Every Saturday we venture out to get our milk from a local farm. It takes us 40 minutes to get there (or more if it's icy) so once we arrive there is no desire to just sit in the car while dad gets the milk jugs filled. We all like to stretch our legs even if it does mean frozen noses and stinky clothes when we get back in. The barn smells especially strong in the winter :-(
But there are kittens to be found!!
And if you're brave enough to reach in under the giant cow's head, you can scoop one up while it's sleeping.
Evan loves kittens more than anything. He seeks out this little guy every week. Usually the barn kittens are super skittish around people but this one is sort of okay with being held.
Chloe had to try too, with much trepidation. The guard cow took her job very seriously, but her only weapon was her very long tongue. This worked to fend off Chloe for a few attempts, but finally she got brave!
By this time poor kitty was tired of all the fuss and just wanted down.
Their favorite cat is Hitches, who I never seem to get pictures of. Usually I am frozen and head back to the car while the kids sit down on the wet gravel and pet the extremely affectionate lap cat. They always ask if we can take her home since she is everything a cat should be, and our Roy and Ruby are so strange.
They struggle to get out from under her and finally say goodbye, then it's back to the car for the long ride home.
They find ways of entertaining themselves.
They had stomped in ice puddles all over the driveway so their boots and pants were a little moist. And we all reeked of barn smells. But there was lots of laughter.
And plus it is such a pretty drive. So worth it.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Uno Champ
Chloe loves Uno.
She wants to play it all the time. She enjoys setting it up ahead of time and inviting an unsuspecting... I mean... a willing adult to join her.
"Pick up your cards, Dad. I didn't look at them.... I didn't look at any of the cards Dad. Are you ready yet? I didn't look at them."
As the game progresses, her poor Dad seems to just have bad luck with the cards he was dealt. On the other hand, Chloe is clearing out and winning the game!
I wonder why she wins all the time???
She wants to play it all the time. She enjoys setting it up ahead of time and inviting an unsuspecting... I mean... a willing adult to join her.
"Pick up your cards, Dad. I didn't look at them.... I didn't look at any of the cards Dad. Are you ready yet? I didn't look at them."
As the game progresses, her poor Dad seems to just have bad luck with the cards he was dealt. On the other hand, Chloe is clearing out and winning the game!
I wonder why she wins all the time???
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
A Project with Dad
Evan got a model of a combustion motor for Christmas from his Uncle Tim and Aunt Kim. He loves all things that have to do with the mechanics of a car so this motor made his jaw drop! He and Todd had to do this project together since Evan's hands were a bit too uncoordinated and there was super glue involved.
It was a team effort and took hours of dedication over the course of a couple days. Lots of man talk coming from my kitchen table was so fun to hear :-)
When it all came together, Evan was so proud! There are several moving parts and he loved telling us all about it as he showed it off. (I have a video of him describing and demonstrating it all, but it won't upload so just trust me that this thing is really cool!)
I asked him his favorite part about it and his quick reply was, not surprisingly, the exhaust connection. The spark plugs also got a nod as he really likes the words "spark plugs." He also learned how the oil pan and filter were all hidden underneath.
He keeps the instruction booklet with the motor on display in his room so he can read about the parts he forgets anything. A big thank you to Uncle Tim and Aunt Kim for this great gift!!
It was a team effort and took hours of dedication over the course of a couple days. Lots of man talk coming from my kitchen table was so fun to hear :-)
When it all came together, Evan was so proud! There are several moving parts and he loved telling us all about it as he showed it off. (I have a video of him describing and demonstrating it all, but it won't upload so just trust me that this thing is really cool!)
I asked him his favorite part about it and his quick reply was, not surprisingly, the exhaust connection. The spark plugs also got a nod as he really likes the words "spark plugs." He also learned how the oil pan and filter were all hidden underneath.
He keeps the instruction booklet with the motor on display in his room so he can read about the parts he forgets anything. A big thank you to Uncle Tim and Aunt Kim for this great gift!!
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Day We Got Snow
They waited so long for the promise of snow to pay off... Our poor weathermen are never right and the kids woke up to disappointment too often. But on this one morning.... SNOW! Lots of it! Enough to actually go sledding in!
