Training Wheels...

It turned out to be a great afternoon to get outside and ride bikes and scooters.  Ben decided that he would like to try no training wheels... he actually started doing pretty good!  It was pretty exciting to watch!  He "gave up" several times, but we always talked him into trying again.  There were a few falls, of course, but he caught himself really well with his feet every time.  I got a video of him riding, falling, and the beginning of a  little fit that sent him to the front porch for a break, but we were very impressed with his skills!  We will keep working on it!

Conner decided, after Ben's success, that he would be willing to try no training wheels as well!  He gave it a shot for a little while, but he was laughing so much, I'm not sure how much he was actually trying!  He pretty much leaned on Daddy the whole time!

Dad had to take a break, so Ben thought he would help Conner ride... sweet idea, but they both ended up on the ground in a few seconds!  Can't believe they are big enough to even try to ride their bikes on their own!!!  We had a great time this afternoon watching these two!

Creature Feature...

This morning, we went to visit a few friendly creatures at a nearby park.  The boys and I got to see and touch a salamander, a turtle, a snake, and cockroaches (I passed on the cockroaches, but I did touch the snake!)  As we were sitting on the floor watching the animals crawl/slither around, the turtle came right up to Ben's foot so he thought that was pretty cool.  Before we left I got a few pictures of the boys looking at the different animal skins and they each got to pet the turtle and salamander again!  It was a great activity for a Saturday morning!

"Let it Go!"

The boys are pretty much obsessed with the movie Frozen right now.  We watch it constantly!  They absolutely love all the music in it and are frequently singing the tunes.  They, especially, love the song "Let it Go."  When they watch the movie now, they are usually standing up whenever a song starts and ready to belt out as many lyrics as they can remember.  Here is just a little glimpse...



The boys got to hear the high school orchestra play "Let it Go" at school the other day and they both loved it.  Conner watched watched some of Frozen at school too, and his teacher told me that Conner entertained them all with his singing!

The Lost Tooth...

Ben lost tooth #6 today!  He and Conner were wrestling around in the living room and when Ben came up for air, he was yelling that he had lost his tooth!  We, of course, couldn't find it for the longest time, but then Dad found it eventually.  We tore that living room apart looking for that tooth!  He said he wanted the Tooth Fairy to bring him a lollipop instead of money.  The next morning, Ben informed us that he had received his regular dollar and a sucker... but it was just a sucker, not a lollipop because it wasn't big enough to be a lollipop!!  So, Ben wasn't too happy that the Tooth Fairy hadn't listened to him...  He got over it though and is pretty excited to be leading the race again in "lost teeth!"

At a dentist visit this week, I was told that the boys are definitely losing teeth faster than usual!  They have the teeth of 8 year olds!  In sadder news, Conner does have a couple of teeth that never formed quite right and they probably need caps.  We will deal with that appointment next month!

Finally...

We got the creative juices flowing this morning when we fit some math homework into our Spring Break!

This afternoon Conner and Ben finally got to try out their new scooters!  They love them!  It was so nice to get outside a little.  And, Nick was finally able to get all of the Christmas lights down!!!

Bowling...

We mentioned that it would be fun to fit in some "real" bowling this week, so the boys have been asking and asking and asking... so today we went to the bowling alley!  Conner was really trying to hold the ball with the right fingers and you could just tell that he was thinking real hard about how he should throw the ball. Ben was content to just throw the ball as hard as he could... that usually meant slamming it down on the floor as soon as he got up to the line!  Conner and Ben both did really good and they loved it! Immediately when we got out to the car to go home, they were planning our next bowling excursion!

Red Light...

We were making one of our many trips to the hardware store today... (building the bathroom in the basement has required lots of trips!)  Anyway, Nick was driving and he was trying to hurry so he cruised through a very yellow/red light.  Ben was shocked... He immediately brought it to our attention that Dad had run a red light.  He told me that he thought maybe Dad needed to practice stopping at red lights so he could get better at it.  Nick and I were laughing and Ben kept talking heatedly about it so Nick told Ben that he wouldn't do it again!  Ben's response was, "Okay, Dad, but I am going to keep my eye on you!"

