Arboretum in Dallas

I love being in Dallas in the spring. It is warm but not too warm. All the flowers are blooming...and best of all, it isn't raining :-) My kids wore shorts and even played in the water, something we won't get to do in WA for another month.

On Monday we met my college friend Becky and her 2 daughters at the Dallas Arboretum. The Arboretum has a bunch of giant storybook houses set up for the kids to run around in. It was a perfect day and the kids had a great time.

Gabe still loves anything with a steering wheel.

And there is nothing cuter than two little boys staring at the water and having fun.

Budding Photographer

Anthony found Rob's little digital camera and spent the morning taking pictures. I think it is sweet what he chooses to take pictures of. Even funnier is listening to him direct everyone in the photos...wonder where he learned that from? Gabe is by far his favorite subject followed by his stuffed animals. He also tried to take a picture of a spider web and was disappointed when it didn't turn out.

Here are a few. He had the best time.

And the best part

Nara will be in New Jersey when Rob and I are there visiting his family! Yeah!!!!

Small thing...

Big impact! My friend Nara called today. Nara and I were friends in Alaska and now she lives in Germany. We never get to talk and hardly ever get emails to each other. But when ever we do talk it is like no time has passed. I miss her terribly. Today had been a rotten day, the kids were on my last nerve. Now it is all better!

Easter Day

We got up early and let the kids hunt for about 2 eggs and the 3 baskets each they got (next year I will remind grandparents that Easter shouldn't be a bigger candy haul than Halloween). Then we headed to church. They didn't have Sunday school, so the kids were with me for the whole service...a bit trying during the sermon but other than that OK.

Oh, and I made Eggs Benedict for Breakfast...with Hollandaise sauce from scratch.

The Steam Train

Last summer I really wanted to take the kids to ride the steam train just south of us in Chehalis. But, the whole are flooded and ruined the likelihood of that happening. With the move, it is unlikely we could fit it in since they don't run regularly till Jun. Then I found out they do an Easter Train. So today after much difficulty we all loaded in the car and drove the 35 miles to Chehalis.

The boys loved the train and had fun hunting eggs too. Anthony now understands the egg hunt concept and is very focused. Gabe just follows Anthony. At the end, the boys actually got to climb in the engine...oh how cool!

I was a bit disappointed in the 25 min ride, but my kids are easily entertained and for that I am grateful.

Hands On

We have a membership to our local Hands on Children's Museum. I would have killed for something like this in Fairbanks. The boys get to run around playing with toys we will never have at our house. We try to go once a month, but this time I just needed to get us out of the house. There was a special touch tank with animals from the local waters on display for spring break.

We began at the food section. They have a delivery truck, and orchard and garden to 'pick' fruits and veggies, a little store, a small kitchen for cooking. It is fun to explain how our food starts in the garden and progresses to our house for dinner.

Next we moved to the building section. Gabe serenaded us with his rendition of the "Bob the Builder" theme song. This is the first time Anthony focused on building with the boards. I like that he is starting to puzzle solve.

Finally they found the touch tank...and Anthony remained there for most of the afternoon. He camped next to the high schooler acting as the guide, Evelyn. He told her all about the sea creatures...the great whites that eat the seals (Discovery channel), the barracuda that eats the eggs (Nemo), the whale shark, the penguins. She just smiled and nodded for him.

Lately, Gabe is into art...especially drawing and gluing. They have a huge art station which he liked hanging at.

We ended with the dress up station. Anthony wouldn't let me take his picture as a leopard. Gabe tried on the horse and the lady bug before settling on the alligator.

When we got home, the kids took a 3 hour nap :-)

A little brag

So I could complain endlessly about all the things Rob doesn't do, but today he has been great. Actually, all week.

He has put the kids to bed every night since he returned from Alaska. Tonight he came home early so I could go to a Step class at the gym without the kids. He took care of dinner. And now he is over playing with the neighbor's dog so I could finish my quiz in Human Resource Management (yes I finished before moving to my blog).

I am starting to back date posts of the kids with my mom visiting so watch out.

97

That is my score on my test for business data analysis. Since I still have no idea what we are doing in that class, I am quite pleased with the score.

Playing with Grandma

Rob spent two weeks travelling. While I hate when he is only home for a weekend between trips, I now understand how important that 2 days is for us and me individually. So, my mom came to rescue me...Yeah for my mom!

Normally when she visits we have a project to complete...but not this time. This time we didn't do much of anything except play with the kids.

We took them to their gymnastics place for crazy toddler play time.

We took them to the park.

We played at home.

And best of all we took them for their first trip to Chuck E Cheese. They thought this was heaven. Our Chuck E Cheese has a lot of toddler friendly games so they had a blast.

Scrapbook pages

Here are a couple more pages. I have one of the kids helping my dad, but it doesn't seem to want to load right. These pictures were taken in Jan 2008...yes, I am a bit behind. I am now getting about 3 a week done. At this rate, they may be complete before I have grandchildren. I pray that my boys marry very crafty girls who will do this all for me in my old age :-)

I did find a great site for printing 12x12 for only $1.99 a page. You can access it through www.freedigitalscapbooking.com There is a $5 shipping cost per order, so it is best to clump orders together.

Standard Normal Probability Density Function

And other things I don't understand. What was I thinking with this MBA?

Neglectful

To my parents and family...sorry I have not put more pictures on lately. I have no real excuse other than I just didn't.