We built a ramp down the deck steps and into the yard (and by WE I mean ME) and I became mom of the year. Well at least mom of the day. The kids were so super excited and even invited their friend Kiarra from across the street over to play.
It's no Frontier Park but the walk back up the hill is a breeze :-)
At least they thoroughly enjoyed every minute they could before it all melted within 36 hours.
These are my only snow pictures from the winter-that-never-was. The only other time they have been out to play in the snow was the first snowy day of the year in early January. We got all of an inch, but they were bundled and out the door at 7:55am in the frigid 17 degree and windy morning. I did not go out with them, naturally. They were out there for an hour that day.
They really like snow.
We built a ramp down the deck steps and into the yard (and by WE I mean ME) and I became mom of the year. Well at least mom of the day. The kids were so super excited and even invited their friend Kiarra from across the street over to play.
It's no Frontier Park but the walk back up the hill is a breeze :-)
At least they thoroughly enjoyed every minute they could before it all melted within 36 hours.
These are my only snow pictures from the winter-that-never-was. The only other time they have been out to play in the snow was the first snowy day of the year in early January. We got all of an inch, but they were bundled and out the door at 7:55am in the frigid 17 degree and windy morning. I did not go out with them, naturally. They were out there for an hour that day.
They really like snow.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Happenings
Sorry for leaving everyone hanging with no details on yesterday's quick post about such a major event.
The hair cut was not as big of an ordeal as I thought. He just simply had enough of hair in his face all.the.time. Plus hair grows back, right? The length he had gotten to took him about a year (curly hair is so much longer than it looks). I held back my tears as I cut in, and I'm sure he did too.
Afterwards, he wasn't too thrilled with how short it ended up, but I assured him in a few months it would look just like he wanted. I'm not a professional after all! Before I cut even one piece he made sure I knew he was going to save it all in his treasure box (with a few locks set aside for me of course). Chloe seemed indifferent about it all and just wanted her brother back to play with after waiting so long for me to get done.
So what's been happening here?? Well, it's February and so far this winter we've only had one day of snow -- real snow where it accumulates and stays on the ground for more than 24 hours. I think we got 10 inches, but it was gone two days later and hasn't stuck since. The ground is so soggy from all the rain we've had in place of snow which makes the yard off-limits.
As always we are reading and reading and reading...
Evan is devouring fairy tales again and Chloe is working her way through the Mr. Putter books again. I picked up Little Women for the first time in my life and read that along with Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Our bookshelf is overflowing right now!
Don't Touch the Floor is a great game for burning off energy.
Chloe really understands "rules" for games now and plays really well with the family. We play Life, Bingo and Uno mostly.
Aunt Bryce comes over often to play and make everyone smile. She and Evan still have such a sweet bond between them.
The art corner is always full of lovely messes. Evan got into origami again for a few weeks and I found a mound of paper boxes there. They both spend a lot of time tracing pictures in books and coloring geometric designs that take them days to finish.
Chloe and I play horses almost daily. It is all she loves and thinks about.
When the kids play together, they don't always agree on one thing, so they usually end up with a mish-mash. Transformers and horses. Monster trucks and horses. Lego cars and horses. Star Wars figures and horses..... You get the idea.
One evening before bed, Chloe promised Evan to play monster trucks with him for the entire day the next day. Skeptically, Evan went to bed thinking about that, and true to her word, she did. The entire day! That episode triggered a weeks long monster truck extravaganza here where they play them for hours every day.
They have races through the hallway (zooming them from their room, past the bathroom and into my room) to see which truck is the furthest. Then they dole out prizes from the fake money jar or the gem jar or the special seashells. Sometimes they play hide and seek with them. Occasionally they forget where they put them and I find them in the refrigerator or under my pillow.
The trampoline has been added to the "horse racing track." Horse races always have insanely hyper classical music playing that Chloe chooses to give her more energy. The faster the music, the faster she gallops! Her horse amazingly is always in first and sometime during the race she will announce, "My horse is two laps ahead of you!" (which is not ever true). Daily horse races have saved my sanity this soggy strange winter.
