May the Fourth Be With You

Today is Star Wars day - which turned out to be the perfect day for the boys to each have a friend come over after school and play Light-saber Tag.

School Play, Fishtank and Yellow Jackets

 The boys had their school Kindergarten musical this past week.  Luke was Jack of Jack and Jill, and Ryan was Jack of Jack be Nimble(Luke carried a bucket and Ryan had a candlestick).  So their costumes were pretty easy - thanks to their cousin Jacob, they had some pretty cute clothes to wear and I didn't have to worry about creating something like Humpty Dumpty or the Big Bad Wolf.

 Greg had to go out of town, but we ordered a video so he can watch it.  I was able to get a quick picture of me and the boys before we left.  The picture gives the impression of calm, but in reality, I was up to my limit with their non-stop fighting that had been going on all week.  Nevertheless, their play was super cute and they both did a great job.

They both ended up on the front row and were almost right next to each other.

 Ryan's line was "Every single slurp was oh so perfectly done." 

 Luke's line was "You don't have to go around feeling sorry." 

They both did great and with a group of 100 kindergartners, all the kids did wonderful and there were no tears or forgotten lines.  Their school does this every year, so it will be fun to watch Ryan and Luke and their classmates grow up and change and compare it from year to year.

The boys got a fish tank for Easter.  So after a week of letting the water settle, we were able to go and get fish last week.  They now have 4 fish with names like Henry, Cutie, Minnie and something else.  So far, a week later, they are all alive and the boys have done a great job of taking care of them.

I spent some time outside today trying to get our raised flower bed ready for our garden.  I've noticed a lot of yellow jackets (Luke even got stung a few weeks ago-very traumatic) and I worked today on finding the source.  I lifted one of the bricks off the top and found a few old hives - so I pulled off all 25+ bricks and found hives in most of them, many of which are currently active.  I am now waiting until dusk to go out and spray them all - hopefully this will help fix the problem and the boys and I will be able to start planting our garden tomorrow.

Easter 2012

 We had a great Easter last weekend.  Nana, Grandad and Lucy came to visit from Texas and the boys had a great time with them.  After church on Sunday morning, we set up a second Easter Egg Hunt for the boys in the front yard.  We opted to put quarters and such in the Easter eggs this year - we emptied out our piggy bank and the boys ended up with about $20 to go towards buying stuff for their new fish tank.  The boys also got to check out their Easter baskets from Nana and Grandad, Papa and Grandma, and from me and Greg - overall, it was a great and relaxing day.

 And they're off.

We also had an Easter Egg Hunt a couple of weeks ago with their cousin Tommy.

 

And in an attempt to get the boys to cooperate with picture time and to try and get Luke to abandon is normal picture pose (clinched lips and big eyes) - Greg asked the boys to say "dog poop" - they thought that was hilarious.

Spring Break and the Tooth Fairy

 We had a great Spring Break at the end of March.  The boys and I hung out at the house for the first couple of days, then they went to an art camp one morning, and then Stephanie and her kids came to stay with us for the rest of the week.

 We went to the zoo one day - along with everyone else in Denver - it was super crowded, but the kids had a great time and it was a beautiful day.

The highlight of any trip to the zoo with the boys is eating Dipping Dots outside the monkey house.  I've been doing this with them since we first moved here (they were about 18 months).  It gave me a chance to take a few close-up pictures of their sweet little faces.

 Luke was such a sweet boy with Mackenna.  He helped us out by making sure that she stuck with him.  He did not like it, however, when I would ask him to go and get his girl.

The best part of the week for Ryan is that he finally lost his first tooth.  It had been loose since January, but we haven't pushed for trying to get it out.  His adult tooth even started to come in behind it, but he wasn't ready for us to pull it out.  But after bath one night, he wiggled it a little and it started to bleed.  I told him I would have to pull hit out and he started sobbing - but then he asked that only I take it out.  Greg and I looked at each other, not really knowing how to pull a tooth - but after a few wiggles and a little twist, it came right out and Ryan immediately stopped crying and said, "hey, that didn't hurt!"  He was so excited and Luke was devastated (none of his teeth are loose yet) - but Ryan promised to share some his dollars with him that the tooth fairy would bring.  Ryan also wanted to leave a note for the tooth fairy to ask her her name - she wrote back to tell him it is Mathilda.

 

Overall, it was great week and it really got us all excited for summer vacation - it can't be here soon enough. 