Last night it snowed. Since I know it is too warm and sunny for it to last, we played out in the snow at around 0900. Anthony had to build a snowman...and he knew how to do it this time. He made a small ball then rolled it around on the ground to get more snow. I had to help him get it big enough...but he understands the process. he used snowman glue (water) to keep it all together. Pretty cool in my opinion. Gabe is far less excited about the snow. I think he remembers the -20 on the day he came home from the hospital and wants no part of it.

After the boys wanted special hot drink (warm watered down apple juice...it's all in the title).

I am still grateful that I do not have to dress children in snow clothes everyday. Rob had to take my truck because of the roads. I must admit that I am growing tired of that as well. We own three cars and I feel stranded. I think we are going to have to explore alternate work routes to make this work so I don't go insane.

However, we didn't need to go anywhere anyways...Anthony and Gabe both have a stomach bug. Gabe's diapers almost made me gag...and I have a strong stomach. I am glad Anthony can make it to the potty, although he had a few close calls today and we went through 6 pair of underwear.

Thrown in for laughs is a pic of Gabe in his new favorite shoes.

I'm a nut

"...People come and step on me and that's why I'm so cracked."

This is a line from the kids' new favorite song. It just seemed appropriate today.

The last time...

Rob went out of town, I made grilled cheese and soup for dinner for me and the kids. They split a sandwich and a serving of soup then I got the rest. Tonight I got 1/2 a sandwich and about 3 bites of soup. I fear for the teenage years.

A fishy tale

For those of you who have seen our house...you know that we have fish. Rob currently has a 125 gal, a 35 gal, and a 15 gal tank. the kids love these fish. They talk to them like pets. The biggest fish in the 125 gal is about the size of Rob's hand (maybe bigger) and he will charge at the kids with an open mouth. They think they are kisses but it is really an aggressive act.

So, today Rob changed the water in the tanks. It is a messy job and he has been delinquent on it. When he did this, he had problems with the new water and killed a fish. Enter sad kids. "Fish not look good. Daddy fix him." (Anthony) "Fix fish." (Gabe) Rob explained that he was sorry and they would figure out something for the tank when he returns from California.

Rob moves on to the next tank...more problems arise. Now he has killed baby fish. Anthony wanted to take baby fish to school for show and tell next week. Rob now feels like the biggest heel in the world. So he lies about killing baby fish, goes to the pet store and buys another fish, and tells Anthony it is his baby fish. Yep, Rob's first orchestrated lie. I love it!

This is even funnier since Rob is not the sympathetic parent in the house. The look of guilt in his eyes for having killed baby fish made me want to cackle with laughter. See...he is just as much of a sucker as I am.

Great 3 Day Weekend

This weekend, we took the boys to the Pacific Science Center and saw the 3D Deep Sea IMAX Movie. Anthony, as always, freaked out for the first 20min, then decided it could be kinda cool. Gabe loved every minute of it. The funniest was watching Anthony try to touch the 3D fish. He just couldn't understand how they made it work.



Anthony also found the station to build a space alien. He is actually starting to get that kinda stuff and really likes to try and create.



Gabe liked the musical instrument station...this is him playing peek-a-boo in the giant guitar.



When we were in the butterfly house, I asked Rob to take a picture of the boys and me.






Oh just forget it!

We also took Gabe for his first haircut. He looks like a little old man. He choose to sit in the pink Barbie jeep. After he had to take turns in the others, but I still think the jeep is his favorite.

The Opposable Thumb

This is often touted as what separates us from Apes. Well, it is definitely a magnificent invention. You never really appreciate it until you slice the dicken's out of it. Yesterday I as cleaning my microwave and realized how dirty the front grate was. So I took it off to wash it. then I saw how dirty it was on the inside. Had to wash that too. Well, on my microwave, there is a tiny metal grate that protects the motor. It was dirty...gotta clean it. Unfortunately, it was also sharp...I sliced the pad of my thumb while cleaning it. OUCH!!! I never realized how much you use a thumb in a given day. Next time...I will wear cleaning gloves.

On another note...I had a bit of a scare yesterday. I thought Anthony was giving up his afternoon nap. AAAHHHHH!! This is my precious time to fold clothes and work on school work. He came down stairs a mear 45min after going to bed and said he was not tired. He played in his play room for another 30min and then wanted to spend time with me. I thought for sure this was the end of my world. However, at 4:30 he fell over dead of exhaution. So today he must stay in his room till I open the door (prob around 3). Whew! Dodged another bullet.

Lazy Days of Almost Summer

We got a slight weather reprieve the last few days. It has been sunny and 50. Most importantly...SUNNY. Yesterday we went to the park. we were able to meet some friends and enjoy the warm air. We all needed it.

Here are a couple of pics of the boys.




I am in the middle of working on all my classes for the MBA. My winter term will end on 16 Feb and I can hardly wait. Taking 15 hours of MBA classes is nearly killing me. Thank goodness Rob has been a saint about helping out.

My poor kids have also had to entertain themselves while I work on "mommy school" which according to Anthony "not look like fun" and Gabe "not fun mommy." Here they are reading in a chair near the computer. For my AF friends...yes, it is a Jane's Airplane Recognition book. They can now identify the MiG-21 and the F-22...those are their favorites for whatever reason.

I am also working to update my blog backgrounds. Let me know what you see and what you think.