Museum and Aquarium!

After spending Sunday at the water park, we devoted some time on Monday morning to the game room.  These guys cannot pass up a good game room!

When it was all done, the boys chose to spend their tickets on a couple of rings and some parachute men!

After we checked out of the hotel, we decided to go to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.  We spent a couple of hours looking at all the animals and the boys had a great time!  One of their favorites was seeing the "Paddlefish!"  
 

It was a great way to spend a couple of days!  We all had a great time!

Water Park!

Spring Break is finally here, although the "Spring" part of it leaves much to be desired!  We decided to start off our break with a little overnight trip to Dubuque to stay at Grand Harbor and enjoy the water park!  The boys have been looking forward to this all week!  As soon as we got to our room, we got changed and headed down to the pools and slides.  It is amazing how well the boys did!  Nick and I just couldn't believe how much they could do on their own this time!  We took a little dinner break and then we spent the rest of the evening watching our guys explore the water and enjoy riding the water slides all by themselves!  When bedtime came, there was no struggle at all.... they were done!

Conner's 5th Tooth...

In addition to his Irish hat, Conner also brought home one of his teeth hanging in a sweet little tooth necklace around his neck.  It is the first tooth that he hasn't lost at home, so I was trying to get the whole story out of him.  All I got was that he was watching a movie and his tooth just fell out, so he went to the nurse!  That was his fifth tooth!

Irish for the Day...

Ben was a bit under the weather today, so he came home with me at lunchtime and spent a few hours relaxing.  He kinda enjoyed the alone time with Mom and pointed out several times that I only had one kid! Before he left school, he did get to make his St. Patrick's Day hat, so when we got Conner home, they both posed for a quick picture!

Connect Four...

One of the boys' newest games is Connect Four.  They love it, but are still trying to get the hang of it! (Not a whole lot of strategy going on!)  It is very entertaining to watch them.  They also enjoyed trying Battleship the other night!

Our Day...

March 12 is our day... a day that Nick and I will never forget!  A day that the boys still don't completely understand, but they know it is a special day for our family.  That was the day that we knew we would never be separated again.

Conner and Ben opened a few little gifts from Mom and Dad and we enjoyed dinner at Red Robin, the kids' new favorite place!  We even fit in a few games before bedtime.

Fastest ER Trip...

The boys' asthma has been acting up with all the temperature changes and this morning, Conner was to the point where I wasn't sure he was able to take good deep breaths.  So, we headed over to the ER to take make sure that he didn't have too much wheezing in his lungs.  Luckily, the doctor said his lungs sounded pretty decent and Conner sounded a lot better since we had arrived.  Bad news was he probably had some mild croup... It was the fastest ER visit we have ever had which we were all thankful for.  Conner spent the day resting and already sounds much better!  He got a new car from the nice people at the ER so he was pretty happy and he insisted on keeping his hospital bracelet on!  Never a dull moment!

Things...

Thing 1 and Thing 2... I'm not sure which one is which...  Ben insisted on a silly picture after I took a "real" one!

Ben's Plans...

Ben's plan:  "I can't wait to grow up.  When we grow up, Conner can work with Daddy, and I will stay at home with Mommy. (He looks at me.)  I don't want you to be alone.  So Dad and Conner can work and I will help you with grown up jobs at home.   Like emails and bills."

Conner, Ben, and I kinda like this plan.  Daddy is not quite on board!  We had a much longer conversation about this, but this was the general idea...  my Ben...

Cat in the Hat...

Ben and Conner had to show their "Cat in the Hat" hats they made for Dr. Seuss week!  Ben pointed out how he followed the directions and made his red and white.  Conner quickly told him that he made his very colorful because that's what he wanted to do!

Older...

New clothes always make them look older...