Major Dad

Scott promotion

Today Scott pinned on Major!! The boys & I got dressed up & went to base to watch Scott's boss, Colonel Booth, promote him. Colonel Booth said some very nice things about Scott (we're not sure he knew who he was talking about!) & our boys had some very nice "running around screaming" time. Scott & I were just thankful everyone up Scott's chain of command loves kiddos. Daniel played peek-a-boo with the curtain you see in the pics behind Scott & managed to (almost) knock over the American flag. William ran laps around the conference room table, stopping only to join in the clapping & scream, "YAAAAAAAAAY!" in tune with the applause. I got to change the pins on Scott's jacket from the Captain's bars to the Major's oak leaf, & the boys "helped" me change the shoulder boards on his shirt from the bars to the leaf. They were so excited to help. We had lunch after the ceremony & then Colonel Booth gave Scott the rest of the day off.

Finally.....big boy bike!

So, today was day 3 of no poop in the diaper & all poop in the potty. William FINALLY got to ride the big boy bike that's been teasing him from the garage for weeks now. It was a rocky transition at first--he apparently uses his right leg more than his left to pedal the tricycle--but he got better quickly and figured out how to use them more equally. I've got a couple of videos to come later.

The Zoo

Zoo field trip

The day after we got home, William's class took a field trip to the zoo in St. Louis. After getting used to temps in the upper 70's & 80's in Louisiana, we returned home to a cold front & a high in the 50's for the trip. It was sun hats & heavy coats, but the boys had a blast, despite being rather cranky from our trip. We didn't get to see much of the zoo as nap time won out over animals after a melt-down or two, but here are a few snaps. Check out the one of the boys nose-to-nose with a penguin. They were all checking each other out. **Be sure to click the picture**

The big, big bridge

 
Daniel's favorite book right now is Thomas (otherwise known as "woo-woo") and the Big, Big Bridge. At one point in the book, Thomas is on the big, big bridge & closes his eyes because he's scared. He then falls off the tracks & Harold the Helicopter has to come & rescue him. Here is a snap of Daniel on our way home showing me how Thomas closes his eyes. He shouts "eyes cwosed" & then when you ask who comes to rescue Thomas, he says "Ha-wowd". It's pretty darn cute!

Feeding the donkeys

the donkeys

After the party (and after William woke up), we went down the street a little ways to a friend of the family's farm so the boys could feed the donkeys. You can see from the pictures that they had a ball. William was VERY insistent that the donkeys eat the bread he was trying to feed them. At one point, we thought he was going to climb right in their pen with them! And, he & Daniel had a blast shouting "Hee-haw!" at them all.

Happy BD Maddi & Meredith

Twins BD party

On Sunday, were able to share in our nieces' birthday party. Their actual birthday is May 6, but they celebrated early so we could be there. William wasn't feeling well & slept through most of the party, but Daniel had a blast playing with his cousins & going up & down the slide. He even learned to swing like a big boy, which he has been DYING to do for weeks now. This is a picture of the twins & one of their friends. Click on the picture to see more!

Another crawfish boil

crawfish boil Apr 2008

On Saturday, we headed to my Aunt Sarah's for a crawfish boil. The boys had a blast & Daniel couldn't get enough of the crawfish. He was a natural at picking them up & was very disappointed when they all went in the pot. The pics of him looking in the purple bag are him looking for "Mo Cwaw-Fissss!" We got rained on (thus the pics of William looking like a drowned rat), but even that didn't ruin the fun. Click the pic for more.

I'm in the.....HOT TUB!!

Hot tub!

We made it down to Louisiana today. The trip was much better this time with two of us to referee all of the goings-on in the rear! The kids were very excited to see Maw-Maw Lin & Paw-Paw Bip. The spent the afternoon tearing around the house & terrorizing, er, playing with the two dogs, Birdie & Bogie. We also put them in floaties & let them splash around in the hot tub. You can see from the pics how upset they were to have to get in there! **Be sure to click on the picture to see more**

More earthquakes?

I found this article this morning. It's downright scary. Who knew it was so dangerous to live in the Midwest? We actually had an aftershock on Friday morning, but none that we've felt since. This article says we could have them for months & they could accumulate into one big one. Copy & paste if the link doesn't work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080418/sc_livescience/scientistsevenbiggerquakecouldhitmidwest

T-ball

William & Scott have been practicing throwing & catching so he'll have SOME idea of what he's doing when his T-ball season starts. The first real practice is this Saturday, but since we're heading back home to LA, he'll miss the first one. Thankfully, he doesn't realize that yet ;-) It's kind of hard to tell from the pics (Mommy not so good with camera!), but he can actually catch it in the glove--if it's thrown correctly!--and has a good throw back. So far, not afraid of the ball, but I'm sure I can change that in the foreseeable future. More action shots to come once we manage to make a practice.