Soccer

 The boys had their first soccer game today.  We didn't play soccer at all last year, but we thought we'd give it another try this year.  At this point, we don't see a soccer scholarship in their future - but they are having fun and that is really all that matters.  They are on a newly formed team (The Monkeys) and they played a team today that has probably been together for at least the last year - it really showed, but there was no whining from our boys, which was a huge step up from 2 and 3 years ago.

 Ryan does seem to keep up with what is going on with the game, he just doesn't have the skills yet to be very effective.  Luke isn't in his own world when he plays, but there is no since of urgency on his part or an understanding that he needs to take the initiative to contribute - there is a lot of skipping around after the ball - but it is pretty fun to watch him.

 

Everyone one's favorite part at the end of the game is running through the parent tunnel - Ryan really likes this because he can yell as loud as he wants.

A sweet close-up of Luke's dirty face.

And here they are when they were 3 at their very first game.

Leprechauns and Rockets

 Last Saturday, we made Leprechaun Traps and launched rockets.  Greg got Ryan model rockets for Christmas and they have been waiting for the snow to melt and for it to be warm enough to launch.  The day finally came this past weekend.  All 3 boys had a blast.

Ryan loved pushing the button to set off his rocket - although he did find it a little loud.  But after each launch he ran around saying "that was awesome" and shaking both hands up and down to emphasize his excitement.

 

He really liked retrieving the rocket after it landed. 

 

Luke was equally intrigued - although I think Greg had the most fun.

Also on Saturday, we made Leprechaun Traps for the boys' school.  This was something that I've never heard of, but apparently it is a big Kindergarten project.  Luke tried to build his trap as soon as he found out about it last Monday.  He kept telling me he had seen some on Google and he wants his trap on Google, too.  He created a couple of prototype traps during the week, but we built the real thing on Saturday.

 

So apparently, the idea is that you set a trap for a Leprechaun to steal gold - but before he can get to it, he is trapped in some way.  Both boys opted for the hidden trap door version.  Luke created his all by himself.

 

 Ryan had a great time, too - he needed a little more help, but he did most of it himself.

 Ryan and his finished project and Luke and his below.

 They take them to school this week and I think we set them outside on Saaturday to see if we can catch a Leprechaun trying to steal our gold.

 Greg brings the boys a "treat" every time he goes out of town - which is a lot, so they've accumulated quite a collection of things.  Greg went to Las Vegas last week and found this giant alien for Ryan.  Ryan loves it and he carried it around with him all weekend.

Everything is going good.  We had their parent-teacher conference a couple of weeks ago and both boys are doing great.  Luke is excelling in reading and math and is already at the same level as an end of year 1st grader.  Ryan has made great strides since our last conference with his teacher in January.  We have been working with him a lot at home with reading and with time management and his teacher has seen a huge improvement.  He is already where he needs to be to be ready for 1st grade in the fall.  The goal for us will be to keep the momentum going and not lose any ground over the summer.  Both boys love school and they have always loved to read or be read to - Greg and I will work to keep school and learning fun, but we'll also do a ton of fun summer stuff - we can't wait for the pool to open - but for now we'll settle for our upcoming Spring Break.

Ski Day

 We took the boys skiing for the first time last Sunday.  I have been wanting to do this for the last two years, but we've been hesitant to know if they could handle the cold (mainly because it took forever to find a good pair of mittens that actually fit them and kept their hands warm, thank you L.L. Bean for fixing that).  But this year, we were fully equipped, plus it turned out to be a gorgeous day in the mountains.  We enrolled them in a class at Loveland - and they had a blast and were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day.  They both want to go again - so I would call that a success.

They were so cute in their little bitty skis.

 Luke was ready to go.

 Ryan was super excited until he snapped his goggles on his eye before their lesson started - he was pretty mad about that and it took him awhile to want to get over it.  But, he loved it - Ryan is the one we think will really like skiing.

 There was of course some falling down.  Luke was pretty funny here - he had a heck of a time getting back up, but he didn't give up.

 Ryan called for me to come and help him, but I was behind the area for non-kids - so I told him I couldn't help, he eventually got back up.

 Luke was really good once he was able to head downhill.

Ryan was really able to fly down the little bunny hill.  Next time, Greg and I will take them out and let them go on a chair lift and ski a few greens.  Loveland is a great place to take kids - it is easy to get to, not crowded, and has several easy beginner runs.

And while the boys were at their lesson, Greg and I were able to ski by ourselves for the day.  Loveland is the highest ski resort in the area - so it was pretty cool to ski above treeline on a beautiful sunny and cloud free/wind-free day.  We are looking forward to being able to ski with the boys for several years to come - skiing is such a great family activity.