rub." It works almost every time!!!
Favorite Item to List for his Christmas List: A Robot that can scratch his back and pick up toys. He's not joking. He thinks this thing should exist...
Favorite Quote: "I'm stronger than Daddy."
Favorite Book: This is a hard one. Most recent favorites from the library have been "The Knight and the Dragon" and "Julius, The Baby of the World". One of his other favorites is "Peter Pan".
Favorite Thing to Say When Asked What he Wants to be When he Grows Up: "Someone who works on old things (mostly speaking about cars and trucks) and makes them new again."
Favorite Thing To Say When He Doesn't Want to Do Something: "I'll do that when I turn 4". We'll see what he says now!!!

We Love You Caleb!! Happy Birthday my December baby!!!

Chloe & Caleb's Latest

Chloe & Caleb are so proud of their cardboard house.

Chloe can obviously write and spell well enough to write a "No Cameron" sign beside the door. I don't think Cameron can read yet...

Chloe can touch her nose with her tongue. Since when has she been able to do this?!?

Our Most Recent Fun

The kids are having a blast with our new pool that we set up.

This picture just cracks me up. They are freezing because we had just filled the pool with ice cold water!

The People on the "Puter" Told Me

Chloe does not take consistent naps (and neither does Caleb!). Considering that I still selfishly like a little quiet time in the afternoon I implemented "Quiet Bins" awhile back. She has a bin for each day that she only gets to play with during nap time. They have worked pretty well and they keep her pretty occupied. Today Caleb finally asked for some quiet bins (I was waiting for this to happen!). Here is how he went about asking as I was tucking him into bed for his nap...

Caleb: I sure wish I was Chloe...
Me: Why's that?
Caleb: So I could have a quiet bin to play with.
Me: Oh, but Caleb you need to sleep. You're too little for quiet bins.
Caleb: But Mommy, the people on the puter (computer) told me that it's ok if kids that are 3 get quiet bins. They told me, they did!

I'm not sure what to think of his rationale...I'm wondering if it came from listening to me...SCARY!

Caleb

Caleb has turned into quite the conversationalist. He talks nonstop.
Here is what he's saying...

While riding his new bike: "I'm faster than Chloe mom!"
When we got home tonight: "The moon followed us home!"
To Chloe (who was getting chased by Uncle Jared): "I'll save you my dear!"
When it's dark: "It's pooky in here!"
The other morning when he woke up while holding his bottom with both hands: "My pee keeps trying to come out but I don't want to let it!"
After his first tubing experience and some POOR boat driving by me (who let him hit a large wave): "Mommy you are a bad driver. I think Uncle Jared should drive next time. Boys are better drivers than girls."

Lightening's Carwash

Caleb is not yet potty trained. We're working on it but progress is slow. I thought that pull ups and underpants with Lightening McQueen on them would be a real motivator. This was our conversation this morning when I put him in his Lightening McQueen pull-up.

Me: Let's try and keep Lightening dry ALL DAY! That would be great if you didn't pee on him and he stayed dry all day!
Caleb: But Mom, I like giving him a car wash!

Somehow this was not the motivation that I had hoped for...