Spring Weather!

So the weather here has been fabulous! Sorry to all of you stuck in the winter tundra, but we are wearing spring coats and dare I say short sleeves! So we have been breaking out the outside gear and getting our play on! It also allows me to play around with my camera more, I think the next step is to figure out some of those fancy things like aperture, exposure rates and shutter speeds...maybe even diving into photo editing if I am truly daring and have time.

Some palm trees for those still seeing snowplows on the road ;)

Family Movie Night

So last weekend we had a long weekend thanks to Martin Luther King Jr day and the recent trip J took and his post mission rest. On one of the nights we noticed that The Goonies was on TV and turned into a family movie night. We started the night off with making some air popped popcorn.

N was amazed when the first kernels started jumping around and flew out.

He was so in awe of the process and was just squealing and laughing with excitement when he realized it was turning into one of his favorite treats.

Our taste tester enjoying his treat.

He was grabbing handfuls.

The older boys were already watching the movie, but also dug in when we gave them their own bowl, which didn't last long.

N really didn't care about the movie, but enjoyed being able to stay up later and cuddling with mom and dad.



Good Thing They're Washable!

So what happens when I leave the boys downstairs with some paper and crayons while I go put laundry away?

They decide that markers are better and that instead of paper it's fun to color all over their body, N at least thought this was pretty fun and also managed to take his pants off so that he could draw on more of his body.  At least I know enough to buy only washable markers, although they also transfer to furniture, rugs, and toys too easily.  I now have blue patches on our living room rug, although I think they will come off easy with the steamer. The bathtub water also turned blue instantly, better then those little color tablets you can buy! N was able to "scrub" most of it off by himself too, so I guess I can maybe let them use them under more supervision.

It is hard to stay mad, or even get mad at this little face though :)

Have no clue why he thinks he has to stick out his tongue, just that its cute maybe...

And yes, the older boys were suppose to be "watching" and coloring with N, but they lost interest of coloring and found something fun to watch on TV instead.

Sausalito

While family was visiting we took a day trip up to Sausalito, a town we had heard was right up their alley. It is a suburb of San Francisco and has a beautiful art district.

A not so little guy that we found hanging in between a couple of the alleyways.

 N's preferred way to travel. He is so good about riding around in it, we might be a little sad when he is too big...which we fear is soon according to our backs ;) So cute I had to have two pics of him up there!

The fountain in one of the town's parks. This bird was so comical and followed people as they passed, possibly a way to get some treats ;) 

 The boys with the fountain.

 In one of the shops where the Grandparents made a purchase.

The family (minus me).

More of Old Sacramento

The day we went to Sacramento we also hit the California Train Museum for the second time within two weeks. The boys really enjoyed looking at all the trains, passenger cars, and all the toy trains...Lionel and Thomas.

M inside one of the engines, sitting in the engineer's seat.

M LOVED learning about the trains and how they built the railway system.

J and M coming off of one of the passenger cars.

M and J with a luggage cart...I would love to have one of those trunks ;)

N's favorite part by far was playing with all the Thomas trains and tracks on the top floor.

J and M with the larger electric Thomas set.

Exploring Old Sacramento

Over the holiday break we made our way up to Sacramento to explore the old part of town. Our first stop was exploring the Wells Fargo Museum, which is free, and only took a couple of minutes for the boys to be "done" with what was on display. M enjoyed learning about telegraphs, and they also had a saddle to climb up and "ride" to a video while it took your picture.

With a model stage coach inside the museum.

While waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to be done browsing the museum we snuck outside and took some photos in front of the old store fronts.

The visitor center had an actual stagecoach that we could get a picture of the boys with.  I thought the car ride from NJ to CA was bad, but could imagine traveling only as fast as the horses pulling the stagecoach could go...and this was a luxury compared to traveling by a buckboard, covered wagon, horseback, or by foot.

A Drive Around San Francisco

These were some fun pictures I took while we drove around San Francisco the day we dropped J's parents off at their hotel. There are more, but since we were driving...and going up and down the hills not all of them turned out so level ;) These are my favorites and thought I would share, LOVING the new camera!

Love the patina of this building and the little peek of clear blue sky.

Loved the architecture of this building with all the scrolls, trim, and windows.

Coit Tower from SEVERAL blocks away, look forward to trying to go back once the elevator (the only way to go up) is open again for service.

Love the different colors of bricks used in the building and the iron work of the fire escape.



My Dishwasher

So happy to helping mommy wash the to-go coffee mugs. He loved playing with all the bubbles and pouring the water out of the mugs

My Sweet Boys

So this morning I was being lazy, and well the boys really weren't making their usual noise, aka I'm hungry. J is gone on a trip so I stayed in bed and watched some DVR'd shows thinking I would get maybe 5 minutes before "noise" would begin. Well lets say I didn't get up until 9:30! Can you believe that, and it wasn't because from any "noise" made by the boys but my own rumbling tummy. I ventured downstairs expecting for my appearance to start the morning onslaught of complaints of hunger, and was surprised to find three boys that had already eaten. The older two helped N and all three enjoyed some toaster struddle together and left mommy alone, they even said when I came down that they wanted mommy to sleep in! They even took care of their dishes (at least put them on the counter) and washed up, helping N wash his face and hands as well. I think my little boys are growing up....no I KNOW my little boys aren't so little anymore.

It leaves me with one question....So when are they old enough to bring me breakfast in bed? **wink wink**

M, can't believe he is almost 8!

The boys are loving the chair N got for Christmas from Gma and Gpa!

Yes N is in a headlock, the only way to have him this close to J's face without him tearing the glasses off! But hey, he is smiling :)

LOVE! A true non-cheese smile! Look at all those teeth! He is working on some more, hence the pink cheeks, icky diapers and all the EARLY morning snuggling we have been having.



On a different note I have been really trying to jump back on the Elliptical and managed to log 4 days in this week and increased my time today without any trouble and really looking forward to getting back on tomorrow, having some shows to watch really makes the time fly by...love to multi-task!

Reading is so Addictive!

So yesterday I had the privilege to watch the older two receive awards for all the reading and testing that they have done at school the past three months. While waiting for the program to begin N had fun driving his trains ALL over the multi-purpose room (aka gym, lunch room, stage). We had several "conversations" about staying closer to mommy and to not disturb other kids/adults with all his cho-cho trains.

Playing is some serious work to this lil' man!

J with his level 1, his first certificate of the year....he is SO proud! I.am.so.proud! It just makes me so happy that he is progressing and has come to the conclusion that he CAN read and he CAN sound out words...we had issues last year..confidence does wonders!

M with his certificates...a total of 5 for the day...he has received 9 in total for the year. At the parent teacher conference in November we were informed that M has read the most books in his class...like double the amount of books then anyone else...and those are just the ones he has been reading and testing on at school! He also has a passion for reading at home and has been flying through all the books we have, good thing he got a new series to read from Gma and Gpa for Christmas!