Let's do something fun!

In the middle of Febrary the kids had a day off for teacher in-service and we wanted to do something fun.  But it has been sooooooo cold that it was hard to get the motivation to leave the house.  But we got our selves going and had a great day.  We met Mark for lunch and then said farewell to him and headed over to the Des Moines science center.  The last time we went to the science center was 4 years ago.  The three older had very good memories of the museum, so it was fun to see them discovering at a different age.  They see and do things much differently.  There is a lot more reading involved.  I loved our time together.  At the end we went and saw an I-max movie about flying dinosaurs.

 So the boys were helping Easton, but as you can see Easton has lost interest.  Never to old for giant bubbles.

 It is interesting having kids all at different levels now.  Thankfully the older kids are pretty good about helping Easton or just sitting on a bench to wait it all out. 

 Green screen fun.

This was a fun one.  Mason had just recently completed a project about Tesla coils which he had told us about.  Then we got to play with one.

I just can't wait!

Easton turned 6 and could hardly wait for the big day.  

The day before was his opportunity to take treats to share with all his classmates.  He was so excited to do this, knowing that the kids would love to celebrate with him.  And he was correct, they were very happy to sing, take a break, and eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

We started the morning with a breakfast of choice - Krispy Kreme (again).We didn't have a party with friends this year, which he was disappointed about.  However, it was family fun night at his school, so he got to go jump in bounce houses, play games, get candy, and see classmates.  Perfect timing.  Afterwards we went to the restaurant of his choice, Culver's.  He was so tired he was falling asleep on the way home.  He said he was too tired for cake and we could do it the next day.

 How come now that my kids are older I still can't get a decent picture?  At lease no one is crying or running out of the picture!

 New toy!  And don't let the sun fool you, it was cold, but you have try out your new things.  So a little spin around the neighborhood and back in the house.

 Plinko.

 Flip the frog.

 And what game night is complete without the Toilet Toss?

So we continued the celebration with cake on Sunday and a couple more presents (did you know that there are mail deliveries on Sundays?  - my mom said the tracking said delivery Sunday, I thought it was a misprint, but low and behold it arrived Sunday).

 E asked for a brownie cake, so brownie cake he got.  

Easton is a full of little one liners that are sweet and also keep us laughing.  He loves to be cuddled.  Since he was a baby he has liked to have his tummy scratched, and he still has me do it when he is tired.  He keeps us on our toes.  Easton loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all day long.  He loves his friends.  He loves to be outside and go to the park and winter has been hard for him.  Easton has been working super hard in Kindergarten and has had to overcome some obstacles, but he is almost caught up on his letters/reading.  So darn proud of him.  Easton loves to wrestle with Drew.  He loves soccer.  Easton likes to be included in all that his brothers do.   Love you E!

A little story.  A week or two before his birthday, Easton says this to me:

“Mom, the problem with my birthday is that I want Luke, Noah, Jayen, and Thomas.  Can we just go to the mail place and have them give them a letter and then they can come?”

I love that he said this.  His experience in Chile revolves around these 4 amazing friends.  It has left a big impression on him and 8 months later he still wants those sweet boys here to celebrate with.  

4th Grade Music Performance

The boys elementary school has a great music program.  This year we were able to go watch Drew in the 4th grade music concert, titled "Imagine This, Imagine That."  Drew had a speaking part as well.  There would be a group of students who were looking for games to play that did not involve electronics.  A student would pull an article from a play chest and then they talked about a memory or  a game and it all related to a Broadway musical.  Then they would sing/dance to that song.  Drew's speaking part related to the musical Oklahoma.  

 Stretching the checks to allow for the optimal singing mouth!

On a roll

At the middle school, each semester they have a little ice cream celebration for the kids who made Honor Roll.  And Dallin did that with flying colors.  The parents are invited to come to the ice cream social and spend a few minutes with their child.  It was a fun afternoon spent with Dallin.  Congrats Big D!

 Dallin gets Honor Roll, but checking for spelling of names fails.

Dallin is so awesome.  He hung out with me and his friends with no concerns of having his mom around.

Double Digits Baby!

It was a big one for Drew.  A decade old, double digits.  We had a fun weekend celebrating our Drewbug.  There were treats for his class, dinner at Red Robin, the traditional doughnut cake, and presents on the big day.  The next day we took Drew and 4 of his friends to see an Iowa Wild game.  Drew loves to be with his friends, talking about sports, and watching sports.  It was a fun afternoon with those cute boys.

 Krispy Kreme done right.

 Go Iowa Wild!

Somethings about Drew at 10:
- he is incredibly intelligent- he can read and comprehend way beyond his years and numbers come easy
- he is thoughtful about what he wants
-he is determined - he practices sports outside in cold weather all on his own, because no one will go out to play with him due to the frigid Iowa winter and he practices piano usually two or more times per day without any one asking
-he is stubborn - although Drew is quiet, if he doesn't want to do something he will hold his ground
- he gets things done
-he is my amazing helper, if he sees that I am struggling, he takes action
-he still cuddles
-he is so good with his little brother and watches out for him and he is also the peacemaker of the three older
-he is organized
-he has a quick wit, and it is intelligent wit, once again, beyond his years

Happy 10th Year!