On the Mend

It seems like since we rang in the New Year someone in this house has been under the weather. It seems that the last three weeks have been the worst! Now, FINALLY, it seems like the boys are on the mend and I can finally clear off my kitchen counter.

UP Party

This weekend we attended our neighbor Emily's 8th Birthday celebration. The birthday theme was the movie "UP" since she loves balloons. Not one detail was left out including 100 balloons on the roof of their house, just like the movie. It's hard to believe Emily is already 8!

Valentine's Day

This year we had lots of fun making chocolate moustache's in preparation of our cute Valentine's Day cards. It was a yummy project to do together and the boys had lots of fun. I don't think I have many more years of creating cute Valentine's with the boys, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Play Set Assembly Day 2

It took two days to finally get the playset all put together. Seeing the boys so happy playing on it makes it all worth while.The Coffaro's even came to test it out with us. McKinley had fun on the swing and they had fun playing hide-and-seek.
We still have some more work to do on the playset and backyard in general, but it's all coming together.

Play Set Assembly Day 1

Well, I have to say it looks MUCH easier than it actually is. After years of consideration, we finally broke down and bought the kids a real playset. We have had a simple swing set since Thomas was 10 months old and he has simply outgrown it. We decided to buy one from Home Depot that is all pre-cut and "simple" assembly. Ha! It took most of the morning of Day1 to figure out what went where and to gather all the tools that we would need. It was absolutely a beautiful day so the kids had fun watching and playing. They played in the cardboard box and even brought out their sleeping bags. We hope to finish it up tomorrow. Then we'll still need to stain it, put some trim boarding around it and mulch it in. It has turned into quite a project.

It took a fork lift to put the materials in the truck. The boys were so entertained!

The backyard "before" picture.



My Sweet Boy.

Coloring in circles.

The "pre-cut" lumber.

Playing with their sleeping bags.

Starting to look like something. Nathan loved helping with the drill.

Able to sit on the platform.

Ten minutes after bath time! Out like a light.

Friday Night with Dr. Jean

We had fun with the Coffaro's and Dr. Jean on Friday night. We met at SCC to attend a "concert" from Dr. Jean. Emily and I have used her music in the classroom since we started teaching. The concert was extra fun for us since we knew all the songs. Tom and Ken thought we were nuts, but oh well! The kids had a blast and Thomas went on the stage to dance. (With a little bribery thanks to Em.) Then, Nathan got up there, too. It was a fun way to spend a rainy Friday night.

Hold McKinley's hand.

"Tooty-Ta" song. (Notice the Dad's not paricipating!!!)

Interactive Whiteboard!

I am so excited that my Interactive Whiteboard was installed this week!!! My class has been anxiously awaiting it since November! I am looking forward to using some fun new software and programs designed just for this projector. As soon as it was hooked up, we went to TumbleBooks.com to listen to a story that we read in class that morning. Once the "interactive" software is downloaded a "pen" will act as a pen and a computer mouse when you touch the board. The kids are going to think it's magic!

After a week of delays with installation the box was finally delivered!

The Projector is hooked up to the computer and is able to show TV on it, too.

Ta-Da!