Snow Day(s)!

Snow day yesterday... snow day today... snow day tomorrow...   So, today we had an ambitious morning where Ben made a dinosaur shadow box, Conner made a train, we danced, sang, did monkey yoga, among other things.... all before lunch.  What can I save for tomorrow?!

 

Inside Beach...

The cold weather must be getting to the little boys because tonight, Conner came up with the idea of making an "inside beach."  He came up wth it all by himself and Ben jumped on the idea and quickly tried to take charge.  I talked them out of their swimsuits but they insisted on taking off their clothes so they could pretend better!  The blankets are the sand and all the little pieces around them are rocks and shells, or so I was told.  I took this picture from the stairs where they had also set up a chair and placed a big yellow circle on it for the sun.  It was awesome to watch them and super funny to hear them laying there on the floor saying, "Oh, it is so sunny!  It feels so good!"

 

Star Student...

Ben redeemed himself a bit today...

 

The Principal's Office...

Well, Ben had another first today.  His very first trip to the principal's office at school... I was disappointed that his first trip had to happen when he is still in Preschool, but let's face it... our little wild man was bound to end up there soon enough....

Ben and Conner have BOTH been a little out of control lately.  I blame it on the fact that they are getting bigger and smarter and think that they can get away with more stuff now.  They also think that since there are two of them, they are always right and whatever they do is completely hilarious to each other... never mind anyone else...  So, at school, Ben kept saying the word "poopie" and then laughing.  He was even trying to get one of his friends to join in with him.  His teacher gave him a couple warnings and then he was sent to time out in the classroom.  After his time out, he was told that if he said it again, he would have to go sit in the principal's office.  Well, he said it again...  (Miss Amy told me that she had run down to the office and told the secretaries that Ben might be joining them soon and they were not allowed to talk to him!  They love him, so I giggle just thinking about Ben sitting there and the gals in the office trying their hardest to ignore him because he's in trouble!)  Anyway, so Ben got sent to the principal's office where he sat by himself for five minutes.  His teacher said that he was pretty quiet after that and that maybe it had made an impression on him so he wouldn't be saying "poopie" anytime soon.  I was hopeful that she was right... until 5 minutes later when we were driving home and he yells out "Poopie!"  Seriously?

Grand Harbor Weekend!

We got to go to Dubuque and stay at Grand Harbor this weekend!  The boys were thrilled about the water park.  We got to meet some of our best friends there, the Abels and the Guiles, so that just made the weekend even better!  We got there Friday night and after settling in a little, we headed straight for the water park.

 

We enjoyed the pools and once we got back to our room, the boys discovered there were trains outside our window!  We had a pretty cool view!

 

The boys enjoyed the hotel game room for a while on Saturday morning and then we spent a large portion of the day at the water park!

 

After a lot of swimming, we took a break to hang out in our hotel rooms with our friends.  Then we decided to take all the kids bowling!

 

After bowling and some dinner, some of the kids were about ready for bed!  But, ours, of course, were still asking to go swimming again so we headed back to the pools.  After that, all the kids fell asleep and the adults got to enjoy a nice late night of adult conversation... it was fabulous!  What a great weekend! 

 

Mail...

I got two packets in the mail yesterday... I knew exactly what they were...  On one of my trips inside the boys' school to sign in at the office, the building secretary had warned me they would be coming... that knowledge did little to prepare me...

 

 

I guess... put me down for two... (gulp)...

Happy Half Birthday!

Today is the boys' half birthday so they got to take some treats to school.  They picked out some cupcakes that they wanted and we made "superhero suckers" to pass out to their friends!

 

 

When the boys got home, they were pretty excited about their birthday hats, and we had to sing happy birthday several times!  I just kept having to remind them that it was just their half birthday... so no, there will be no presents!  Happy Half Birthday Ben and Conner!!!  5 1/2....ugh.... I am not even going to let myself get started on how fast this is all going by...

 

Tent Dining...

The boys built themselves a little fort/tent tonight, with Dad's assistance.  Then they convinced me to let them eat their dinner there.  It worked good for about five minutes...  It was a cute idea, but logistically speaking, did not serve them well during dinner time.  They were way too excited about it and way too close to each other to get much eating done....

 

Friday...

Even though the holidays are over, the boys got to make some gingerbread men at school today and they were pretty darn excited about it!

 

Conner brought home a picture today that I was pretty impressed with so we snapped a quick photo.  He told me that it was a picture of Mom and Conner and Daddy and Ben.  And that Conner was Spiderman in the picture!

Leaving...

So, this morning, I am in the bedroom and I hear Nick say, "What are you doing?  Shut the door!"  I came out and found Conner bundled up and packed up, with my shoes and sunglasses on.  He told us he was going to the water park and he had to leave now!  (We talked him out of it!)

Then Ben appeared and he had jumped on the bandwagon too.  And he had even grabbed Dad's wallet so they would have some money...  At least they were prepared!

Pirates!

Ben and Conner got to wear their new pirate shirts (from Mama and Papa) to school today so we had to get a picture!  They also got new matching pirate underwear and I was a little concerned that someone would drop their pants at school to show it off, but thankfully, they both kept their pants on!  I love my little pirates!

 

A Little More Christmas...

Ben and Conner brought home their Christmas gifts for us from school yesterday.  I love them!

Another New Toy...

A gift from Aunt Cari... we thought we would let the boys figure it out for themselves at first... 

We tried to tell them that they should stand still and then jump when the pole got to them!  They'll get it!

Polar Express Continued...

Thursday took us back to school where, thankfully, the boys were able to have their Polar Express party that they had missed before Christmas because of a snow day!

Sledding...

Santa brought the boys new sleds so today seemed like a fine day to try them out.  Even though it was very cold and the snow isn't exactly soft and fluffy, the boys had an awesome time sledding in the yard.  The side yard has just enough of a slope that it makes for a decent little ride!  When (or if) it ever snows the light and fluffy stuff, we will have to venture to a bigger hill and try out our hands at making a snowman.  But, until then, Conner and Ben are pretty content!

We have two little obstacles in the yard and those are the electrical box and our tiny little tree... guess how many times one of the kids flew into one of those... yep, a lot...