Evan stays busy with tinkertoys, lincoln logs and legos.
And finally, here is some evidence of our one snow day. (More on this in another post.)
Usually it looks like this outside, minus the spring jackets. There have been some unusually warm days though.
I never thought I'd wish it would snow more...
The hair cut was not as big of an ordeal as I thought. He just simply had enough of hair in his face all.the.time. Plus hair grows back, right? The length he had gotten to took him about a year (curly hair is so much longer than it looks). I held back my tears as I cut in, and I'm sure he did too.
Afterwards, he wasn't too thrilled with how short it ended up, but I assured him in a few months it would look just like he wanted. I'm not a professional after all! Before I cut even one piece he made sure I knew he was going to save it all in his treasure box (with a few locks set aside for me of course). Chloe seemed indifferent about it all and just wanted her brother back to play with after waiting so long for me to get done.
*********************
So what's been happening here?? Well, it's February and so far this winter we've only had one day of snow -- real snow where it accumulates and stays on the ground for more than 24 hours. I think we got 10 inches, but it was gone two days later and hasn't stuck since. The ground is so soggy from all the rain we've had in place of snow which makes the yard off-limits.
As always we are reading and reading and reading...
Evan is devouring fairy tales again and Chloe is working her way through the Mr. Putter books again. I picked up Little Women for the first time in my life and read that along with Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Our bookshelf is overflowing right now!
Don't Touch the Floor is a great game for burning off energy.
Chloe really understands "rules" for games now and plays really well with the family. We play Life, Bingo and Uno mostly.
Aunt Bryce comes over often to play and make everyone smile. She and Evan still have such a sweet bond between them.
The art corner is always full of lovely messes. Evan got into origami again for a few weeks and I found a mound of paper boxes there. They both spend a lot of time tracing pictures in books and coloring geometric designs that take them days to finish.
Chloe and I play horses almost daily. It is all she loves and thinks about.
When the kids play together, they don't always agree on one thing, so they usually end up with a mish-mash. Transformers and horses. Monster trucks and horses. Lego cars and horses. Star Wars figures and horses..... You get the idea.
{horse elevator lifting transformer trucks to the upper deck}
One evening before bed, Chloe promised Evan to play monster trucks with him for the entire day the next day. Skeptically, Evan went to bed thinking about that, and true to her word, she did. The entire day! That episode triggered a weeks long monster truck extravaganza here where they play them for hours every day.
They have races through the hallway (zooming them from their room, past the bathroom and into my room) to see which truck is the furthest. Then they dole out prizes from the fake money jar or the gem jar or the special seashells. Sometimes they play hide and seek with them. Occasionally they forget where they put them and I find them in the refrigerator or under my pillow.
The trampoline has been added to the "horse racing track." Horse races always have insanely hyper classical music playing that Chloe chooses to give her more energy. The faster the music, the faster she gallops! Her horse amazingly is always in first and sometime during the race she will announce, "My horse is two laps ahead of you!" (which is not ever true). Daily horse races have saved my sanity this soggy strange winter.
Evan stays busy with tinkertoys, lincoln logs and legos.
{A kitty house, naturally}
And finally, here is some evidence of our one snow day. (More on this in another post.)
Usually it looks like this outside, minus the spring jackets. There have been some unusually warm days though.
I never thought I'd wish it would snow more...
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A Quick Note
I'm thinking about taking a bit of a break from blogging -- as you can tell they are few and far between recently anyway.
The kids avoid the camera.
They spend so much time now playing with each other and not me (!!!) I don't have as many opportunities to observe them.
I started using photobucket to host my pictures (new camera = HUGE file size) and we updated firefox and photobucket isn't working right for some reason ..... blah.
I would rather be playing the piano.
I may still post a few times this month, but I'm not sure. See you later!
The kids avoid the camera.
They spend so much time now playing with each other and not me (!!!) I don't have as many opportunities to observe them.
I started using photobucket to host my pictures (new camera = HUGE file size) and we updated firefox and photobucket isn't working right for some reason ..... blah.
I would rather be playing the piano.
I may still post a few times this month, but I'm not sure. See you later!
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