Snapshots

 Snow Cone friday!!! The teachers aren't the biggest fans of these days because of the excitement and disruptions (and all that sugar!), but the kids love it!  

And I love to sneak out for a little sunshine and bite of snow cone!  

 Sunday rest time.  

Why do they all want to pile up on my bed???

 This boy loves Legos!  He decided that he needed a little extra light and pulled the lamp over to help him see.  He loves to build according to the directions, and then after awhile he will take them apart and build them all over again!

"Tatum sit!  I'll give you a treat!" 

This boy loves his dog!  

(And the dog loves his boy!)

 Oh, I love these boys!

Blowing of a "puff ball" after making a dirt home for a worm they found.

C's handwriting.  

It seems like he improves each week! 

Pinewood Derby

We have learned that Boy Scouts has the Pinewood Derby each year.  Because we don't have the tools or skills, Pop said he would do help us out and make them!  

After seeing all of the work he put in to them, I'm seeing that I probably couldn't have done it!

On Friday night, they had a trial run so we could weigh the cars, and see if we needed to make any adjustments. 

 At the practice C even got a chance to run the cars!  He loved that! 

Saturday afternoon was the real race.  It was all very official, they weighed the cars and then only the Scouts could touch the cars.  

It was interesting to see all of the different car constructions.  Different shapes and sizes, different weight placement, etc.  H already has some different ideas for how he would like his car to be next year.   

He won a few rounds and lost a few, but was very happy with his participation trophy, and the fun of the race.  

SEVEN!!!!

How is he already seven? 

I am seeing the truth in the saying "the days are long but the years are fast."  This is so true! Some days are so long and such a struggle, but it still seems like yesterday that he was learning to walk! 

 He requested our homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast on his birthday. 

 We brought cookies, Doritoes, and Capri Suns to share with his class for his birthday.  He liked handing out the goodies, and how the kids all said thank you to him, and having them all sing to him!  

 He found his name on the birthday wall at school.

 He requested that we play lots of games on his birthday.  We played tenzys, The Raggedy Rat Rascal, Uno Moo, Light Bright and more!

He also wanted a bubble bath with brother.  

It's the little things that make him happy!

He asked to go to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday, so we did!  So much excitement! 

Fun with friends at his Angry Bird birthday party at the park.  

I'm sure he enjoyed all of his celebrations.  I think seven will be a great year! 

SweetHart snapshots

Yoga with SweetHart.   They are only good for about a minute, but they like doing it with her. 

 Valentines parties at school.  They both had all sorts of Valentines from their friends, and parties with all sorts of goodies!  I got to sneak in to each party for a few minutes. 

 SweetHart and I snuck over to Black Bayou one morning.  So nice to be able to wander through and check out all of the different wildlife and trees. 

 Valentines celebration with SweetHart.  The boys had picked out some cards and chocolates for her earlier in the week, and they had fun being sneaky about it!  

They loved their baskets with Valentines Beanie Boos, Legos, shark tail blankets and a few extra things!

 SweetHart and Leonard made good nap time buddies.

Decorating the Boy Scout Pinewood Derby car that Pop made for H.  

Mardi Gras Fun

The lower grades at our school had a Mardi Gras parade on Tuesday.  

All week we've been learning some Mardi Gras history, and the old Louisiana song "Iko Iko" in music class and everyone was ready for some Mardi Gras fun!

 C's class all lined up and ready for the parade.  

The first graders were the parade.  They had created Mardi Gras shoe box floats based on a book report they did, and then they dressed up like a character from the book.  H chose "Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses." 

 H made sure that C got plenty of candy and beads.

 Iron Man, Pete the Cat, and Hermione all ready for the parade. 

 H with his float and his cute teacher who dressed up for Mardi Gras 

She organized the parade and got the school band to come play the music for it!

 C and his teacher with the mask he decorated in class.

Me and my Mardi Gras boys! 

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!!!

SweetHart and KK's visit

 They finally came!!! 

The boys were so excited to have them here and to get their beds and everything ready for them.

 Snuggled up to read bed time stories with SweetHart and KK. 

 We stayed home "sick" the day after they got here, so we went out for lunch and to visit Nanny.

 The boys picked flowers for all of us at Nanny's.

And then after that they collected leaves for us.  It kept them happy and entertained while we chatted.

 The next day we had some cousins come visit us.  It was so much fun to have them there!  Lots of hugs, and fun cousins for the boys to play with.

 The adult cousins (and uncle) all had fun too!

The boys "taught" SweetHart how to paint with tea - an activity they had enjoyed at our library.   

KK snuggles!  We loved having her here for playing, loving and homework help!

Snapshots

 Snow cones were coming to school! I told C if he wanted to have a snow cone, he needed to write his name and "Kona Ice money" on his envelope (mail bag, he sometimes calls it).  He was pretty pleased with himself that he wrote some words!

 I saw H's class outside getting their snow cones and snuck a hug and a taste from H!

I love seeing these boys at school!

 We went to the Mardi Gras children's parade at the mall.  There was a huge crowd this year!  The theme this year was pirates, and the Mardi Gras king and queen were there with their huge costumes.  

 The boys caught a LOT of beads and candy there!

Sometimes I am very thankful when they are asleep in bed!  Most days are pretty good, but some days can be a little (or a lot) trying.  These were taken at the end of a particularly rough day of homework and life battles.  They look so peaceful when they are sleeping!

We've had fun getting ready for some visitors, getting beds ready and such.  They were making sure the beds were cozy enough.  They were pretending to sleep: H is dreaming, and C is mid snore.  

And Tatum is offering his alligator...

Art

I've been loving all of the art opportunities the boys have had lately.  

We do some art at home, but lately homework (first grade is hard!!!) has been taking a precedent, and we just don't have the time (or sometimes, desire) to sit down and draw!

H did this with his class.  I love it!  When it comes home, I'm thinking it will be framed and on the wall! 

 C was proud of the "rainbow name" that he drew on top of a worksheet one day. 

 Painting with tea.  

Our library has Thursday afternoon children's activities/crafts, and we love to go to these when we can.  

This last week it was painting with tea bags.  The boys were fascinated by the way the colors changed as they dried, and the way the different flavors of tea (cherry, peach, blackberry) made different colors. 

C's drawing of our family (and pets) from during a faculty meeting.  

This is the first that he's drawn me with hair.  

We look to be a long legged family! 

This was on the back of one of H's papers from class.

"It's a banana!  Because I LOVE to eat bananas!" 

 H's art from art class.  

They were told to draw a detailed picture of a fun place that they've been.  He chose to draw the hotel that we stayed at this summer.  It made more of an impression than I thought!

 H's church doodles:

Alligator, rhino, zebra, H, C, and our house.

Another family picture by C.