Rodeo and Legos

Last weekend we took the boys to the Stockshow and Rodeo. They had a pretty good time watching the horses and cowboys - but they were most excited about having a corn dog and lemonade for lunch.

They even got their own clown nose. Unfortunately at this point, my camera battery died. After the rodeo we went to Fort Collins to have dinner with Tim, Stephanie and family.

On Sunday, Ryan was excited to put together the big Lego set that he had bought the previous weekend. Luke tried to help him out at first - but Ryan really wanted to do it himself and Luke lost interest in just watching.

Ryan proceeded to spend 4 straight hours putting together a 400 piece, 3 book instruction, Lego set almost completely by himself. He was so proud of himself and I loved seeing him so focused on something for so long.

Luke watched for awhile - but then he got to go to Costco with Greg - which means a hotdog for lunch and free samples.

When Ryan is really concentrating, he sticks his tongue - just like his Grandad.

The boys have had a good week - they've stayed busy with school and they are making such great strides in reading. We were reminded once again this week how fast they are growing up - Ryan has a loose tooth. He is so excited about it and Greg and I are in disbelief that we have a child old enough to lose a baby tooth.

Laid-back Weekend

We've had a quiet and relaxing holiday weekend. I took off on Friday for their Kindergarten Rodeo - so I've had a great 4 day weekend. The boys enjoyed watching a Saturday morning cartoon - The Magic School Bus and then spent most of the day playing before they had a birthday party to go to that night. Sunday was spent playing around the house and then the boys and I watched a Harry Potter movie together. Today, we went to the Lego store to use their Lego giftcards from Papa and Grandma and then came home to build their new Lego sets.

The boys created a new game using a construction set - I'm not sure of the rules but they taught Greg how to play the game today.

Ryan and Luke put most of their Lego sets together by themselves. Luke spent almost all day putting together his 400 piece Police semi-truck set - with a little guidance from us (he does a great job by himself, but he does tend to skip a few steps every now and then). Ryan put together a 100 piece airplane set by himself and we'll put together his larger set next weekend.

Ryan and his plane.

Luke following his 3 book instruction Lego set.



Ryan also enjoyed playing with his new Hex-bug robot from Aunt Conny and family.

And Luke decided to create a football team complete with uniforms.

Overall, we had a great weekend and we're looking forward to a short 4 day school week.

Lastly - one last picture from their Rodeo day - Ryan is such a poser.

Kindergarten Rodeo

Rather than continuing to delay posting a Christmas blog because I haven't had the time to sift through pictures - I am going to jump into 2012 with the boys' Kindergarten Rodeo.

First up - Ryan's class.







Ryan's Kindergarten class. They were all wiped out by the end.

Next up - Luke's class.








Luke's Kindergarten class.


The boys had a blast - I am so glad that they are loving school. They love their teachers, their friends and all the extra stuff that comes when you go to school.

Cookies and Snow

We got about a foot of snow this week. The boys had a good time "helping" Greg shovel - which means that they shovel for about 30 seconds and then play.

Sweet little face.

Ryan especially loves the snow. He spent a lot of time outside yesterday creating a sledding path and then swinging and sliding on his playset.

We also made gingerbread cookies this week. I really wasn't up to making and decorating Christmas cookies this year - but these were pretty easy and the boys liked decorating their own cookies.

Santa Claus 2011

Ryan and Luke are so excited about Christmas this year. Luke asked Santa for a stuffed animal snake (not sure why) and Ryan asked for a remote-controlled robot. Nana also made the boys advent calendars. They are designed to hold one Hershey's kiss per day. On the morning of Dec. 4, Ryan woke up early and ate his 20 remaining kisses for breakfast. The next day I discovered that he had eaten 7 of Luke's kisses, as well. Looking at this picture above really shows me how much they have grown up in the past year - I don't think they will fit on Santa's lap next year. Here are the Santa pictures from the last few years.

Waiting patiently for Santa. Actually, Greg waited patiently for Santa while the boys and I hung out at the Lego store.

We also went on our annual neighborhood hay ride a few weeks ago. It was really cold.

Poor Santa had already spent 3 hours on the hay ride before we got there - he looks really cold and tired at this point. It had snowed a lot the day before and I think it was only around 15 degrees that evening.

We stayed bundled up and warmed ourselves up afterwards with hot chocolate.


Lastly, a video of Ryan making his gingerbread house. He did a lot more eating than making. He has to be one of the most sweet-obsessed boys ever. I can understand that - I snuck a lot of candy and sugar when I was a kid, but I turned out ok.

November in Review

Busy month with little to no time to post. So here is a brief review.




The boys had their first science project at school. They had to determine how big their alligators would grow in water or in water with another substance. Ryan's alligator was in sugar water and Luke's was in apple juice. After 7 days, the apple juice had a thick layer of mold on top - it was very disgusting. Part of the project was forming a hypothesis, graphing the size of their alligators each day, and writing about the outcome. Ultimately, the alligator in water grows bigger than the alligator in another substance.


Ryan was Star of the Week during Thanksgiving. He got make a poster and then bring his class bear home with the bear's journal. Scruffy had an eventful week. He got to eat Thanksgiving dinner with us, ride the train downtown, and see the Lion King.

Me and the boys, plus Nana, Grandad, Uncle Todd, Aunt Conny, Jacob and Olivia went to see The Lion King the day after Thanksgiving. We had great seats and the boys loved it. We even got to take a picture with young Simba and Nala afterwards.

My whole family came this year for Thanksgiving and it was really great to have everyone together. The plan on Sunday was to go snow tubing in the mountains, but Ryan woke up in the middle of the night sick, so he and I stayed home while everyone else headed up. From what all the kids said, they had a blast.

Lastly, Nana made Gingerbread houses with all of the kids. They loved it and Conny and I loved that we didn't have to do ourselves.

Overall, November was a good, but busy month. Greg was gone almost every week, so the boys and I were in our normal strict schedule required survival mode. Thanksgiving was great, but exhausting (mainly because we all get sick at the end of the week). We're looking forward to having Christmas break and hanging out around the house.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween with the boys. On Friday, we met Jonny, Jenny and Tommy at Boo at the Zoo. The boys had a Halloween party at school on Monday, complete with a school-wide costume parade. And then we headed out Monday night to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood. I remember that our first Halloween here we made it to 3 houses. Last year, we barely made it around the block before Luke gave out. But this year, we could have gone all night if we had let them. Greg encouraged the boys to pick Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock - but it was a pretty easy sale. They initially wanted to be Anakin and Luke Skywalker, but they were fine with changing their minds - Ryan was especially excited about wearing Spock ears. I keep thinking that this will be the last year of the combo costume idea - but they have been fine with it the last 2 years - we'll see what next year brings.

Ryan and Luke with their jack o'lanterns - they drew the faces and then helped Greg carve them.

Hanging out with Tommy at boo at the Zoo.

Previous Halloween costumes:

2006

2007 - they were actually Darth Vader and Yoda but they were too wiggly at this age to get a picture of them together in their costumes.

2008

2009 - my all time favorite costumes.

2010

2011