Earthquake!

We have survived our first (and, hopefully, our last) earthquake. Scott & I woke up about 4:40 this morning to our lamps rattling on our bedside tables. When the bed "jumped" a second later, we ran out of bed to get the kids. Before we woke them up, thankfully, we realized it was over. It lasted about 20 seconds, which seems like an eternity in the middle of the night when you're confused & your house is shaking! It was a 5.2 & was centered about 120 miles east of us. Here is the MSNBC article if anyone is interested. You may have to copy & paste the link. Not sure if it is "clickable".

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24195650

OOPS!

oops

One of Daniel's favorite games right now is to put objects into containers, holes, whatever he can find. Unbeknownst to us, he's apparently been playing this game with our FURNACE! Yes, you read that right: He's been putting small plastic toys into our furnace down in the basement. (Thank goodness none of them melted!) Check out all of the objects the A/C guy pulled out of there today: one horse, one camel, one zebra, two small pink birds, 3 magnetic letters & one magnetic number 9!!!

Basement

Our contractor started work on our basement on Monday. The framing is almost finished & the A/C guys are headed out today. Things are moving fast, but the contractor keeps telling me not to get too excited b/c there will be a SNAFU or two that will slow things down. Things have been really loud around here this week as we also had the posts dug for our new fence that should be completed by Monday. I'm learning exactly what my children will sleep through! More basement pics to come as it progresses. We will have a beautiful new bedroom for anyone who wants to come & visit (hint, hint!)

Yum, YUUUUUUUM!

banana bread

William & I made banana bread this morning. He had a blast helping me by dumping all of the ingredients in & then stirring it for me. William loves baking, as long as we don't use that noisy mixer!!!!!! Daniel's only comment was to say "Yum, YUUUUUM!"

Outside!!

play cube

The boys & I drove to St. Louis (about 30 min) this morning to pick up a climbing cube & to go to Costco. Costco is a very dangerous place with children, at least with mine. It can go very smoothly (probably from the fruit smoothies I bribe them with!) or can be very disasterous (probably from the enormous play set that's set up just to make kids scream, cry, and beg so parents will spend money!). Thankfully, this morning was a smooth day & we were in & out in under 30 minutes. Just in time for the kiddos to nap & play outside on their new climbing toy. It was very windy, but we're slowly getting used to that & the kids had a BLAST yelling "Cheese" as they went down the slides so I could get a picture. *Be sure to click the picture to see the rest*

William's New Trick

William learned how to do a somersault today! He was so proud of himself and proceeded to do it over & over while Daniel clapped & cheered for him. Check him out!

Breakfast with the Bunch

This morning was the annual "Breakfast with the Bunch" at William's school. Daddy took a couple of hours off of work & was able to meet William's teachers and his friends from school. The highlight of the morning was when William managed to sneak down the back staircase (of course, I was watching the FRONT exit, knowing his penchant for running off!) and find his classroom by himself. Boy, was he proud of himself. This, in turn, led to a stern lecture about running off without telling anyone where he was going, as well as instructions about what to do if he ever gets himself lost for real. We're not really sure he gets it (judging by the excited tone of voice he uses when he relives his "adventure"), but we're keeping our fingers crossed & our eyes peeled.

Choo! Choo!

train museum

Today, we threw naps to the wind & drove to St. Louis to see the Transportation Museum. It was trains, plans, and automobiles. The boys had a blast, although Daniel had more fun running up & down the ramps than looking at the trains. Our friends Kate & Pete and their son Dakota met up with us there. William & Kota had so much fun exploring the trains & ringing the bells. At the end, we got to take a train ride! **Be sure to click the picture to see the rest of them**

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Scott & I have been married 5 years today. Here is my beautiful anniversary present. He got me a matching wedding band for the other side of my engagement ring.
 

We spent the morning at the park with the kids b/c the weather was BEAUTIFUL again. Here are some snaps of them playing. Be sure to click the picture to see the rest of them.

park april 5 08

To end the day, Scott & I left the boys with a sitter and went to a 5-star restaurant in St. Louis called Tony's. We'd highly recommend it to anyone making it out here. The food was FABULOUS & the service outstanding. We did the tasting menu, so we had a little of all of their best dishes. It was nice to get dressed up & waited on ;-)

2 + 2 = 4

William's and Daniel's friends Alayna & Calvin came over to spend the day with us today. We had a blast playing in the basement in the morning & then after naps, the kids watched videos (are they glued to the TV, or what?) & then we went for a walk around the block. Calvin rode his big boy bike & William pedaled his tricycle for all he was worth trying to keep up with him. Alayna & Daniel rode in the wagon & pointed out rocks for me to collect for them. Then it was back to the house so they could all play trains (or "woo-woos", as Daniel says) until it was time for Alayna & Calvin to go home.